-boring 'ol 230w 154lm/w led strip build

Hairiest_Stamen

Well-Known Member
Ehh, I'm a knucklehead. Thought I'd give him a try for these TCI strips... Suddenly it dawned on me after ordering that these are probably 220V since they are of Italian origin. Oops. I'm in the states, mostly 120V.

I bought Citizen COBs from the Estonian guy a while back, no complaints. They arrived today. Shipped on Dec12th... Here on Dec 14th to the states. Nice.

So these are two 48 Led count strings in parallel? According to the Lival link its a 500ma driver so, 250ma per 48 led string?

I bought 10x 3000k and 10x 4000k. Was going to use these to veg and flower in a something like 2.5x3 area (maybe a bit larger than that).

I have two options...
1) For $50 I can get a 1000W step up transformer and use the provided driver.
2) For $100-150 (haven't spec'd what I need yet) I can go Meanwell. But which one(s)? Will be exploring options tonight.
 

psychedelicdaddi

Well-Known Member
Ehh, I'm a knucklehead. Thought I'd give him a try for these TCI strips... Suddenly it dawned on me after ordering that these are probably 220V since they are of Italian origin. Oops. I'm in the states, mostly 120V.

I bought Citizen COBs from the Estonian guy a while back, no complaints. They arrived today. Shipped on Dec12th... Here on Dec 14th to the states. Nice.

So these are two 48 Led count strings in parallel? According to the Lival link its a 500ma driver so, 250ma per 48 led string?

I bought 10x 3000k and 10x 4000k. Was going to use these to veg and flower in a something like 2.5x3 area (maybe a bit larger than that).

I have two options...
1) For $50 I can get a 1000W step up transformer and use the provided driver.
2) For $100-150 (haven't spec'd what I need yet) I can go Meanwell. But which one(s)? Will be exploring options tonight.
Theyre 120v
 

Hairiest_Stamen

Well-Known Member
Yea I use these strips and drivers, they are dimmable 110-120vac. There are two switches on the dc side that adjusts current.
Thanks, Are there 2 or 4 options for driver current?
From one of the TCI data sheets for their superslim MM driver:
power current
23 450 mA cost.
25 500 mA cost.

Guess I can just play around with the dips
 

psychedelicdaddi

Well-Known Member
have you tossed a kill a watt on there to see what the actual wattage draw is?

any guess as to what the current is on the highest setting?
I don't own a KaW, but found the current and voltage to be: .335a (45.5v), .39a (46v), .45a (46.5v), and .5 a (47v). The highest two power settings I thought deserved a PC fan on uchannel and slate type heatsinks. So, I added 12v .1a 180mm fans to my panel.
 

psychedelicdaddi

Well-Known Member
I built a poor man's quantum board with 5 of these on a slate heatsink in 4000k for a veg light. Any recommendations for height above seedlings? Started at 24" for now with the drivers on max

154 watts on the kill a watt for anyone curious
I did the same. It needs a fan on it that powerful though. At least in my case. I like it to be room temp in everything. You can be 24" away but id dim it all the way for a while and get closer, like 18"
 

brightlites

Member
That's a 2x3 scrog
Nice setup and plants! I have an oscillating fan hanging upside down in a 3x3 tent and it's keeping it nice and cool. I like that thin fan strapped to yours. How far from the canopy is it?

I'll dim and lower mine tomorrow when the lights come back on. How long would you recommend before I raise it and crank it? They're just popping the surface yesterday and today. This is my second grow
 

psychedelicdaddi

Well-Known Member
Nice setup and plants! I have an oscillating fan hanging upside down in a 3x3 tent and it's keeping it nice and cool. I like that thin fan strapped to yours. How far from the canopy is it?

I'll dim and lower mine tomorrow when the lights come back on. How long would you recommend before I raise it and crank it? They're just popping the surface yesterday and today. This is my second grow
Its about 12" from the canopy at this point. Full power but its a mature plant. I would have it higher up if I had the space. You can gradually increase the light. Only use what you need. I didn't turn it up until flower.
 

Hairiest_Stamen

Well-Known Member
I bought 20 or these... 10 4000k and 10 3000k. Was going to flower in ~3x4 area.

was planning on putting two back to back/inline for a total length length of ~33", and then alternating these back to back strips 3k/4k/3k/etc.

This gives me 48"/10 total rows = ~4.8" center to center spacing. This is going to give me ~70k lumens over the canopy... Havent done the math but seems like ~1.5x the light with my current 400w 8 cob citizen setup, and the light will be more evenly distributed.

Any thoughts?
 
Top