The Chinese Quantum Board Knock Off Builds

SLITLOS

Well-Known Member
So your saying the gen 3's do come in 560mm lengths? The gen 2s have 112 diodes and gen 3s have 119 diodes, this had me wondering if they got more efficiency out of the diodes or it had something to do with a new configuration. And will 560mm gen 3's have the same efficiency?

What's the catch ordering from places like "components-mart" or "infinite-electronics" based in Hong Kong? 560mm gen 2s , minimum 50 at $2.8. A while back I noticed a HK based vendor had 200minimum at $2.43 for gen 2 560mm. Shipping and taxes on these make up the difference?
Infinite Electronics is BLACK LISTED, run some searches, there is another HK based Co. with 2/3 of normal prices that is also BLACK LISTED.
SLITLOS
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Infinite Electronics is BLACK LISTED, run some searches, there is another HK based Co. with 2/3 of normal prices that is also BLACK LISTED.
SLITLOS
That explains a lot. Like the too good to be true price.
Thanks for pointing that out

 

boybelue

Well-Known Member
That explains a lot. Like the too good to be true price.
Thanks for pointing that out

Makes sense, the one I seen on a Google search a few days ago has disappeared. Don't see how this is allowed. Thanks for the heads up. If it sounds to good to be true...
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Makes sense, the one I seen on a Google search a few days ago has disappeared. Don't see how this is allowed. Thanks for the heads up. If it sounds to good to be true...
Yeah I thought it was odd that for the last few years I had not come across this company or prices like that when searching for drivers then suddenly came across it last week. Then I forgot the name and it wasn't coming up, then I saw you mention it and I thought nice one and sent an enquiry.
Credit goes to SLITLOS for point it out, if this scam guy had not said $500 minimum order I would of probably ordered 10 drivers , greed coming through on my part because I don't even need 10 drivers. But that's how scams work isn't it. :oops:
 

maddmango

Well-Known Member
Found a led driver manufacturer based out of china recommend by Irene @ rslgroup. The name of the company is ALLOOKING @ allooking.com.

The driver details can be found in a catalog located at the following link, select the first PDF file:

Screenshot_20191203-232006~2.png

5 drivers paired with a 100 560mm 3000k CRI 90 strips would run you $695 for 5 fixtures running at 1500 watts not including shipping or custom duties. A 1200 watt or two 600 watt kits would cost you 800 before shipping or taxes and that is got the simple lm301b version. The tradeoff is less weight, no heatsink and less of a thermal footprint which has its own benefits.

Factor in the cost of wago connectors and the frame. The BXEB gen 3 win the race at value for money.

$700-$800 for 1500 watt is very sweet
 
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maddmango

Well-Known Member
Technically the right thing to do would be to boycott Ali Baba vendors and build your own forcing sales to decline unless you need something ready to go out the box. Prices would go down and you would then have multiple options to choose from. The average cost for readymade DIY is $1 for 1 watt, with the BXEB Gen 3 setup it is a $1 for 1.6 watts considering a $900 price point

#revolution?
 
Just ordered the fotops at Ali Baba. It's a 600 watt light which I'm going to use in a closed 1m x 1.5m grow space with reflective walls. Do you guys think I can run the lights at full power or would it be overkill? Thanks in advance for any advise or input!

P.s the version with lm 301b and 660nm, I believe that the 660 are the cheap epistars
 

Greenthumbs256

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know any other trusted sellers that you would vouch for on alibiba? Other than kingbrite, I've spent a tad over 1k$ with them so far, and I'm 100% completely happy and satisfied, wonderful customer service, great product, could be a tad bit better on packaging, but I've yet to have anything broken or damaged, so I guess I cant complain.

I'm looking to plan how I wanna run my 5x5, I'm thinking about doing 2x of the 3 board QBs, not sure what the watts are, but I've been buying the 240w boards, they have 2 quantum boards on each heat sink, I'm thinking 3 boards on each for my 5x5 would be perfect, total of 6 boards and 2 heat sinks.

My issue is I cant decide what color spectrum and if the 660 nm, UV, and IR is really worth paying double. This 5x5 would be strictly FLOWER CYCLE ONLY. so I'm open to hear some opinions of anyone doesnt mind!

Here's a GMO X BBC on day 58 that's under 2x 240w 3000k V3 qb with epistar 660nm from kingbrite (my first purchase from them) As you can see I'm more than impressed, this light has smashed my 1k hps with the super hps hortilux bulbs that cost 70$ a bulb every 8 months! Its beaten my hps in yield, tricomes, growth and flower stretch! Not to mention less heat, cheaper to run, and over all cost in the long run.
20191203_222544.jpg
 
Does anyone know any other trusted sellers that you would vouch for on alibiba? Other than kingbrite, I've spent a tad over 1k$ with them so far, and I'm 100% completely happy and satisfied, wonderful customer service, great product, could be a tad bit better on packaging, but I've yet to have anything broken or damaged, so I guess I cant complain.

I'm looking to plan how I wanna run my 5x5, I'm thinking about doing 2x of the 3 board QBs, not sure what the watts are, but I've been buying the 240w boards, they have 2 quantum boards on each heat sink, I'm thinking 3 boards on each for my 5x5 would be perfect, total of 6 boards and 2 heat sinks.

My issue is I cant decide what color spectrum and if the 660 nm, UV, and IR is really worth paying double. This 5x5 would be strictly FLOWER CYCLE ONLY. so I'm open to hear some opinions of anyone doesnt mind!

Here's a GMO X BBC on day 58 that's under 2x 240w 3000k V3 qb with epistar 660nm from kingbrite (my first purchase from them) As you can see I'm more than impressed, this light has smashed my 1k hps with the super hps hortilux bulbs that cost 70$ a bulb every 8 months! Its beaten my hps in yield, tricomes, growth and flower stretch! Not to mention less heat, cheaper to run, and over all cost in the long run.
View attachment 4431466
I ordered my lights from Meijiu, however, cannot vouch for them yet as they still need to be delivered. Was surprised by the speed tho, ordered them last Friday, were shipped on Monday and TNT says they will be delivered the day after tomorrow.

P.s your girls looking great! Love the frost on them.
 

Greenthumbs256

Well-Known Member
I ordered my lights from Meijiu, however, cannot vouch for them yet as they still need to be delivered. Was surprised by the speed tho, ordered them last Friday, were shipped on Monday and TNT says they will be delivered the day after tomorrow.

P.s your girls looking great! Love the frost on them.
Later I'll get some pics to show the difference between my 1k hps and my 2x QBs. I have a 4x8 one half is running 1k hps, and the other the QBs. Well one of the plants in the middle, one half (the half closest to the qb) has nugs twice the size and twice the tricomes! And its literally on the same dam plant! It's crazy to see one half looking amazing, and then other mediocre at best! I'll get some good pics to prove what I'm saying later.

Also thank you
 

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Greetings everyone. Thanks for all of the amazing info in this thread!

It has definitely pushed me towards building my own lights for my new grow space.

I just moved into a new apt and have some more room to grow. I currently have a 2x2 tent with an HLG QB288 v2 that will now become my dedicated veg tent. My new flowering space will be a large roughly 5x4x8 closet that conveniently has venting to outside the building, as well as some shelving on all 3 walls that will make it simple to hang the lights and fans and use the maximum floor space.

I am trying to decide what my best bet for covering the 57.5"x50" footprint is. After reading through the suggestions on here and doing some math, I think my best bet would be to get a total of 8 of the QB288 boards from Meiju or Kingbrite, and power them with 2 of the HLG-320W drivers from DigiKey. This would be running the boards at @ 62% efficiency, drawing @ 1500ma, 75/80W each board? That seems like a pretty sweet spot for these lights and would let me drop them pretty close to the canopy.

I could use some help with making sure that I get the proper drivers and the proper wiring. I am a developer and am sure that I can figure things out with some guidance (i put together my DIY QB288 kit), but have very little experience with planning electrical projects and specs. I have a decent local hardware, Lowes and Home Depot near me so I should be able to find whatever wiring and wagos I need pretty easy.

I have not figured out a good source for the 2 heatsinks or aluminum sheets I will need (I am in LA if anyone has suggestions). I would also like to mount my drivers outside of the closet on the wall (on an aluminum sheet or something), and need some guidance on that.

One other background detail, I'm building six 18"x24" wide mini 'carts' for my plants. Each one will hold either six 1 gallon pots, or three 2 gallon.

Flower Closet.png

Best example is something like this, except im adding caster wheels to make it easier to get plants out of my closet to water/care.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-24-x-18-x-14-green-epoxy-coated-wire-dunnage-rack-with-extra-support-frame-600-lb-capacity/460P1824GFR.html

Except I am using these as the shelf, to provide some extra stability while moving.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-18-x-24-nsf-black-epoxy-shelf-basket/460EB1824BSK.html

Im also using 24" poles, and plastic smaller casters from a different shop on amazon since their wheels are a little expensive for my needs. The idea is that the adjustable height will allow me to do a perpetual grow SOG, by having 1/2 of the closet rotated in every 5 weeks or so, but be able to keep an even canopy between the old and new plants.

All that said, I figured the 8 board setup would get a better spread and run a little cooler than say, getting one of the Bava 720W with 6 boards & 3 240W drivers and dimming it down to 600W. It wouldn't be as efficient, and not sure that I need the newer models w reds/uva. I accept that I have much to dial in on my setup before I worry about that and I can also add them later.

With the layout explained, how would you all design the heatsink and boards? Should I try to find 2 12" x 48" aluminum sheets and spread the lights out as far as possible, and then just center them above each 'row'?

Last but not least, is there any other controllers or apps that you all are using for timers/dimmers/remote monitoring? I have seen SuperGreenLab and might give that a shot (but not sure if their stuff works with the larger QBs or just the smaller ones that don't require heatsinks?).

Thank you in advance!

PS here's some IHG Lemon-Lime Punch babies that I just popped a few weeks ago that will make their way into this space!

20191204_222211.jpg
 
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Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
Greetings everyone. Thanks for all of the amazing info in this thread!

It has definitely pushed me towards building my own lights for my new grow space.

I just moved into a new apt and have some more room to grow. I currently have a 2x2 tent with an HLG QB288 v2 that will now become my dedicated veg tent. My new flowering space will be a large roughly 5x4x8 closet that conveniently has venting to outside the building, as well as some shelving on all 3 walls that will make it simple to hang the lights and fans and use the maximum floor space.

I am trying to decide what my best bet for covering the 57.5"x50" footprint is. After reading through the suggestions on here and doing some math, I think my best bet would be to get a total of 8 of the QB288 boards from Meiju or Kingbrite, and power them with 2 of the HLG-320W drivers from DigiKey. This would be running the boards at @ 62% efficiency, drawing @ 1500ma, 75/80W each board? That seems like a pretty sweet spot for these lights and would let me drop them pretty close to the canopy.

I could use some help with making sure that I get the proper drivers and the proper wiring. I am a developer and am sure that I can figure things out with some guidance (i put together my DIY QB288 kit), but have very little experience with planning electrical projects and specs. I have a decent local hardware, Lowes and Home Depot near me so I should be able to find whatever wiring and wagos I need pretty easy.

I have not figured out a good source for the 2 heatsinks or aluminum sheets I will need (I am in LA if anyone has suggestions). I would also like to mount my drivers outside of the closet on the wall (on an aluminum sheet or something), and need some guidance on that.

One other background detail, I'm building six 18"x24" wide mini 'carts' for my plants. Each one will hold either six 1 gallon pots, or three 2 gallon.

View attachment 4431900

Best example is something like this, except im adding caster wheels to make it easier to get plants out of my closet to water/care.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-24-x-18-x-14-green-epoxy-coated-wire-dunnage-rack-with-extra-support-frame-600-lb-capacity/460P1824GFR.html

Except I am using these as the shelf, to provide some extra stability while moving.
https://www.webstaurantstore.com/regency-18-x-24-nsf-black-epoxy-shelf-basket/460EB1824BSK.html

Im also using 24" poles, and plastic smaller casters from a different shop on amazon since their wheels are a little expensive for my needs. The idea is that the adjustable height will allow me to do a perpetual grow SOG, by having 1/2 of the closet rotated in every 5 weeks or so, but be able to keep an even canopy between the old and new plants.

All that said, I figured the 8 board setup would get a better spread and run a little cooler than say, getting one of the Bava 720W with 6 boards & 3 240W drivers and dimming it down to 600W. It wouldn't be as efficient, and not sure that I need the newer models w reds/uva. I accept that I have much to dial in on my setup before I worry about that and I can also add them later.

With the layout explained, how would you all design the heatsink and boards? Should I try to find 2 12" x 48" aluminum sheets and spread the lights out as far as possible, and then just center them above each 'row'?

Last but not least, is there any other controllers or apps that you all are using for timers/dimmers/remote monitoring? I have seen SuperGreenLab and might give that a shot (but not sure if their stuff works with the larger QBs or just the smaller ones that don't require heatsinks?).

Thank you in advance!

PS here's some IHG Lemon-Lime Punch babies that I just popped a few weeks ago that will make their way into this space!

View attachment 4431901
Id go for a lower plant count, that many plants in a small space, youll end up with problems controlling humidity.

Youve done a lot of work but not even mentioned how you will control the environment, you need a plan for moving air, raising and lowering temps inside the cab with air moving, adding and removing humdity independent of the temps.
 

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Id go for a lower plant count, that many plants in a small space, youll end up with problems controlling humidity.

Youve done a lot of work but not even mentioned how you will control the environment, you need a plan for moving air, raising and lowering temps inside the cab with air moving, adding and removing humdity independent of the temps.
Hi @Rocket Soul thank you for all of your input in this thread. I understand your concerns, personally I prefer to grow a bunch of smaller plants rather than do long veg and grow bushes that I have to train and defoliate multiple times. Either way, if I only grew 4 plants in the same space, I still would like to optimize the light spread to fill the space.

As for environmental controls, I use the AC Infinity Cloudline T4 to vent both my veg and clone tents, which then send hot exhaust out a window. This thing is so powerful that I can only really run it on the lower speeds without getting too much negative pressure. The closet will use a Cloudline T6, and exhaust out a vent that is near the ceiling.

My bedroom is pretty small at @ 180sf, so this 8K BTU portable AC/dehumidifier does a pretty awesome job at keeping input humidity and temp dialed in (also exhausts out the window).
It drops the tents/closet by @ 10% within an hour, and i've been able to get closer to 20% drop during a day. Since it can dehumidify without the AC feature running, I am able to drop humidity without dropping temps on cooler days. As mentioned, I live in LA so I rarely need to raise temps, but actually right now it's cold and rainy so I have my heat on and keep the room at a nice 68 degrees. Apartment is pretty small 1BR so it heats up quick.

I think the closet will be fine with passive air intake, since that thing sits literally right outside the closet door. If I need to I can add a smaller AC Infinity computer fan unit to the intake vent to help draw in more. But with a couple of fans hitting the plants from different directions from above the canopy, and another blowing air across the top of the lights, I think I will be fine with getting a nice updraft and will have plenty of airflow.

Obviously this will be dialed in over time, but I hope that eases your mind enough for now :)
 
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Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
Great to see you that some of that worked out.


"With the layout explained, how would you all design the heatsink and boards? Should I try to find 2 12" x 48" aluminum sheets and spread the lights out as far as possible, and then just center them above each 'row'?"

Those alusheets: should work great with around 250-300w of boards as long as you drive them softly, approx 60w per board. I use 3mm thick alusheet. Maybe if you make them 14"/35 cm wide your even better off. Or even more if your planning to add more strips later. I try to have a 1-2" lip between the edge of the board and any led.

for that space you should do something like 700w of boards depending on hanging height.
it could be a good idea for spread to use one driver for the middle of the light and one for the edges, that way you can dial in even cover more easily.
 

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Great to see you that some of that worked out.


"With the layout explained, how would you all design the heatsink and boards? Should I try to find 2 12" x 48" aluminum sheets and spread the lights out as far as possible, and then just center them above each 'row'?"

Those alusheets: should work great with around 250-300w of boards as long as you drive them softly, approx 60w per board. I use 3mm thick alusheet. Maybe if you make them 14"/35 cm wide your even better off. Or even more if your planning to add more strips later. I try to have a 1-2" lip between the edge of the board and any led.

for that space you should do something like 700w of boards depending on hanging height.
it could be a good idea for spread to use one driver for the middle of the light and one for the edges, that way you can dial in even cover more easily.
Nice thank you very much! I like the idea of more drivers and being able to dial it in. I already was thinking that two 320W was better than one 600W just for redundancy sake. If you only have 1 driver and it fails mid cycle, your room is dark for however long it takes to get a replacement. The idea of using 3 or 4 drivers would help make that even less of a concern. Lots to think about. Thanks!
 

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
I have it from a good source that the hlg240s have the lowest failure rates of the whole hlg range, as per hlg steve. Get them local or at least somewhere you can do under warranty return, ali is real bad with this.

Just a few days ago a friend had a failing 320 less than a month in.
 

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
I have it from a good source that the hlg240s have the lowest failure rates of the whole hlg range, as per hlg steve. Get them local or at least somewhere you can do under warranty return, ali is real bad with this.

Just a few days ago a friend had a failing 320 less than a month in.
Wow thanks thats good to know!

So how about this setup sound then:
  • 4 qb288 120W boards per aluminum sheet powered by a HLG-240W. that is 60W per board.
  • 3 of those for a total of 12 boards and 720W of light.
 
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