Help me with an idiots guide to diy cobs

So been looking at chips
What do you look for in a cob "chip" im stuck on whats the voltage"forwood voltage forward current whats best or whats a starting point do i take the forward current and multiply that untill at my desired wattage then match a driver or drivers to them

Are you looking at cobs for veg? Flower? Size of tent?
most (high watt) cobs are 36v and usually are rated for 50ish watts. So say the cobs your looking at say forward voltage max is 37.1v and max forward current (watts) is 2000mA.
divide 2000mA by 1000=2 times that by max voltage 37.1x2= 74.2w max rated per cob. Soooo say you want to run 3, you’d look for a 36v driver with-an output max of the cobs added together.https://www.google.com/shopping/product/3910273558345294376?q=delta+36v+led+driver&biw=375&bih=622&tbs=vw:l,ss:115&prmd=sivn&prds=eto:2942048352149290050_0,cdl:1,prmr:1,cs:1
Like these. Also, if you wire in Series you can get a constant current driver like hlg-120-c1800. I suggest you read up a lot more before you start playing with electrical. Hope this helps

SBBCal said:

Are you looking at cobs for veg? Flower? Size of tent?
most (high watt) cobs are 36v and usually are rated for 50ish watts. So say the cobs your looking at say forward voltage max is 37.1v and max forward current (watts) is 2000mA.
divide 2000mA by 1000=2 times that by max voltage 37.1x2= 74.2w max rated per cob. Soooo say you want to run 3, you’d look for a 36v driver with-an output max of the cobs added together.https://www.google.com/shopping/product/3910273558345294376?q=delta+36v+led+driver&biw=375&bih=622&tbs=vw:l,ss:115&prmd=sivn&prds=eto:2942048352149290050_0,cdl:1,prmr:1,cs:1

HLG-240H-36 MEAN WELL LED AC/DC Driver|CDILED

Order HLG-240H-36 MEAN WELL at CDI LED. View pricing, stock, datasheets, order online, request a quote or submit a technical inquiry.

led.cdiweb.com

Like these. Also, if you wire in Series you can get a constant current driver like hlg-120-c1800. I suggest you read up a lot more before you start playing with electrical. Hope this helps

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Id like to build 1 for a 120x120x180 and ideally i could flower and veg under it

Newgrow31 said:

Id like to build 1 for a 120x120x180 and ideally i could flower and veg under it

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Honestly, you would be pretty hard pressed to do it cheaper than just buying one from timber. I built one cheaper, but actively cooled them to keep costs down.

Newgrow31 said:

Id like to build 1 for a 120x120x180 and ideally i could flower and veg under it

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Cobs are somewhat outdated but to each is own, 16sq ft you want at least 30w per sq ft. With led. If I were you I’d look into 22”/44”Strips/bars for even coverage instead of hot spots with cobs. Arrow always has strips on sale for $1 or so each. I’ve made a VEg and Flwr light doing this with delta/meanwell drivers on the cheap as well. Harder to get on sale though.
Hit me up if you serious and I’ll help if I can.

SBBCal said:

Cobs are somewhat outdated but to each is own, 16sq ft you want at least 30w per sq ft. With led. If I were you I’d look into 22”/44”Strips/bars for even coverage instead of hot spots with cobs. Arrow always has strips on sale for $1 or so each. I’ve made a VEg and Flwr light doing this with delta/meanwell drivers on the cheap as well. Harder to get on sale though.
Hit me up if you serious and I’ll help if I can.

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Like the look and idea of the bars mate id love your help iv not much knowledge of them

Newgrow31 said:

Like the look and idea of the bars mate id love your help iv not much knowledge of them

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Just an example on strips/driver.
These would be 30w max. With this driver you’d get 8 strips. You need to shop around/read up on efficiency, LM per watt , max mA ect.

SBBCal said:

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/si-b8u161560ww/samsung-electronics

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-240h-24a/mean-well-enterprises

Just an example on strips/driver.
These would be 30w max. With this driver you’d get 8 strips. You need to shop around/read up on efficiency, LM per watt , max mA ect.

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So then if i was to buy 8 id get them all on 1 driver at 240 watts running at full power then if i was to add more id need to get another driver.

Whould this pull 240 at the wall??
The reason im now thinking of building is cost of use
Thanks soo much for your help

If you buy all the same voltage range 22-26v then yes all can be wired with one driver. Mean well and Delta have drivers A/B option for dimming both V/C so, if a strip has a rating of 25v , these types of drivers work best yeah the 240h is watts. H just means hazardous, can be mounted in haz conditions. Last # is V

I'm about to build the "Pacific Lighting Concepts photoboost 16 strip" reference fixture. Does anyone have experience with these strips specifically?

SBBCal said:

If you buy all the same voltage range 22-26v then yes all can be wired with one driver. Mean well and Delta have drivers A/B option for dimming both V/C so, if a strip has a rating of 25v , these types of drivers work best yeah the 240h is watts. H just means hazardous, can be mounted in haz conditions. Last # is V

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Ok so im thinking of ordering 10 for a total of 300 watts on 2 drivers mounted on some type of frame with a fan directed at the.

Whoud this be capable of veging and flowering 4 photos

You need to look into ALOT more info bud. First, your in a 4x4 ,budget , what spectrum you want, 3k,3.5k,4k ect. Care about efficiency?
-Samsung has a newer Horticulture Strip they sell but are 20-30$ each and 50w ish.
-samsung also has F,M,Q,V,S - series . All in 22” some in 44” - all have different diodes/lumens per watt.
- look into wiring- parallel vs. series, that makes your driver choice easy.
-Qseries being most efficient at 180lm/w
-Aluminum, local hardware, 4’ L aluminum for the frame, and aluminum U bars as heatsinks. Or if you go higher watt strips, look at heatsinksusa for actual heatsink cuts. More$
-I use solid 18-20g aluminum wire, larger for drivers and for the distance from driver to lights.
-That’s a starter kickstart for you. Seriously though, read up on the shit . Cheers

IRod187 said:

I'm about to build the "Pacific Lighting Concepts photoboost 16 strip" reference fixture. Does anyone have experience with these strips specifically?

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I just built that myself but & I'll be firing them up in about a week. They are super bright & will certainly cover 4X4 through flower. I also got a couple of strings of far red Buddies to supplement & kick off the flowering.