DIY with Quantum Boards

firsttimeARE · Dec 10, 2020

Not sure if HLG still has a presence on this forum. I have 2 260w kits which consist of 2 QB304s. I have one ballast plugged into the other and into my timer.

Like 6 times now ive gone in my room to only see one panel lit up.

If i unplug and plug it in they both fire up.

What is the reason for this?

@robincnn

pop22 · Dec 10, 2020

Sounds like a driver issue. Now do you have 2 boards per kit? Is just one kit doing this? If two boards, how are they wired? What model driver?

Also, were did you get the kits? I don't remember HLG selling this kit with QB 304 boards

firsttimeARE said:
Not sure if HLG still has a presence on this forum. I have 2 260w kits which consist of 2 QB304s. I have one ballast plugged into the other and into my timer.

Like 6 times now ive gone in my room to only see one panel lit up.

If i unplug and plug it in they both fire up.

What is the reason for this?

@robincnn

firsttimeARE · Dec 10, 2020

pop22 said:
Sounds like a driver issue. Now do you have 2 boards per kit? Is just one kit doing this? If two boards, how are they wired? What model driver?

Also, were did you get the kits? I don't remember HLG selling this kit with QB 304 boards

From HLG I got the 2 kits. Each kit came with 2 QB304s and an HLG-240H-C1050A and 1 Slate 2. Ordered June 2017. Little early to be having issues with the ballast. I dont grow non stop. Probably has maybe 2 years of usage if you want to count days.

The kit thats doing it is whats plugged in to the timer. The other kit is hooked into this kits wire.

Heres some pictures of the setup. On the board side I believe they are pos to neg then neg to pos.

Its the ballast closest to me in the photo and the Slate 2 to the right.

pop22 · Dec 11, 2020

Meanwell drivers have a 7 year warranty and I believe all you need is the serial number. Also, could be the timer. Have you tried it plugged into the wall? It's not the boards, they either work or they don't.

firsttimeARE said:
From HLG I got the 2 kits. Each kit came with 2 QB304s and an HLG-240H-C1050A and 1 Slate 2. Ordered June 2017. Little early to be having issues with the ballast. I dont grow non stop. Probably has maybe 2 years of usage if you want to count days.

The kit thats doing it is whats plugged in to the timer. The other kit is hooked into this kits wire.

Heres some pictures of the setup. On the board side I believe they are pos to neg then neg to pos.

Its the ballast closest to me in the photo and the Slate 2 to the right.

View attachment 4765323 View attachment 4765324

pop22 · Dec 11, 2020

I'd also first check every wiring connection. I had more than one HP customer who ended up paying HP $140/hr to have me push in a plug or fix a loose wire. Does it happen right after turning on or after it has been on a while? Thermal issues are sometimes related to loose/bad connections.

TWest65 · Dec 11, 2020

firsttimeARE said:
From HLG I got the 2 kits. Each kit came with 2 QB304s and an HLG-240H-C1050A and 1 Slate 2. Ordered June 2017. Little early to be having issues with the ballast. I dont grow non stop. Probably has maybe 2 years of usage if you want to count days.

The kit thats doing it is whats plugged in to the timer. The other kit is hooked into this kits wire.

Heres some pictures of the setup. On the board side I believe they are pos to neg then neg to pos.

Its the ballast closest to me in the photo and the Slate 2 to the right.

View attachment 4765323 View attachment 4765324

I'm pretty sure it's the timer. I had one which worked great for 1.5 years, then would turn on both sides at lights on, but only turn off 1 side at lights off. To test it, switch the plugs. By that, I mean, move the plug connected to the right side of the timer to the left side of the timer, and vice versa for the other side. If it's the timer, the other light will be off next time it happens.

Rocket Soul · Dec 11, 2020

+1 on getting the drivers on separate individual timers. If the driver works when plugged in a regular output it seems like this would be the likeliest change to get this working as it should.

ilovereggae · Dec 11, 2020

my money is on the timer. I have one of those exact models from either lowes or HD i think? i hate it its not intuitive and I always manage to set it wrong like 3x when I'm programming it. iirc you can actually set different programs for each side and i was having a similar situation happen. i bet the side thats shutting off is programmed wrong. it can get reset easily from being unplugged for a while so if you just started a new cycle no guarantee it kept the settings from last time. I always have to reprogram it.

I was going to sell it to a friend but felt like it would be setting him up for a failure. Its running now but im pretty sure its going in the trash when this cycle is done.

2com · Dec 11, 2020

ilovereggae said:
my money is on the timer. I have one of those exact models from either lowes or HD i think? i hate it its not intuitive and I always manage to set it wrong like 3x when I'm programming it. iirc you can actually set different programs for each side and i was having a similar situation happen. i bet the side thats shutting off is programmed wrong. it can get reset easily from being unplugged for a while so if you just started a new cycle no guarantee it kept the settings from last time. I always have to reprogram it.

I was going to sell it to a friend but felt like it would be setting him up for a failure. Its running now but im pretty sure its going in the trash when this cycle is done.

That style he showed looks like the style that both outlets are on the same time(r) setting, not individual.

firsttimeARE · Dec 11, 2020

pop22 said:
I'd also first check every wiring connection. I had more than one HP customer who ended up paying HP $140/hr to have me push in a plug or fix a loose wire. Does it happen right after turning on or after it has been on a while? Thermal issues are sometimes related to loose/bad connections.

It happens upon firing up. Ill come into my room and see that panel out. If i unplug and plug back in it turns on 100% of the time.

I was told by another user on Overgrow that im running my ballasts too hard. Was running the 320H's at 393w each and the 240H's at 305w each.

Also speculated that the timer is only rated for 1500w and I was pushing 1400w through it.

I dialed the 240H's down to 260w since they are rated for 240w at 92% efficiency is 260w and lowered the 320H down to their rated 320w. May increase to 345w though

Hopefully this fixes the issue.

firsttimeARE · Dec 11, 2020

2com said:
That style he showed looks like the style that both outlets are on the same time(r) setting, not individual.

Yes both outlets are on the same setting. This is a Hydrofarm model. Dont believe these are sold at HD or Lowes. At least not the ones near me

Both ballasts are plugged on the left. The Solstrips are on the right.

I was actually thinking of selling the quantum boards. I like the spread of strips better TBH

firsttimeARE · Dec 11, 2020

Its just weird that the cord plugged in is the main cord for the ballast thats having issues. The ballast thats working fine is plugged into that cord if that makes sense?

daveybc · Dec 11, 2020

Try tapping on the side of the timer before unplugging and plugging back in. These have relays that will eventually fail. I have a Stanley timer I have to tap sometimes( dont use it anymore ) and light will come on. Unplugging and plugging back in would be enough to trigger the bad relay. I never push these timers to their rated amp draw. If rated 12 amps keep under 10 amp ( just personal practice ). Otherwise having multiple parts will allow you to troubleshoot this. We have all heard of the odd driver failing too soon. So possibly the driver. Always nice to hear the solution to the problem though..

firsttimeARE said:
Not sure if HLG still has a presence on this forum. I have 2 260w kits which consist of 2 QB304s. I have one ballast plugged into the other and into my timer.

Like 6 times now ive gone in my room to only see one panel lit up.

If i unplug and plug it in they both fire up.

What is the reason for this?

@robincnn

daveybc · Dec 11, 2020

These look like they should have been in a scratch and dent sale. I recieved a double heatsink in a scratch and dent and its fin or 2 was barley bent. based on what I have seen from my shipments I would contact HLG and send them pics. They will look after you.

pilto said:
This is how the "new" heatsinks for my "new" HLG XL 260w rspec KITS (yes BOTH OF THEM) arrived today. Both Quantum Board envelopes were resealed as well. I don't care if the RollItUp admin don't want me commenting, people deserve to be notified of how HLG treats their customers. THIS IS REDICULOUS.

THESE ARE BRAND NEW OUT OF THE BOX.

View attachment 4758111

firsttimeARE · Dec 11, 2020

daveybc said:
Try tapping on the side of the timer before unplugging and plugging back in. These have relays that will eventually fail. I have a Stanley timer I have to tap sometimes( dont use it anymore ) and light will come on. Unplugging and plugging back in would be enough to trigger the bad relay. I never push these timers to their rated amp draw. If rated 12 amps keep under 10 amp ( just personal practice ). Otherwise having multiple parts will allow you to troubleshoot this. We have all heard of the odd driver failing too soon. So possibly the driver. Always nice to hear the solution to the problem though..

I have other timers I can try.

Yeah I usually do the 80% rule with breakers. Which would be 1200w on this 1500w timer

Rocket Soul · Dec 12, 2020

firsttimeARE said:
I have other timers I can try.

Yeah I usually do the 80% rule with breakers. Which would be 1200w on this 1500w timer

With ballasts/drivers theres not only the total wattage to watch out for, there is also inrush current: during a short time on startup the gear draws a much larger load than at normal operation.

daveybc · Dec 12, 2020

I just dont trust these cheapo timers. One of mine ( stanley), one of the 2 outlets had a mini meltdown. when I opened, clearly the soldered wire got to hot. I noticed a few strands were not soldered but cut back, so likely a defect. That timer I was pushing near its max. As @Rocket Soul mentioned there's also a spike on power up. Not sure of the headroom on that spike but hopefully the 80 percent rule covers that. 12 amps on 15 amp breaker and 16 amps on 20 amp breaker of continues power. For myself when I enter the 9-9.5 amp range I start using a second timer. I'm usually in flower at this point.

firsttimeARE said:
I have other timers I can try.

Yeah I usually do the 80% rule with breakers. Which would be 1200w on this 1500w timer

firsttimeARE · Dec 12, 2020

Rocket Soul said:
With ballasts/drivers theres not only the total wattage to watch out for, there is also inrush current: during a short time on startup the gear draws a much larger load than at normal operation.

Yeah I get that but at start up the 80% rule doesnt matter. Only for continuous load.

Be cool if thats the issue and dimming them back to normal operating wattages solves the issue.

TWest65 · Dec 12, 2020

firsttimeARE said:
Not sure if HLG still has a presence on this forum. I have 2 260w kits which consist of 2 QB304s. I have one ballast plugged into the other and into my timer.

Like 6 times now ive gone in my room to only see one panel lit up.

If i unplug and plug it in they both fire up.

What is the reason for this?

@robincnn

You've walked in and only one panel was lit. It would help to know if it the panel lights up at all during lights on then turns off at some point, or if it just doesn't light up at all.

pop22 · Dec 12, 2020

Also worth noting, every digital timer I've had has failed in less than 2 years. All my timers are mechanical now, never seem to have a problem with them, the oldest is 5 years old.

firsttimeARE said:
Yeah I get that but at start up the 80% rule doesnt matter. Only for continuous load.

Be cool if thats the issue and dimming them back to normal operating wattages solves the issue.

DIY with Quantum Boards

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member