Lightning help for non-weed setup

@cobshopgrow thanks for the answer, i appreciate your efforts. yeah i would have chosen the -48 or the -C2800 myself but that's just me thinking that all the strips parallel in a single frame is easier (or more like pleases my mind) to wire with 5 port wagos. well the -c2800 half percent more efficient i interpret like they are the same efficient. is there any difference (pro or contra), or totally equal so just get the one thats available or cheaper? i have chosen B (if no AB, so eg prefer B over A) bc it allows bigger dim spectrum (10-100% vs 50-100%) if i understand it right. i always thought the external poti is more elegant/cool than the screws.

edit: just checked tme.eu have them both AB in stock for equal price at around $85, so i can use them (A is like $80, B is actually a little bit more price than AB)

@cobshopgrow just to address the alu and other stuff: yeah thanks, i think i should be good. meanwhile i also have spoken with my father, turns out he has a few meters of L channel already (most likely not as much as i need, but some), i haven't met with him since the lockdown but he has better tools for cutting (and i can also cut by hand if needed, just more time and effort). i've checked jarvild's posts, he has some F strip thermals. like this post: https://www.rollitup.org/t/samsung-f-strip-build.1007017/page-10#post-15419738

he is using a C channel (dunno how thick), which i am not sure if the same as U channels (googling C channel shows a little different shape), which got me thinking, so eg if those C channels are now closed (bc it seems from the photo like that), so eg if the cooling would be even better with a full tube? i always thought that would just trap the high temp air in so its less efficient.

anyways these are just small details and i can arrange the alu channels easily locally, so it's the last step once i got everything ordered. speaking of which the strips themselves are out of stock everywhere (according to octopart) and at digikey the min amount is 160 currently. also you haven't replied to the spectrum/temp question, do you recommend 3000k only or some mix?

great that the drivers are in stock, even the strips arent...

sounds good to simply use the L channel your father have, that should really do the trick and sounds like a cheap option for you.
dont go crazy about the C shape, if theyre closed they will trap heat probably a lil, while convection should still work.
take some what makes economic sense to you and you can get easily.

color temp is always the big question.
i mostly used 3500k and 3000k 80cri so far.
3000k 80cri plus 660nm.
as i havent tested much else i can not really comment there.

@cobshopgrow thanks, yeah i will find whatever is affordable for me in terms of L & U channels, i don't think it's a big deal, so i just postpone that until i have all the other pieces figured out/ordered already.

@Airwalker16 @end_of_the_tunnel maybe you guys have some recommendations in terms of temp? should i go with 3000k only? a mix of 3000 3500 maybe even 4000? (again the goal is leafy greens now, if it supports fruity plants as well, the better)

ok for leafy green its easier.
4000k will do fine.
even higher should be ok, i use 6500k in my veg box.
daylight is about 5600k.

@cobshopgrow btw do you recommend thermal strip or bolts with nylon washers?

also do you mean 4000k only? or mix? i am really unsure what is good for what and many of the stuff i can find via google is simply misleading or at least contradicting each other. i will research a bit more.

you mean to mount them with thermal tape or by screws?
up to you, with screws i would take washers for sure.

may someone have a good hint for the color temp, but i dont think its that critical tbh.
only 4000k is fine, 5500 will be fine too, take whats the most efficient.

@cobshopgrow yes sry, i've meant mounting the strips on the channels, i can do thermal tape or screws (with nylon washers ofc). is there any difference? thermal tape better or screws better? is thermal tape durable (eg not coming off after a few years or something)?

@cobshopgrow so just to be explicit, i know it wrong? so 4000 is best for only veg & leafy, 3000 is better for flowering/fruity? would you recommend 4000 only and if we want try fruity/flowering with this (wouldn't be optimal but it would still grow right), or if we want just buy new strips and mix then or build new fixtures, etc.

at 16 pieces i guess price is not a concern (eg no meaningful breakpoints), so i can do whatever. also this is more like "i want to understand" thing, as i guess if there would be stock from one of 3000, 3500 or 4000 and not the others you would suggest to go with whatever is available. so right now i have to wait either way until it is stocked somewhere. i've found them on avnet with backorder (with 1 min quantity), but i can't simply order them like that. other places min quantity is around 160 (like digikey or arrow).

eLod said:

@cobshopgrow yes sry, i've meant mounting the strips on the channels, i can do thermal tape or screws (with nylon washers ofc). is there any difference? thermal tape better or screws better? is thermal tape durable (eg not coming off after a few years or something)?

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Mix 3000k and 4000k 1:1 and call it a day. Also, thermal tape will be a loooooot easier for you and as long as their heatsinked well and put down on freshly cleaned alcohol wiped surfaces, they should stick for months to come. I can't stress enough how important it is to wipe down the aluminum and back of strip with isopropyl alcohol just before you stick the tape to it.

@Airwalker16 thanks, taking a note about wiping with alcohol. while we are at it should i ask for anodized aluminium or the raw version is equally good?

hopefully the last correction of this kind, but i've realised doing 4 fixtures each 45cm long for the whole 180cm space is a bit problematic (i have 1 propagator and 2 boxes with net pots, each spanning 60cm), it would be weird to use half of the fixture for propagation & half for grown up plants (in terms of height?). making 3 fixtures each 60cm long makes it way more easy to position them and reflects the space better. so going from 16 strips to 18 strips is nicely dividable by 3 and it's not that much extra money. so will go with 9 pieces of 3000k and 9 pieces of 4000k, 3 of both (so 6 total) in a single fixture.

for 18 strips i would run them around 575mA-600mA, 22.2V-22.3V (12.8W-13.4W, 230-240W total) depending on wiring layout:

2s9p: 48v, 5.175A, with -48 should be ok
3s6p: 72V, 3.45A, with -C3500 it would work, but only max 583mA per strip, so no room up
6s3p: 144, 1.725A, with -C2100 should be ok

i can easily do 2s9p like wiring every 2 in series, so 3p2s on every fixture, running the fixtures in parallel right?

btw i have just realised that the 60cm x 30cm fixture size is better for also supporting 60cm long strips. and while i was at it i've found the 60cm 4000k variants at arrow for like 8$ (https://www.arrow.com/en/products/si-b8t521560ww/samsung-electronics) so i've just ordered 9 of them, even if i don't use them it's very good for this price i think (they are more than double at digikey). i couldn't use my credit card so went with wire transfer, we shall see.

you maybe have to test what color temp you and your plants will like the most.
just see no need to go that heavy in red when there are no flowers to flower.
4000k will for sure work nicely, as probably 3500k also.

anodized aluminium have more surface, due to the anodiziation.
but go with what have the better pricing would say.

for the 67V of 3 sammie 1 foot in series there are not many options it seems.
HLG240 C2100 goes up to 119V
HLG320 C2100 goes up to 152V youll max it out with 280W only but that should be ok.
XLG240 M goes up to 171V
if i am right.

you can do 2S 9 P also, np.

eLod said:

@Airwalker16 thanks, taking a note about wiping with alcohol. while we are at it should i ask for anodized aluminium or the raw version is equally good?

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If you use thermal tape, anodization is not gonna help.

ok also ordered the hlg-320h-48ab from a local shop, it was a bit cheaper than tme (with vat), hopefully they deliver a bit faster but we shall see. so i will start with getting the alu channel sizes finalized, and also accessories done (eg thermal tape, wires, yada yada).

@cobshopgrow well they have called me today about the hlg driver, they say they can deliver the AB in like 4-5 weeks, the B in like a week. the price is literally the same (like 1$ difference). so i'm pondering if the AB is any good for me, i mean i can obviously tune down the voltage and/or current but i am already maxing the driver out. obviously if one or more strips would die and i would have the AB i could prevent problems with them, but even if 3 dies, i have 6 so the 6.7A would still translate to around 1.1A which should be still ok. above that starts to have problems, but i am not sure how realistic is that... so i am not sure which one i should go with

eLod said:

@cobshopgrow well they have called me today about the hlg driver, they say they can deliver the AB in like 4-5 weeks, the B in like a week. the price is literally the same (like 1$ difference). so i'm pondering if the AB is any good for me, i mean i can obviously tune down the voltage and/or current but i am already maxing the driver out. obviously if one or more strips would die and i would have the AB i could prevent problems with them, but even if 3 dies, i have 6 so the 6.7A would still translate to around 1.1A which should be still ok. above that starts to have problems, but i am not sure how realistic is that... so i am not sure which one i should go with

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Hello Friendly, why not choose Mars Hydro?Most people know Mars Hydro lights are used to grow cannabis indoors. Actually there are also lots of growers growing non-cannbis plants, like lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumber, orchids, tulips, succulents, carnivorous, basil, clover, ornamentals......
I will live the video about it.hope it is good for you to make the decision.

ok i've just realised it's too early and i'm dumb (the earliness may have some contributing factor to that, but not much). so even if i would use the AB and set to whatever current, i would still have the same problem with B. so just go with the B right?

@MarsHydrofactory thanks but i've already got my strips ordered, i'm pondering on the driver now.