DiY LED Grow Lights with CREE CXA3070 COBs and CPU Coolers

obviously

Well-Known Member
I asked here cause I've seen other LED panels for the same power more expensive and I thought maybe are not good enough those marshydro. For example Hans Panels are like 220 pounds 150W.
 

Observe & Report

Well-Known Member
I think you should go with "DiY LED Grow Lights with CREE CXA3070 COBs and CPU Coolers"

dunno why, just something that popped into my head
 

Gadgetboy

Member
I have just started to build one of these for a friend who has no soldering skills, he has asked me to add 6 deep red LUMILEDS LXZ1-PA01-0350 ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271444899513?_trksid=p2060778.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT ) and 4 Royal blue LXZ1-PR01-0600 ( http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUMILEDS-LXZ1-PR01-0600-LED-LUXEON-Z-ROYAL-BLUE-/271283597439?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item3f29c3307f ) My first question is will these make any difference to the light performance? secondly what would be the best drivers to use (preferably one driver for red one for blue)
No ideas anybody?
 

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obviously

Well-Known Member
I think you should go with "DiY LED Grow Lights with CREE CXA3070 COBs and CPU Coolers"

dunno why, just something that popped into my head
Yes, I admit that are the best choice, but I have no skills and experience to make one. So I think it's better just to buy a good panel. Marshydro have very good price, but Hans panel are quallity and alot of good review, but a Hans Panel 150W cost 250 pounds shipment included. And 150W Hans Panel as he said , cover an area similar with marshydro double wattage. Maybe is just advertising :) So, if anybody have a better option , don;t hesitate to share it :D
 
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Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
Yes, I admit that are the best choice, but I have no skills and experience to make one. So I think it's better just to buy a good panel. Marshydro have very good price, but Hans panel are quallity and alot of good review, but a Hans Panel 150W cost 250 pounds shipment included. And 150W Hans Panel as he said , cover an area similar with marshydro double wattage. Maybe is just advertising :) So, if anybody have a better option , don;t hesitate to share it :D
Obviously, your going around and asking these same questions on several differant threads, and your getting the same answers, you seem to be shy about just making a choice and going with it, if you cant build one yourself, then purchase an LED from someone and move on with your grow, 100's of people are using the mars lights, 100's are using the area 51's, and so on and so on, and you can see pictures and read threads about everyones success with the differant brands, the cost of this home build led drove me away for my new cabinet, but I am certainly considering building this one for my next one, the new MARShydro 300 I am using is so freakin bright, and comes with a multiyear warranty and they answer thier questions when you ask them, so they are not going any place with your money, they are there to provide support for your needs,
looks to me like your trying to find some magic bullet that nobody is telling you about, and there is no magic, just the one you chose to go with, they will all grow your plants, the brighter ones will cost more and will cover more area and get you denser buds, kinda simple really, I wish you luck
 

waltzNo2

Member
Hi everyone. I just registered (the captcha for this forum is next to impossible) and this is my first post. This thread is inspirational! A friend of a friend has a few Ebay LEDs in a long term testing situation and some AliExpress units on the way. He's tried a few lower power options along the way, here is the steer clear list for newbies.

Don't use a chip with less than 50 diodes on it. Isn't worth the time.
No UFO lights or any LED system with multiple 3W or 5W diodes.
Don't use Ebay power supplies. Should you need the 5 year warranty it will pay for itself buying through a known retailer.

No ideas anybody?
In a small setup the blue will make a difference. The nature of red light is that it needs more power to be effective and the plants receiving the red light should be much larger. The red may be effective for you to experiment with, but power is the name of the game.

These have a 16 diodes, a 4x4 matrix. All the Ebay stuff seem to be about 1W per each diode in the matrix, so 16W each. If you run that at a reduced rate (which you should) you get about 11W each x 4 = 44W for blue and 11W x 6 = 66W for red.

11W was chosen as an arbitrary number, anything between 44W and 64W will work (16 x 4 = 64W) for the blue. You have a few options for power bricks. 3.5V * 4 = 14V needed to power the blue, so this one might work if the math is right.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_2122984_-1

If you get that then you'll run 4 blue chips + - + - + - + -, the red line from the brick will hook to the + and the black line will go to the -

You could also get individual 10W bricks for each of them.

Those will all need a heat sink, but not a fan if they are not in an enclosed space. Also worth noting, 4 of those red lights would make great brake lights for an automobile :-)



For big power monochrome LEDs there are 50W (10x5 matrix) 440nm and 560nm Ebay units that work well. It looks like the 100W (10x10) units are also out. The friend of mine will be trying a 10x10 450nm "royal blue" with the slightly higher voltage version of the Ganjatica's power supply the LPC-60-1400, and an 80mm heat sink and fan. Driving down costs per unit is important.

Here is something that should be discussed by DIYers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-PC-150w-200w-300w-500w-Bridgelux-45mil-High-Power-Led-COB-Chip-White-Blue-UV-/201180380514?pt=Lamps_US&var=&hash=item2ed748fd62

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-500W-Pure-White-Superbright-LED-Light-Lamps-For-DIY-506Watt-Chip-6000-6500K-/271736862137?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f44c775b9

The power bricks are out there too. Does Cree make anything like this?


The plywood is a great idea r8rfan! Looks like you've got room for a lot more if you need it. The way it is mounted looks very effective too! How close do you keep it to the top of your garden?
 

r8rfanizme

Member
The plywood is a great idea r8rfan! Looks like you've got room for a lot more if you need it. The way it is mounted looks very effective too! How close do you keep it to the top of your garden?
Thanks. I walked in the footsteps of Giants (Gaius, Supra, etc.) on this. The wood came from the dumpster at work. the strap is of my work truck. I will hit up the tinners tomorrow for some foil tape for the light side of the wood instead of painting it white. I am going to order either 2700k or 3000k cobs, coolers and drivers at the end of the month, so that board will end up getting tossed for a new one.

Dude, I'm a total noob at this. They are about 8 to 10 inches above now, but if that is wrong someone chime in so I can adjust accordingly.
 

waltzNo2

Member
Thanks. I walked in the footsteps of Giants (Gaius, Supra, etc.) on this. The wood came from the dumpster at work. the strap is of my work truck. I will hit up the tinners tomorrow for some foil tape for the light side of the wood instead of painting it white. I am going to order either 2700k or 3000k cobs, coolers and drivers at the end of the month, so that board will end up getting tossed for a new one.

Dude, I'm a total noob at this. They are about 8 to 10 inches above now, but if that is wrong someone chime in so I can adjust accordingly.
You're doing great :-) It is amazing how simply these can be to set up, especially once the recipe has been figured out by others. Gaius, Supra, and everyone experimenting have my thanks as well.

You can get it close to the plant and see if they like it. This is the first indoor garden a FoaF has ever had also. In that garden the plant is trained (bent) when it touches the 30W 450nm diode. It has done that once a week. There was another plant under a 30W 650nm red diode for a week and it is still recovering from that. The 60W 450nm may be too much. Too much is always just right though.

Anyone ever consider a lens or reclector hood?

Is anyone using a dimmer? It would be nice to see if the power draw from the wall went down as light intensity went down. Some dimmers just dump the extra energy into heat.
 

Gadgetboy

Member
Hi everyone. I just registered (the captcha for this forum is next to impossible) and this is my first post. This thread is inspirational! A friend of a friend has a few Ebay LEDs in a long term testing situation and some AliExpress units on the way. He's tried a few lower power options along the way, here is the steer clear list for newbies.

Don't use a chip with less than 50 diodes on it. Isn't worth the time.
No UFO lights or any LED system with multiple 3W or 5W diodes.
Don't use Ebay power supplies. Should you need the 5 year warranty it will pay for itself buying through a known retailer.



In a small setup the blue will make a difference. The nature of red light is that it needs more power to be effective and the plants receiving the red light should be much larger. The red may be effective for you to experiment with, but power is the name of the game.

These have a 16 diodes, a 4x4 matrix. All the Ebay stuff seem to be about 1W per each diode in the matrix, so 16W each. If you run that at a reduced rate (which you should) you get about 11W each x 4 = 44W for blue and 11W x 6 = 66W for red.

11W was chosen as an arbitrary number, anything between 44W and 64W will work (16 x 4 = 64W) for the blue. You have a few options for power bricks. 3.5V * 4 = 14V needed to power the blue, so this one might work if the math is right.

http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_2122984_-1

If you get that then you'll run 4 blue chips + - + - + - + -, the red line from the brick will hook to the + and the black line will go to the -

You could also get individual 10W bricks for each of them.

Those will all need a heat sink, but not a fan if they are not in an enclosed space. Also worth noting, 4 of those red lights would make great brake lights for an automobile :-)



For big power monochrome LEDs there are 50W (10x5 matrix) 440nm and 560nm Ebay units that work well. It looks like the 100W (10x10) units are also out. The friend of mine will be trying a 10x10 450nm "royal blue" with the slightly higher voltage version of the Ganjatica's power supply the LPC-60-1400, and an 80mm heat sink and fan. Driving down costs per unit is important.

Here is something that should be discussed by DIYers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-PC-150w-200w-300w-500w-Bridgelux-45mil-High-Power-Led-COB-Chip-White-Blue-UV-/201180380514?pt=Lamps_US&var=&hash=item2ed748fd62

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2pcs-500W-Pure-White-Superbright-LED-Light-Lamps-For-DIY-506Watt-Chip-6000-6500K-/271736862137?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f44c775b9

The power bricks are out there too. Does Cree make anything like this?


The plywood is a great idea r8rfan! Looks like you've got room for a lot more if you need it. The way it is mounted looks very effective too! How close do you keep it to the top of your garden?

Many thanks for that Waltz
 

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
Here comes my next nooby question ,please, how many watts are each of these Cree cobs? The manufacturer website does not seem to give that data thanks
 

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
I feel like the light bulb just went off (bad pun),, dont everyone laugh, but I get this thread now, and I think I can tottally build a version of this!!I 60 watts seems to be the answer for my own question, duh on me,,
Hey WaltzNo2,, why no 3 or 5 watt led lights, seeking new answers, thanks everyone
 

Tim Fox

Well-Known Member
the lumens of this led light set up appears to be equal to a 600 watt MH/hps,, is that about right, i got the led combined to make 64,000 lumens, and a 600 watt HPS bulb gets 68,000 lumens, IF i did the math right,
is this correct
 

Gadgetboy

Member
Well my LED's arrived from Mouser today (excellent service) My friend has obviously made an uneducated decision when picking the Royal blue and the deep red LED's they are that small I cant see the solder points let alone solder them (approx 1mm x 2mm). Are there any other LED's with the same properties but large enough to manually solder? or with holders?
 

waltzNo2

Member
Lm/W is an OK way to compare, but not all lumens are created equally in spectrums. Look up the specteal output of a MH lamp and compare it to a 5000K LED and the PAR spectrum. It is hoped that by closely matching the spectrums that plants use to create energy each lumen will be more effective. This is still in testing, but it maes sense theoretically.

Also investing in LED technology now will encourage the development of higher lm/W which will make LED far ahead of any bulb system.

Ebay and aliexpress have monochromatic COB in blue and deep red. The highest rated wattage so far is 100W. The 50W units have nice solder pads.

20 1x2mm solder pads are going to make you pretty b.a. at soldering lol. Just say no to anything under 50W.
 

epicfail

Well-Known Member
@Gadgetboy

Usually if you're going to be working with the little guys people buy them already reflow soldered on to stars. You can do it yourself with a sinkpad or similar product but it requires a little more skill, equipment and a stencil specific to the chips you have. I have never done it personally but there are some threads on here that go into detail about it, I dont think its too difficult but I doubt its really simple either.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/led-diy-reflowing-home-yes.667365/

As for just replacing them with something different there are a few options for suppliers and chips, here are some links.

http://www.rapidled.com/leds/
http://www.cutter.com.au/categories.php?cat=Cree+Leds+soldered+on+Printed+Circuit+Boards
http://shop.stevesleds.com/LEDs_c18.htm
http://www.fasttech.com/search?led base 20mm
http://www.ledsupply.com/leds
http://www.ledsales.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=148_160_162_233


Hope that helps.
 
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