how to seal a DIY Quantum Board.

[1212ham]

If I ever got my hands on some quantum boards..

I would build each one of the boards a shallow aquarium like tank from the acrylic, and hook them all up like an RDWC system with bulkheads. Then, fill it up and pump mineral oil through the system, with a radiator to disperse the heat down line. Dunk the boards right down into the oil, so they sink to the bottom, and the light shines down through.

Hook it up to the ceiling, and overdrive the chooch out of em.

Now that sounds like a good use of plexiglass and LEDs

If anyone is serious about liquid cooling, there are aluminum heat exchangers and extrusions available, no need to saute your boards.

I used square aluminum tube for my strips. I can liquid cool it but have only done so on a few occasions.

 

[Comparator]

Yeah, spray it w/silicone or other made for light transfusion. No uva to worry about. The glass drop is a nice ides too. Can diffuse that.

 

[mannitu77]

my ELG-240-48-A-3y arrived...i had to send it back, waiting for the AB-3y Version now. It clearly said "3-way-dimming" but the A doesnt have ofc. Seems they got that wrong with the "3y"
I will screw 5 quantum Boards together like a big "H"...and at the 2 junctions i will screw on a small 92mm fan, only 1000rpm and basically silent.

only thing im not sure yet if i buy lm281B+ Boards or 301H....last cost me more than double the price. Think im gonny stay with the LM281B+, its the SE rank, not the best but also no junk. And at lower current, they are very close to the 301. The current and power will be low per diode, ridicolously low. I wont even be able to use 240watt in my small tent.

 

[MedicinalMyA$$]

Now only $25 if you want some pre-made boards with programmable driver, acrylic cover, dimmer and timer controllable by app, good PAR map, and you can physically lock units together to make whatever shape you want.

 

[mannitu77]

i highly doubt its 25 dollarXD
and even if it is, its not in the EU.
And i already have some lamps in that "average" efficiency class of app. 2.0.

 

[MedicinalMyA$$]

Yeah it actually is $25, I have the same problem, after shipping and assorted taxes to my country it's basically close to normal price, but maybe someone in the U.S. who is after protected QB type boards will see this thread and nab some.
Electricity isn't expensive enough where I am to worry about fixture efficiency considering the size of my setup but I've been told Germany pays around U.S 40C per kw/h and other Euro countries aren't far off that.

Anyway, back to topic this might interest you.

 

[mannitu77]

migro did a 5000hour cycle on 3 different fixtures and the average flux reduction was 5% on the LEDs. There are so many good reasons for buying an oversized fixture and run it on lower power.

 

[mannitu77]

this will be my lamp...already very excited. I would even be able to change the PSU for a 480 somewhere in the future...allthough ill never do it. Spread will be great for anything from 2x2 to 100x100.
Still need a few meter of aluminum-profil...stuff is expensive. With everything including aluminum, fans, connectors i will be at 220-230eu. With LM281B+ SE-rank boards.

 

[1212ham]

this will be my lamp...already very excited. I would even be able to change the PSU for a 480 somewhere in the future...allthough ill never do it. Spread will be great for anything from 2x2 to 100x100.
Still need a few meter of aluminum-profil...stuff is expensive. With everything including aluminum, fans, connectors i will be at 220-230eu. With LM281B+ SE-rank boards.

You'll need to reduce the 62cm dimension to fit in a true 60x60, and don't forget the vertical poles in the corners. Just a couple observations, XLG drivers are less reliable than HLG and most would run more than 240w in a 100x100. The board in the center will create a hot spot of light, I'd just run 4 boards. BTW, what boards will you use?

Simple angle, channel or square tube might be a lot cheaper than T-slot extrusions. A lot of shops that do metal fabrication also sell metal.
I remember one builder that used some sort of extrusion involving doors, it was a very good price at a home supply store.

What boards will you use?

 

[Budzbuddha]

I used simple aluminum angle to form frame . By mocking up the size and light overlap the layout presented itself. Even if COBS go south one day I could swap pucks in to it. I sourced metal from Ganahl lumber. Third photo shows the driver being remote mounted to a simple wooden plate. That sits on tent corner top. Last photo shows where I made holes for carabiners - then connect ratchet rope points. I made it so I can also tilt the rig for different light play.

GL

 

[mannitu77]

nice...i wont buy any aftermarket heatsinks or fixtures. ill fix the boars with aluminum-u-profiles of different sizes. Some with screw, some with heatglue. Ill save a lot of money this way and realistically the boards will never use more than 32-33 watt board power and only need tiny colling. Im just gonny glue some profiles on to fix the boards too each other, make it "one piece" and directing the airflow from the fans. Most surface area will be empty, like they come.

Ill use the Qb288 boards from Ali. Each with 36 epistar reds, 4UV and 4IR. For "emerson effect" and all the wissles and bells and jingles and dingles XD
They go for 24eu for the LM281B+ Version and 48-60ee for Lm301B/H version. But to 90% sure ill get the LM281Bs...that whole concept wouldnt work, buying a high efficient lamp for less money, if i spend that much. It will still be more efficient than many lamps with 301diodes.

It should be more efficient than the Aray 3 for sure. And about the heatspot, i dont think it will be bad. Should be great spread when you have hanging high not too low.

 

[mannitu77]

guys, i finally got my PSU...this things are really nice. Holding that in your hand, it really gives you confidence that it wont fail. Just realized they are made in Taiwan..that explains. Thats pretty much Japan/Germany tier product. The panels are on their way from China, ive ordered 6 pieces now and will build them as 2 huge panels, each 52x28cm large. With gap between them, maybe ill even make it adjustible. Thing is, i ordered 2 kinds of dimmers but the retardation with the delivery noobs flipped in and they claimed they couldnt find me or my house. So these are on the way back...looking through my places for electric stuff, i found some cheap 3 dollar-Potis, one is 10k and one is 100k.

They must be rated 2 or 5 watt, but i dont even know if thats of any importance with the meanwell? because if not ill just use one, gonna fix it to the Meanwell with heatconductive glue.

 

[cobshopgrow]

watt rating of the pot dont matter for this purpose.

 

[mannitu77]

thank you! Then i think, im set. Dont need any connectors, ill just solder and have shrinktubes. Im not sure how to lay the cables, originally just wanted to connect every positive and negativ, but read in a thread its required to split the load, meaning the amperage, by splitting each pole in several load lines. For me that would be 6. I just doubt that its really neccessary, current isnt really that high. Would be 5 amps at max allthough i have no plans right now ever using that much.

Any opinion on that?

edit:another thing please, i see some of you keep all kinds of diagrams and specsheets, does anybody have something about the epistar 660nm and how they stack up against other, more modern ones like Cree and Osram? umol/J-wise?

 

[2com]

@mannitu77 On a recent HLG podcast Steven from HLG sort of talked about the diodes on the boards, and coatings, the silicone already present in the manufacturing process of them (correct me if I'm off/wrong in his mention of this specifically) and related stuff.
But yea, I've been using them for years and haven't had a single one fail or anything like that.

 

[bicit]

If anyone is serious about liquid cooling, there are aluminum heat exchangers and extrusions available, no need to saute your boards.

I used square aluminum tube for my strips. I can liquid cool it but have only done so on a few occasions.

I built a water cooled led light a few years ago for a vertical grow. when combined with a water chiller it works well, but has a some drawbacks as well.

 

[1212ham]

I built a water cooled led light a few years ago for a vertical grow. when combined with a water chiller it works well, but has a some drawbacks as well.

What drawbacks did you encounter? I'm happy with my system after changing from a big reservoir to a small radiator and fan. Actually, it's just an old heat-pipe cpu cooler with a cheap cpu water block attached. Plus an orange juice bottle for a res.
I'll buy a $20 CPU radiator for a cleaner setup. An Inkbird temp controller operates it with the probe at canopy level. 79.7-82.0 F the last 9 hrs.