DIY with Quantum Boards

[Budzbuddha]

Hey, it was a custom built light I bought already assembles.

Here is a pic of them from the website.Doesn't look like the cables are long enough to allow them to be separated.

View attachment 4204238 View attachment 4204240

Those single plate “ heat sinks “ always seem to radiate heat like a hot plate ... no fins to channel heat . For that strip rig ( which looks quite nice ) you can ALSO use screw standoffs for the drivers or as stated .... remote mount the drivers ( which is pretty easy ) . But running at a dimmed power level will help kill some of that heat.

 

[maxlev]

None of the boards really become obsolete.... I am STILL using LM 561 S5 bin ( originals ) from 2016 and they are still keeping my shelves stocked with smoke.

I mentioned this before ... think LEGO blocks. They easy to add and subtract boards , they can easily be reconfigured to new rigs , just by adding another board or two. They also play well with strips ( deep red or white ) , cobs and PUCKS .

I always suggest starting with a PAIR ( HLG will voltage match these ) so it will be easy to start larger builds with pairs . They did sell a 3 panel too. I built a three panel with 3500k at it worked in a 42” x 30” tent just fine. As the led components get more efficient some early boards will disappear but not because of functionality. I also run 90CRI 3000k testers and you will have to rip them from my cold dead hands before I give those up.

“ game changer “ lingo is a marketing move and don’t think HLG plays that. Others do with questionable results ..... *insert brand name here

It is ridiculously simple to mock up a design since the boards are about the size of white copy paper.
So DIY a light for your space is hella easy. Those S5 original BIN are on a “ DAILY “ perpetual grow use. I do not shut down for seasons ... and have been running since I first put them together.

See if you can figure out hour many hours your originals have been illuminating.
I think they last for eons without degrading too much.

 

[Budzbuddha]

See if you can figure out hour many hours your originals have been illuminating.
I think they last for eons without degrading too much.

And is the way I run them .... I have more watts on hand to use but never really MAX it out.
It is always better to have more than you need than not enough. Some of the best grows are running multiples at a MID POWER RANGE than say a balls to the wall approach. Although large open space grows are running them loud and proud.

Example :
4 panel QB with dual Citizen COB
3x3

I run each board at 50-60 watts per board ( average with a kil a watt plug ) sometimes up to 70 per.
COBS set at 60 watts each. Rig can go higher but I would get bleaching and or stress on them.

Since I run them at a midpoint ( per say ) they are purring like a kitten.
Led is rated at about 50,000 hours ( I think like 14 years ! ) so no fails so far.
To be honest , I’m betting my driver will fail before my QBs will ....lol

 

[hillbill]

The 135w v2 boards look look impressive but so does the 160w with that 324.

 

[PIZZAPIE]

After experimenting with the pucks. I honestly think the qb132 / qb120 boards would have the best spread of the boards and would probably make the best "light ceiling." Otherwise you have to either dim the 288/304s or raise them much higher than with the smaller boards.

 

[SlappyD]

88C bro? For real? Your tent with everything in it would be on fire.
You probably meant 88F? Also detach the driver from the board helps or mount them on the boards in such a way that there's a few cm's space between the two.
That way, when you put a fan on it, airflow will be better and temps will drop..

lol ya sorry meant 88F

Here are some pics of my room and what i'm doing. Tried changing from CFM fan bringing in cool air to extracting hot air but still getting 86 or so temps (with tent door open. when closed its closer to 90 unless outside temps drop which they havent in past couple days)

Since its supposed to go up to over 20 celsius today outside I had to close the window and turn on the air conditioning quite high to hope that helps. Also finding that i'm having to leave my tent door open to cool it down a bit (average closer to 84-86F with tent open vs closed at 88-90F)

Probably doesn't help that its in my spare bedroom upstairs vs basement or somewhere cooler but its the only place I could put it.

 

[SlappyD]

@SlappyD perhaps try to dim them a little. In my experience, not taking them all the way up helps a lot with controlling the heat. Also, good air circulation inside the tent helps both with heat and bud rot control (one of my circulation fans blows upon the heatsinks, and they keep almost at room temperature, before putting those fans I had both bud rot and heat.)

Hey, thats a good idea. This is my first time using Quantum LED board, do they take just a regular light dimmer you get at Home Depot or something? Similar to a fan a controller? Just plug and adjust? or is it more complicated?

 

[SlappyD]

Would a portable AC unit help? the cheaper ones are around $300 to $400 though many this price range have reviews saying doesnt cool, some say produces hot and humid air, etc. Anyone have positive results with these?

 

[Philip-O]

Hey, thats a good idea. This is my first time using Quantum LED board, do they take just a regular light dimmer you get at Home Depot or something? Similar to a fan a controller? Just plug and adjust? or is it more complicated?

Just a bit more complicated than that, but not much, and depends basically on the type of driver you are using. Meanwell HLG "A" type drivers have an internal dimmer, and its just a matter of turning a know with a small screwdriver.

HLG "B" type drivers require an external potentiometer, having three sets of cables coming out of the driver -AC in, DC out, and dimming- which sounds complicated but is actually preferred by a lot of us... for a single driver installation (I assume you are using a meanwell driver), find a 100k potentiometer on an electronics store, ebay or other places like RapidLED (HLG might carry them too) and hook it up with wagos, solder or something else to the DIM side. If you can´t solder it´s probably a good idea to get them from rapidled, or ask the guys at your electronics store to solder a two short cables to the pot (to the center and one of the side legs, it doesn´t really matter which, as this only changes the direction of the dimming).

This is probably something worth trying before spending several hundred on an AC (and then some more on electricity to run it each month). Don´t forget about an oscillating fan for air circulation, you really want to have that (but better not blowing directly at the plants, or at least not at full blast.... think breeze instead of hurricane).

 

[SlappyD]

Just a bit more complicated than that, but not much, and depends basically on the type of driver you are using. Meanwell HLG "A" type drivers have an internal dimmer, and its just a matter of turning a know with a small screwdriver.

HLG "B" type drivers require an external potentiometer, having three sets of cables coming out of the driver -AC in, DC out, and dimming- which sounds complicated but is actually preferred by a lot of us... for a single driver installation (I assume you are using a meanwell driver), find a 100k potentiometer on an electronics store, ebay or other places like RapidLED (HLG might carry them too) and hook it up with wagos, solder or something else to the DIM side. If you can´t solder it´s probably a good idea to get them from rapidled, or ask the guys at your electronics store to solder a two short cables to the pot (to the center and one of the side legs, it doesn´t really matter which, as this only changes the direction of the dimming).

This is probably something worth trying before spending several hundred on an AC (and then some more on electricity to run it each month). Don´t forget about an oscillating fan for air circulation, you really want to have that (but better not blowing directly at the plants, or at least not at full blast.... think breeze instead of hurricane).

just looked and theyre 2x HLG-185-24A per the label and have two black hole covers on each. One for "adj Volt" and onec"adj io". im guessing leave the voltage and adjust "io"? Also can you adjust while light is running or only when off/unplugged?

thanks for the reply!

 

[Philip-O]

just looked and theyre 2x HLG-185-24A per the label and have two black hole covers on each. One for "adj Volt" and onec"adj io". im guessing leave the voltage and adjust "io"? Also can you adjust while light is running or only when off/unplugged?

thanks for the reply!

That´s right, you don´t need to meddle with the voltage, only the current (but other members might chime in if Im missing something). You can do it with the lights running, be gentle, as you don´t want to mess up the internal pot and a little turn goes a long way. A killawat or similar device is a great tool to know exactly how much current you are putting into the boards, but if you don´t have one just eyeball it, leave run for a while and feel the heatsinks. The idea is to try to find a balance between having enough light and not too much heat.

 

[Shad3s]

just looked and theyre 2x HLG-185-24A per the label and have two black hole covers on each. One for "adj Volt" and onec"adj io". im guessing leave the voltage and adjust "io"? Also can you adjust while light is running or only when off/unplugged?

thanks for the reply!

The "adjust vO" is voltage control, it can dim but you better use the "adjust iO" for dimming, it will dim to aprox 50% max.

Also, like someone else suggested, point a fan to your heatsink, that wil help a good deal and if not, you could always consider getting a better heatsink, one with fins..

 

[Shad3s]

Here's a New York Diesel Auto seedling, 7 days old, under my new boards.
She loves it, I've been growing with LED for a minute but never before did I see three nodes on a plant in soil within a week from sprout!

And then to consider she even had a transplant a few days ago but she didn't skip one beat!
I gave her just a 25% strong Rhizotonic watering drip of like 0,05liter after I put her from a cup into a 15liter pot.
Amazing!

 

[SlappyD]

The "adjust vO" is voltage control, it can dim but you better use the "adjust iO" for dimming, it will dim to aprox 50% max.

Also, like someone else suggested, point a fan to your heatsink, that wil help a good deal and if not, you could always consider getting a better heatsink, one with fins..

ahh k just adjust the current and not voltage. i do have a fan just pointed toward the light (pic attached). Hopefully dimming works, plants just went dark so might wait till they come back on in a few hours so i can visually see the dimming occur. if that doesnt work i may need to cut some holes in the walls or something as im venting air just outside of tent vs outside the room.

but im not handy at all so maybe portable AC would be easier if dimming doesn't help.

 

[SSGrower]

ahh k just adjust the current and not voltage. i do have a fan just pointed toward the light (pic attached). Hopefully dimming works, plants just went dark so might wait till they come back on in a few hours so i can visually see the dimming occur. if that doesnt work i may need to cut some holes in the walls or something as im venting air just outside of tent vs outside the room.

but im not handy at all so maybe portable AC would be easier if dimming doesn't help.

Gonna try to say this without being a dick here so take it with a grain of salt but if dimming the driver is a problem I'd not think an ac is going to be the right solution.

That said get a small screwdriver (little bigger than ones for eyeglasses) Phillip's head. Pull the rubber cap labels io, give it 1/4 turn counterclockwise, repeat for 2nd driver, then repeat till desired effect.

 

[SlappyD]

Gonna try to say this without being a dick here so take it with a grain of salt but if dimming the driver is a problem I'd not think an ac is going to be the right solution.

That said get a small screwdriver (little bigger than ones for eyeglasses) Phillip's head. Pull the rubber cap labels io, give it 1/4 turn counterclockwise, repeat for 2nd driver, then repeat till desired effect.

didnt sound like a dick lol

did you mean if dimming the light doesnt bring down temps then a portable AC wouldnt either? i guess i dont see the correlation between the two lol

 

[PrometheanLeaf]

If dimming it down doesn't change the temp, then it's your intake/outtake basically. Does your outtake run out of the room the tents are in?

80-82f is pretty decent for qb temps to sit at, and what I'd shoot for.

 

[SSGrower]

didnt sound like a dick lol

did you mean if dimming the light doesnt bring down temps then a portable AC wouldnt either? i guess i dont see the correlation between the two lol

Now I feel like a real ass, I meant that if you couldn't handle dimming the led, installing an air conditioner would be miles beyond your technical capacity.

 

[Philip-O]

Now I feel like a real ass, I meant that if you couldn't handle dimming the led, installing an air conditioner would be miles beyond your technical capacity.

@SlappyD just think of AC as a sort nuclear and expensive option... dimming, air circulation, trying to get more outside air into the room and venting out of the room are usually simpler, effective, and less expensive solutions. Something trivial like keeping the door of your grow room open, or opening the tents while lights are on, can go a long way. Another great solution, for veg rooms or if your grow space is lightproof, is having the lights on at night and off during the day (when its hotter, particularly during the hours you mentioned your lights are on).

It's up to you of course, but before putting money into a so so AC I'd consider to get more lights and run them softer. This will help you to have better light spread and penetration, expand your grow space in the future, increase energy efficiency (lights are more efficient when driven softer) and reduce temps.

 

[SlappyD]

If dimming it down doesn't change the temp, then it's your intake/outtake basically. Does your outtake run out of the room the tents are in?

80-82f is pretty decent for qb temps to sit at, and what I'd shoot for.

Oh I see what you mean. No unfortunately i'm venting the air to the same room as I didn't want to start cutting holes in the walls for venting to go through as I'm really not handy at all. Also didn't want to attach the venting directly to the window as it brings more attention than i'd like.

The tent is in my spare bedroom upstairs, so that doesn't help since my upstairs is always the hottest (heat rises obviously). It helps when I leave the Tent door completely open and helps a bit more if I leave the door to the spare bedroom open as it lets the heat escape better, but can't keep that up as I have the dark hours set from 11am to 5pm and i'm at work during those hours and leaving the spare bedroom door open during the dark time brings in too much light.

So I will certainly dim the LED's, but if that only helps a little I may invest in the portable AC. The other issue with dimming is, for now they're still very early Veg so no big deal but i'd like to use close to 100% light power once they get bigger. So without the AC unit i'm thinking dimming is only a temporary fix.