LED Help - Please don't hate me ;-)

Atulip

Well-Known Member
The vero 18s run at 29.5 and you could pick any of the 36 volt cobs to run with them.

That's 118v from the veros and 72 from the other two which puts you at 190v on the nose lol.


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Well it looks like both Vero29s and cxa3070s pull slightly over 36v @ 1.05A. Cxb3070s would work.
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
Efficiency. About 1k lumens more for 3590 vs 3070 Both at 36v 1.4A. Plus the 3590s come in 72v, which lets me run it on the .7A mars drivers for the same light output as the 36v @ 1.4A.
You know, when comparing the data sheets of both cob's, the 3590 looks to be between 2500 to 3000 lumens higher than the 3070. Of course it's all about how you drive it I guess..am I not looking at the right numbers?

Looking back on this thread, it's pretty amazing you all put up with my uneducated self...geez I've learned a ton! Thanks to everyone!
 

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
Ok so here's the thing...

I've been lurking in this DYI LED forum, and others, for what seems like months getting a little information here and there about building my own light.

The reason I'm thinking about building my own light is because my space is small and I could custom make it to fit the box out of top quality materials.

I'm not an inexperienced grower but have only grown with HID. I want to switch over to LED because I believe I could potentially get more than one grow cycle in per year as heat would not be an issue for me with LED's like it has been with HPS.

Here's what I think I need:

1) To replace the production of a 400w HID system. My grow space is 2.5' x 2.5' x 4.5' custom built cabinet for the purpose of growing/drying/curing. My last grow yielded 15oz of flowers. While I'm not married to that amount, I'd like to come close.

2) A list of what I need. Here's what I think I need. Please correct me if I'm leading myself astray (it happens! lol):

a. CREE or VERO COB's - I don't want the old school, or what I consider so, colored LED panels. I'd like full spectrum, 3500K or a Kelvin that I can veg/flower with.
b. Mean Well drivers
c. Arctic cpu coolers
d. I have the tools already
e. a schematic of how to put it together.
f. a list of the ancillary items I'll need to get to facilitate the build. (thermal paste, wire, etc)

My budget isn't limited for this project. That said, I don't see this costing more than $600. Am I wrong?

What I'm finding is useless to me at this point:

a. What ma everything runs at. While I have a technical background, wiring and electricity are somewhat foreign to me.

I am handy and love to build my own stuff. Essentially what I need is for someone in the know to say "hey stupid, here's a link for what you're looking for". I won't be offended, I promise. My brain is swimming in technical details about this and while I will continue to watch the same video over and over and over to grasp the concepts, I'd like to get started.

Any resources that could be shared would be much appreciated!

I'm an LED noob...so sue me. :-) Thanks!

read this first post by a 'guilty noob' and all i can say is i wish most people who asked questions here were 1/10 as well versed as OP
 

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
You know, when comparing the data sheets of both cob's, the 3590 looks to be between 2500 to 3000 lumens higher than the 3070. Of course it's all about how you drive it I guess..am I not looking at the right numbers?

Looking back on this thread, it's pretty amazing you all put up with my uneducated self...geez I've learned a ton! Thanks to everyone!
and, i skip to the last post

short answer: 3590s are more efficient than anything else across the board and unless you are either too poor to eat or planning on using them for 1-2 cycles only, there is absolutely no reason not to buy the most efficient chip in a given spectrum as the efficiency will quickly pay for itself, then keep on giving long afterwards
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
and, i skip to the last post

short answer: 3590s are more efficient than anything else across the board and unless you are either too poor to eat or planning on using them for 1-2 cycles only, there is absolutely no reason not to buy the most efficient chip in a given spectrum as the efficiency will quickly pay for itself, then keep on giving long afterwards
That's what I've come around to. My build will not be the same as I had originally planned. When I built my last box, I did a lot of things on the cheap and ended up changing over later to what everyone said would be the best thing for my situation. I spent lots of money I didn't need to as a result. Won't happen this time. I'm taking my time and learning from the great members here to make sure I get it right the first time.

It's very likely that I won't build another light and that, for this space, this will be more than enough for my needs. I love this forum...it's the best. :-)
 

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
and, i skip to the last post

short answer: 3590s are more efficient than anything else across the board and unless you are either too poor to eat or planning on using them for 1-2 cycles only, there is absolutely no reason not to buy the most efficient chip in a given spectrum as the efficiency will quickly pay for itself, then keep on giving long afterwards
Well here is absolutely 1 reason why you would not buy the 3590's. Live in Canada. Regardless of where I order from, after you add exchange rate, tax and shipping a 3590 costs $75-$100cdn. I can order Vero 29's for $37cdn plus minor tax and shipping, not even $45cdn a cob total. I have no choice really but I don't feel like using a Vero 29 will be substandard in any way at all. It just won't run quite as efficiently but when it costs twice as much it's fairly irrelevant. Buying only 8 cobs would cost me over $300cdn more to get cxb3590's.
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
Well here is absolutely 1 reason why you would not buy the 3590's. Live in Canada. Regardless of where I order from, after you add exchange rate, tax and shipping a 3590 costs $75-$100cdn. I can order Vero 29's for $37cdn plus minor tax and shipping, not even $45cdn a cob total. I have no choice really but I don't feel like using a Vero 29 will be substandard in any way at all. It just won't run quite as efficiently but when it costs twice as much it's fairly irrelevant. Buying only 8 cobs would cost me over $300cdn more to get cxb3590's.
Yup, that makes total sense. Faced with a similar situation, I would feel just as you do.
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
and, i skip to the last post

short answer: 3590s are more efficient than anything else across the board and unless you are either too poor to eat or planning on using them for 1-2 cycles only, there is absolutely no reason not to buy the most efficient chip in a given spectrum as the efficiency will quickly pay for itself, then keep on giving long afterwards

Well if you can buy 5 x cxb3070s cheaper than 4 x cxb3590s, you'll get the same efficiency running slightly lower watts per chip.

Cutter for example. $194 us for 4x 3590s. $165 for 5x 3070.

And running equal watts each you see about 10% more light output for 3590s over 3070s. So you could also run one extra 3070 per 10 in your setup. 10% more overall wattage for the same light output.

Example of 1.4A for both chips. 89,000 lumens for 490w with 10x 3590s, 90,000 lumens for 550w with 11x 3070s. Cutter prices $48 per 3590, $33 per 3070, $117 saved, even with an extra $20 in expenses for that 1 chip extra(reflector, holder, etc), additional electricity will be $31 a year(.12kwh, 12/12). So the 3590 becomes a better value at around year 4 in this scenerio.


I also made a series of posts in this thread last month about this.
 
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BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
Well if you can buy 5 x cxb3070s cheaper than 4 x cxb3590s, you'll get the same efficiency running slightly lower watts per chip.

Cutter for example. $194 us for 4x 3590s. $165 for 5x 3070.

And running equal watts each you see about 10% more light output for 3590s over 3070s. So you could also run one extra 3070 per 10 in your setup. 10% more overall wattage for the same light output.

Example of 1.4A for both chips. 89,000 lumens for 490w with 10x 3590s, 90,000 lumens for 550w with 11x 3070s. Cutter prices $48 per 3590, $33 per 3070, $117 saved, even with an extra $20 in expenses for that 1 chip extra(reflector, holder, etc), additional electricity will be $31 a year(.12kwh, 12/12). So the 3590 becomes a better value at around year 4 in this scenerio.

I also made a series of posts in this thread last month about this.
i tend to think of the chips as an investment, so you'll have little advantage after 3 years and it will be a loss after that
 

Atulip

Well-Known Member
i tend to think of the chips as an investment, so you'll have little advantage after 3 years and it will be a loss after that
Well that's if you drive them at the same current. For the price difference, cutter at least, you could almost run 3 x 3070s vs 2x 3590. You'd see 4-10 additional lumens per watt this way, depending on how hard you're driving them.
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
my suggestion is to build Just One 2 foot heatsink bar and pack as many cobs on it as your driver will handle.
five 3070s at 1050 on an hlg 185 works well. One heatsink, one driver, one fan ... its a module!

That will ensure you have more than enough light, and if you want to add one more later thats cool but not necessary.
How about 5 3070's vs 5 3590's on a 240-1400? It's slightly less efficient but what would the par watts and ppf difference be there?

Would 5 cob's in a line affect my spread? What about a wider heatsink with the cob's staggered one left edge, one right edge for example?
 
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PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
How about 5 3070's vs 5 3590's on a 240-1400? It's slightly less efficient but what would the par watts and ppf difference be there?

Would 5 cob's in a line affect my spread? What about a wider heatsink with the cob's staggered one left edge, one right edge for example?
Look at the efficiency charts AND your cost to decide which one you want. The 3590s are a bit more efficient, so it really depends on the cost differential and if the extra cost is worth it to you.

You can get all fancy to spread them in perfect patterns, but unless you go with a much wider heatsink around 12" wide its just not worth the extra effort. A heatsink around 5" wide is plenty for a single string of cobs.
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
Look at the efficiency charts AND your cost to decide which one you want. The 3590s are a bit more efficient, so it really depends on the cost differential and if the extra cost is worth it to you.

You can get all fancy to spread them in perfect patterns, but unless you go with a much wider heatsink around 12" wide its just not worth the extra effort. A heatsink around 5" wide is plenty for a single string of cobs.
As far as efficiency charts, are you referring to the cob/driver matching spreadsheet? Actually, the 10" or 12"is what I was considering.
 

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
this is what you want giants fan. you can put 3590 side by side with 3070

make sure to select the right bin for both and also realize cree doesnt pride measurements under 1.4A for 3590

pct.cree.com/dt/index.html
 

giantsfan24

Well-Known Member
6 cxb3070 @ .7A gets you ~650ppfd in a 2.5'x2.5' 141watts

6 cxb3070 @ 1.05A gets ~930ppfd in a 2.5'x2.5' 218watts

@bassman999 with cxb3590 vs cxb3070, you have to think of missed oportunity costs as well. For Op's 6 cobs, it's $102 more for 3590 over 3070. For that amount of money you could buy an extra 3070 which more than makes up the light output difference, and you're still left with an extra $70 saved. Put that towards electricity and you can run that extra cob @ 1.4A for free for about 18 months @ 18/6. By then we're all probably upgrading to cxb6599s with thier 30,000lumens or whatever crazy shit they have out by then.
What driver would I need to run 6 cob's efficiently at 1.05a that would achieve that?
 

littlejacob

Well-Known Member
What driver would I need to run 6 cob's efficiently at 1.05a that would achieve that?
Bonjour
You will need an hlg-240-1050 to do that!
As for hs size and spread...just use 1hs per cob and make something with aluminium L shape to carry all the hs to be able to have 1 cob per sq/ft but less hs to buy...a few inch less but!
CU
 
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