Turban Poison
Member
Buy straight from china for a discount, please ship 3 panels to africa they will than ship it by camel to me.
Not all Chinese products are created equal. Top bin Cree CXAs, the most efficient LEDs in the world as far as I am aware, are manufactured in Crees Chinese plant. On the other hand, the very worst LEDs in the world also come from China. So when in doubt, I assume the worst (15% efficiency and not properly cooled). If you have yourself an LED grow lamp with unknown bins and chips, it is likely a false economy and you would be much better of using HPS.
Area 51 uses Cree chips so the bin and performance is known to a reasonable extent. That is critical for an LED grow lamp. Only a few other lamps fall into that category. The Hans, Onyx Bloom and Apache.
wrong, all chinese are built same standard.
wrong, all chinese are built same standard.
Has anyone bothered to experiment and design their own product by just buying the raw equipment such as aluminum housing, heat exchangers, fans, circuit boards, and LED's or is that out of the question at this time?
Lol some people dont bother too look around the forumsYou're kidding, right?
That's what we're all about!!
You're kidding, right?
That's what we're all about!!
There are just too many good threads to post from this section. The different designs with different size vero and cxa , heatsinks, drivers, this place is where all DIY cobs thoughts originate. The fish tank world is also loving DIY cobs.
Cobs make it convenient to finally get serious power from leds with minimal wiring/soldering. The simplicity and easiness to get started is what's attracting so many people to finally make their own DIY LED grow lamps.
I'm quite new to the the forums. I haven't come across anyone who actually does anything themselves to the degree that I asked or otherwise I wouldn't haven't bothered asking in the first place.
That being said, I have seen a bunch of LED users who try out the various products out there. It seems like you either chance it with a moderate brand like LightHouse Hydro or you go all in with your money and buy a fancy LED unit such as the Area-51 models. I can't see buying the parts, as the companies do, being cost effective for anyone who's looking to make one or two units for themselves but maybe someone has found an exception and is willing to share?
You haven't been looking very hard.
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-leds-how-to-power-them.801554/
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-led-cree-cxa3070.789575/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/cob-spectral-research-microcab.838578/
http://rollitup.org/t/thinking-of-a-new-light.822679/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-led-grow-lights-with-cree-cxa3070-cobs-and-cpu-coolers.805681/
You don't save much if anything building your own panels vs a production version, especially if you use high quality components. However it's possible to build a higher quality and/or more efficient panel that's optimized for a given space/application. A production panel has to make certain compromises to get the price/profit ratio right, shipping constraints, and so it can appeal to a broader customer base.
I figured.
I guess if you have the time, money, and ambitions of making your own LED unit, it's definitely worth doing it yourself. I plan on eventually saving up for such a project. Until then I'll just have to keep feeding the dragon.