Very simple question to get me started on a diy led

I have never done anything with diy lights.
So with that being said is a first timer better off building a cob style light, like with the cree 3590s, or a quantum board style? Which will be least complicated/easy or least chance of screwing it up? I know just a little bit about the cobs as I have watched a lot of growmau5's videos, however it's been a long time since ive seen them. But I know nothing about QB's. Your recommendation for me?

Once I've decided which to go with then I'll hop onto all the diy threads and videos of the specific style I choose.

Appreciate all input!

The QB boards are an easier overall build and top notch quality. Definitely try a QB build first if you're looking for simplicity.

Check out Bridgelux EB strips (just search for them). Better to customize to your grow space. Better light spread than QB. If you are looking for better efficiency, than go with Samsung H-, or F- series, or some other strips with LM561C S6 Bin, to be as efficient as the QB are.

Vero 29 gen 7's, top bang fer yer buck, as easy to use as fitting a cpu into a pc. Latest ones are push fit wireing or there are others with an ez plug type fitment, go parallel wireing to simplify driver selection and yer away!
I prefer large heatsinks with multiple cobs over individual pin type heatsinks and I would simply choose a meanwell driver of the desired voltage/amperage and wattage.

freemanjack said:

Vero 29 gen 7's, top bang fer yer buck, as easy to use as fitting a cpu into a pc. Latest ones are push fit wireing or there are others with an ez plug type fitment, go parallel wireing to simplify driver selection and yer away!

I prefer large heatsinks with multiple cobs over individual pin type heatsinks and I would simply choose a meanwell driver of the desired voltage/amperage and wattage.

Click to expand...

I appreciate the detail. Preferably would like to do a build that doesn't require soldering. Its not a make or break but ive never soldered before so just that much easier if i can stay away from it im thinking. So these quick fit wiring attachments, those are all solder free?

freemanjack said:

Vero 29 gen 7's, top bang fer yer buck, as easy to use as fitting a cpu into a pc. Latest ones are push fit wireing or there are others with an ez plug type fitment, go parallel wireing to simplify driver selection and yer away!

I prefer large heatsinks with multiple cobs over individual pin type heatsinks and I would simply choose a meanwell driver of the desired voltage/amperage and wattage.

Click to expand...

Also I apologize if that question is covered in the video you attached. I'm at work and won't have a chance to watch it until later this evening

I appreciate the feedback friends
Ill be writing down and doing a little research on each style of led suggested to find what I think will work best for my needs

ALSO;

If you guys could include a ballpark estimate of what a cost would be for a 600 watt build of the style you suggest that would be awesome too! Just rounding to the nearest hundred would be fine

they all use the same electrical fundamentals (cobs, QBs, bridgelux strips) and will yields similar results at a similar budget

its kind of like selecting a coupe or a hatchback or a sedan vs riding your bike

growmau5's videos are an excellent resource, just keep in mind that chip tech moves fast so the chips he recommended 2 years ago arent necessarily the best option today.

the main difference with QB and bridgelux strips which use "Mid power diodes" is you dont need thermal paste as the heat is already spread out over a fairly large area, where cob is more of a "point source" of light

but once they are all hung up, assuming you arranged them to get uniform coverage, at 12-18" away your plants dont care... its all phosphor-based white light to them

NugHeuser said:

If you guys could include a ballpark estimate of what a cost would be for a 600 watt build of the style you suggest that would be awesome too! Just rounding to the nearest hundred would be fine

Click to expand...

depends on your target efficiency.

you can do a 600W rig for $300, $600, $900, etc.

drivers are pretty fixed at 25-30 cents per watt. heatsinks can vary from 15-50 cents a watt depending on style and efficiency target
chip cost can vary from 10 cents to over a dollar per watt and thats the biggest variable in performance

a general rule of thumb is if you run the same chip at half the current you will bump efficiency by about 10%. which seems nominal but 10% energy savings (or 10% yield increase) pays back pretty quickly at 5-6 crops per year

HLG and Timber make excellent kits for novice builders. They come with everything you need to assemble the lights. Excellent quality and easy to assemble. That's where I would go if you're looking for simple.

However, if you're a little more mechanically inclined I'm sure @CobKits can get you started. Just picked up some chips from him, excellent service and quick shipping.

i also have QBs now but it seems like im always chasing my tail keeping up with the site

CobKits said:

i also have QBs now but it seems like im always chasing my tail keeping up with the site

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What is your website? I wouldn't mind checking out some of the products and prices

cobkits.com

NugHeuser said:

I appreciate the detail. Preferably would like to do a build that doesn't require soldering. Its not a make or break but ive never soldered before so just that much easier if i can stay away from it im thinking. So these quick fit wiring attachments, those are all solder free?

Click to expand...

Wago connectors are your best friend then, simple click lock industry standard non solder connections, I solder just fine bust still wago most builds
http://global.wago.com/en/products/product-catalog/terminal-blocks-connectors/overview/index.jsp

NugHeuser said:

ALSO;

If you guys could include a ballpark estimate of what a cost would be for a 600 watt build of the style you suggest that would be awesome too! Just rounding to the nearest hundred would be fine

Click to expand...

I built that 3kw array for around £300 GBP per 600w pair and recon around 50p per watt is there or thereabouts fer a homegamer on a budget so @CobKits is pretty much on the mark. I rate the fella too, not seen a dodgy post from them yet so big up da cobkit!

I'm going to bring this thread back to life as I've got a few questions.

So I've been looking into the different styles of diy led. I atleast for the moment decided to go with the vero 29 SE C bin. I threw together a partial cart with the more expensive items(cobs, drivers, heatsinks) on rapid led and cutter to get a good idea at the price and was not expecting it to be so high..

At first I was looking at somewhere around a 16 cob setup and was looking like it would be well over 1000$. So then I went down to a 9 cob setup and was still looking to be probably around 600 to 700 dollars..

I'd like to run the lights that are putting out these awesome numbers of 2+ gpw but are the cheaper cobs out there going to come close to matching those numbers or the content I'm seeing out of led growers gardens like greengenes?

If I can get away with a much cheaper setup I'd like to.. 600 watts is what id like to aim for on the low end.

I also have 2 galaxy hydro leds, 130 watt actual draw. Would it be possible or not a huge pain to use the drivers inside of those for my cobs? Or am I better off just keeping them for a veg light for my younger plants?

I appreciate any help

sounds like @CobKits is the man to answer this question......

id like to see some 2 gpw gardens. havent seen one documented yet. im not saying its not doable but it would normally entail longer veg time, lots of topping and training, lower PPFD, in conjunction with very efficient lights and a good grower. often times gpw is at the expense of g/SF so your criteria may be different

vero "C" is a voltage model not a bin. it is the most expensive of the veros, and whether or not you get value out of that depends on how hard you run them. at lower wattages the difference between the vero C and chips that cost half as much are subtle, less than 1%. The bigger chips are generally indicated if running above 75W per chip, which may not be in your plan if high gpw is your criteria

you can do the same thing with larger chips (Vero29, citi 1825, etc) with smaller chips (citi 1212, luminus cxm22), if you have an efficiency target for a given chip you just need to run each chip softer and use more of them. checkout @DesertHydro posts for some great results with the smaller chips.

hard to make recs without knowing your space size.