How hard can I run Vero 29's in a micro tent?

Hey y'all, I'm a micro grower hobbyist looking to turn a small clone tent into my flower chamber.

Looking to better understand how hard to run Vero 29's in there -- I'm an LED/COB virgin, and was hoping I could get your help.

Feel free to correct me at any point, I'm here to learn.

Here's the nerdy technical stuff:
TENT: 30x18x36" (or 2.5x1.5x3ft or 75x45x90cm), 3.75 square feet, 11.25 cubic feet
LIGHTS: Vero 29 3000K Gen 7's (BXRC-30E10K0-C-73)

Questions:
1. Should I be worried about heat issues running 2 x Vero 29 @ 1400mA in such a small space?
2. Will running those two Vero 29's @ 1050mA give me enough light, or am I correct in thinking that's a little weak

Definitely want the plants to have plenty of light. At this scale electricity costs are negligible, but maximizing space is paramount. Heatsinks/cooling need to run PASSIVELY in this tent.


Lastly, would love to hear about what I might be overlooking, or ideas I might be misunderstanding. I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp of it all and I'm ready to pull the trigger on the lights, heatsinks and a driver, but would love someone who's been there and done it before to weigh in.


Thanks in advance.

Hey smacka!
Both combo's should work fine, 1050 and 1400mA.
You can take HLG-185H-1400"B-series" to make it dimmable to what ever current you want.
Temps should be no issues with a good exhaust fan and usually you have at least a small fan inside the tent which helps a lot on a passive build.

Hey bud,

I'm in a 2x2. Dimmable ballast hlg 185 running 2 vero 29 v7s at 1050. Heat is not an issue at all. I don't even have my exhaust on since I'm running at about 50% power. These lights kick ass so far.

I just dropped my lights to about 6 inches above the seedlings and they love it. I can't imagine they would like all 200 watts, but you can run low watts and get them close; like fluorescents.

imo when you are a bit restricted in height you will find it better to run cobs at 700ma , the heat is much easier to control and i grow some cracking buds and the power usage is nice and low ,

Quantum boards... https://horticulturelightinggroup.com

Check out the Bridgelux EB series thread as well.......

Awesome thanks for the responses.

Randomblame said:

Hey smacka!
Both combo's should work fine, 1050 and 1400mA.
You can take HLG-185H-1400"B-series" to make it dimmable to what ever current you want.
Temps should be no issues with a good exhaust fan and usually you have at least a small fan inside the tent which helps a lot on a passive build.

Click to expand...

Awesome. So is that all a dimmer's doing? Dimming the current? Assuming I go this route, how would I calculate the actual current? Through a Kill-a-watt?

Or is it time to buy a light meter?

sunny747 said:

Hey bud,

I'm in a 2x2. Dimmable ballast hlg 185 running 2 vero 29 v7s at 1050. Heat is not an issue at all. I don't even have my exhaust on since I'm running at about 50% power. These lights kick ass so far.

I just dropped my lights to about 6 inches above the seedlings and they love it. I can't imagine they would like all 200 watts, but you can run low watts and get them close; like fluorescents.

Click to expand...

Okay, great! If we slice a half foot off one side of your space and slap it on the other, you and I are running the same sized tent, so this is directly relatable. Cheers and thanks for the response! I'm excited!

storm66 said:

imo when you are a bit restricted in height you will find it better to run cobs at 700ma , the heat is much easier to control and i grow some cracking buds and the power usage is nice and low ,

Click to expand...

It's definitely a restrictive way to grow. You're suggesting I go with something like (4) Vero 29's run really soft?

What's the downside of running COB's at low currents? I remember growmau5 saying the cost goes up. Was he just talking about how many lights, heatsinks, etc. you need to buy? Or would it bump my electric bill?

HydoDan said:

Quantum boards...

Click to expand...

Been hearing a lot about them but don't enough to get my feet wet, yer. They seem to be cutting edge? Definitely open to the idea... What's the benefit of Quantum Boards over COB?

Chip Green said:

Check out the Bridgelux EB series thread as well.......

Click to expand...

Okay, will do. Thanks for the tip, I'll get on it.

smacka said:

Awesome thanks for the responses.



Awesome. So is that all a dimmer's doing? Dimming the current? Assuming I go this route, how would I calculate the actual current? Through a Kill-a-watt?

Or is it time to buy a light meter?



Okay, great! If we slice a half foot off one side of your space and slap it on the other, you and I are running the same sized tent, so this is directly relatable. Cheers and thanks for the response! I'm excited!

Click to expand...

Definitely want a dimmer. This controls electricity cost in veg etc...
I plugged mine into some sort of meter that my friend had. I was pulling 185 watts, but I understand that if you take the dimmer off then it cn go to 220 watts.

200 watts of Vero is something ridiculus like 1200 ppfd in 4 sq ft. Plenty of light

Quantum board could be a better option because it would save on height and also give more even coverage.

Quantum boards are perfect for height restrictions.. You can put them at the very top of your tent..
They run cooler than cobs and your plants can be closer.
within a few inches... giving you more room for green.. I have one coming for my 2x2 veg tent...
my COBs start bleaching at 10".. I would guess about 8" more room..

sunny747 said:

Quantum board could be a better option because it would save on height and also give more even coverage.

Click to expand...

HydoDan said:

Quantum boards are perfect for height restrictions.. You can put them at the very top of your tent..
They run cooler than cobs and your plants can be closer.
within a few inches... giving you more room for green.. I have one coming for my 2x2 veg tent...
my COBs start bleaching at 10".. I would guess about 8" more room..

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. Based on the following...

- great for height-sensitive spots
- cheaper (accounting for having to buy COBs, drivers, and heatsinks from different places and pay shipping on each)
- more efficient
- runs cooler
- 12 inches of additional grow space
- growmau5 loves them
- robin makes/loves them

I decided I'll go with a Quantum Board. Will look into it more tomorrow and figure out specifics of what I'll be getting.

Thanks again for the great info! My account is brand new so I can't like your posts but... I like them nonetheless.

smacka said:

Hey y'all, I'm a micro grower hobbyist looking to turn a small clone tent into my flower chamber.

Looking to better understand how hard to run Vero 29's in there -- I'm an LED/COB virgin, and was hoping I could get your help.

Feel free to correct me at any point, I'm here to learn.

Here's the nerdy technical stuff:
TENT: 30x18x36" (or 2.5x1.5x3ft or 75x45x90cm), 3.75 square feet, 11.25 cubic feet
LIGHTS: Vero 29 3000K Gen 7's (BXRC-30E10K0-C-73)

Questions:
1. Should I be worried about heat issues running 2 x Vero 29 @ 1400mA in such a small space?
2. Will running those two Vero 29's @ 1050mA give me enough light, or am I correct in thinking that's a little weak

Definitely want the plants to have plenty of light. At this scale electricity costs are negligible, but maximizing space is paramount. Heatsinks/cooling need to run PASSIVELY in this tent.


Lastly, would love to hear about what I might be overlooking, or ideas I might be misunderstanding. I feel like I've got a pretty good grasp of it all and I'm ready to pull the trigger on the lights, heatsinks and a driver, but would love someone who's been there and done it before to weigh in.


Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

Get a cheap lux meter. Get the light level at the canopy to 50-70K lux.

If you have a smart phone, enter the code for the secret menu, and there you will find your lux meter...

I have no problems with 120-150W in a 4 square foot tent.
No outtake/intake fan.

Netherlands so not the hottest climate.

With modern top of the line chips you can easily get away with 25W/square foot.

I'm running 10 Citizen CLU038-1208s in a space almost exactly the size of yours. Running at 700ma each COB maxes at about 26w; dimmed for veg, 8-12w each. I know my plants are gonna get reeeaaall close to the light so running them super soft seemed like the best choice. We will know in a few months!

smacka said:

Thanks for the advice. Based on the following...

- great for height-sensitive spots
- cheaper (accounting for having to buy COBs, drivers, and heatsinks from different places and pay shipping on each)
- more efficient
- runs cooler
- 12 inches of additional grow space
- growmau5 loves them
- robin makes/loves them

I decided I'll go with a Quantum Board. Will look into it more tomorrow and figure out specifics of what I'll be getting.

Thanks again for the great info! My account is brand new so I can't like your posts but... I like them nonetheless.

Click to expand...

If you have a limited height space most people recommend a diode board light.

Theres a 35+ page long thread about different light strips that are made by samsung and bridgelux its the bridgelux EB series build thread. Right now quantum boards are basically unavailable, once ever month or two they have them available for 1 day and then are gone. While the QB guys have kept trying to make more and eliminate the 2 month waiting period it doesnt make sense to me to wait when you could just buy the samsung H series strips which have the 561c diodes that are used to make the QBs. The bridgelux ones are aparently very good as well. If you are in limited height id recommend either of those strips over any other option, including QBs because you just cant get them.

Personally I ordered 16 Samsung H series 2 foot long strips which has 48 of the 561c diodes on each strip for a total of 768 diodes and a cost of $156USD with free shipping from arrow. If i ordered two QB's it would be 608 of the 561c diodes for $150USD and shipping is extra, to where i live an extra $40USD. Why anyone would wait two months for a worse deal is beyond me.

GreenTools said:

If you have a smart phone, enter the code for the secret menu, and there you will find your lux meter...

Click to expand...

I have a LG G4 and all i did was download a free app from the google store called Galaxy Sensors. Depends what phone what sensors are inside it but all of them have a camera which it uses to measure Lux. With the G4 i have temp, humidity, LUX, airpressure and altitude sensors. No need to go buy one.

haze010 said:

I have a LG G4 and all i did was download a free app from the google store called Galaxy Sensors. Depends what phone what sensors are inside it but all of them have a camera which it uses to measure Lux. With the G4 i have temp, humidity, LUX, airpressure and altitude sensors. No need to go buy one.

Click to expand...

You don't even need the app if you look up the code for accessing the hidden menu for your phone...

GreenTools said:

You don't even need the app if you look up the code for accessing the hidden menu for your phone...

Click to expand...

Yup but if for some reason they cant find it, another answer is in the google playstore. Either way no need to spend $ on a cheap lux meter.

GreenTools said:

If you have a smart phone, enter the code for the secret menu, and there you will find your lux meter...

Click to expand...

haze010 said:

Yup but if for some reason they cant find it, another answer is in the google playstore. Either way no need to spend $ on a cheap lux meter.

Click to expand...

I tried a light meter app on my phone, and it did not work. It said my phone did not support that function.