I'm moving to DIY country...

Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I've ordered most of my parts, the rest I will fill in locally.

I'd like to start by thanking people -- first and foremost Tim Fox for his untiring therapy in helping me resolve my DIY-aphobia. And of course all of the usual suspects; SupraSPL, CaptainMorgan, Realstyles, NapalmD, Bruce768, Psuagro... and all the others who have taken the time to share with us what they know, help us to understand what is important and how it works, and help us build our own light systems.

But mostly, I'd like to thank Area51 and Optic Lighting. These are the two companies who make what the consensus seems to agree are the best mass-produced COB lights on the market. I have purchased a pair of Optic 120's, and I am (still) waiting for my W90's.

I would like to thank Optic for making a light that I could afford, but then giving me an opportunity to see first hand that I could build a better light for less than half the cost if I did it myself. I'd also like to thank them for offering a light with the same components I'm going to use in my build (minus the optics), and charging three times what it will cost me in parts to DIY it. I'm sure their light is worth it, but realistically I could never afford to buy theirs. But I can just squeak by and make something very similar.

And I would like to thank Area51 for taking so long to deliver their lights, because if I had received them a month or two ago, I never would have been forced to go the DIY route. By being so slow to market, I was put in a position where I had to consider other options more seriously. And now if all goes as planned, I'll be in control of my lighting moving forward.

I'm not trying to be snarky or a dick, these companies are doing their best and doing very well. There is a huge market for them and I truly hope they succeed beyond their own expectations. I'm sure their lights are worth what they are asking, otherwise the market would not support them. I'm happy for them.


Oh, and my build is basic reboot of one several others have done; (4) cxb3070's running at 3000k off of a single Mean Well driver... Where it could get interesting is that I have some ideas about how to mount them that could create a wide range of flexibility for the unit. We'll see, the idea is cool, I'm still working on how to fabricate it.
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Hey man welcome to DIY but be warned it can be addictive LOL. I agree there is a strong financial incentive to build your own, although a lot of it comes down to taxation which has to be priced in to commercial units and on top of that buyers have to produce $10 to get $5 in our paychecks. All of that is avoided when you DIY even for things like changing your oil. I dont keep track of the hours when building my own lamps because it is very rewarding but it does take quite a lot of time (for me) to make the lamps aesthetic and functional. As long as you are enjoying the process it is a double win.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I wasn't sure if I should say it the way I did, but I mean it in good spirits. I definitely understand the costs of manufacturing, insurance, and all that goes into creating a business, and I do respect these companies (for the most part). There are few things in life that I can do instead of paying someone else to do it, I'm not going to build a refrigerator or design my own car. But what I find that I can do, is rewarding to do it. For lots of people building lights is in the realm of something they'd rather pay someone else to do, I was there for a long time, but I'm glad I'm giving this a shot. My COBs and driver showed up today, took 3 days to get here from the time I ordered (Mouser).
 
SSJGemini

SSJGemini

Well-Known Member
DIY is a lot of fun. I just started building my first DIY COB fixture. Awhile back before I started growin again I looked at LEDs for the first time as an option to grow. I almost bought a blurple light for way more than I wanted to spend on a light. I then remembered about this site and checked out the LED section. "What the hell is a COB?" I had been away from the growing seen for awhile. Looked at a lot of DIY threads and was sold. So as a fellow new LED DIYer, welcome, to what others have said and what I'm finding out now. This is an addictive little hobby. :peace:
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
Humanrob said:
I've ordered most of my parts, the rest I will fill in locally.

I'd like to start by thanking people -- first and foremost Tim Fox for his untiring therapy in helping me resolve my DIY-aphobia. And of course all of the usual suspects; SupraSPL, CaptainMorgan, Realstyles, NapalmD, Bruce768, Psuagro... and all the others who have taken the time to share with us what they know, help us to understand what is important and how it works, and help us build our own light systems.

But mostly, I'd like to thank Area51 and Optic Lighting. These are the two companies who make what the consensus seems to agree are the best mass-produced COB lights on the market. I have purchased a pair of Optic 120's, and I am (still) waiting for my W90's.

I would like to thank Optic for making a light that I could afford, but then giving me an opportunity to see first hand that I could build a better light for less than half the cost if I did it myself. I'd also like to thank them for offering a light with the same components I'm going to use in my build (minus the optics), and charging three times what it will cost me in parts to DIY it. I'm sure their light is worth it, but realistically I could never afford to buy theirs. But I can just squeak by and make something very similar.

And I would like to thank Area51 for taking so long to deliver their lights, because if I had received them a month or two ago, I never would have been forced to go the DIY route. By being so slow to market, I was put in a position where I had to consider other options more seriously. And now if all goes as planned, I'll be in control of my lighting moving forward.

I'm not trying to be snarky or a dick, these companies are doing their best and doing very well. There is a huge market for them and I truly hope they succeed beyond their own expectations. I'm sure their lights are worth what they are asking, otherwise the market would not support them. I'm happy for them.


Oh, and my build is basic reboot of one several others have done; (4) cxb3070's running at 3000k off of a single Mean Well driver... Where it could get interesting is that I have some ideas about how to mount them that could create a wide range of flexibility for the unit. We'll see, the idea is cool, I'm still working on how to fabricate it.
Click to expand...
Is going to be fun, we'll try not to blind ya!
 
gk skunky

gk skunky

Well-Known Member
They say it's good to always continue learning new things. You will definitely learn a lot more building your own than buying premade. I learned a good amount just getting into LEDs and then DIY was even more to learn about.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
It definitely seems like there is no end to what can be learned, and that's fine with me. There are conversations here that went completely over my head a few weeks ago, and now I get them, but there are still ones that make no sense and in some cases, I might not ever delve that deep. I'm just going to see where it takes me.

A few years back I owned (and for a brief six months lived in) a '74 Airstream. Leftover from that adventure is a mild fascination with rivets. I still have the rivet gun, and I just ordered some decent quality ball bearing drawer slides, and of course there are the aluminum flats and channels to work with. I have this idea about pivoting connected sections that can also extend or contract to adapt to various spaces...

I've spent the whole evening doing my best to make mechanical drawings of my mounting ideas (old school pencil and paper, never did the CAD thing), and so far its been a huge help in visualizing it. On paper, it can definitely be done, whether I can make it real remains to be seen. I have an aesthetic sense that is innate. So even if the whole thing goes steam punk, if it is consistent and intentional, I could work with that.

Of course, when it comes right down to it I need the light in about 10 days -- and all my parts should be here in about 7 days -- so this one might be about getting it done, and it may be the next one that I take to another level. We'll see.
 
SupraSPL

SupraSPL

Well-Known Member
Uncoated optics are ~90% efficient overall, 7-8% of the loss is due to light skimming off the lens on entrance and exit, most of that hitting the walls. 2-3% is due to collision with iron inside the lens and that light will convert to heat in the lens. For a COB putting out 25 PAR W, that means .63W of heat in the lens. If you were to run with no lens, a significant % of the light will bounce/scatter off the walls rather than reaching the canopy, some in the upward or lateral direction. Each bounce causes 5-20% of the light to convert into heat so by controlling the light with the lens you may actually be able to get the same job done with less power, and therefore less heat overall.
 
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Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
SupraSPL said:
Uncoated optics are ~90% effplan overall, 7-8% of the loss is due to light skimming off the lens on entrance and exit, most of that hitting the walls. 2-3% is due to collision with iron inside the lens and that light will convert to heat in the lens. For a COB putting out 25 PAR W, that means .63W of heat in the lens. If you were to run with no lens, a significant % of the light will bounce off the walls rather than reaching the canopy, some in the upward or lateral direction. Each bounce causes 5-20% of the light to convert into heat so by controlling the light with the lens you may actually be able to get the same job done with less power, and therefore less heat overall.
Click to expand...
I have to agree without the lens the light spread on my cobs seems very wide, the colas in the middle of my two cobs are much further from the centers of the cobs, and yet they seems just as happy with the light they are receiving, and the walls are really bouncing light off, this really seems to show up in pictures there is an over exposure bright white look at the sides and back wall
 
gk skunky

gk skunky

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
I have to agree without the lens the light spread on my cobs seems very wide, the colas in the middle of my two cobs are much further from the centers of the cobs, and yet they seems just as happy with the light they are receiving, and the walls are really bouncing light off, this really seems to show up in pictures there is an over exposure bright white look at the sides and back wall
Click to expand...
Right, And since I run perpetually And work from front to back right corner of my tent my diy is in the front 2x4 with about a 40* angle towards the rear so there is more center beam going to the more mature plants and blending with the area 51 fixtures hanging over the rear 2x4. While at the same time not as intense light at the front where the new lady's are introduced and spend the first 1-2 weeks. Works out really well.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I appreciate the follow up. I've come to accept that the lenses are a good thing, and they are staying in place on the Optic lights. I just started to wonder if they weren't having an effect similar to when kids burn things using a magnifying glass and sunlight (obviously a much smaller effect). I can get a sense of the efficiency of lights by how many degrees the grow space is higher than the outer room temperature, and that space is running 10 degrees over ambient room temp, which is on the high side, so it got me thinking. There are of course many other factors that could be contributing to that.

While I might look further into reflectors, I don't think I'd put optics on my build.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I've been told nothing is real without pictures... so here are my parts so far, and some late night stoned sketches and notes (that while stoned I humorously referred to in a previous post as "mechanical drawings") in regards to my ideas about a contraption that can pivot on an axis, and expand or contract horizontally....

first_parts.jpg build_notes.jpg
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
you werent kidding about the size of that driver,, lol, I like the drawings, I was thinking about putting some plastic between the 2 pivots in the center, like cutting a milk jug and drilling a hole in the center of a flat part of the plastic and giving the 2 wings something to slide on , but that is the mechanic in me over thinking it, because those 2 wings wont be workin against each other, you will just set the angle and then it sits at that angle for most of the grow ?
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I appreciate the mechanic in you commenting! Yes, my idea is that I have two spaces of different shapes/sizes, so the light would be set at the angle best suited for the space. Probably the two wings would be connected with a single bolt with a wingnut, and loosened to adjust and then tightened. It could also have a set of either teflon coated or simply greased large washers, so that it could be tightened reasonably and then remain able to be adjusted on the fly.

The horizontal slides might be used more, as the COBs could be brought inward when they are young, and slid outward as the canopy grows -- that should be imagined in combination with the dimmer switch I intend to use -- less light when they are younger, brighter as they grow. I suppose the same effect can be reached with distance, but I like to have options. I have been accused of being a "belt and suspenders" kind of guy.

Hey Tim, can you smell the wildfires from where you are? I just came in from watering the outdoor girls, and its really smokey out there.
 
Tim Fox

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
i need to take a look again at the original BattlestarGangica thread and see how he did his wiring with the drawer slides, may give us some insight when its time to wire it up
 
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