First you need a budget for the lights... so figure that out, then use the LED Calculator just search that term in the search bar on the LED side you will find it.
I remote driver my mechatronics and I drilled and tapped a hole in teh top with a ring eyelet screwed in. works great. peace. I just hang it from teh ceiling or whatever i can hang from and a line thru the eyelet. I have four of these with 3590 36v 50w, warm, never hot, simple easy, cheap. peacenaw if you remote the driver you can hang those two fixtures from above easily. ive got a clever clip system but its in beta
Series Designation:
What are these 409w Pairui drivers you speak of? $40 sounds like a steal!
400* from Jerry. $37.
yeah these have fans on top tho so you gotta mount from side. im assuming youre using a big passive like a mega
You sure you're not talking about the LGSU250-C1400D which he sells for $37? That's a 250w driver.
Special deal for you bro, limited time only, twice the priceJust hang around a bit and @Evil-Mobo will be selling some very gently used led's built for a 3x3
Greetings fellow oldster, for some economical design ideas for DIY LED grow light info including very economical water cooled lights (starting on page 8, go to my thread. I specialize in designs for those with limited resources, my latest water cooled types use economical, commonly available aluminum tubing, hardware store fittings and hoses. Don't know what you want for LEDs, higher quality is better, but pricey, if you live in the states, it might even be reasonably priced. Cheap Chinese 100 watt LEDs on cheap 50 watt drivers are a good way to get experience without too much expense, you can work on getting better COBs and drivers later.Is it possible to build a good COB LED light for a grow tent 3x3x5 for under $200.00?
I have done a lot of reading here and there does not seem to be a consensus about much in relation to a cheap build that meets anybody’s growing standards. I am so confused. Help!
I am a child of the 60’s and smoked a lot of pot back in the day. Then some career choices had me clean for over 35 years. I have a deteriorating disc in my back with a lot of pain. I do not tolerate opioid type medications and the NSAIDS were destroying my liver and kidneys. My doctor decided I should try Cannabis. Well ok, it works better than the NSAIDS. I am retired on a fixed income and want to grow my own medicine. I live in the San Joaquin Valley of California and it is really hot here in the summer. I can only afford to run a swamp cooler so my best daytime indoor temp is 82°F with 60% RH. I have a small tent 3x3x5 running a top fed deep water culture (5 gallon bucket), 6” hyperFan exhaust with plenty of CFM. I was running my day/night upside down to help with the heat. I have two small cheap Chinese LED fixtures. I started with 8 CFLs but the heat buildup was just too high. Remember my incoming air is already hot. I had to have something fast so that is why the Roleadro LEDs. Fortunately, I had most everything I needed to add CO2 and I programmed an Arduino Uno to inject the CO2 based on cubic foot calculations without letting the tent go over 95°F before turning the exhaust fan back on. I am actually surprised by the results so far. I made a NOOBZ mistake with my genetics as I chose Moby Dick CBD based on the high CBD, expected yield and flavor profile – all good for what I was looking for. I failed to notice that this strain needs a LOT of room to grow. The first clue should have been in the name – MOBY DICK!!!. Here is a picture of Mobina I thought she should have a girl’s name. I think I still have 4 or more weeks to go.
I want to upgrade my lights for my next grow. I have a fixed income. I will not be selling any pot to supplement my medical grow because I will not risk a stint at the cross bar hotel. So please don’t talk about the macro economics of spending more money to save more over the long term. I understand that already. Can a good COB based LED grow light be built for under $200.00? I can scrap together a frame. I want to mount the driver/s outside of the tent. Since vertical space inside the tent is at a premium I don’t think I need lenses or refractors but you tell me.
Seems like a good deal on a good COB, you can drive them individually at 1500 ma with cheap chinese 50 watt drivers. There are many who claim that these COBs are as good as the more expensive Cree alternative.
yep
You can get better if you have more cobs, use he same settings but double the amount of cobs and half the amount of power. Might get to be over kill but you can lower the current lower still and see if you like the results better... For me 40-60 of those cobs in a 4x4 is perfect price wise driven at 300-400mAOk so I cannot do it well at $200 but I think I can at ~$300. I’ll just have to eat cheerios for a couple of months – LOL.
First of all I want to thank @bggrass and everyone else involved in programming and maintaining the DIYCOBLEDCalculator.jar and the CitiCalculator.jar. This is the most useful tool I have discovered on RUI. I also with to thank all of you that responded to my inquiry.
It will be a little bit “Frankenstein” with all of those fans but passive is just too expensive for now.
MEAN WELL HLG-185H-C1400B 1400mA $54.00 x 2 = $108.00
Mouser
ARCTIC Alpine 64 GT Rev. 2 8x$8.00= $64.00
Amazon
CLU048-1212C4-353H6K2 $10.30 x 8= $82.10
Ebay
Misc. ~$46.00
$108.00
$ 64.00
$ 82.10
$ 46.00
$300.00
At full power:
Dimmed ~50%
If anyone can improve on this for the same or less please chime in.
