QB132 vs PFD Sunboards

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Mags&Ruby

New Member
So, I'm getting ready to start my first indoor grow. Got everything ready to go except my lighting. Was all set to purchase four QB 132 panels in 3500k and went to order them and they were out of stock. Contacted HLG and got a very quick response that they would be back in stock in 3 - 4 weeks. Then happened across Photon Fantom Designs sunboards. They look good, charts he has up looks good, but haven't gotten a reply from him on questions I had about his boards. (Driver, warranty, coverage, etc) And haven't found much info on them from anyone that's used them.
Anyone have any experience with these?
Don't want to wait a month to get going, but don't want to buy another driver either.
Had several questions, but my main ones are warranty on sunboards? Coverage area per board (trying to cover a approx. 2 x 4 area, not ideal but its what I have to work with currently)? Whether the driver I have would power the number of sunboards required to cover said 2 x 4 (its an LRS-350-36 which I was told would power 4 QB 132s)? And how the sunboards compare to the QB 132's in performance? I assume the sunboards are more comparable to maybe the qb288 boards but, like I said haven't been able to find much info on them and apparently Photon Fantom Designs is a one man operation and not having much luck getting answers there, so....

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

*No-Till soil grow, 15 gal. pots. Peat/compost/ewc/aeration mixed with some biochar, rabbit poop, and some other organic supplements.*
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
So, I'm getting ready to start my first indoor grow. Got everything ready to go except my lighting. Was all set to purchase four QB 132 panels in 3500k and went to order them and they were out of stock. Contacted HLG and got a very quick response that they would be back in stock in 3 - 4 weeks. Then happened across Photon Fantom Designs sunboards. They look good, charts he has up looks good, but haven't gotten a reply from him on questions I had about his boards. (Driver, warranty, coverage, etc) And haven't found much info on them from anyone that's used them.
Anyone have any experience with these?
Don't want to wait a month to get going, but don't want to buy another driver either.
Had several questions, but my main ones are warranty on sunboards? Coverage area per board (trying to cover a approx. 2 x 4 area, not ideal but its what I have to work with currently)? Whether the driver I have would power the number of sunboards required to cover said 2 x 4 (its an LRS-350-36 which I was told would power 4 QB 132s)? And how the sunboards compare to the QB 132's in performance? I assume the sunboards are more comparable to maybe the qb288 boards but, like I said haven't been able to find much info on them and apparently Photon Fantom Designs is a one man operation and not having much luck getting answers there, so....

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

*No-Till soil grow, 15 gal. pots. Peat/compost/ewc/aeration mixed with some biochar, rabbit poop, and some other organic supplements.*
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Just go with Samsung F series strips - you're getting the same diode. The 44" strips are 144 diodes each and 5 of them @ 50W each will cover a 2x4 quite well. At 28 bucks each they are cheaper then the QB-132s.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
Haven't really looked into those, heatsink on those or no? And the driver I have would work with those as well? And would those be better wired in series, or parallel? Sorry, probably dumb questions, but kinda new to diy lighting.
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
Haven't really looked into those, heatsink on those or no? And the driver I have would work with those as well? And would those be better wired in series, or parallel? Sorry, probably dumb questions, but kinda new to diy lighting.
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No heatsink needed - just a flat strip of aluminum, aluminum angle or aluminum channel is all you need, mainly just to support them. Any 24 volt driver (I use LRS CV power supplies) will run them in parallel just fine, or you can run 5 in series on an HLG-240H-1050 driver.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
Well, thanks for the info, will definitely have a look at those. Was just trying to avoid buying another driver since mine is 36 volt, but those LRS drivers seem pretty decent and most of them are reasonably priced, so I might go that way as I'd really like to get a grow started without waiting a month. Also will have a spare bedroom in the next few years, so that definitely seems like a economical option to expand into that space as well although its really about the same as the qb132 price wise. I can get 4 for $133 and 5 strips at $28 each is $140. But almost 200 more diodes with the strips should be more even coverage, so really more bang for my buck, correct? And I'm guessing you have good results with these since you recommend them?
 
N

Nutria

Well-Known Member
nfhiggs said:
No heatsink needed - just a flat strip of aluminum, aluminum angle or aluminum channel is all you need, mainly just to support them. Any 24 volt driver (I use LRS CV power supplies) will run them in parallel just fine, or you can run 5 in series on an HLG-240H-1050 driver.
Click to expand...
Are LRS drivers cheaper than MW?
Same quality?
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
Well, thanks for the info, will definitely have a look at those. Was just trying to avoid buying another driver since mine is 36 volt, but those LRS drivers seem pretty decent and most of them are reasonably priced, so I might go that way as I'd really like to get a grow started without waiting a month. Also will have a spare bedroom in the next few years, so that definitely seems like a economical option to expand into that space as well although its really about the same as the qb132 price wise. I can get 4 for $133 and 5 strips at $28 each is $140. But almost 200 more diodes with the strips should be more even coverage, so really more bang for my buck, correct? And I'm guessing you have good results with these since you recommend them?
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Yeah, I been using strips for the last year now and they work great. Here is a pic of the mainlined plant I did last fall:

DSC_0003.JPG

here is a closeup of the buds at 6 weeks:

avatar.jpg

Those are actually less efficient Acuity strips (~120 lm/w), the F Series are much better. I've got F series in my veg space and will be starting a new plant soon. Got about 30 zips of cured bud on hand right now so no rush for the next run....
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
Well, I found those f-series strips at digi-key. 144 diodes, 4' strips....and out of stock. So guess I'll just be waiting either way.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
3500k is out of stock, so would you recommend going 3000k or 4000k? Was kinda set on 3500k, but that's just what seemed to be the most widely used spectrum for veg and flower, from what I've seen anyways.
 
Humple

Humple

Well-Known Member
I see as many 3000k all-purpose builds as I do 3500k. Have both myself, but more 3000k than 3500k. Personally, I think the 3000k veg great.
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
3500k is out of stock, so would you recommend going 3000k or 4000k? Was kinda set on 3500k, but that's just what seemed to be the most widely used spectrum for veg and flower, from what I've seen anyways.
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Either one will work fine.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
Thoughts on these?

Bridgelux gen2 strips from digi key or arrow either one.
BXEB-L1120Z-35E4000-C-B3. Tried to post a link but don't have enough likes to do so...

175lm/W, right about the same as the Samsung gen3 f series. Cost is 12-17 something each strip.
Thing that has me messed up is the foward voltage, says its 39 volts and I haven't located a 39 volt driver yet, not sure they exist. Would I need to just get close to 39 volts, or would I need 39 volts or more to power them, and if so how many more volts? And then correct me if I'm wrong but amps x volts = power per strip?

Edit* - Just pulled up the datasheet for the LRS-350-36 driver I have and it list voltage adjustable to 39.6 volts. So I could run 6 of these on this driver if I'm figuring right, but it could be I'm not. 1.4a x 39v = 54.6w per strip. 349.2w ÷ 54.6w is roughly 6.4 strips. So, am i correct this would handle up to six of these? Perhaps dimmed a bit to not run at max amps? Unless my math is off, or I overlooked something, which is highly likely.
 
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nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
Thoughts on these?

Bridgelux gen2 strips from digi key or arrow either one.
BXEB-L1120Z-35E4000-C-B3. Tried to post a link but don't have enough likes to do so...

175lm/W, right about the same as the Samsung gen3 f series. Cost is 12-17 something each strip.
Thing that has me messed up is the foward voltage, says its 39 volts and I haven't located a 39 volt driver yet, not sure they exist. Would I need to just get close to 39 volts, or would I need 39 volts or more to power them, and if so how many more volts? And then correct me if I'm wrong but amps x volts = power per strip?

Edit* - Just pulled up the datasheet for the LRS-350-36 driver I have and it list voltage adjustable to 39.6 volts. So I could run 6 of these on this driver if I'm figuring right, but it could be I'm not. 1.4a x 39v = 54.6w per strip. 349.2w ÷ 54.6w is roughly 6.4 strips. So, am i correct this would handle up to six of these? Perhaps dimmed a bit to not run at max amps? Unless my math is off, or I overlooked something, which is highly likely.
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According to the spec sheet you'll need to hit 41V to get 1.4 amps through them. At 39V you'll get about 700 mA through each strip - 39.6 should get you up to around 800-900 mA. You can actually run quite a few more than 6 strips, you'll just get less current for each strip as you add more. I would use 12 strips on that supply for a max current of ~800 mA (and 31W) per strip. That will give you over 60,000 total lumens - nearly the equivalent of two 315W CMH lights.

Its actually a good supply to use with those strips because you can't overpower them with it.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
nfhiggs said:
According to the spec sheet you'll need to hit 41V to get 1.4 amps through them. At 39V you'll get about 700 mA through each strip - 39.6 should get you up to around 800-900 mA. You can actually run quite a few more than 6 strips, you'll just get less current for each strip as you add more. I would use 12 strips on that supply for a max current of ~800 mA (and 31W) per strip. That will give you over 60,000 total lumens - nearly the equivalent of two 315W CMH lights.

Its actually a good supply to use with those strips because you can't overpower them with it.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info, was hoping to find something I could use with the driver I already have. 12 of those wouldnt be too many in just a little over for just a little over 8 sq ft with about 7' of vertical space? Would be like 46.5w per sq. ft, and with already under-powering them would I be able to dim them if need be? Really appreciate your help as well.
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
Mags&Ruby said:
Thanks for the info, was hoping to find something I could use with the driver I already have. 12 of those wouldnt be too many in just a little over for just a little over 8 sq ft with about 7' of vertical space? Would be like 46.5w per sq. ft, and with already under-powering them would I be able to dim them if need be? Really appreciate your help as well.
Click to expand...
Yes, you would be able to dim it down by simply adjusting the voltage downward. 8-9 strips would fill a 2x4 nicely. My 2x4 light has 9 light bars in it. 8 strips would get you about ~250W - just a little over 30W per square foot, right about at the recommended level.
 
M

Mags&Ruby

New Member
@nfhiggs So 8-12 of these wired in parallel. Best to way to go about wiring these? Use the connectors on the strips or wagos, or is there a better way? 18 ga.
tinned wire between the strips (rated to 600v which from what I've read should be more than enough) & I have a computer power cord that is 16 ga./three prong for the power supply, will that work or need to go bigger on the wire for power supply? (And what would my dimming options be with the lrs-350-36? Potentiometer or something else? I understand the parallel circuit, I just don't know where to wire a dimmer in or if it would require more than one to do it on a parallel circuit? I've done some electrical work, not a lot, but outlets, lights switches, basic stuff...replaced and rewired the fan, contactor, and capacitor on my a/c unit....have just always had something to go by, never just wired something up from scratch.
 
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