Frank Nitty
Well-Known Member
So what is the proper driver
DIY with Quantum Boards
- Thread starter robincnn
- Start date
Frank Nitty
Well-Known Member
These are the things that I don't understand, and that is why I come to you all...
Frank Nitty
Well-Known Member
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
that is the recommended driver for 4 QB120s in series.
if you want to run the 2 QB288s in parallel then get this driver:
HLG-240H-54A
HLG-240H-54A MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey
Order today, ships today. HLG-240H-54A – 4.45A 50 ~ 57V Constant Current, Voltage LED Driver AC DC Converter Topology 1 Output from MEAN WELL USA Inc.. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.
That will give you constant voltage, and then split the current between the 2 boards.
Personally I would get the A/B model instead so that you can also add a dimmer:
HLG-240H-54AB MEAN WELL USA Inc. | Power Supplies - External/Internal (Off-Board) | DigiKey
Order today, ships today. HLG-240H-54AB – 4.45A 54V Constant Current, Voltage LED Driver AC DC Converter Topology 1 Output from MEAN WELL USA Inc.. Pricing and Availability on millions of electronic components from Digi-Key Electronics.
and then order this dimmer
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
Both those HLG-240H-C1750A's will work in series. I'm not sure about the 2100.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
2 QB288s on the C1750 is only going to be 150W.
2 QB288s on the C2100 is only going to output 200W and if he uses that for the 288s he won't have it to use for the 120s.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
And so you know, the 132's are 36 volts. The 288's are 54 volts. So if you want to do them in parallel you would need different drivers for each.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
What do you mean only 150 watts?
Sorry I don't have it totally figured out yet. What's the math again?
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
watt=amp X volt.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
All good. This stuff took me a long time to get a grasp of. A few years ago I couldnt tell you confidently if the power from a wall plug was AC or DC lol. Big ups to @Rocket Soul and @The Loafter and everyone else I kept bothering in PMs with questions.
If you check the QB288 board guide you can see the info there on what the boards pull at various currents and voltages. (No clue why these pages arent linked on the site anymore but if you google u can find them). *once i did the math some of my original guestimates were off.
QB120 V2 Board Guide
High efficiency boards designed for Horticulture Lighting projects. QB 120 Boards can be powered upto 70 watts. Ideal for use in grow tents or grow area with reflective walls and grow spaces with limited height. No metal heatsink or thermal paste is required .
horticulturelightinggroup.com
QB288 V2 & V2 Rspec Board Guide
High efficiency boards designed for Horticulture Lighting projects. No Thermal Interface Material is required between the QB board and flat metal heatsink.
horticulturelightinggroup.com
Anyway with Constant Current drivers, you are sending each module the same current. This is actually the way preferred by the manufacturers and what they recommend. This means when you connect them in series, each led module gets the same current, and then you add up the voltage used by each module.
For the 288s, lets start with the C2100 first. You can see from the HLG page that at 2100ma (or 2.1A) they will draw 48.96V each.
48.96 x 2.1 x 2 = 205.6 Watts.
For the C1750 you dont see that exact current on their list but you can figure it out by averaging the values at 1400 and 2100. So lets call it 48.1V (someone feel free to correct me but its been a long day and dont have that brainpower rn) at 1750ma which is same as 1.75A.
48.1 x 1.75 x 2 = 168 Watts.
for the QB120 at 2100ma they will pull 22.32V each.
22.32 x 2.1 x 4 = 188 Watts.
If you look at the datasheets for the drivers you will see that the
C1750 outputs 71 ~ 143V
C2100 outputs 59 ~ 119V
Now the one thing that makes this not 100% is that these drivers are actually CC/CV. Not sure how this works exactly but the simple explanation is it will output slightly more current to make up the difference. I know with my 240H-C1050 drivers if I have them turned all the way up they output 240W at the wall no matter what so I think that they are either pushing more current, or since there is more voltage available to each module it causes them to pull more current. Someone more experienced please clarify.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I have a math degree. I kinda get it, but I don't, lol.All good. This stuff took me a long time to get a grasp of. A few years ago I couldnt tell you confidently if the power from a wall plug was AC or DC lol. Big ups to @Rocket Soul and @The Loafter and everyone else I kept bothering in PMs with questions.
If you check the QB288 board guide you can see the info there on what the boards pull at various currents and voltages. (No clue why these pages arent linked on the site anymore but if you google u can find them). *once i did the math some of my original guestimates were off.
View attachment 5000367QB120 V2 Board Guide
High efficiency boards designed for Horticulture Lighting projects. QB 120 Boards can be powered upto 70 watts. Ideal for use in grow tents or grow area with reflective walls and grow spaces with limited height. No metal heatsink or thermal paste is required .
View attachment 5000368QB288 V2 & V2 Rspec Board Guide
High efficiency boards designed for Horticulture Lighting projects. No Thermal Interface Material is required between the QB board and flat metal heatsink.
Anyway with Constant Current drivers, you are sending each module the same current. This is actually the way preferred by the manufacturers and what they recommend. This means when you connect them in series, each led module gets the same current, and then you add up the voltage used by each module.
For the 288s, lets start with the C2100 first. You can see from the HLG page that at 2100ma (or 2.1A) they will draw 48.96V each.
48.96 x 2.1 x 2 = 205.6 Watts.
For the C1750 you dont see that exact current on their list but you can figure it out by averaging the values at 1400 and 2100. So lets call it 48.1V (someone feel free to correct me but its been a long day and dont have that brainpower rn) at 1750ma which is same as 1.75A.
48.1 x 1.75 x 2 = 168 Watts.
for the QB120 at 2100ma they will pull 22.32V each.
22.32 x 2.1 x 4 = 188 Watts.
If you look at the datasheets for the drivers you will see that the
C1750 outputs 71 ~ 143V
C2100 outputs 59 ~ 119V
Now the one thing that makes this not 100% is that these drivers are actually CC/CV. Not sure how this works exactly but the simple explanation is it will output slightly more current to make up the difference. I know with my 240H-C1050 drivers if I have them turned all the way up they output 240W at the wall no matter what so I think that they are either pushing more current, or since there is more voltage available to each module it causes them to pull more current. Someone more experienced please clarify.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
watt=amp X volt.
PadawanWarrior
Well-Known Member
I get that. I just am having a hard time with the numbers. I have the 1750's on my 2 board Rspecs, and I can turn it up to like 260 watts. According to the math @ilovereggae gave it should only be 168 watts. That's my confusion.
Frank Nitty
Well-Known Member
It runs these 2 qb120s
Frank Nitty
Well-Known Member
My all HLG tent... For this one plant... SKYWALKER and FRUITY PEBBLES AUTO...
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
yeah i dont get it either tbh. I have my 240H-c1050B connected to 4 QB288s. according to the datasheets that should mean there is like 52V left over and i should only get 200W from it. however if u look at the datasheets there is a chart that shows the curve where it switches b/t CC and CV.
The only thing I am legit wondering - is the driver pulling its max power when turned up to full blast, and there are more volts being pulled than used? I havent taken time to get out a volt meter to see. Meaning maybe I am only getting 200W to my boards? And you are only actually getting 168W.
Can someone answer that? In a CC driver, is the full voltage "pushed" to the modules so they will split whatever is available? Or will they each only pull what they need and the extra is just going "unused"?
pop22
Well-Known Member
There is no reason that the C2100 won't run those 2 boards if they are wired properly. Wired in series they should be at about 115-125 watts per board.
Is that the 80 watt driver I sent you with the QB 120s?
Is that the 80 watt driver I sent you with the QB 120s?
pop22
Well-Known Member
The voltage will peak at the voltage drawn by the board with the highest draw. The boards are not exact matches ( although they are pretty close ) so if one board draws .2 more voltage that's what will flow through the chain.
Either of those drivers will only run 2 boards in series. Using as an example 51v per board you'll get about 90 watts per board draw with the 1750ma driver and about 108-110 watts with the 2100ma driver. The "left over" voltage is meaningless as the 2 boards have already used the majority of the available amperage.
Ameprage is like fuel in your gas tank, and voltage is the fuel pump, pushing the "fuel" to your boards. You may have the pressure to push more fuel but your injectors are already using the max they are capable of. The rest is just reserve.
Either of those drivers will only run 2 boards in series. Using as an example 51v per board you'll get about 90 watts per board draw with the 1750ma driver and about 108-110 watts with the 2100ma driver. The "left over" voltage is meaningless as the 2 boards have already used the majority of the available amperage.
Ameprage is like fuel in your gas tank, and voltage is the fuel pump, pushing the "fuel" to your boards. You may have the pressure to push more fuel but your injectors are already using the max they are capable of. The rest is just reserve.
ilovereggae
Well-Known Member
good morning.. thanks Pop that fuel analogy was the best explanation I have heard.
What is confusing me is that according to the datasheet on the QBs at lower currents like 1750 they are only pulling closer to 48V not 51. Since the C1750 can output 143V it seems pretty close that u could get a 3rd board on there.
I'm still a little confused in your example. Is the driver compensating by outputting more current than it's rated for in order to get to that wattage? I knew that was true for the regular CV drivers but didn't know the CC ones worked the same way.