Mau5Capades: builds & grow journal

alesh

Well-Known Member
I made the covers by hand. Parts are pretty self explanatory; cxa3070, hlg185-1400, a fan, 36" x 5.886 heatsink & some computer power supply connectors.

CXA3070s are becoming a little "retro" when compared to CXB3590s. but at $27 each for AD bin it was pretty hard to beat pricing wise.
Very nice. Could you share a bit about making the covers please?
edit: Nevermind I missed that post of yours in which you already shared how you did it.
Great work!
 

werm11

Well-Known Member
Don't mean to sound cheesy but you've been a great addition to this community. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and creativity with us.
It's cool to me that you used a metal brake to make those housing units. I've been wanting to make some just for my personal lights and the other day I was explaining to a buddy of mine what I was trying to accomplish and he suggested using a metal brake. I looked them up and it looks like they range anywhere from $200-$3000. That's a huge range which tells me there's a huge range in either quality or technology. My question is would the most basic metal brake work for a project like this or should I look for a specific type? I would probably just need one bigger than 18"...more like 36". Thanks for your time
 

PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
Don't mean to sound cheesy but you've been a great addition to this community. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and creativity with us.
It's cool to me that you used a metal brake to make those housing units. I've been wanting to make some just for my personal lights and the other day I was explaining to a buddy of mine what I was trying to accomplish and he suggested using a metal brake. I looked them up and it looks like they range anywhere from $200-$3000. That's a huge range which tells me there's a huge range in either quality or technology. My question is would the most basic metal brake work for a project like this or should I look for a specific type? I would probably just need one bigger than 18"...more like 36". Thanks for your time
harbor freight has a 30" model. around 55 I think. like the 18" probably fine for not too thick aluminum. thinking of getting one myself.
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
@PurpleBuz you posted about the 30" HF brake on my other thread about a week ago. I smacked my head because I wasn't aware of it (since its an online only item) & I had already started the project.
I think the "asymetical" shroud thing I have going on is functional, im not in love with it, but its okl. I wished the shrouds were 30" tho, TBH.
I did some air flow testing on the unit last night by tapping a piece of paper to each side of the heatsink and measuring deflection. The more open side definitely has less air flow velocity flowing down the length of the fins. I think a full length shroud is more optimal.

@werm11 I really appreciate the compliment, I don't think its cheesy at all. Positivity and kindness makes this forum a great place to hang out (most of the time, lol). Getting feedback from you guys fuels me and makes want to out do myself on every project. I wish this hobby/industry was a little more out in the open so I could physically help people build and fabricate their projects. Hopefully it won't be too many more years until we can come out from the shadows, use our real names, and continue to help each other pursue THE GOAL: growing a lot of great cannabis, efficiently.
 

bicit

Well-Known Member
@PurpleBuz you posted about the 30" HF brake on my other thread about a week ago. I smacked my head because I wasn't aware of it (since its an online only item) & I had already started the project.
I think the "asymetical" shroud thing I have going on is functional, im not in love with it, but its okl. I wished the shrouds were 30" tho, TBH.
I did some air flow testing on the unit last night by tapping a piece of paper to each side of the heatsink and measuring deflection. The more open side definitely has less air flow velocity flowing down the length of the fins. I think a full length shroud is more optimal.

@werm11 I really appreciate the compliment, I don't think its cheesy at all. Positivity and kindness makes this forum a great place to hang out (most of the time, lol). Getting feedback from you guys fuels me and makes want to out do myself on every project. I wish this hobby/industry was a little more out in the open so I could physically help people build and fabricate their projects. Hopefully it won't be too many more years until we can come out from the shadows, use our real names, and continue to help each other pursue THE GOAL: growing a lot of great cannabis, efficiently.
Just an idea, but if you have a shorter brake you can always make a full length shroud in stages. Break it up into two 12" pieces for the ends and a center 8" piece to serve as a mount for the fan. The center piece would overlap each end piece by 1" and allow you to bolt them together cleanly to prevent any wobble.

If that makes any sense :eyesmoke:
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
@ bicit, I actually tried a 2 piece shroud, but with my shitty HF brake, the two pieces didnt line up perfectly, just a mm off made it look kinda crappy. Problem with a large piece of material and a harbor freight bender, is that I couldnt clamp the center, and lining the pieces up by eye balling it, makes consistent bends a challenge. good idea tho.
 

Rahz

Well-Known Member
A cheaper break may not have the required pressure towards the center, so you end up with 90 degree bend on the edge close to the end of the break and not quite 90 on the other end. You can adjust (not sure about every model) each end separately to compensate but if you are using the full length of the break you can still end up with a larger than 90 degree bend in the middle. To remedy this without spending a bunch of money a rubber mallet can straighten the bend without warping the edge.

Also, it's generally a bad idea to use the max gauge at the full length, so if you want to bend 20 gauge make sure the break is rated for 18 gauge, or better 16 gauge. There's a reason the cheap ones are cheap, but you can make it work and get good results.
 

werm11

Well-Known Member
amazing how some people need to be spoon fed
Damn brother I'm sorry if I annoyed you with my question. However if you think a question like that warrants a dick head comment lIke the one you left, then you have a lot of posting to do cause there's loads of dumber things being asked on here. I wasn't talking to you anyway so buzz off buzzster.
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
3:15am lights are done, hung, & flowering has begun. I only had the budget to build 5 of these modules, which is hardly enough for my 4'x10' space. I had already invested in the BML spydr600 a year ago ( before I discovered DIY). So I decided to deconstruct the BML, create some jumper wires for the bars and spread them in between the CXA3070. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but the outside cobs are 4000k, and the center are 3000K. These are just cell phone pics, but enjoy!

top view.JPG front view.JPG front view 2.JPG
 

PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
3:15am lights are done, hung, & flowering has begun. I only had the budget to build 5 of these modules, which is hardly enough for my 4'x10' space. I had already invested in the BML spydr600 a year ago ( before I discovered DIY). So I decided to deconstruct the BML, create some jumper wires for the bars and spread them in between the CXA3070. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but the outside cobs are 4000k, and the center are 3000K. These are just cell phone pics, but enjoy!
very nice, neat and modular. Great use of the BMLs, I'll bet the combo of the crees and the bml grows better than either alone.

How is the heatsink temps ?
 

robincnn

Well-Known Member
I see the reflector only on the corner opposite to wall.
Outer COB close to corners. Does the heatsink get hot on the sides
What cable and connector or daisy chain ?

I do not think meanwell would mind being mounted upside down. Great design and hanger. With daisy chain... Done like a pro. Throw in a fan guard if you like.
 

CanadianONE

Well-Known Member
3:15am lights are done, hung, & flowering has begun. I only had the budget to build 5 of these modules, which is hardly enough for my 4'x10' space. I had already invested in the BML spydr600 a year ago ( before I discovered DIY). So I decided to deconstruct the BML, create some jumper wires for the bars and spread them in between the CXA3070. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but the outside cobs are 4000k, and the center are 3000K. These are just cell phone pics, but enjoy!

View attachment 3484778 View attachment 3484779 View attachment 3484780
Very nice setup. I take it you have the reflectors on the one end only to help keep the lite in the canopy since there is no wall there to reflect light back into canopy? Can I bother to ask make/model of the reflectors your using as well as what degree?
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
Great use of the BMLs, I'll bet the combo of the crees and the bml grows better than either alone
That was what I thought. I'm not a big believer in "secret sauce" but the BML spectral peaks are excellent and fill in what the 4k cree are lacking.

I take it you have the reflectors on the one end only to help keep the lite in the canopy
These LEDIL angelinas (90deg) are expensive ($10). I want them on all 15 COBs, but at the time, mouser didnt have enough stock, so I just ordered the 5 most important one.

Does the heatsink get hot on the sides What cable and connector or daisy chain ?
I should have mounted the outer cobs another inch from the edges. If i was in a tent, i could see the outer temps getting a bit too hot. I am getting a lot of cooling assistance from adjacent oscillating fans. Ill take some measurements along the heatsink to see what we are looking at.

Here is a photo of some AC power connectors I keep around. I order 10 or 20pks from amazon because they are too cool, and too cheap not to have a shit load of them laying around. The daisy chain cords are computer monitor jumper wires ($4) from my local computer shop. they are great because they come in 6", 12", 24, 36, etc etc. IMG_2244.JPG
 

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
I wasn't planning on publishing this online because I didn't document the grow very well with pictures or video. But I think it is relevant here because the changes that I made are based on short comings of the previous grow.

1) The previous COB fixture that I used was 30"x30". The plants on the walkway side that did not benefit from light reflection from the back wall simply did not yield.
2) Having half white light and half red light annoyed me. Transpiration rates were different, canopy height was not even, etc.

The attached yield chart showed an identical gpw yield between the spydr and the DIY fixture, down to 2 decimal places which really blew me away. My initial numbers supported 1.515 gpw, but once all was said and done, I lost 7% dry weight to final drying and curing. so somewhere in the 1.4 gpw range. The exact final numbers were not as important to me as how each square foot of the garden was performing. And yes, I need a PAR meter bad. I feel like im driving a car with no map. grow round 1.JPG Flowering round 1 chart.png

To clarify my short hand: the left side of the chart is 9 plants under the DIY, the right side is 6 plants under the BML.
G2 = grape stomper x G13 phenotype#2
P3= payday: querkle x the FLAV
LB1= some great white shark x ?? strain.
 
Last edited:
Top