20 000 lumen Bridgelux COB headlights?

Just throwing this out there, could a couple sets of 4k/3k COB headlights potentially replace an equivalent setup with reflectors? Maybe hung naked for some vert growing?
Some of these are made with COBs that go into high-quality builds, has this already been looked at? I might be late to this party. They're dirt cheap for what they are, which screams sub-par/imitation chips at me, but I might be wrong and also full of shit (please let me know)
 

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DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
For the cost of the COBs and powering them, you'd be better off with better quality ebay chinese floodlight chips CW for veg (5000-6000K) and WW (3000K) for flowering and under driving (for greater efficacy) the 100 watt LEDs off of cheap 50 watt drivers. Each one of the headlight COBs appear to be 100 watts, so to drive both of them you'd need a 200 watt 12 volt power supply which can deliver about 17 to 18 amps. For the purchase price of the headlight COBs alone you could get 2 x 100 watt LEDs and 2 x 50 watt drivers to run them. You just need to find a good heatsink to take the heat away. The headlight COBs need reflectors to redirect the light 90 degrees, and for a grow, that's just dumb, as regular LEDs shine directly on the plants. One of the advantages of LEDs over other lights for growing is that the light needs very little or no reflectors, but shines directly downward for the most part.
 
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RandomHero8913

Well-Known Member
That 12,000rpm fan is probably not the quietest thing in the world. Any idea what the light spread would be? A lot of car headlights are designed to be used with TIR optics and I'm wondering what they would look like without anything controlling the beam. My guess is a very hot center that falls off rapidly.
 
For the purchase price of the headlight COBs alone you could get 2 x 100 watt LEDs and 2 x 50 watt drivers to run them. You just need to find a good heatsink to take the heat away.
idunno about that, the builds I've looked at float around 80-100$ per light+driver+sink. These are around 20-30$.

The headlight COBs need reflectors to redirect the light 90 degrees, and for a grow, that's just dumb, as regular LEDs shine directly on the plants. One of the advantages of LEDs over other lights for growing is that the light needs very little or no reflectors, but shines directly downward for the most part.
for sure, I want to avoid reflectors. Considering that the most efficient reflector for these would literally be the headlight mount itself, it wouldn't be great. That's why I was thinking these could be interesting for vert.
 
That 12,000rpm fan is probably not the quietest thing in the world. Any idea what the light spread would be? A lot of car headlights are designed to be used with TIR optics and I'm wondering what they would look like without anything controlling the beam. My guess is a very hot center that falls off rapidly.
the spread is probably horrendous, I've been researching headlights and various designs for a day or two now and I've yet to find one with the chips being front-facing.
 

DIY-HP-LED

Well-Known Member
Have a look on my thread for cheap alternatives in DIY grow lights. Perhaps a system based on $1.50, 50 watt AC COBs can get ya going real cheap, just figure out how to keep yer COBs cool. If you live in the states, mail order heatsinks with free delivery are an option too. Have a look at the AC COB light on my thread, it don't get much cheaper for startup and you can spend money on fans, thermal paste and heatsinks. These are not the most efficient COBs, but it's a helluva lot cheaper than buying pot and you can replace the COBs with something better over time. There's a reason nobody uses headlights to grow. Also have a look at this site, cobkits.com for some great prices on some quality gear, just ordered some citizen cobs myself from there, best prices.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/economical-multi-led-chip-projects-for-growing.852256/page-15
 

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
idunno about that, the builds I've looked at float around 80-100$ per light+driver+sink. These are around 20-30$.
You're looking in the wrong places. 100W COB's can be purchased on Ebay for $2 each (10 for $20). CPU heatsinks work fine for COBs and can be purchased all day long for 5 bucks or less on Ebay. 360W power supply can be found for about $25 on Ebay.
 
Have a look on my thread for cheap alternatives in DIY grow lights.
https://www.rollitup.org/t/economical-multi-led-chip-projects-for-growing.852256/page-15
You're looking in the wrong places. 100W COB's can be purchased on Ebay for $2 each (10 for $20). CPU heatsinks work fine for COBs and can be purchased all day long for 5 bucks or less on Ebay. 360W power supply can be found for about $25 on Ebay.
I really appreciate it guys, I'll make a thread when I throw something together
 
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