Upgrading to a 4x4 tent, stick with a COB setup or upgrade to ??

Hey! I have been running a DIY Timber 300w COB Kit for a few years (4x Cree CXB3590 / 1x MW HLG-320H-C2100B) in a 3x3 and have been able to hit a little over that 1g per watt mark. I want to upgrade to a 4x4 and run 4 plants instead of 2 in the 3x3.

I like COBs, I am familiar with them now and they are doing a great job. Should I just stick with a new COB setup (probably a 6x COB 2x Driver setup) or would it be better to move over to QB / strips? From the reading I have done, it seems like a pretty lateral move other than uniformity and other smaller details. Just doing my homework / looking for opinions before I pull the trigger and regret not getting the newest shiny tech.

Thanks all for any help!

Don't ask about LED!! Don't do it!!

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Get a Scorpion Diablo bk78 hates them

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I`ve been looking at the HLG Scorpion Diablo as a possible replacement for my Black Dog (1050 W) Phytomax at some time in the future. I`d like to get another 1000W light so I`ll have to wait to see what lights are available when it`s time to buy.

If I were going for COB I`d look at the Timber Fatty.

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Boards and strips are a little bit better for thermal management than cobs as you dont push thru the same amount of watts per area. Youll get more light per watt out of them, at least if youre running your cobs mid to hard.
Spread can be better or worse with boards and strips, it depends on how you you design your light. IMO the best and easiest way would be with four single boards centered over each corner-cuadrant, as a minimum. Or using more boards ran a bit softer. it all depends on you budget. Making strip lights diy is one of the cheaper options if you have access to aluminium profile at decent prices but involves a fair bit of cabling and some thought put in regarding hanging-raising-lowering in a tent.

If you already have a good light setup, it seems to me that it's a waste to get rid of it. Why not just add supplemental light to match the increase in grow area?
Strips and QBs have a more even coverage than COBs with lower hotspots but if you've gotten used to COBs and already have a good setup, I'd keep it and add lamps as needed.

Hobbes said:

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I`ve been looking at the HLG Scorpion Diablo as a possible replacement for my Black Dog (1050 W) Phytomax at some time in the future. I`d like to get another 1000W light so I`ll have to wait to see what lights are available when it`s time to buy.

If I were going for COB I`d look at the Timber Fatty.

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Horticulture Lighting Group HLG Scorpion Diablo LED Grow Light (Full Cycle / Flower)

The HLG Scorpion Diablo is designed for grow spaces with low ceiling heights or for vertical racks. This is an incredibly efficient, full spectrum LED grow light with excellent efficiency of 2.9 PPF/W. Free shipping at Photonic.

photonicled.com

Fatty VS

This high output nine (9) COB LED grow light fixture features Bridgelux Vero29 COBs and three (3) Meanwell drivers for maximum uptime. Remote driver placement helps with managing heat and custom color temperatures are available. Innovative design engineered to cover a 5 x 5 coverage area with...

timbergrowlights.com

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Thanks! Those may be a bit much for a 4x4 but maybe I should just go 5x5 . It looks like the Scorpion is getting good reviews and the specs are nice. Already a Timber customer and my DIY setup has been doing me very well so I would not hesitate on purchasing from them again.

Rocket Soul said:

Boards and strips are a little bit better for thermal management than cobs as you dont push thru the same amount of watts per area. Youll get more light per watt out of them, at least if youre running your cobs mid to hard.
Spread can be better or worse with boards and strips, it depends on how you you design your light. IMO the best and easiest way would be with four single boards centered over each corner-cuadrant, as a minimum. Or using more boards ran a bit softer. it all depends on you budget. Making strip lights diy is one of the cheaper options if you have access to aluminium profile at decent prices but involves a fair bit of cabling and some thought put in regarding hanging-raising-lowering in a tent.

Click to expand...

Thanks for verifying the slightly better power/thermal and potentially coverage as the biggest differences. I like the idea of having a board over each corner. I don't have any issues with DIYing, I cobbled together my current light frame using 3d prints to connect aluminum angle together so I could probably do something similar. I have been doing two similar strains in my current setup but would like to try more plants at once so having additional control over each would be nice.

LEDTonic - Daniel said:

If you already have a good light setup, it seems to me that it's a waste to get rid of it. Why not just add supplemental light to match the increase in grow area?
Strips and QBs have a more even coverage than COBs with lower hotspots but if you've gotten used to COBs and already have a good setup, I'd keep it and add lamps as needed.

Click to expand...

Good points! I will probably use my current setup as the veg area / hospital or potentially keep a mother if I find the perfect strain. Cost wise, just adding another driver and a couple more cobs would get me a good 4x4 coverage light, that may actually be the best option although it would be nice to have a fresh setup that matches.

Sounding like QB / Strips are not as big of a leap as Blurple to COB when I was first putting my setup together. Overall I am hearing that I will not hate myself for not getting the newest thing if I stick with COBs.

I run an HLG 600 Rspec in a 4x4 and it is perfect for it. There are many options but that is what works for me.
EDIT: It is also much cheaper than the Scorpion and you get 10% off with RIU10 code

I'd say that if you want to use your timber in another grow, I'd look for 500-600 watts of top-tier diodes.
I run a 480-watt qb clone fixture in my 4x4 pheno tent and it does a good job except for the very edge of the tent.
I'd say the original qb550 fixture is more suited to a 3x3 for best quality.