Questions on DIY cxb3590 for 4x3 area

captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
Hello all. I'm in final stages of planning my LED build and I had a few questions before I make my purchases. My current space is a 4'x3' box that's about 6'6" tall. I currently run an air cooled 600 hps. I'll be doing the popular 4 cxb3590's at 49w on a mean well driver. My question is whether 8 cob's will provide sufficient light for my space or if I should go ahead and build a 12 cob setup. Am I likely to see a noticeable increase in production by stepping up to one cob per sqft? I want to do this right the first time. Thanks.
 
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weed-whacker

weed-whacker

Well-Known Member
8 cobs at 50w each would be 870ppfd(anything above 700 is good with 1000 being super bright)

you could do 10 cobs at 1050 for more efficency on the same driver with the same watts getting you 980ppfd
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
Even better. Thank you for the suggestion. That would be running them at 35.5w each, correct? Suggestions for a good spacing with 10 cob's? I'll also do some searches. Thanks!!
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
captain crunch said:
I'm sure that's the case. But Will it rock hard enough to merit the extra cost and electricity usage vs 8@49 (392 watts) or [email protected] (355 watts)?

The ten on two hlg-185-1050's is 250 watts less than I'm running now with likely much better coverage and overall lighting.
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Based on your math here its actually less power using more cobz :)
Im not sure what the power loss might be on the dif drivers but i can say from personal experience that 1 cob per sq ft @ 1050ma will in fact.......rock the hizzy :)
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
sixstring2112 said:
Based on your math here its actually less power using more cobz :)
Im not sure what the power loss might be on the dif drivers but i can say from personal experience that 1 cob per sq ft @ 1050ma will in fact.......rock the hizzy :)
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what drivers would I need to run 12 @ 1050 to get to 1 cob per sq ft? would I still be looking at 35.5w each on the cob's?

Honestly hadn't considered 5 @ 1050 being an option because I didn't see ppfd #'s for that combo on Supra's thread. But after being told that's a better ppfd than 4@ 1400 I'll likely go with two of the 1050 combo rather than 2 or 3 of the 1400 combo. Really like the idea pulling so much less electricity. Might also help with my monthly elec bills due to less hot air being vented into the house.

I'm likely overthinking given my small space, really just want to start ordering parts. Lol.

Thanks for the help.
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo said:
If you use 36V 3590's then yes you can run 6 on a 240-1050 I chose the B model so I can add a pot an dim externally.
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Thank you again. Appreciate the advice on adding a dimmer. Thinking I may need it with this much light in my space.

Can anyone tell me what ppfd would be with 12 running at 1050 in my 12 sq ft? Or maybe show me how to calculate it. If I was looking at 980 with 10@1050 in my space I'm very curious to know what 12 will do. Am I correct that this setup will pull around 420 watts (running 12 @ 1050)?

Thanks again everyone.
 
weed-whacker

weed-whacker

Well-Known Member
I didn't suggest that driver because u would have too much light to need it.

U could consider then running at an even lower current(700ma) on that driver and just use one with I think 9 cobs or so

I'll have a look at my spreadsheet tonight
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
weed-whacker said:
I didn't suggest that driver because u would have too much light to need it.

U could consider then running at an even lower current(700ma) on that driver and just use one with I think 9 cobs or so

I'll have a look at my spreadsheet tonight
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Thanks for the input. I'm keeping my options open still as I haven't placed my order. With my space, running them at 700ma, wouldn't I need 16 to get over 800 ppfd? I like the numbers I'm seeing with 10 at 1050, and I think the light spread will be easier to control with 12 Cob's, so I'm looking for the best way to get 12 cob's at 1050ma. I think 12 at 1050 will get me just over 1000 ppfd, purely guesstimate as I don't know how to do the math. But I feel that's about as high as I want to go.

When you say too much light to need it, what exactly do you mean? Thanks for taking the time to help and explain. Needless to say, this is more complicated than when I had to decide between 400 and 600 hps for my area.

Looking forward to seeing what whatever setup can do compared to my hps.
 
weed-whacker

weed-whacker

Well-Known Member
captain crunch said:
Thanks for the input. I'm keeping my options open still as I haven't placed my order. With my space, running them at 700ma, wouldn't I need 16 to get over 800 ppfd? I like the numbers I'm seeing with 10 at 1050, and I think the light spread will be easier to control with 12 Cob's, so I'm looking for the best way to get 12 cob's at 1050ma. I think 12 at 1050 will get me just over 1000 ppfd, purely guesstimate as I don't know how to do the math. But I feel that's about as high as I want to go.

When you say too much light to need it, what exactly do you mean? Thanks for taking the time to help and explain. Needless to say, this is more complicated than when I had to decide between 400 and 600 hps for my area.

Looking forward to seeing what whatever setup can do compared to my hps.
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here is the thing, you would need 2 drivers anyway

HLG-240H-C700 10.9 cobs(so if u put 11 would run a bit softer)
HLG-240H-C1050 7 cobs
HLG-240H-C1400 5

what i ment is that this is a 250w driver, you need like 300w, 250 is too little and 500 too much

all numbers rounded
so with 10 cobs at 700mA(230watts)= 570ppfd
7 @ 1050(250watts)= 609ppfd
5@ 1400(250w)=540

i think this driver is really not suitable for you, maybe the HLG 320 and run all ur cobs off 1 driver

also id love to see some pics of your cab, im desighning my next(final) grow cab now
 
B

benbud89

Well-Known Member
I have the 200w driver, driving 2 bars of cxb3590. Just wanted to say the the internal dimmer is really easy to use. Just a small screwdriver does it. No biggie, unless you have a lot of different bars, is my take. If youre good at soldering, then no problem I guess
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
weed-whacker said:
here is the thing, you would need 2 drivers anyway

HLG-240H-C700 10.9 cobs(so if u put 11 would run a bit softer)
HLG-240H-C1050 7 cobs
HLG-240H-C1400 5

what i ment is that this is a 250w driver, you need like 300w, 250 is too little and 500 too much

all numbers rounded
so with 10 cobs at 700mA(230watts)= 570ppfd
7 @ 1050(250watts)= 609ppfd
5@ 1400(250w)=540

i think this driver is really not suitable for you, maybe the HLG 320 and run all ur cobs off 1 driver

also id love to see some pics of your cab, im desighning my next(final) grow cab now
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Thanks breaking that down. I've known all along I'll need at least two drivers. That's the reason running 10 or 12 @1050 seems most appealing. I can run two hlg-185h-c1050, or two hlg-240h-c1050 and be very close to, or at, the 1 Cob per sq ft number and do it all with roughly the same electricity (or even less, depending on 10 or 12) as 8 cxb's @1400. I'll try and get you some pics of my box. It's nothing special really. 4' wide, 3' deep, 3' wide door, Plywood construction from scrap in the garage, 6" hole in the top for the 6" Tjernlund Inline fan, insulated ducting to reduce the sound of the fan, all into a DIY carbon filter.

I'm actually going to be upgrading my box after I see a few runs under the LED's. Stepping up to a 6' wide X 4' deep area, and making a second identical bar to the one I'm making now. Hmm....with that in mind maybe I should only run 10 @1050ma. Two of those setups (total of 20 @1050ma) will pull just over 700w which isn't much more than I'm pulling now....wonder if the extra 142 watts in a 24 sq ft area would make that much difference in bud production.

sixstring2112 said:
This is the driver you want @captain crunch x 2 so 6 cobs per driver with wiggle room.
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Awesome. Thank you. When running a 250w driver, but the Cob's are only pulling 213w, is the pull at the wall closer to the drivers max of 250, or closer to the actual pull of the Cob's (213w).

Thanks for all the input everyone.
 
sixstring2112

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
I
captain crunch said:
Thanks breaking that down. I've known all along I'll need at least two drivers. That's the reason running 10 or 12 @1050 seems most appealing. I can run two hlg-185h-c1050, or two hlg-240h-c1050 and be very close to, or at, the 1 Cob per sq ft number and do it all with roughly the same electricity (or even less, depending on 10 or 12) as 8 cxb's @1400. I'll try and get you some pics of my box. It's nothing special really. 4' wide, 3' deep, 3' wide door, Plywood construction from scrap in the garage, 6" hole in the top for the 6" Tjernlund Inline fan, insulated ducting to reduce the sound of the fan, all into a DIY carbon filter.

I'm actually going to be upgrading my box after I see a few runs under the LED's. Stepping up to a 6' wide X 4' deep area, and making a second identical bar to the one I'm making now. Hmm....with that in mind maybe I should only run 10 @1050ma. Two of those setups (total of 20 @1050ma) will pull just over 700w which isn't much more than I'm pulling now....wonder if the extra 142 watts in a 24 sq ft area would make that much difference in bud production.



Awesome. Thank you. When running a 250w driver, but the Cob's are only pulling 213w, is the pull at the wall closer to the drivers max of 250, or closer to the actual pull of the Cob's (213w).

Thanks for all the input everyone.
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It will pull what its using,not the full rated power.unless you max the driver out with the perfect amount of cob draw.some guys will wire up some smaller reds or blue led to use up that extra power on the driver.look at @Growmau5 threads and you will see all sorts of neat ways to use that power and any extra change you might have tucked away in your wallet lol.
 
captain crunch

captain crunch

Well-Known Member
sixstring2112 said:
I

It will pull what its using,not the full rated power.unless you max the driver out with the perfect amount of cob draw.some guys will wire up some smaller reds or blue led to use up that extra power on the driver.look at @Growmau5 threads and you will see all sorts of neat ways to use that power and any extra change you might have tucked away in your wallet lol.
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Awesome, i'll check it out.

Your bushes inspired my to go 1 per sq ft @1050ma. lol.

I run a perpetual grow, so it's hard to get a gpw # on my current setup ( i run a blockhead pheno of Agent Orange). But i pulled a bush the other night that should come out to around 90g dry. I could probably fit 6 of those into my space, which comes to around .9 gpw. which is on par with my best runs under this 600 ( organic, super soil). I've gone a little higher when i ran a 1000w in my box (hydro, flood and drain), but the heat was just too much to control. Cant wait to see how much i can improve the gpw #, and not just by reducing the wattage the setup pulls.

Once again, thanks to everyone for the input.
 
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