Building my first cob light

Hi guys, I'm just getting back into growing and looking to upgrade my lights. My previous light was a inda-gro 420 mainly due to heat issues in my previous growing space. I've been reading and researching cob LEDs and think that's the way for me to go. I think I have the gist of it but want to run my ideas by you more experienced members and get feedback/suggestions. I'm very green on this, so please bear with me. I want to do a 9 cob set up for a 5x5 space. I was thinking of the Citizen CLU048-1212 CRI90. 133mm heatsinks,
MeanWell HLG-320H-C (should i run one driver at 700ma or 2 at 1400? Is there a driver that will do all 9 at 1400?). For the LEDs, I see they're full spectrum but still have color temps. I want to use the light for both veg and flower. Can I run all the cobs at 4k or 3500k? Or should I do a combo 5 cobs at 4k and 4 cobs at 3k or 2700k?

Thanks in advance!

My opinion:
*ChilLED boards are fucking amazing, both in spectrum adjustability and efficiency. You can get a kit or buy your individual components, but he tells you exactly what everything is. https://chilledgrowlights.com These are a little more front end cost, but you save electricity every month until whenever. Also you can switch your spectrum up based on veg/flower.
*Vero29 Gen7 COBs are a likely going to beat out the citizens.
*Spectrums: I see a lot of back and forth, but 3500k CRI80 seems to be working fine. Some higher and lower. You could also have some you only turn on for flower so your PPFD is lower during veg.

What PPFD are you looking to attain in your 5X5?
What does your electricity cost? (and are you afraid of a noticeable spike in your electricity bill?)
What is your budget?

My electricity is pretty low where I'm at and not worried about the spike in electrical. My main issue is heat, which is why I can't run HIDs. My budget is around $300. I have some flexibility but I'm trying to keep the costs down for a few grows and then update the cobs when the time is right. As for ppfd, I think the current lamp puts out about 1100 umols (I think that's it, but not sure how good or bad that is too be honest). So trying to improve on that. I'm still learning the terminology. I'll take a look at the chilled lights.

Meanwell HLG-480 should run 9 on one driver.

So, your current PPFD is talked about in here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/inda-gro-420-pontoon-ppfd.877463/
It's like 164, which is pretty low though I'm guessing it's because that light can't really light the whole 5x5 very well.

HideousPenguinBoy said:

So, your current PPFD is talked about in here: https://www.rollitup.org/t/inda-gro-420-pontoon-ppfd.877463/
It's like 164, which is pretty low though I'm guessing it's because that light can't really light the whole 5x5 very well.

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Damn, that's way off from the specs I saw. I don't have the pontoon either, buty eah, it's really dim around the edges. The girls are short and nodes look good, but they are bending for the light.

Using 9 Citi1212's at 1400mA on a meanwell driver will get you these stats:
1212 3500K80Min 9 COBS @1400 mA ON 1.813 PROFILE HEATSINK
25 SQ.FT. CANOPY 94% EFFICIENT DRIVER @10 CENTS PER KWH
Total power watts at the wall: 502.84
Cobs power watts: 472.67
Total voltage forward: 337.62
Total lumens: 73395.33
Total PAR watts assuming 10% loss: 197.18
Total PPF: 1053.83
PPFD based on canopy area: *453.73*
PAR watts per sq.ft.: 7.89
Cob efficiency: 46.35%
Power watts per sq.ft.: 18.91
Voltage forward per cob: 37.51
Total heat watts: 255.24
I assume you priced it out already and it fits your budget. Now you know what you will get for it. Honestly, filling a 5x5 for $300 is a little rough unless you are willing to go low on the PPFD. Folks tend to want 600 for veg and 1000 for flower, but lower PPFD will still get you bud. It just won't be as much. After your first harvest I would say add another set of COBs. Though, when you talk about wanting less heat, I'm going to point at more efficient lights like the ChilLEDs, Cree and gen7 Veros. The more efficient they are, the less energy goes to heat. Buuuut they are more $$$. Gotta find the middle ground that works for you.

I'd say that it's going to be hard to get enough output for that space on a $300 budget. I cover about the same footprint with 650 watts of Vero29's and I have about $600 in it-works well; but the initial cost is a factor.

I get what you're saying. I suppose I can break my budget since I'll be making it up in the back end. So if I go with the Veros, to get the 600/1000, what would I need to change?

I'm currently running 24 vero 29's d series in a 5x5. I use my apogee mq500 to keep my ppfd around 1000. With 1400ma drivers, that's close to 40w a chip. I'm getting ready to add 6 of the 90 watt chilled boards to broaden the spectrum. But I'm very happy with the veros, my plants are only 16 days into flip and they are growing good

After much debate, I think I'm going to go with the Luminous CXM22. I was planning on 12 chips at ~70w with a dimmable driver. Which would be the best driver to use to power them?

Would 2 of the MeanWell HLG-185H-20B do what I want? Or should I be looking at a beefier driver?

Output current is 9.3a.


All of the help is greatly appreciated!

Buck007 said:

I'm currently running 24 vero 29's d series in a 5x5. I use my apogee mq500 to keep my ppfd around 1000. With 1400ma drivers, that's close to 40w a chip. I'm getting ready to add 6 of the 90 watt chilled boards to broaden the spectrum. But I'm very happy with the veros, my plants are only 16 days into flip and they are growing good

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Your ladies look awesome!

sato108 said:

After much debate, I think I'm going to go with the Luminous CXM22. I was planning on 12 chips at ~70w with a dimmable driver. Which would be the best driver to use to power them?

Would 2 of the MeanWell HLG-185H-20B do what I want? Or should I be looking at a beefier driver?

Output current is 9.3a.


All of the help is greatly appreciated!

Click to expand...

That driver will not work for you. Those COBs are 50v chips and that driver is only rated for 20V. You would need something like this:
http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=HLG-480H

It's the HLG-480H-54A. You would need to adjust the voltage correctly. At full current you would be running at around ~75w per COB and you can adjust that as well. You would also need to grab 2 drivers and put 6 on each.

HLG-320H-48. You can run 10 COBs. 8 COBs would cover your area. Ran at ~50%...about 200 watts. All you'll need.

3000k or 3500k. Feel free to mix the two.

SouthCross said:

HLG-320H-48. You can run 10 COBs. 8 COBs would cover your area. Ran at ~50%...about 200 watts. All you'll need.

3000k or 3500k. Feel free to mix the two.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much gentlemen! I appreciate all of the help. I'll go with your suggestion and save a little cash for new beans!

sato108 said:

Hi guys, I'm just getting back into growing and looking to upgrade my lights. My previous light was a inda-gro 420 mainly due to heat issues in my previous growing space. I've been reading and researching cob LEDs and think that's the way for me to go. I think I have the gist of it but want to run my ideas by you more experienced members and get feedback/suggestions. I'm very green on this, so please bear with me. I want to do a 9 cob set up for a 5x5 space. I was thinking of the Citizen CLU048-1212 CRI90. 133mm heatsinks,
MeanWell HLG-320H-C (should i run one driver at 700ma or 2 at 1400? Is there a driver that will do all 9 at 1400?). For the LEDs, I see they're full spectrum but still have color temps. I want to use the light for both veg and flower. Can I run all the cobs at 4k or 3500k? Or should I do a combo 5 cobs at 4k and 4 cobs at 3k or 2700k?

Thanks in advance!

Click to expand...

I went with a combo with my light. I went with 5x4000k 90CRI and 5x3000k 90CRI. 1000 watts total. I'll just use 5x4000k in Veg and all the cobs in flower.

sato108 said:

Thank you very much gentlemen! I appreciate all of the help. I'll go with your suggestion and save a little cash for new beans!

Click to expand...

Btw, 120mm sinks work fine. Don't skimp on the holders. Ideal brand.