Cxb3500 build for 3x3

[Norcalknugs]

I did Google it smart guy lol. That's where came up with the #37 drill bit, it is equivalent to .1040. Of course Lowe's did not have a #37 bit so I went with 3/32 as Iowa's the next one down. Will just have to take my time screwing them in.
Everything but Grayson's came today. Will add pics later tonight.

 

[Norcalknugs]

First package to arrive today was my cobs, holders and graphite pads from Cutter. This was the fastest shipping out of everything I ordered. Kinda funny since most everything ordered came from California which is where I live haha.Everything was prof Fe soon ally packed and as ordered. Not surprising since Mark at Cutter was hands down the best company I dealt with. He answered every question I had almost immediately. Pretty impressive considering the time difference. There is no doubt in my mind I will be doing business with Mark @welight in the future. Especially considering Straight road screwed me on drivers and now I have room for another cob per driver. Just have to wait for funds to come back up lol. It's amazing how quick all the little thi go have added up on this build. Mark gave me a tip for the graphite pad. Put them on the heatsink without removing the backing. Then put you can and holder over a d snug 1 screw. This will leave a indentation exactly where to trim the pad. I wasn't thinking and ordered the exact number I needed so no room for error there.

Next that came was my Secret Jardin 120 Lodge tent. It has a 3x3' area for flower then a 2x3' area for a mother and clones. What a ducking nightmare that was to build! Took me probably 2 hours to put together, I can put our 10 person camping tent up by myself in about 10 minutes. Some of the WORST directions I have ever dealt with. Hydrobuilder who I ordered it from on the other hand was a joy to do business with. I will go to them again in the future.

1 of my Mean Well Apv 12-12 showed up along with it. This came separate as Straight Road screwed up again and never sent it with the first package. Then I looked at my bank account today and they charged me $7 for it! When I believe they already charged me the first time. So disappointed with Straight Road, I advise all to stay clear. For those who are just reading this and not the whole thread. Straight Road had listed that they had 2 of the hlg-240h-c2100b in stock. So I went and ordered 6 cobs based off this driver. I asked for a discount because of it. They gave me $0.60 per ducking driver. A whopping $1.20 saving. Fuck Straight Road!

Tonight my other package from Straight Road came. 2 hlg-240h-c1750bs and my second 12-12.Heatsink will be here tomorrow. Have 2 30" 5.8" profile coming from heatsinkusa. This will be my final part and I will build them Saturday, have a big job interview for my dream job tomorrow. So as excited as I am they will have to wait haha.

Finally I went to Lowe's and hopefully go the last of things I need. I got a 8ft 16g extension cord to chop the female end off to power the fans. A 8ft 12g pigtail cord with the female end already missing to power the drivers. 8 1/4"x4" eyebolts to hang the lights with. A set of 2 titanium 3/32" drill bits to pre drill cob holder screws.and 20ft of 18awg 3 line wire. A quick $40 trip. Like I said the costs just keep adding up.

Next update will be the build!!!! Stay tuned everyone!

 

[giantsfan24]

How does the driver change affect your ppfd and wattage or does it?

 

[grouch]

After you drill and send a screw into the heatsink you may need to flatten it again. I got little bulges around the screw holes and needed to sand them out before actually mounting the cob/holder.

 

[Norcalknugs]

@giantsfan24 wattage dropped from 453 to 378. So quite a lot! Ppfd with the 2100 would have been 1300. Have not calculated the new Ppfd because I'm pissed lol.
Thanks for the tip @grouch . What grit did you end up using to knock them down? I really enjoy your comments, I feel you are one of the few on this forum who actually understands what they talking about. Not just repeating something someone told them, really not knowing what they are talking about. I also breed dwarf freshwater shrimp and the same things happen there. People are to lazy to do their own research and end up spreading falsities.

 

[grouch]

In a planted tank? I like to breed guppies myself and have been keeping tanks since I was a kid. I even ran a micro aquaponics system for one grow cycle but it was a pita.

I really enjoy reading and learning on these forums and most of the info I pass along is just from other posts I read but some of it comes from my own experiences too.

As far as the drivers go, I think you will be happier with the lower current ones. They will allow expansion in the future and will be plenty bright. 1300ppfd is getting into "co2 required" territory imo.

 

[grouch]

Link to my cab

 

[Norcalknugs]

In a planted tank? I like to breed guppies myself and have been keeping tanks since I was a kid. I even ran a micro aquaponics system for one grow cycle but it was a pita.

I really enjoy reading and learning on these forums and most of the info I pass along is just from other posts I read but some of it comes from my own experiences too.

As far as the drivers go, I think you will be happier with the lower current ones. They will allow expansion in the future and will be plenty bright. 1300ppfd is getting into "co2 required" territory imo.

Well you seem like an intelligent person, much more intelligent than some of the people on here haha. I never did get into guppies. Started with high tech planted tanks. High output lights with pressurized co2. Still have a really nice dual stage Mathewson regulator, burkert solenoid and ideal needle valve. Could very easily move onto the co2 game haha. Hence why I wanted the 2100 drivers. I could just run dimmed the first couple runs till I get everything dialed in and then start cranking it all up without the worry of upgrading. Guess I could always just buy the 2100s and sell my 1750s once they are available, but that is besides the point lol!

I never did get into guppies for some reason. There are some beautiful high dollar ones out there. I saw shrimp with doing the planted tanks and instantly fell in love. They are some of the hardest animals to keep and breed under water. Requiring exact water parameters achieved by ro and active substrates. Some go for thousands of dollars in the Asian market. Here are some pics of my shrimp. The most expensive being $200 and the cheapest $30
And one of my favorite planted tanks. Anyway back to my build. My boy who was supposed to help me flaked and has not answered a text or call all week. Super pissed as I always drop everything to help him trim. Me and my wife even cleaned his entire rental house when he had to move earlier this winter. Oh well duck him, he better not call me at trim time.


So I had to go buy a drill today as it is the one tool I do not own. I bought the $70 harbor freight drill press special. Figured this way I do not have to worry about drill speed/pressure and most importantly straight holes. It's pretty freaking sweet for $70.Got some more packages also. Ago connectors, automatic center punch and my #4 screws for the holders.Servocity certainly won my son over by sending a small bag of candy with the order. Nice little touch the separates them from the rest. They seem to have a great selection and packaging/shipping was high quality and super fast. Will be using them for all screw needs in the future.

Unfortunately my heatsinks did not come today as they were scheduled to. This means I'll have to wait around all day tomorrow so I'm home to receive the package and finally start building. Want these done this weekend.

 

[giantsfan24]

Dude! I've got a 20% off coupon for hf! Lol

I've heard mixed reviews about it. Does it seem will made?

 

[Norcalknugs]

Dude! I've got a 20% off coupon for hf! Lol

I've heard mixed reviews about it. Does it seem will made?

Yes they guy in front me used one. Got a 20% coupon at checkout but it was for the 26th and I am impatient haha. I spent $100 so could have saved $20, oh well.

I am not a connoisseur of drill presses, or really know anything at all about them. But it feels like you could recoup already half the purchase price in scrap lol. We will see tomorrow hopefully. I'll be sure to let you know what I think. I am using self tapping screws, so only 12 3/32" holes. Plus another 28 3/32 for wire holes and fan mounting, 8 1/4" for eye bolts for hangers. So actually I have quite a few holes to drill lol.
Got the power hooked up to drivers and drivers wired all the way out to where they will meet the first cobs.
The waterproof connectors I used didn't come with instructions and I messed one up. So now I will have to try to source locally. If not I can just use ago till I get more.

 

[giantsfan24]

Yes they guy in front me used one. Got a 20% coupon at checkout but it was for the 26th and I am impatient haha. I spent $100 so could have saved $20, oh well.

I am not a connoisseur of drill presses, or really know anything at all about them. But it feels like you could recoup already half the purchase price in scrap lol. We will see tomorrow hopefully. I'll be sure to let you know what I think. I am using self tapping screws, so only 12 3/32" holes. Plus another 28 3/32 for wire holes and fan mounting, 8 1/4" for eye bolts for hangers. So actually I have quite a few holes to drill lol.
Got the power hooked up to drivers and drivers wired all the way out to where they will meet the first cobs.
The waterproof connectors I used didn't come with instructions and I messed one up. So now I will have to try to source locally. If not I can just use ago till I get more.

Awesome! I'm interested in how the drill press works as I'm thinking of getting one myself. Good luck drilling!

 

[Jp.the.pope]

@Airwalker16 thanks for the input. Just looked and man these fans are efficient .08 and only .96 watts haha. Stills moves 68 cfm at 12v. I will be using 2 fans per hs, and my 2 apv 12-12 will be here tomorrow. I had ordered 2 just to keep each hs separate not even knowing what fan I would use. Looks like my drivers will have a very light load haha, should help to their longevity.

As far as the screws good I appreciate your help but I would have to disagree with you on your way being the easiest solution. The m3 are metric, Ideal likely speed these for customers outside the US. Hence their scarcity and you having to buy from out of the country. If you look at the Ideal PDF, they also state #4 or 5 pan head screws can be used. I'm not sure where people got the information that m3s were the best /only option but I feel people should know there are much easier options. I got 48 #4 Philips pan head black oxide finished self tapping screws. Posted it on the other thread talking about screws but here is where I got them.https://www.servocity.com/html/_4_pan_head_phillip_screws__bl.html
They were like $12 shipped, will have them tomorrow 2 days after ordering.

I used #4 - 40 self tapping hex head screws

 

[Norcalknugs]

OK got the lights together by 2am last night lol,heatsinks did not come till late.
One of them is putting out a ton of light, the other seems to be running at only half power!! I checked all connections ten times over. So I went and bought a multimeter. Only issue is I have no idea how to use it! I have watched a few YouTube videos but am having a hard time relating it to this application.
I don't usually like asking for help but could someone please walk me through how to check everything?? Pretty pretty please lol.

 

[Norcalknugs]

Dimming leads are not touching by the way.

 

[Norcalknugs]

The driver of the light that's bright is about twice as hot as the dim lights driver

 

[Norcalknugs]

Any help?? Would like a little knowledge when I talk to straightroad tomorrow.
Oh well some pics of the build. BTW @giantsfan24 the drill press kicked ass!! Couldn't imagine doing that many holes with a hand drill. Seriously made my life easy. You can see how much brighter the one light is in this picture. Drivers mounted outside the tent. The light has been running all day and still cool to the touch. Driver is way hotter than the heatsink, glad I remote mounted them.

 

[giantsfan24]

Cool! Is the wattage you're quoting the draw from the wall or is it output? I'm glad the drill press is working out. I was at HF in r'ville and almost pulled the trigger on the press. I remember reading how a guy bought one and said it sucked so I held off. Glad it's working for you.

If I may ask... How did you decide to go with two drivers? I want to create a 6 cob light and the best option I could see for my 2.5 x 2.5 was what you came up with. Looking at your numbers though... That's a lot of light and might be way overkill but would manage it with dimming. This gives me options going forward in case I decide to go a bit bigger space wise.

 

[Norcalknugs]

Cool! Is the wattage you're quoting the draw from the wall or is it output? I'm glad the drill press is working out. I was at HF in r'ville and almost pulled the trigger on the press. I remember reading how a guy bought one and said it sucked so I held off. Glad it's working for you.

If I may ask... How did you decide to go with two drivers? I want to create a 6 cob light and the best option I could see for my 2.5 x 2.5 was what you came up with. Looking at your numbers though... That's a lot of light and might be way overkill but would manage it with dimming. This gives me options going forward in case I decide to go a bit bigger space wise.

I think I live pretty close to you. I didn't own a drill and the press seemed to be the best route. I hate trying to drill straight holes with a hand drill. I used the same bit for all my holes. No smoke no broken drill bits. Simply set to the slowest speed and sent them through. Easiest part of the whole build lol. If you are close you can just borrow mine.
I went with 2 drivers simply to keep the two bars separate. That way if my set up ever changes or their is a issue it is only one light. The one bar of 3 at 1750 is kicking ass on its own.
Straightroad ducked me around all last week having me test things. I have never had such issue with exchanging a defective item. Finally got them to give me a return label on Friday. But they want to do more tests. Have a feeling they will find a way to dick me. Hands down the worst company I dealt with during the whole build.
I have the money so I snagged the last 1750 mouser had. Sick of waiting on straightroad.

 

[giantsfan24]

I think I live pretty close to you. I didn't own a drill and the press seemed to be the best route. I hate trying to drill straight holes with a hand drill. I used the same bit for all my holes. No smoke no broken drill bits. Simply set to the slowest speed and sent them through. Easiest part of the whole build lol. If you are close you can just borrow mine.
I went with 2 drivers simply to keep the two bars separate. That way if my set up ever changes or their is a issue it is only one light. The one bar of 3 at 1750 is kicking ass on its own.
Straightroad ducked me around all last week having me test things. I have never had such issue with exchanging a defective item. Finally got them to give me a return label on Friday. But they want to do more tests. Have a feeling they will find a way to dick me. Hands down the worst company I dealt with during the whole build.
I have the money so I snagged the last 1750 mouser had. Sick of waiting on straightroad.

I've got a pretty high powered hand drill so thought I'd just use that but I've got a furniture project I've got to build a peice for so I thought the easiest way to go would be the press.

Cutter looks like they've got drivers on their site so I might just go with them for cob's and drivers as well as other stuff I'll need. They seem to pair the the cob's and drivers together so I think I'll end up going that way. With the discount, shipping is essentially free..

I'm glad you're doing this build. It's pretty much what I'll be doing and all the research I've done over the last month points to this being the best option for the design I want to create.

Oh and yeah I figured we lived close based on what you said.

 

[Norcalknugs]

I see the light! Got sick of waiting on Straightroad so I ordered a the last hlg-240h-c1750b mouser had. Surprise surprise the light kit right up at full blast. All I can say is straight up Fuck Straightroad.

I was finally able to get them to pay return shipping on Friday, but these cheap fucks wouldn't even pay to have it professionally boxed. FedEx told me they would get it Monday. It's now Wednesday night and still word from them. I will be writing them a email saying I want my money back. Have a feeling they will try to bitch out. They are the worst company I have dealt with in recent memory.

Sorry for all the bitching about straightroad just want people to know before they buy from them.

Enough negativity, this light is baller. Could not be happier it all finally came together. There are 2 La Plata Alien Blues and 2 Exotic Genetix Gutbuster in the seed tray. Started germing Friday and they already have their first set of leaves starting to show.
Super excited about growing some fire under these new lights.
That's a week and a half of growth under a single 3 cob light. Can't wait to see what 2 will do. As you can see I have also had a few hiccups. Between it being only my second grow ever, first time in coco, first time setting up and trying to dial in automated irrigation and first real powerful light. Considering all those things I am beyond happy with results so far.
These plants could either be sour sherburt, kosher kush or blue dream. Obviously 3 are heavy indica and one saliva. What are your guesses?