Don't Shoot Me!

Midnight Warrior

Midnight Warrior

Well-Known Member
I have been trying to figure out what I was going to do to supplement my KingLED 1200 watt light. I was and still am going to go the DIY route, but I will not have it ready in time. So I ran across this light on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Professional-X6-COB-1800W-LED-Sunshine-Full-Spectrum-Grow-Light-for-Greenhouse/263758609883?epid=14009794607&hash=item3d693cfddb:g:lBAAAOSwG1NbIy4X

I know I know it's not an 1800 watt light BUT. The cobs they used are supposed to be capable of 300 watts and a review mentioned it contains 6 50w drivers. According to the listing it is only pumping out 65.8 lm/w using about 1/6th of its potential.

I got to thinking of maybe pairing this with a better driver to get the true 1800 watts its capable of. What do you think?
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
The chips may be able to go to a higher output but the heatsinks wont be made for it to run much harder than it already is.
The harder you run them the less efficient it will be. The LM/w will decrease the more power you put through it.
I find it hard to believe its only putting out 65.8lm/w though, that's shockingly bad.
 
Midnight Warrior

Midnight Warrior

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
The chips may be able to go to a higher output but the heatsinks wont be made for it to run much harder than it already is.
The harder you run them the less efficient it will be. The LM/w will decrease the more power you put through it.
I find it hard to believe its only putting out 65.8lm/w though, that's shockingly bad.
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Ok I will just leave it alone then. I thought cobs were supposed to be good, but not as good as strips or cmh? This isn't a permanent deal anyway, it's just to get me through this grow until I get all the parts to build strips.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Midnight Warrior said:
Ok I will just leave it alone then. I thought cobs were supposed to be good, but not as good as strips or cmh?
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The term Cob has become a selling point which these manufacturers jumped all over when they realised its what folk were growing with a few years back.

Not all cobs are equal and there are cobs made by the same companies that made the cheap blurple diodes which were a popular choice for the manufacturer because they were cheap. Cheap usually means less efficient.

There are some great COBs but you wont find them in any lights sold on amazon or ebay because the good ones cost money and all other parts to get the most from them also coast money. That's why lights like timbergrowlights sell are vastly more expensive than Chinese amazon light. But they perform and that's why they are a popular choice.

The same thing can be done with COBs as with strips or boards, But with COBs it becomes more expensive to get those higher levels of efficiency due to the need for more of them ran softer which means more heat sinks and more or more expensive drivers.

Strips are a popular choice right now, but again not all strips are equal. The point of LED is the efficiency, wether its so you can run less power or so you can get more light for the same power.

Its a minefield out there dude but a bit more reading and less buying on a whim and you will get your head round it. :bigjoint:
 
Midnight Warrior

Midnight Warrior

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
The term Cob has become a selling point which these manufacturers jumped all over when they realised its what folk were growing with a few years back.

Not all cobs are equal and there are cobs made by the same companies that made the cheap blurple diodes which were a popular choice for the manufacturer because they were cheap. Cheap usually means less efficient.

There are some great COBs but you wont find them in any lights sold on amazon or ebay because the good ones cost money and all other parts to get the most from them also coast money. That's why lights like timbergrowlights sell are vastly more expensive than Chinese amazon light. But they perform and that's why they are a popular choice.

The same thing can be done with COBs as with strips or boards, But with COBs it becomes more expensive to get those higher levels of efficiency due to the need for more of them ran softer which means more heat sinks and more or more expensive drivers.

Strips are a popular choice right now, but again not all strips are equal. The point of LED is the efficiency, wether its so you can run less power or so you can get more light for the same power.

Its a minefield out there dude but a bit more reading and less buying on a whim and you will get your head round it. :bigjoint:
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Thanks for explaining that I have learned so much in the past month, it's been a whirlwind. I plan on going with strips because those seem to be cheaper, require less heatsink and there is no way I would ever be able to afford the QBs.
 
coreywebster

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Midnight Warrior said:
Thanks for explaining that I have learned so much in the past month, it's been a whirlwind. I plan on going with strips because those seem to be cheaper, require less heatsink and there is no way I would ever be able to afford the QBs.
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If you haven't seen them already. Check out growmau5 on youtube and look for his early videos where he has a 7 part DIY guide on building cob lights, a lot of the information is useful to any type of LED build.
Yeah the strips seam to be the way to go for the most cost effective kick as light. Good luck man. :bigjoint:
 
Midnight Warrior

Midnight Warrior

Well-Known Member
coreywebster said:
If you haven't seen them already. Check out growmau5 on youtube and look for his early videos where he has a 7 part DIY guide on building cob lights, a lot of the information is useful to any type of LED build.
Yeah the strips seam to be the way to go for the most cost effective kick as light. Good luck man. :bigjoint:
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I started to watch that series, but I can't seem to find part 4, so I quit.
 
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