Happy Saturday! Anybody out there building their own lights and feel good about them? Looking at the prices of components(LEDs, heat syncs, etc) vs. the prices of commercially available fixtures with similar components makes me wonder if the cost difference is justified? I'm sure there are major advantages to building lights for larger areas, but for a mid-sized grow tent(5x9 2-3 fixtures max), and an additional veg tent(1 fixture), what do you think? I have already(somewhat regrettably) dropped $550 on a spiderfarmer 4000, and wish I had instead put that money towards an HLG 550-650. So much conflicting information/marketing out there.
LED build
- Thread starter MyxtLyte
- Start date
BobThe420Builder
Well-Known Member
I have built my own hlg QB lights
Easily save $200 on my flower light at 500+w
Since I made two others, one veg and another flower
For sure a savings
Easily save $200 on my flower light at 500+w
Since I made two others, one veg and another flower
For sure a savings
NukaKola
Well-Known Member
What size is the veg tent?
You could potentially use the SF 4000 in the veg tent if it’s a decent enough size and DIY some lights for the flower space.
12x HLG QB 96’s on 3x HLG-480H-54A drivers would do nicely in a 5x9 and would cost around $1300-1400.
I would either go for that or a strips build using Samsung F series with heat sinks or Bridgelux EB’s running soft without heatsinks.
How tall is your flower tent?
You could potentially use the SF 4000 in the veg tent if it’s a decent enough size and DIY some lights for the flower space.
12x HLG QB 96’s on 3x HLG-480H-54A drivers would do nicely in a 5x9 and would cost around $1300-1400.
I would either go for that or a strips build using Samsung F series with heat sinks or Bridgelux EB’s running soft without heatsinks.
How tall is your flower tent?
Very cool, thank you for that! Looking at kits for a 5x5(600W) space X2, and I see a cost of about $900 each which seems on the high side for bare components but what do I know. Seems like the best bet is figuring out what I need, and sourcing seperately.
Flower tent is 6.5' currently, but I can add a one foot extension and make it 7.5. I almost set it up like that, but didn't feel like working on a ladder that day haha. I think I can buy another extension too, and make it 8.5'. Veg tent is 5x5x~60", and I was also considering moving the SF to the Veg tent. I think I can dim it all the way down for that and save some $$$$, then if I ever feel like finishing off for the season, I have the option to throw everything into flower!
NukaKola
Well-Known Member
The SF 4000 should do well in the veg tent.
You have a decent height to work with. It’s honestly up to personal preference on what type of light appeals to you the most. The QB 96’s have good penetration but need about 18-24” distance from canopy depending on how hard you run them. They have the best $/watt out of the HLG products.
Strips give great spread but require slightly more work to DIY.
Another option is to order QB288 boards/heatsinks from an Alibaba supplier like Kingbrite and just order the drivers from a local supplier for warranty purposes. You could get 12x 120w boards/sinks with the drivers for around $1200.
Just curious, why not run F series soft without sinks?
NukaKola
Well-Known Member
You can but it’s not very cost efficient. For instance the 4’ F strips are ~$22 for single row or ~$42 for double rows. So the cost of adding heatsinks isn’t very significant to be able to run them ~80-150w per strip.
The Bridgelux EB Gen 2 4’ strips were only ~$8 so the cost of heatsinks adds up quickly to the point where doubling up on strips and running them soft is more cost efficient.