DIY Led Plans

[Spencerv]

I want to build a cob DIY led. I would love to not spend a hundred $'s on a Cree cxa3050 w/ a suitable driver. I found this add on eBay http://m.ebay.com/itm/300916307742?nav=SEARCH. The color temp on the warm white is right on par with an hps. It claims to put out 9,000- 9,500 lumens on a different listing of that same item from that seller. Would this be a suitable light to grow two 60 day wonders in a dwc? My space is 2x2 and 3' tall. I have a copper heat sink rated at 80w. I also have a lot of circulation in my grow cab. Ultimately, my plan is to use thermal paste to adhere that led chip to the heat sink. I plan to run the driver outside of the cab to reduce heat. The heat sink has a fan cooling it, so I think I'll be fine with heat anyways. Does this light actually perform to Cree standards? I'm thinking that maybe Cree is only so expensive because they are the top brand rather than top performer. Any thoughts on this or my plans?

 

[FranJan]

Not a COB friend, (notice how it doesn't say COB anywhere in the ad?). And even if you move the driver outside the grow, that multi-chip array will put out a shit ton of heat. Mystery die and drivers tend to do that. Your cooler may work, but your overall output will suffer since it needs to be rated a bit higher to be on the safe side and increased heat = decreased output with LEDs. It won't do what you want it to IMHO. It'll veg, but it's not efficient enough to flower properly. Sorry.

Have you looked at Philips COBs? They have good output at a reasonable price. Or Bridgelux Veros? CREE's not the only player btw.

 

[Mellodrama]

Don't do it

 

[Spencerv]

Don't do it

Care to say why?

 

[stardustsailor]

Care to say why?

Look ...

There are two ' ways' to enter the led DIY world ....
Either the ' cheap-a$$ ' way ..(Personally have been there ,before ...)
or..
Either the 'quality -way ' ....(I'm right there ,at the moment.)

Following the first way ,is nice ...
You'll get to learn quite a few things ...
How to handle,solder,build ,etc with leds ,without worrying -in case of a screw-up-about any costly ...casualties .....
You will also learn-first hand- the reason why you should 've preferred the 'quality-way' ....

The quality -way,is the only DIY -way ,regarding leds,that trully will show good to awesome 'results'....
And eventually ,99% of led diyers ,end up " walkin' this way " ...

If you want to buy ,this 'heater' of an array ,along with it's 'driver' ,do it,by all means...
Anyway,it is not going to last more than a year or two ...
And yes ,it might grow some weed ,until it fails ...

Oh,have a ( CO2- or Powder ) fire -extinguisher near by that 'combo'....
In case that "last moment" comes,any sooner,out of a sudden !!! ...
You just never know if it's going to 'die' only with a bit of smoking out ...
Sometimes they tend to ignite also ,in colourful flames ..(<=Amazing to watch !! )

Cheers.

 

[stardustsailor]

And there's no way that this no-name array is even close ,
performing like a CREE,Bridgelux,Phillips,Citizen,Nichia or any other COB ,made from renown manufacturers ...

No...Cree is not "only so expensive because they are the top brand rather than top performer" ...

From these two ...
Cree vs that e-bay seller ...

Who of those two ,do you think ,is thinking of you " as a complete dumb-ass of a customer / buyer " ?

There's more than a bunch of reasons ,that justify the price 'gap' ...
Show some respect to yourself , your intelligence and to the rest of us ,please.

Are you seriously considering that you're so clever-lucky-etc ,cause you found that crap of led array ?
While the rest of us are throwing away our money ,buying mostly " brand-name " ,instead of efficiency/quality ?



Cheers.

 

[Rooster99]

There are like 100 threads on RIU on this exact subject. Expensive LEDs are expensive because they work. They are all measured and tested so you know what you are getting. You always get what you pay for. Always. Always!!!!! Yes you could probably grow something with them but there are no shortcuts. There are not many components involved here so there are no real oportunies to cut corners. You are going to have to spend some money to make this worthwhile.

These cheap LEDs might work but you would need probably 2-3+ of them to match the output of the equivalent cree/bridgelux led. That means spending 2-3 as much power for the same result. Wattage is not a very good measurement for led output power. Wattage is fine for other lighting because the rate in which it converts electricity to light is very consistent. With LEDs there are too many variables. How efficient is the led (how much power is used to actually create light compared to how much power is wasted)? A 3w led with bad efficiency will consume the same power as a cree 3w ( I know its more complicated but this is a simple example). However the actual light output will vary greatly between the 2. If you need 9w of crap LEDs to match the output of a single cree, then you are wasting money in power, materials and the fact that you need to manage 2-3 more light fixtures.

I hope this makes sense. Good luck!

 

[SupraSPL]

Hey Spencer, I agree with these guys. When you actually work the math Cree CXA3070 is actually cheaper/photon than the no-name stuff. It also has the benefit of well established reliability. You can build a DIY COB grow light VERY cheaply and with the money you save from buying weed it will pay for itself quickly. You have a 2X2 space, you could spend as little as $57 and build a top notch 52W CREE COB grow light, but you could squeeze four of them in that space if you want to scale it up.

 

[Spencerv]

Not a COB friend, (notice how it doesn't say COB anywhere in the ad?). And even if you move the driver outside the grow, that multi-chip array will put out a shit ton of heat. Mystery die and drivers tend to do that. Your cooler may work, but your overall output will suffer since it needs to be rated a bit higher to be on the safe side and increased heat = decreased output with LEDs. It won't do what you want it to IMHO. It'll veg, but it's not efficient enough to flower properly. Sorry.

Have you looked at Philips COBs? They have good output at a reasonable price. Or Bridgelux Veros? CREE's not the only player btw.

And there's no way that this no-name array is even close ,
performing like a CREE,Bridgelux,Phillips,Citizen,Nichia or any other COB ,made from renown manufacturers ...

No...Cree is not "only so expensive because they are the top brand rather than top performer" ...

From these two ...
Cree vs that e-bay seller ...

Who of those two ,do you think ,is thinking of you " as a complete dumb-ass of a customer / buyer " ?

There's more than a bunch of reasons ,that justify the price 'gap' ...
Show some respect to yourself , your intelligence and to the rest of us ,please.

Are you seriously considering that you're so clever-lucky-etc ,cause you found that crap of led array ?
While the rest of us are throwing away our money ,buying mostly " brand-name " ,instead of efficiency/quality ?



Cheers.

Hey Spencer, I agree with these guys. When you actually work the math Cree CXA3070 is actually cheaper/photon than the no-name stuff. It also has the benefit of well established reliability. You can build a DIY COB grow light VERY cheaply and with the money you save from buying weed it will pay for itself quickly. You have a 2X2 space, you could spend as little as $57 and build a top notch 52W CREE COB grow light, but you could squeeze four of them in that space if you want to scale it up.

Thanks for the input guys! What life without some constructive criticism?