In the Valley LED Strip Build

InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
Yo fellas, whats good.

Well, all that needs done now, is the Top. Waiting on the grills for the fans, should be here today. So, still going to be a few days, I need a nice day to paint the top.

Anyways, Its usable. Have to make the brackets for the Fans, because they are going to be attached to the aluminum sheet. So, the top, will just have the grills for the fans on it, thats it. Easy pop top.

It stays pretty cool at 11 volts, which i think is where Im going to keep it all the time.

So, at 11 volts, 164watts,

Par at 12" is 880, lux at 42,000
Par at 18" is 630, lux at 32,000
Par at 24" is 520,
Par at 42" is 310,

Those are center meesures, and ofcourse, it falls off around 30% to the edge.

Ill tell ya what tho, glad its almost done. All the hand sanding was a nightmare, and still didnt come out GradeA-, lol.. I got to the point, I was like, OK, good enough, I could spend another week on it, lol.. A few minor paint touchups i can do where paint came off from the tape.

When I ran out of the last batch of sandpaper i bought, that was the end for the sanding.

Concidering I had really no tools, but a old hacksaw, a Drill, a file, and a cheap orbital hand sander, It could of took less time. Something that would of took 20 seconds in a shop, I took 20 minutes by hand, HUH.. WTF was I thinking.

Elbow feels like a pitched an entire World series,lol..

Need to get rachet hangers or whatever their called. SO that is the last thing i have to buy. In the end, the Light gear was conciderabley cheap, but the other shit like sandpaper, all purpose filler, paint, wire, shrinktube, masking tape, and all that shit, was about the same as the light it seemed..

Here it is. Plants are now 21 days from seed. As you can see, a smaller one got light burn i suspect, ( FROM OTHER LIGHT, MARS300 WIth Lenses). took a few days for it to show,.. The plant in the back, on the right, Im callin it now, I think is a male. Keep in mind, I think i can tell sex before flowering and after 4th node created. Thiis light has just been running a couple hours, so new to the plants

OK, fellas, fire away, and thanks for input and help thru the way. BigGreenThumb, THANKS BRO,
 

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Big Green Thumb

Big Green Thumb

Well-Known Member
Glad I could be of help. It is amazing how a simple, cheap light can take so much time. Your light looks great and you took more time to make a nice finished product. Take pride in it - you deserve it.

If it were me, I would crank it up to 200 watts or so once the plants are acclimated. That's a nice 50 watts per square foot.
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
Thanks BGT,

It was a good time building it tho, took my mind off some things. I kinda expected it to be a pain in the butt at times. Considering I used 1/4 ply. Theres more work to it then it looks,lol.. I did put in switches, they are on the side, forgot to take a pic of them. I didnt have a drillbit big enough for them, so i had to use a sqaure 1 inch file to make them big enough, LOL. Bro, my forearm hurt like a motha, Took like 45 minutes to do the 2 holes,SMH. The paint is acctually Green Hammered look paint, but I didnt get the hammered look, but then again, Ive never even really used a spray paint in my life. Must be somekind of trick to it, lol..

I have 4 more seeds Im waiting on to pop, to get a good see from sprout.

Seeing the Mars300 had lenses, and i couldnt put it any closer then like 30 inches, they will love this nice suttle light I suppose.

Never really thought about taking the lenses off it tho, lol, just didnt feel like dealing with it anymore.

Once i get the fans in, and like you said, a few days maybe, Ill crank it up to 200watts for sure..

ok man, have a great day!!
 
nogod_

nogod_

Well-Known Member
Light looks great, that picture format is weird and makes it hard to see whats going on.

Its a clean build and will likely perform as good or better than cobs....only one way to find out though! :weed:
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
nogod_ said:
Light looks great, that picture format is weird and makes it hard to see whats going on.

Its a clean build and will likely perform as good or better than cobs....only one way to find out though! :weed:
Click to expand...
Hey nogod_, thanks. If you click directly on the pic once it loads, it makes it fullsize. At least on mine it does.

had 4 beans crack open today, so we will see.

The 4 i have now are under just the 5000K spectrum, using 85 watts, at 30 inches, and they are lovin it(300PAR-20,000lux). I have to still get my KindSoil, so these are just FFOF plain, no added nutes. The next 4 sprouts will go in FFOF too, then transplant to KindSoil+FFOF combo at 21 days, top, then flower at 28 days. I also have the GrowMau night puck, so that should work out pretty good for flower, pumped about that. lol..

Have a great Friday Brother,
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
Kerovan said:
Nope, it stays a tiny vertical strip.
Click to expand...
Ooooh, OK, I wasnt aware of that. Ill have to change it then. THANKS for the heads up on it Kerovan.

if Im looking at a thread, and a pic is there, I click it, goes to another page to open the pic, then after it loads, I hit the pic itself, and it expands. i assumed it did that for everyone, lol..
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
StonerCol said:
Okay but do you have any specs on them? Manufacturers datasheet etc? I'm in UK and havent seen them on eBay UK....
Click to expand...
I know they are 5730 diodes, it says 15Watts each strip, If i go by other datasheets, and go with the crappiest bin, Ill go by those numbers, lol.. So these diodes I expect at least 20lm each, but the cieling is something like 55-60lm i think it was.

it says each strip is 3450lm each, thats all it really says.

I should be able to push 300 watts thru them, if each is 15 wattsx20=300

But if i adjust my powersupply, my meter is only good for 20Amp, and it will surpass that. I dont know if it burns out or what, but didnt want to try it. My powersupply is good for 360watts, 30amp.
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
the other thing is, I dont know what the max volts i can push either. So, yeah, it was a crap-shoot i guess you can say. My main objective was to see how they worked. If they dont, i can easily replace the strip down the road. ultimate goal is a 8x8 tent for veggies, like peppers and tomatoes. I eat alot of them, and the stores produce is freakin horrible. If these work, Id build them differantly, thats for sure. This rig is great for a 2x2, I think, but if I went larger scale, id space them different and have 1 wire run to a control center for them all.

It is experimental, lol.. They sure are alot brighter then my Mars300, and not being laser beamed with light.
 
InTheValley

InTheValley

Well-Known Member
how do i post pics that show on the screen instead of the small thumb to click on? anyone know? Thru the forum, I see some that are already on the screen and some you have to click on.
 
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