Best LED Vegging Setup for 2x4 Tent

[Seriousbuds]

Hey all. I'm looking to do a DIY build for a 2x4 tent dedicated to vegging.

I'm really into the idea of a Citizen COB build.

Does anyone have some suggestions for what I should go with? I need driver and LED suggestions.

For color temp it sounds like 3000k is best for veg only lights, but I'm hearing conflicting information on this.

 

[doz]

Dont know much about Citizen COB but shoot for a single bar w/ maybe 4-5 COBS. You can go with a MW 250w driver (or even 200w would be alright depending how fast you are looking to veg). 200w-250w @ 50%+ efficiency is more than enough for veg.

And you will want 5000k for a dedicated veg light. 3000k is for flowering.

 

[Evil-Mobo]

Dont know much about Citizen COB but shoot for a single bar w/ maybe 4-5 COBS. You can go with a MW 250w driver (or even 200w would be alright depending how fast you are looking to veg). 200w-250w @ 50%+ efficiency is more than enough for veg.

And you will want 5000k for a dedicated veg light. 3000k is for flowering.

This thread is done your question has been answered to perfection IMO.............

I actually have the parts here for this same build using Citizen 1812's and a mean well 240-1050B minus the aluminum for the frame if you need parts. Not gonna end up using them built a different light first and then my 2x4 came down...............

 

[VegasWinner]

8 cxb3590 36v 3500k with 2 hlg-185h-c1400b mw drivers in two rows of four. Peace

 

[doz]

8 cxb3590 36v 3500k with 2 hlg-185h-c1400b mw drivers in two rows of four. Peace

Why do you need 400w in a 8 sq ft veg space? Complete waste.... You do not need as much light for veg to begin with and 400w in 8 sq ft is damn near overkill for flowering.....

 

[Rahz]

2 flagship cobs at 75 watts will provide at least 500 PPFD, so 150 watts to light the 2x4 for veg. With the smaller chips or lower wattage more would be used but the wattage shouldn't go up. With enough efficiency the wattage can go down more.

 

[Seriousbuds]

2 flagship cobs at 75 watts

I'm not super well versed on the models but I think you mean the CXB3590 and vero 29?

Do Citizen fit into this picture?

What is their "flagship cob" and would it work as the other options for a vegging light?

Sorry Rahz... questions breed more questions haha

 

[Seriousbuds]

Everyone in the thread has a different wattage figure though:
1. 75w
2. 150w
3. 200w
4. 250w
5 400w

Is there a general consensus of where I should be at, in terms of COB wattage?

 

[Rahz]

Yea, 3590, Vero 29 and Citizen CLU058-1825 and 3618 both have good efficiency at 75 watts.

Veg can range from 200 PPFD to 800+ PPFD. I think the growth in the 450-500 region is pretty robust.

 

[Evil-Mobo]

I recommended the 250 because it's right in the middle, offers you the flexibility to run full blast for flower if you ever need to (it happens) and you can dim it down to 180 watts or so and be good on veg

 

[VegasWinner]

Why do you need 400w in a 8 sq ft veg space? Complete waste.... You do not need as much light for veg to begin with and 400w in 8 sq ft is damn near overkill for flowering.....

50w per square foot will lead to a PPFD about 1100. Excellent for both veg and flower. If I need clones to go in flower quickly 50w slowly 25w. Nice to have choices. You can always dim but adding is a lot harder. Peace

 

[VegasWinner]

I use three different drivers, all HLG style a C350B, a C700B, and a C1400B. Worthwhile to have the COBs and just change drivers as needed. Peace

 

[VegasWinner]

I recommended the 250 because it's right in the middle, offers you the flexibility to run full blast for flower if you ever need to (it happens) and you can dim it down to 180 watts or so and be good on veg

250 is too low for bloom. 50 wpsf recommended for bloom 25 wpsf for veg. Need flexibility with a dimmable C1400B from 700ma to 1400ma 25w to 50w psf

 

[PetFlora]

Here's 250w in a 3 x 3, single plant taken on 9/30 and another under 220w

Pic 1 under an Amare Technologies SE 250 (250w)
Pic 2 is top of main stem that I had to snap as I was quickly running out of height (AT 220)

 

[VegasWinner]

looks nice. always strain specific regarding response. I guess I am offering flexibility as an option. Have the ability to produce between 25w to 50w psf, which is good planning in my view. If you are going to build a light, build a good light. Consider more than the moment. More COB's vs. less COB's is a good choice always. Different drivers, different outcomes. Gropwing is unique to strain, local environmental conditions, including, lighting, water, humidity, to name a few. Each person could post pics of great grows at various ppfd. That doews not answer another persons questions. The question is if you had to do it over what would you change, after learning what you now know? peace

 

[Rayne]

Everyone in the thread has a different wattage figure though:
1. 75w
2. 150w
3. 200w
4. 250w
5 400w

Is there a general consensus of where I should be at, in terms of COB wattage?

The answer to your question depends on your budget.

Using fifty watts per COB is common. (IE: A driver with a rated output of 200 watts is commonly used to power four COBs. )

 

[VegasWinner]

Having 200w for veg is excellent. The light can also serve as a bloom light. The ability to dim 50% means great growth for plants, better than 200w. Adding royal blue as a light supplement also allows for even closer nodal development as does lower wattage. I also have a C700B when I want even slower and bushier growth. Having multiple drivers is the most flexible approach I have found.

 

[Mechmike]

I use Vero 18 chips for everything. My veg is specifically designed for a 2x4 veg tent. The light consists of 4" x 36" heatsink with 10 chips. The driver is a Meanwell HLG-120H-C500B. 100k pot for dimming. The driver maxes out at 150w so at full power I am only driving the chips at 15w each. I typically only need to run it at ~50w for excellent vegging with a little more only when the plant gets taller than about 2'. I just updated the light to the new 29v version 7, 5000k 70cri Veros. At 500ma (max for my driver) the chips produce ~192 lumens per watt. I Figure at the typical current I run (~180ma) it's somewhere north of 200 lumens per watt.

I like driving cobs soft because of the increased efficiency and that they run much cooler. That's one of the reasons I like the Vero 18. They run $10.29 each at Digikey. The new version 7 is substantially more efficient than the 5th gen I was using until recently.

 

[sixstring2112]

I use Vero 18 chips for everything. My veg is specifically designed for a 2x4 veg tent. The light consists of 4" x 36" heatsink with 10 chips. The driver is a Meanwell HLG-120H-C500B. 100k pot for dimming. The driver maxes out at 150w so at full power I am only driving the chips at 15w each. I typically only need to run it at ~50w for excellent vegging with a little more only when the plant gets taller than about 2'. I just updated the light to the new 29v version 7, 5000k 70cri Veros. At 500ma (max for my driver) the chips produce ~192 lumens per watt. I Figure at the typical current I run (~180ma) it's somewhere north of 200 lumens per watt.

I like driving cobs soft because of the increased efficiency and that they run much cooler. That's one of the reasons I like the Vero 18. They run $10.29 each at Digikey. The new version 7 is substantially more efficient than the 5th gen I was using until recently.

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Nice setups
So i was looking at the vero gen 7 at digikey and i like the prices @ 26 each but im not sure i like the pigtail they force us to use because of the 130v max rating.do you run all your veros in series or parallels. I want to start trying other chip companies but every time i look at a new one theres always something that turns me back towards the cree and series wiring.

 

[Mechmike]

With the Veros you don't need to use the connectors. The chips have big solder pads that work just fine. In fact I like soldering the connections better with 20 guage solid wire. Those little connectors break too easily in my opinion. I run everything in series but I have run them in parallel on a light I built a few years ago. It's still in service.