Just finished putting together my 2x Qb288v1 with a HLG-240H-C2100. Wired in series and using a 50k pot. With the pot all the way up I'm only pulling 130 wall watts. Should I be pushing more at maximum with this setup? All the way down, it pulls just under 60 watts.
I'm very happy with the quality and amount of light, but why did I go with the 2100 over the C1700? (it was recommended).
Use a 100kΩ POT for full power. With only 1 driver a 50kΩ POT tops off at 50% of your driver output.
If you use a 100kΩ POT and keep it in series you
CAN NOT turn it up all the way or you'll burn your chips up. You could
ONLY turn it up to about 70%. So a 70KΩ POT would probably be closer to what you'd want if you kept them in series, as that would be a maximum current of ~183mA per chip.
If you wired in parallel you could use the 100kΩ POT. You wouldn't have to worry about turning it up too high. You'd get about 131mA per chip maximum. 131mA is the same max intensity you are getting now.
If I were you I'd go with the 70kΩ POT and keep your QBs in series like you have. You won't have to worry about turning it up too high and you get more performance than you are getting right now.
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100kΩ POTs are a typical value for additive resistance dimming (for a 100% driver output). It sounds backwards, but if you are using more than 1 driver, then you have to size your POT smaller, not bigger.
[(Desired max driver output %) × 100kΩ] ÷ [# of drivers] = [POT size in kΩ]
Check data sheets for max driver output resistance, I'm pretty sure most Meanwells are 100kΩ though.