DIY with Quantum Boards

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
I have to be honest I think the 3000k "closer to 3500k" boards now do an amazing job in Veg. I see it as a good middle of the road for both veg and flower. A dedicated QB 5000k for veg would be sweet to see for sure.
 

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
I have a rather large seed bank of heirlooms. I'm going to start some bell pepper and tomatoes for the deck this year in the tent. Looking forward to the multipurpose end of it.
 

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
Yes it does work fine and is a bit stretchy and I wonder if the blue in the 4k would help that or would you need less red and the same blue like the 5k.
My autos were stacked in veg. Light height and wattage play a role. If you look at the fan leaves in any of the grow pics under these boards you can tell the lights are putting out what the plant wants. I get to see that every time I open my tent
 

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
That is a very nice build! I love the custom dimmer housing! And thanks for the PAR map! Guessing you have the boards at ~125W?

Am I crazy but wouldn't a similar 550W quad-board fixture not compete with a DE1000 on a 4x4? One q-board on center per 2x2 grid....

I mean, the giant wharehouse ops have the gavitas stuck to the ceiling, with the whole room is getting an ambient 400-500 par. It seems like the same ballpark with the q-boards at 24" over the canopy.
Stephen thinks a 4 board rig is close to 1000 W HPS. Most of those Gavitas have 10 to 12 foot ceilings. I know someone in CO running 6 HPS SE 1000 watts in a 11 x 16 room and it is below zero outside. The not well insulated garage it still in the 80s'+ overnight because the lghts are so hot.

I hope the QBs can compete because Gavitas are even hotter than 1000 watt SE.
 

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
I moved my driver outside the tent for this reason, not that it was overly hot anyway. I used to use the 1k watt HIDs and it was a nightmare trying to keep the grow space cool. Now it feels like I'm using a 500w HID in a 2x2 without active cooling running at ambient temps. Way more easy to dial in atmospheric conditions.
 

MMJ Dreaming 99

Well-Known Member
I moved my driver outside the tent for this reason, not that it was overly hot anyway. I used to use the 1k watt HIDs and it was a nightmare trying to keep the grow space cool. Now it feels like I'm using a 500w HID in a 2x2 without active cooling running at ambient temps. Way more easy to dial in atmospheric conditions.
Our friends with the creepy golden death mask avatar said his QB board in a Mars Hydro case runs about 74 Deg F.
 

ChaosHunter

Well-Known Member
Our friends with the creepy golden death mask avatar said his QB board in a Mars Hydro case runs about 74 Deg F.
They may be using the active cooling fans that are in the Mars case. I'm just 2x boards, heat sinks and L channel lol. The couple of 6" clip fans I have running plus the 4" filter extraction keeps things cool. I have a small heater on a thermostat to keep the temps optomal.
 

Budzbuddha

Well-Known Member
They may be using the active cooling fans that are in the Mars case. I'm just 2x boards, heat sinks and L channel lol. The couple of 6" clip fans I have running plus the 4" filter extraction keeps things cool. I have a small heater on a thermostat to keep the temps optomal.
Yes the case fans play a good part in panel cooling. Twin fans ( i believe were 40cfm ) are on an independent driver to provide the 12v. The case interior is void of any obstructions so the fans blow across the full surface area of QB board. The case vents also helps and can feel good airflow from them.

Basically ... I can STILL improve the existing setup and just change the driver since the cooling upgrade is already there. These are just such an easy upgrade to ANY blurple panel. I am using the original chinese driver ( 1 of 6 that were removed ) so for what it is , its running phenomenal.
 

1000ppm

Well-Known Member
That makes me wonder if the 4k might be better than the 5k. It appears they both have the same amount of blue but the 4k just has a lot more red spectrum than the 5k. I don't want lanky plants but I sure don't want them compressed either.

I would rather them stretch and top them if needed.

@bassman999. What were you Vegging under?
 

bassman999

Well-Known Member
That makes me wonder if the 4k might be better than the 5k. It appears they both have the same amount of blue but the 4k just has a lot more red spectrum than the 5k. I don't want lanky plants but I sure don't want them compressed either.

I would rather them stretch and top them if needed.

@bassman999. What were you Vegging under?
5500K led street lights
 

bassman999

Well-Known Member
I'm pretty sure the ones they've been installing around here are closer to 3500-4000K. I like them; they don't produce eyestrain, they don't screw with your night vision like bluer lights do and yet they're plenty dammed bright- which, you know, would be kind of the point of having them in the first place!
These are like mini QBs, but use cree diodes
 
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