Citizen CLU048-1216 DIY COB and hello

Hello world,
I'm new to the forums and growing in general- first post, first full attempt at growing, actually. I've vegged plants in the greenhouse in high school way back when just for the hell of it.
Some damn thing always deterred me before, but the stars have finally aligned and I am planning a small grow for personal use. My girlfriend doesn't want me to take over the whole apartment with this but she'd be alright with about a 2'x3' area or a weird closet with a staircase that leads to nowhere.
After a wing and a prayer and a little bit of research I decided to get 5 Citizen CLU048-1216 90CRI 3500K COB LEDs and power them with a Mean Well HLG-240H-C1400B driver. I'm planning on using these lights for veg and flower. I'm not sure if I can reference sellers here but I got the LEDs and a few other components to make the assembly through a well known source on this forum. I've gotta say I'm impressed with the customer service so far- I got tracking info just hours after the order was placed and they even refunded a portion of the shipping cost which was really nice of them.
The CLU048-1216 is basically the same thing as the 1212 but with 4 more die. It's 36v and has a max current of 3.68A, vs the 1212's max of 2.76A. It's listed on the site I got it from as 155W at full current but I don't understand that because 36x3.68 is 132.48. In any case the 1216 pulls less than 35v at 1400mA, which means I can fit an extra one on my driver whereas I could only fit 4 1212s if I'm not mistaken. And these are using 38% of their potential current vs 50% of the 1212s at 1400mA? Sounded good to me.
I'm still in the planning process for most of this project but I'll update as things hash out and I would very much appreciate any input you've got because I'm somewhat flying blind here. I can say:

*(5) Citizen CLU048-1216 3500K 90CRI LEDs
*(1) Mean Well HLG-240H-C1400B driver
*(5) 120mm pin fins
*small grow area, 2'x3'ish
*soil grow for my first time unless I have to buy more nutes than I'd use in a single grow(?) I hope to use hydro eventually but that's another beast
*as organic as possible
*will attempt lst and scrog
*using "green crack" seeds

I have many questions but I'll only ask a few for now.
*carbon filter? It's legal in my state and the guy next door is a caregiver so it already smells like pot in my apartment but my girlfriend doesn't want it to reek excessively.
*how many plants should I fit in a 2'x3' for max yield with a beginner's skillset (or otherwise)?
*how long could I safely leave this unattended? I like to go camping.
*if I found a way to use more than 2'x3' how much bigger could I go with the lights I'm using to get the most yield?

Plants with no carbon filter will stink to high hell. Smoke is one thing but growing plants are another. Your whole house will stink.

2x3 can do two medium sized plants. In the 30-35" tall range.


During late flower, say two gallon pots. The watering needs will be every two days. Example, if you water Monday morning. They should need more by Thursday morning. This is full grown plants in flower. Smaller plants in veg can take anywhere from 5-7 between watering. Small seedlings in the 3-4" height range only need water about every 7-9days. You only need to water the plants about 4-5 times before the switch to flower. Then the intervals shorten as it gets bigger. Requiring more water.

On the lights and space. 200watts of cob light equals around 400watt of a HID bulb. So 200 with cobs can grow around 4 to 6 medium plants in a floor space of 3' x 3'. (9 square feet.) You can put the light in the biggest space that you have. It's not the room but the amount of plants the light can support.

Lighter404 said:

The CLU048-1216 is basically the same thing as the 1212 but with 4 more die. It's 36v and has a max current of 3.68A, vs the 1212's max of 2.76A. It's listed on the site I got it from as 155W at full current but I don't understand that because 36x3.68 is 132.48.

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it actually has 4 more rows of dies so 48 more dies or 33% more

"36V" is a nominal rating, at 3.68A (not really recommended for these chips in our application), your voltage is well above 36V

Lighter404 said:

And these are using 38% of their potential current vs 50% of the 1212s at 1400mA? Sounded good to me.

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people ask a lot about this, trying to get chips to run at x% of their "capacity". keep in mind that "max capacity" is definitely arbitrary from mfr to mfr, and ts overall efficacy that should be a better target

generally the 700-2100 mA range we like gets the most out of a chip. if youre running a chip above 2100 mA youd usually do better to step up to the next size chip for a healthy efficacy bump

Lighter404 said:

*how long could I safely leave this unattended? I like to go camping.

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do you like to get robbed?
unattended stinky gardens are more of a magnet for crooks than cops these days (not saying cops arent crooks lol)

SouthCross said:

Plants with no carbon filter will stink to high hell. Smoke is one thing but growing plants are another. Your whole house will stink.

2x3 can do two medium sized plants. In the 30-35" tall range.


During late flower, say two gallon pots. The watering needs will be every two days. Example, if you water Monday morning. They should need more by Thursday morning. This is full grown plants in flower. Smaller plants in veg can take anywhere from 5-7 between watering. Small seedlings in the 3-4" height range only need water about every 7-9days. You only need to water the plants about 4-5 times before the switch to flower. Then the intervals shorten as it gets bigger. Requiring more water.

On the lights and space. 200watts of cob light equals around 400watt of a HID bulb. So 200 with cobs can grow around 4 to 6 medium plants in a floor space of 3' x 3'. (9 square feet.) You can put the light in the biggest space that you have. It's not the room but the amount of plants the light can support.

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Thanks for the reply, and you too cobkits. Those filters aren't small... I'm leaning towards the phresh 4x20 and the 94cfm S&P fan. If I'm just using a small space and my filter is rated for about 2.5x the cubic feet of my grow tent a 94cfm fan ought to be plenty, right? Then there's where to exhaust. I'm hoping exhausting into the room the tent is in will be sufficient.

Also, what are people using for timers to run the fans and lights? Will inrush current be an issue on a 250watt driver that cannot dim to 0%? The 240H only goes down to 10%. Or is this mostly a problem for much larger setups? I had no idea timers were so expensive. I was hoping I could automate both of these processes through an arduino.

Lighter404, if the seller is an advertiser on here then very acceptable to reference them, not required but perfectly acceptable, especially if your so happy with the customer service ect. Good to give them a positive review.

Good luck with the grow dude!

In that case I'd like thank Cobkits for their prompt shipping, competitive prices and outstanding customer service. I haven't got the lights yet as it was a recent order but all signs indicate a positive outcome thus far

As others have said get your scrubbing situation in order," legal" or not. Most lease agreements aren't keen on growing cannabis.... s&p exhaust isn't gonna cut it with a filter attached if the cfm(94) is truly that low

personally I use mechanical 15 amp dual outlet timers on 120v,easely handle your load, rock solid reliability and no trickle current like some digis(dim leds)...........(gas lantern) be damned lol, slows everything down imo anyway

Lighter404 said:

Thanks for the reply, and you too cobkits. Those filters aren't small... I'm leaning towards the phresh 4x20 and the 94cfm S&P fan. If I'm just using a small space and my filter is rated for about 2.5x the cubic feet of my grow tent a 94cfm fan ought to be plenty, right? Then there's where to exhaust. I'm hoping exhausting into the room the tent is in will be sufficient.

Also, what are people using for timers to run the fans and lights? Will inrush current be an issue on a 250watt driver that cannot dim to 0%? The 240H only goes down to 10%. Or is this mostly a problem for much larger setups? I had no idea timers were so expensive. I was hoping I could automate both of these processes through an arduino.

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Check out these S&P fans. I've really enjoyed using them. Also, for fans it's always better to go bigger in vent size and run the fan slower, you'll usually get better CFM and lower dB.

[URL=http://www.solerpalau-usa.com/Brochures/Residential_Light_Comm/Inline%20Fan%20Options%20Brochure.pdf]S&P Mixvent[/URL]

i like those little inline duct fans to keep a slight breeze thru the filter on off cycles. keeps smell under control

Im in for this one.. Really like those chips.. You should do well..
Cheers

Hey thanks for the replies/help with my grow. I think it would be best to ask my newbie questions in other threads so this one is more centered around the 1216s cuz I know that's what folks will be more interested in, bearing in mind that as a first time grower I'm bound to make mistakes no matter how good the lights are. That said, for scrubbers, I'm currently eyeing a 6in Hyper Fan and 6x16in Phresh w/ a fan controller, and am thinking about running them 24/7 dimmed way down in a 2x2.5 foot tent. Will that be overkill on such a small area?

Lighter404 said:

Hey thanks for the replies/help with my grow. I think it would be best to ask my newbie questions in other threads so this one is more centered around the 1216s cuz I know that's what folks will be more interested in, bearing in mind that as a first time grower I'm bound to make mistakes no matter how good the lights are. That said, for scrubbers, I'm currently eyeing a 6in Hyper Fan and 6x16in Phresh w/ a fan controller, and am thinking about running them 24/7 dimmed way down in a 2x2.5 foot tent. Will that be overkill on such a small area?

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I'm a big fan of the hyper series, rarely overkill on exhaust imo, especially a dc motor which can be dimmed safely............been eyeing up the stealth 6 for awhile. Just waiting on my Dayton blower to die, if ever

Cannabis is an easy to grow plant, stick with soil/indicas as a first time run in a small tent. Buy a bag of perlite and add generously to quality soil mix, aeration is essential indoors with containers+leds . Use a general purpose organic granular fert from the HD/lowes== espoma,jobes, dr earth products,etc.. topdress every month or less and just plain(filtered?) water, no ph/ec necessary generally. If unsure about your tap water quality, walk around the neighborhood and ask local gardeners what they use

good luck grower......if you get into any problems just ask, mostly friendly people in here

Thanks for the welcome. I'll keep you posted as to how it plays out!

Lighter404 said:

That said, for scrubbers, I'm currently eyeing a 6in Hyper Fan and 6x16in Phresh w/ a fan controller, and am thinking about running them 24/7 dimmed way down in a 2x2.5 foot tent. Will that be overkill on such a small area?

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That's what I've been using and it's perfect. The fan on the lowest setting only pulls like 26 or 32w. I like the Hyperfan so much it's my second one. Solid and reliable.

Lighter404 said:

Citizen CLU048-1216 3500K 90CRI LEDs

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Why would you get the 3500K 90 CRI and not the 2700K 97 CRI?

NoFucks2Give said:

Why would you get the 3500K 90 CRI and not the 2700K 97 CRI?

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I went with the 3500K because I am planning on using the light for both veg and flower, and wanted something a bit more rounded.

Hey just an update, I've built my light and put it in a tent w/ great ventilation. Fan dimmed all the way down and it still holds just the faintest negative pressure. Not sure what the temps are specifically as I have not yet acquired a temperature/humidity sensor, but it feels pleasant in there. Maybe 75? Definitely sunny though. I'm driving my 5 1216s at 1400mA and I've had some bleaching/light burn when I initially hung them about 18 inches up. I've raised it a few times now, as seeds are breaking soil and it looked like it'd be too intense for them. They're about 3 feet above now, until I get around to a solution for the dimmer on the HLG. I plan to eventually use a pwm and relay, but I'm not there yet. I have got a 100k linear pot (tested about 96-97 ohms) and a 10k register. When dialed all the way up (or down?) I get a reading of 106.something and when dimmed all the way (or none?) it reads 9.7ohms which I think will be plenty close enough to the 10% minimum dimming recommended in so many posts on this forum.
My biggest concern is not burning the seedlings while I keep the one plant I already had happy.

Oh yeah- I was wondering if the dimmer might tax my driver too much. I cut it real close to the maximum voltage output rating. My dimmer assembly, for now, involves the register and pot I mentioned as well as an on/off switch so I can go wide open if required.

PPS - would an illuminated rocker switch cause issues? It's the best thing I have to work with for the time being but it would be easy enough to replace.

Really interested in how this turns out. I'm about to revamp my cab with these 1216s. Good luck!

Lighter404 said:

Oh yeah- I was wondering if the dimmer might tax my driver too much. I cut it real close to the maximum voltage output rating. My dimmer assembly, for now, involves the register and pot I mentioned as well as an on/off switch so I can go wide open if required.

PPS - would an illuminated rocker switch cause issues? It's the best thing I have to work with for the time being but it would be easy enough to replace.

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My 038s run exactly at recommended max voltage for constant current operation on my HLG. No problems so far. AFAIK they are fine to run up to the rated max.

I wouldn't run an illuminated switch unless it cuts off with the lights. But then, why run an illuminated switch at all? I like them, they're way cool, but useless really in our applications.