Switching HPS to LED

[ChiefRunningPhist]

Ya pretty tough to beat the CMH.

Lots of companies selling LED. I bought mine off Alibaba. The non-Alibaba LEDs will typically have higher quality, or such is the narrative. GreenMachineCa is the only company to have the new LM301H chips that I know of (250lm/watt!), you'd have to ask him specifically for lights with those chips because I'm sure he'd try to get rid of old stock first.

https://greenmachineca.com/collections/frontpage

 

[Bookush34]

I’ll second timber grow lights.
That’s what I built my set up from.
Very happy.

 

[ChiefRunningPhist]

I've also heard good things about Timber. I just want to say that I have no dog in the fight. I have no brand loyalty, I buy based on what chip the light is supposed to have, and that's pretty much it. I was looking to buy lm301h and came across a YouTube unboxing of the model and that's how I came across GreenMachineCa. I make my own lights now.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/new-light.986561/

If youre looking at a light to purchase, throw it up here, these guys can help you troubleshoot and walk you through the different design +'s and -'s. Good luck

 

[budman410]

Timber a little out my budget range of 500. If I’m satisfied with how this change go I’ll invest in a custom setup. Any suggestions of leds in that range. So far im leaning toward cmh it seem like a good middle ground between led and hps. With cob style led being a close runner up?

 

[pulpoinspace]

Horticulture lighting group sells 4 packs of the QB132 v1 for 109

2 of those packs, plus 2 HLG-240h-36b will set you back about $350, get you about 500w of samsung lm561c

youd have to wire it and figure out how to hang it yourself

plug and play the cheapest is timber.

 

[budman410]

Horticulture lighting group sells 4 packs of the QB132 v1 for 109

2 of those packs, plus 2 HLG-240h-36b will set you back about $350, get you about 500w of samsung lm561c

youd have to wire it and figure out how to hang it yourself

plug and play the cheapest is timber.

I think it may be QB for the win, did a quick search on it seems very promising for my SOG..in a couple months I’ll pick up a timber l setup to compare..hopefully y’all will be as helpful as y’all was in this thread when it’s time for me to build it lol. You guys rock thanks everyone will keep y’all dated

 

[budman410]

So they are out of stock at HLG any other recommended suppliers?
Ok so the suggest 132 are in stock. It’s the 288 that’s not in stock. Thinking about just pulling the trigger and grabbing a bunch of them. Any alternatives before I grab a couple orders of the 132 from them

 

[CoB_nUt]

The 132s are a great deal.No heatsink required.Angle Aluminum for a frame,mount the driver,a couple of wagos and two plugs.Bam.Done.

 

[budman410]

The 132s are a great deal.No heatsink required.Angle Aluminum for a frame,mount the driver,a couple of wagos and two plugs.Bam.Done.

Ok so I need to get the more juice is always better out of my mind as long as they get enough light it’s going to equate similar in yield. Wagos and plugs ? Ok now it’s time to read through some threads.
Anything else I should get specifically from their site

 

[Covetsculitvars]

Just be careful with some of the advice your getting, some really want to see u do well, others have their tongues up others asses and could care less.....avoid them if u can! Lol

 

[budman410]

It’s ok tried and true makes people scared of change lol. I’m itching to order, is this sale common it’s really making me a little impatient for answers. For now I’ll just order 2-3 of those 4 packs of 132 and one 4K pack for veg. I’m scared the sale going to end that happens to me a lot

 

[ChiefRunningPhist]

Ya, @budman410 the HLG 132 should work. They have the LM301b which is one of the top 3 chips made. 4/$135 isn't bad! I'd go with (8 ) per 4x 4. [75w × 8 = 600w], or what your target was for the 4x 4. (1) 600h-36 will power (8 ) boards if you wire them in parallel. You would need (2) of the 600w drivers for (2) 4x 4 rooms or (16) panels total.

Like what @CoB_nUt said, you could just throw some angle aluminum together for a frame. He may have some pics to show from previous builds but a quick search and you can see.

 

[budman410]

Ya, @budman410 the HLG 132 should work. They have the LM301b which is one of the top 3 chips made. 4/$135 isn't bad! I'd go with (8 ) per 4x 4. [75w × 8 = 600w], or what your target was for the 4x 4. (1) 600h-36 will power (8 ) boards if you wire them in parallel. You would need (2) of the 600w drivers for (2) 4x 4 rooms or (16) panels total.

Like what @CoB_nUt said, you could just throw some angle aluminum together for a frame. He may have some pics to show from previous builds but a quick search and you can see.

Thank youuuu, exactly what I needed to see, I would love to buy all the things now for that price but I’ll pace myself and I’m sure in the next couple months a new update is coming out.oh you edited lol. Where should I get the drivers? 4K good for veg?...eventually I may want to add more boards and scale up should I go with a bigger driver

 

[ChiefRunningPhist]

Thank youuuu, exactly what I needed to see, I would love to buy all the things now for that price but I’ll pace myself and I’m sure in the next couple months a new update is coming out.oh you edited lol. Where should I get the drivers? 4K good for veg?...eventually I may want to add more boards and scale up should I got with a bigger driver

Yes, 4000k is great for veg! If you are only using for veg you can do half the panels too. That way itd only be (4) per 4x 4.

Meanwell maxes out @ 600w for their HLG series, but you could still get (2) of the 600w drivers and that way if you did add more than (4) 132 panels per 4x 4 you wouldn't have to buy additional drivers. You can only add 36v panels to a 36v driver though, so if you change your board in the future you may have to buy new drivers. Some buy drivers for only the boards they are using, for this exact reason.

There's not much margin in drivers, so buying from China will only increase costs as shipping is then expensive. I use ARROW but lots have used Digi-Key and there are some other companies that sell them too.

~$170
https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-600h-36a/mean-well-enterprises#partsDetailsBuyingOptions

 

[budman410]

Thank youuuu, exactly what I needed to see, I would love to buy all the things now for that price but I’ll pace myself and I’m sure in the next couple months a new update is coming out. I’m very green to this so, LM301b?...oh you edited lol. Should I also get my drivers from them. 4K good for veg?...eventually I may want to add more boards and scale up should I got with a bigger driver

thanks bro, they are sold out on arrow. I’ll look around ima go ahead and buy the board now. When I’m ready to start the build I’ll shoot over to the led section..while I’m still here tho. Let’s imagine I have a basement that’s at lest 30-40 feet long and 25-30 feet wide and have the capability to fill it with greenery. Each 4x4 will pull 600 watts from wall with 8 boards?

 

[1212ham]

I honestly hate my QB but it’s most likely my fault. Turned me off of led kinda wish had tried cobs instead.

Nothing wrong with QBs. Boards, strips, or COBs, they all get it done. Plant's under LED often need a little more cal/mag and they like higher air temperature, around 27-30C or 80-85F. https://www.rollitup.org/f/led-and-other-lighting.124/

 

[ChiefRunningPhist]

thanks bro, they are sold out on arrow. I’ll look around ima go ahead and buy the board now. When I’m ready to start the build I’ll shoot over to the led section..while I’m still here tho. Let’s imagine I have a basement that’s at lest 30-40 feet long and 25-30 feet wide and have the capability to fill it with greenery. Each 4x4 will pull 600 watts from wall with 8 boards?

Ya, 600w for a 4x 4 is pretty common no matter the board or strip or COB used. With high effeciency LED you're typically in the 175lm -200lm/w range and you only need about 37.5w/ft2 at that intensity. You can add more light if you'd like, many use CO2 ect and will add extra light for those reasons. So whatever the area you're trying to fill with light, a good LED rule of thumb is 35-40w/ft2. ~675w of high effecient LED will pretty much equal 1000w HPS.

 

[1212ham]

So they are out of stock at HLG any other recommended suppliers?

https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kitswww.
https://www.cutter.com.au/product/ssk-550-kit/
http://ledgardener.com/diy-guides/
http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

www.timbergrowlights.com
https://atreumlighting.com
https://diyleduk.com/
https://true-northern-lighting.myshopify.com
www.bcblondes.com
www.pacificlightconcepts.com/product/plc-330-l
Cobkits.com
www.rapidled.com
https://www.amaretechnology.com/shop-online

 

[budman410]

Nothing wrong with QBs. Boards, strips, or COBs, they all get it done. Plant's under LED often need a little more cal/mag and they like higher air temperature, around 27-30C or 80-85F. https://www.rollitup.org/f/led-and-other-lighting.124/

Ok so essentially since I’ve been running 600hps I could do 4-6 boards to equate to a 600hps. I know it wouldn’t be the same but in theory. One of my main concerns is wattage usage along with heat

 

[1212ham]

Horticulture lighting group sells 4 packs of the QB132 v1 for 109

2 of those packs, plus 2 HLG-240h-36b will set you back about $350, get you about 500w of samsung lm561c.

^^^^ A very good setup. ^^^^ With two drivers it could be two separate lights, and those drivers are dimmable from 10% to100% power.
I'd go with 6-8 boards, they're sold by the 4 pack. https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/quantum-boards/products/qb132-v1-quantum-boards
Heat is directly proportional to wattage, 40% less watts, 40% less heat.