New cob light setup Citizen or vero 29S? looking for best bang for your buck chip

CobKits

Well-Known Member
Th



Thanks again for the help, i forgot to mention also i am looking for something that will work with my current 4x4 scrog that i am about to flower would the 4 1825s or 10 1212 be enough to light the 4x4 area for this 4x4 grow before. I unfortunately have to make my flower room smaller after this grow hence the 5 ft x 2 ft flower room that i will be building after this is done, what i am ultimately trying to find is a set up that will be powerful enough to illuminate the 4 x4 space and then downsize to the 2 x 5 room?

any thoughts,

Thanks so much!
if you need that sort of turndown you could get 4 1825 active light engines and run them at 160W each for now. theyd still be reasonably efficient, 145-150 lm/W.
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
Yes, 2 HLG-240H-C1400B drivers. I wouldn't get too hung up on spectrum and cri, you're talking about such a tiny variable that it hardly makes any difference. 3000k or 3500k are both equally good.

I hear you about the prices in Canada. This is why I went with gen 6 cobs. They will grow just as good as any of the newer cobs, it will just cost me a fraction more money to run them. In BC we pay 12 cents per kilowatt hour so using the gen 6 was a no brainer for me. I think they were maybe $30 a cob from Digikey. Looks like the gen 7's are $35-$45 but they are about the best cob you can buy at this moment, anywhere.
there are several models of gen 7 29s from $25 to $35 ($US, ymmv) with completely different die layouts. they all offer great value and are near the top but there are a handful of other cobs that are more efficient at a given wattage, and a different handful of cobs that are more economical at a given efficacy. i dont think there is a magical unicorn 'best in all applications cob' just yet. it is an astonishing time to be a cobber. in a years time weve gone from $50 CXB3590s to multiple options beating CXB at close to half the price. hopefully all these companies stay at each others throats and consumer will continue to benefit
 

Bubz23

Member
T
if you need that sort of turndown you could get 4 1825 active light engines and run them at 160W each for now. theyd still be reasonably efficient, 145-150 lm/W.
Thanks

So what dimmable driver do you suggest for this application, 160 watts would be running those 1825 @ 3 amps?
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
when you say dimmable do you mean externally dimmable? because almost every meanwelll HLG dims (A is onboard, B are external))
 

Bubz23

Member
when you say dimmable do you mean externally dimmable? because almost every meanwelll HLG dims (A is onboard, B are external))
im not super familiar with how the drivers dim as i have never used one, are the how do you adjust the onboard drivers, also do you have a rough estimate on PPFD over the 4x4 with those cobs at running at 160 watts?

Sorry for all the questions but i really appreciate the advice and help!
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
im not super familiar with how the drivers dim as i have never used one, are the how do you adjust the onboard drivers, also do you have a rough estimate on PPFD over the 4x4 with those cobs at running at 160 watts?

Sorry for all the questions but i really appreciate the advice and help!
roughly 800
 

Bubz23

Member
i would ideally like to spend no more then 500-550 USD on the set up but would like to get the max amount of optimum PPFD as well
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
'B' model drivers require an external signal or resistance, youd wire in a 100k ohm potentiometer and a 10k ohm resistor in most cases

'A' model drivers have voltage and current adjustment screws right on the unit. you adjust the current by turning the screw

(all drivers "dim" by reducing current)
 

Bubz23

Member
'B' model drivers require an external signal or resistance, youd wire in a 100k ohm potentiometer and a 10k ohm resistor in most cases

'A' model drivers have voltage and current adjustment screws right on the unit. you adjust the current by turning the screw

(all drivers "dim" by reducing current)
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
i would ideally like to spend no more then 500-550 USD on the set up but would like to get the max amount of optimum PPFD as well
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1 driver per cob and later on when you want to run the cobs more efficiently you can run 2 per cob and repurpose the extra drivers or put them on the shelf as spares
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
theres tons of differnt drivers that can run those. the setup i posted above is the most affordable and future-proof.

with the 48A drivers you can run 1 cob or 10+ cobs it just splits the current

the hlg120-48A runs up to 2.95A max
the hlg185-48A runs up to 4.25A max

both top out at about 53.5V (i think the 120 goes a tad higher, maybe 54V)
 

Bubz23

Member
T
theres tons of differnt drivers that can run those. the setup i posted above is the most affordable and future-proof.

with the 48A drivers you can run 1 cob or 10+ cobs it just splits the current

the hlg120-48A runs up to 2.95A max
the hlg185-48A runs up to 4.25A max

both top out at about 53.5V (i think the 120 goes a tad higher, maybe 54V)

Thanks, so just to make sure i have this right, with those 120 drivers is there a voltage range you have to stay within with the cobs, you said you could put 1 cob or 10 what is the voltage range, those 1825 are 50W?, sorry just trying to wrap my head around it all and for future possibilities with other cobs??
 

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
T



Thanks, so just to make sure i have this right, with those 120 drivers is there a voltage range you have to stay within with the cobs, you said you could put 1 cob or 10 what is the voltage range, those 1825 are 50W?, sorry just trying to wrap my head around it all and for future possibilities with other cobs??
Those are constant voltage drivers. So whether you run 1 or more cobs, they will automatically be at the right voltage for those cobs. The more cobs you run the less watts each one gets and the more efficient it becomes. So start with one cob per driver now, then add another later to be more efficient..

If you re-read what cobkits posted above^ you can see I'm just rewording what he said.
 

Bubz23

Member
Those are constant voltage drivers. So whether you run 1 or more cobs, they will automatically be at the right voltage for those cobs. The more cobs you run the less watts each one gets and the more efficient it becomes. So start with one cob per driver now, then add another later to be more efficient..

If you re-read what cobkits posted above^ you can see I'm just rewording what he said.

Thanks, i totally missed what cookbooks said at the bottom there about adding more cobs for higher efficiency, makes sense now, tanks everyone for all of the help!
 

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
Thanks, i totally missed what cookbooks said at the bottom there about adding more cobs for higher efficiency, makes sense now, tanks everyone for all of the help!
Or if you downsize you can still run all 4 but dim them down and get pretty much the same gain in efficiency
 
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