Renfro's 760 Watt COB LED Build -> 1kW DE HPS Replacement

ToFarGone said:

Why did you decide to go the cob route vs QB or strips

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COBs are LED. And why not? I like them. They performed so amazingly well in tent and that light was built with the gen 3 cobs. Here is a comparison of the gen 3 and gen 4 CMX-22. So I am getting even more light per watt with the gen 4 chips. Never know, in 3 or 4 years after the lights have long paid for themselves in energy savings the chips may have advanced so far and I could just pop new chips in the holders and have a new light that puts out even more light per watt and perhaps even less heat. The big appeal to me is the potential of a future upgrade that costs 250 - 300 bucks and brings the light up to date with current tech.

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Renfro said:

Another thing to consider with LED, something that nobody talks about really, the surfaces of the LED's themselves can react with chemicals in the air causing them to lose a little light output. This is something that was shared with me by an industry insider. With COB's I could replace them in a few years if need be, plus get a newer version of the chip. I was also told that a game changing LED product will be coming out, perhaps before spring, that will address this issue and take things to the next level.

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If you have time to wait there will be some new products soon that are alot better than quantum boards, still a similar set up but alot better for a situation like yours.
You are setting up a commercial area, LEDs are ok for DIY as you arnt spending alot. The fact is they don't last all that long because they become contaminated with sulphur and other chemicals in the room. COBs have the same problem, People don't do tests on this because they do not have the equipment at thier disposal....

LEDs are porous, they absorb moisture and other contaminants in the air, some chemicals effect them more than others, losses can be above 10% per year, they don't die they just loose output.

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shimbob said:

All your current readings are negative, flip the coils around

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Renfro said:

This is how it was explained to me by my source

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ttystikk said:

This is why I covered all my COB chips with lenses, despite the minor performance loss.

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Renfro said:

Yeah but I doubt that hermeticallys sealed but should still help.

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Renfro said:

So I hooked up a test light to see how things are working, looking good. Still have to finalize the wiring on the DC side with some solder joints, no room for 6 wagos in the housing. Then I have to wire up the AC side properly.

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I can dim each driver (row of 4 cobs). Here are the readings at full, and dimming one row at a time until all three rows are dim.

View attachment 4410432View attachment 4410433View attachment 4410434View attachment 4410435

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Renfro said:

It's a charge controller dumbass. It reads negative when it thinks battery is being charged.

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