looking to build a hlg 550 clone

[cobber]

i see a kit that is listed at growerslights.com which is a kit version of the hlg 550 which uses the hlg 600-54b driver what are your guys thoughts on this over using the driver over the hlg 550 one (hlg 480 - 2100a) im looking into building 2 lights and using the lights over a 4x8 area honestly im am thinking i would be better off with the 480 but the differences in the cost of drivers is less the 100 dollars maybe i would be better off with more power .....

https://growerslights.com/products/horticulture-lighting-group-600h-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=42943942538

 

[cobber]

do you guys think i would be better off with using 4 drivers instead and breaking things up into 4 different lights

 

[freemanjack]

do you guys think i would be better off with using 4 drivers instead and breaking things up into 4 different lights

Its often far cheaper buying individual smaller drivers because they get made in much larger production runs so cost to manufacture drops exponentially.

 

[cobber]

the cost of the drivers is :
(4) 240H-c2100a 69 dollar each x 4 = 276
(2) 480H-C2100A 129 x 2 = 258
(2) 600H 54A 170 x 2 = 320

so cost are all relatively the same just dont know if its worth it trying to push 600 watts threw the 4 boards obviously its only gonna be 200 extra watts but that does add up and coming from 1000w hps bulbs my actual goal is saving on the power bill

 

[dandyrandy]

the cost of the drivers is :
(4) 240H-c2100a 69 dollar each x 4 = 276
(2) 480H-C2100A 129 x 2 = 258
(2) 600H 54A 170 x 2 = 320

so cost are all relatively the same just dont know if its worth it trying to push 600 watts threw the 4 boards obviously its only gonna be 200 extra watts but that does add up and coming from 1000w hps bulbs my actual goal is saving on the power bill

6 boards 2 hlg-320h-54b... Works, drivers $100 each.

 

[cobber]

any suggestions for heat-sinks, im thinking of fabing something out of 1/8 aluminum plate just so i can have something that looks similar id love to be able to buy a Slate 5 Quad heatsink but im not sure how hard it would be to get my hands on

 

[nfhiggs]

any suggestions for heat-sinks, im thinking of fabing something out of 1/8 aluminum plate just so i can have something that looks similar id love to be able to buy a Slate 5 Quad heatsink but im not sure how hard it would be to get my hands on

7.984 profile heat sink from HeatsinkUSA. $17.28 per foot. Only need one foot for each quantum board.

 

[Humple]

6 boards 2 hlg-320h-54b... Works, drivers $100 each.

In a 4x8? That seems way too low-powered to me.

 

[cobber]

no i think that would be the case idk where he came up with that im debating between using the 480w vs 600w drivers, i have a 8x8 room with one hlg 550 unit along side dual 1k hps bulbs

 

[cobber]

what kinda benafits would i really get over using the higher powered driver seems like there must be a downside as why would the production model not use the stronger driver ?

 

[nogod_]

what kinda benafits would i really get over using the higher powered driver seems like there must be a downside as why would the production model not use the stronger driver ?

Its often far cheaper buying individual smaller drivers because they get made in much larger production runs so cost to manufacture drops exponentially.

 

[diyled]

what kinda benafits would i really get over using the higher powered driver seems like there must be a downside as why would the production model not use the stronger driver ?

600 driver will give you a more PPF but at a lower system level efficacy (umol/j).

Which do you want. More light, or a bit cheaper electric bill?

 

[knight mare]

If you are going to be running 2100mA then you are driving each chip at 116mA so you have room to run them harder and dim them down.

 

[VegasWinner]

the cost of the drivers is :
(4) 240H-c2100a 69 dollar each x 4 = 276
(2) 480H-C2100A 129 x 2 = 258
(2) 600H 54A 170 x 2 = 320

so cost are all relatively the same just dont know if its worth it trying to push 600 watts threw the 4 boards obviously its only gonna be 200 extra watts but that does add up and coming from 1000w hps bulbs my actual goal is saving on the power bill

I would go with the two 480H drivers with 2100ma each you could plug both of those into a single receptacle with no problems and control wold be simpler.

 

[PurpleBuz]

do you guys think i would be better off with using 4 drivers instead and breaking things up into 4 different lights

I suggest building 4 lights instead of two lights for improved distribution of light. Design each light to cover a 4x2 area as evenly as possible. Each light frame about 1 meter long and orient each QB as close to the ends as possible.

If you run full dense canopies you may want more light, 1000 watts isn't quite enough for a 4x8 space with full canopies.

 

[dandyrandy]

In a 4x8? That seems way too low-powered to me.

Sry I thought 4x4.

 

[WeedSexWeightsShakes]

I really like the qb132s
You could save yourself a decent amount of money but would require more wiring
No heatsinks is great lol
I have 3x260w diy kits and 4 qb132s in my 4x8
First grow with this setup and only little past a week since 12/12
The cost for 4 132s is $133 and then 2 drivers I got were $78 which added an extra 300 watts
So many options with qbs lol

 

[Humple]

I really like the qb132s
You could save yourself a decent amount of money but would require more wiring
No heatsinks is great lol
I have 3x260w diy kits and 4 qb132s in my 4x8
First grow with this setup and only little past a week since 12/12
The cost for 4 132s is $133 and then 2 drivers I got were $78 which added an extra 300 watts
So many options with qbs lol

In my opinion, QB132s are the best QBs yet. Better spread, no heatsink needed, and affordable.

 

[WeedSexWeightsShakes]

In my opinion, QB132s are the best QBs yet. Better spread, no heatsink needed, and affordable.

Agree. Just wish they had been out first lol.
Now they make great supplemental/additional lighting for me. I thought about adding 8 boards at first to this new setup. Looking at it now I think 4 will be enough but I can always add more if I change my mind lol

 

[Humple]

Agree. Just wish they had been out first lol.
Now they make great supplemental/additional lighting for me. I thought about adding 8 boards at first to this new setup. Looking at it now I think 4 will be enough but I can always add more if I change my mind lol

Yeah, I kind of wish the same thing. As soon as I finished my second 4xQB120 build, I heard about the 132s! But I can't really complain. The 120s are awesome too!