How high do you drive your QB288s?

I just got a triple slate and a HLG-480H-2800A. With the driver bottomed out at 1.52A I was getting 71° with the thermocouple taped directly to the board.
The heatsink had some voids in it (bottom could of been machined a lot smoother) and the boards had a good amount of flex in them. There was a noticeable gap in the middle of the left and right sides.

After adding some thermal joint compound and a 100CFM fan I'm at 2.34A and the recommended 55°.
Is this about max for these boards? Should I run it a bit hotter or maybe up airflow with two 150CFM fans.

Spectrum makes a big difference on distance from plants

What spectrum

R-Spec

They have a spectrum

3000k
3500k

Nevermind yer talking about watts

I Never test for amps, just watts

I run mine at max, which a 288 is like 137watts I think per board

Although i dont recommend the practice of driving too hard theres an informative video on ledgardeners youtube channel, search quantum board torture...

7CardBud said:

I just got a triple slate and a HLG-480H-2800A. With the driver bottomed out at 1.52A I was getting 71° with the thermocouple taped directly to the board.
The heatsink had some voids in it (bottom could of been machined a lot smoother) and the boards had a good amount of flex in them. There was a noticeable gap in the middle of the left and right sides.

After adding some thermal joint compound and a 100CFM fan I'm at 2.34A and the recommended 55°.
Is this about max for these boards? Should I run it a bit hotter or maybe up airflow with two 150CFM fans.View attachment 4712340View attachment 4712335

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You are under the maximum current of 3000mA for the QB 288 V2 R Spec boards , but the Slate 2 triple heatsink is only rated for 325 watts (in comparison Slate 2 single heatsinks are rated for 150 watts each).



Have you measured the voltage on the DC side as well as the current? I guess you're around 365 to 375 watts right now. The fans are clearly helping with your board temps, but it's difficult to say how high you should push it with the wattage. I would say yes to adding the two 150CFM fans to the heatsink. You could also ask @Stephenj37826 your questions on the DIY With Quantum Boards thread, or you could request his help in this one.

I would, and do, put fans in place to blow over the top of the heatsinks and also the power supplies which i have on top of my sinks. I also have a fan above the canopy between the top of the canopy and under the boards...sweeping away as much heat as I dont want.

I do not like running my boards above about 100 to 110w each. The heat begins to get high enough (in part from the power supplies getting closer to max). I would have no problem running them up to 150w each if heat was no issue. As long as its under the rated max and fire is not an issue, i really wouldnt care if the boards burn out a little faster...they last a long time no matter how they are run. They are well designed and safe imo.

There is a test on another site "lets blow up a qb288" which was darn impressive. I think at 5000 (rated for 3000) it still didnt fry. Very well designed imo.

SMD are mid power diodes by design - so trying to run balls to the wall only shortens life .

Efficiency is actually higher at nominal watts.

ComfortCreator said:

There is a test on another site "lets blow up a qb288" which was darn impressive. I think at 5000 (rated for 3000) it still didnt fry. Very well designed imo.

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I think that's the video Rocket Soul was referring to in his post above. Clearly it's become quite well known.

I run all my boards 312s and under at 50watts lol