Gentleman,
after spending 25+ hours reading on LEDs in this forum I have some questions in choosing an appropriate LED setup. But first let me thank you for your time and efforts in researching and providing all the informations.
Specs and setup so far: Starting my first indoor grow with one old 70 watt 830 CDM-TD powerball-in-a-crappy-cheap-floodlight, I have plans for upgrading my lightning before buying an appropriately sized flightcase for permanent <100 Watt stealth and quiet microgrowing. Plant height including distance from lamp but without pot shall be somewhere in the range of 1-2 foot, the smaller the better.
The CDM-T is specified with 6500 lumen when new, so as the lamp is second-hand maybe 620 , resulting in probably no more than 5000 lm at the 10 by 10 inches sized canopy when the lightsource is within a distance of 3 inches above the latter. Venting is done through a 160 cbm/h carbon filter with a Papst type 4184 NXH 11W 12-25V-DC starting reliably from 4.5 V on (->no PWM fan). Quiet and powerful at 12 V. BTW, SupraSPL, thanks for linking the efficent 5$ 12V 2A power supply with adjustable voltage, ordered. Air circulation is provided by one 2.5 Watt Crest Mini USB Powered Desktop Cooling Fan SY-ACC65055, works nicely.
Aiming at 2 plants in
flowering (perpetual, i.e. one ~4 weeks younger than the other) with each one not exceeding 10x10 sq inch horizontal size, I thought on two CXA3070-0000-000N00Z230F-ND powered with either 700 or 900/1050 mA. I already ordered three 9.99 $ pure copper CPU heatsinks for passive cooling (each 2x3x3.5 inches, 1.2 kg weight
, estimated surface area ~5050 sq cm, but small fin distance)
http://www.primelec.com/ibm-xseries-passive-copper-networking-accessories-p8842071.
So coming to the questions that arised:
(1) Is there any better bin or spectra suggestion for a pure flowering panel than CXA3070-0000-000N00Z230F-ND or are different spectra/bins for the older and younger lady advised?
(2) Any better option than CXA3070?
(3) One COB powered at 900-1050 mA shall be able to replace the 70 W cdm-TD that seems to supply adequate light. When kindly gazing in your crystal balls, will I be able to supply sufficent (semi-)passive cooling when running with 900 or 1050 mA per COB? Which driver when aiming at the lower end, around 900 mA?
(4) Is it (ben)efficient to add 1-4 red or blue or XML stars to a CXA !in series! on the heat sink to optimize the spectra and/or slightly increase wattage and efficency. As of my concerns under (3), a ~50V 700 mA power supply would power the cob with a 5-9% increased efficency while the LED stars could compensate the missing wattage. Downside is that I have no glue which parts to source and will not have the time to dig deep enough into the topic. Have to build a light, now
:
(5) A pure bonsai
mother/vegging/cloning light is urgently needed. What is your advise, Cree XM-L2 U2-4C (How many?) and which red/blue for good spreading and the option to change the chain length depending on the amount of plants that need to be illuminated. Or simply a CXA3070-0000-000N00Z450F-ND or CXA3070-0000-000N00Z240F-ND? Will a 350 mA power supply provide sufficent energie to provide an adequately trained (scrog or better, twice tipped) small plant every 4 weeks, what wattage to aim at?
Cheers