Looking for input on first build

syndacc · Tue Jan 29, 2019 11:06 pm

Hi everyone! I'm thinking about starting a indoor grow, mainly for peppers but probably a lot of other vegetables as well. I haven't decided how big yet but probably around a 4x4 space. Is 3500K a good allround temperature?

I've done some research and (I think?) found that 4x QB288 style board from alibaba probably is the most bang for the buck. I've read that both Kingbrite and Meiju should be good, but haven't heard if any is better than the other so I thought i would ask.

And I also haven't used alibaba before, should i just start a chat and tell them what I'm after? And do I tell them what color temperature I wan't in that chat? Or do I just have to go through pages of kits that I don't want to find the right listing and color temp?

Is it a dumb idea to order 4 heatsinks, 4 QB288s and pair them with two ELG-240-48A so I can have 2 separate light fixtures that can be adjusted a bit for different crops?

Norcorider · Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:55 am

What kinda price are you seeing on alibaba with shipping? I got boards from Atreum for a fair price, and man, they put out a ton of light. I’ve never had plants this happy. Check out my build, it has a link to my grow journal.
I like the idea of buying from a known person with great customer service, rather than some person with no accountability in China, but that’s just me.

syndacc · Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:51 pm

I've sent an inquiry but haven't got a repsonse yet. Your build looks good though!
The Atreum boards looks really nice and not too expensive either, but I live in Sweden so with shipping from the US and all that I could probably just buy a genuine HLG-board for the same price.

If somebody knows where to get some cheap, big heatsinks for something like the qboards in Europe I would appreciate some tips!

unkle_psycho · Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:08 am

I imagine you can find cheaper aluminium there, then what we have in Finland. If your situations are as bad, then aluminium costs more then the strips themselves.

You might want to consider adding enough strips to not need heatsinks. Bridgelux strips are very cheap, and digikey offers free delivery for orders over 50e.

I managed to collect quite a bit of scrap aluminium, but if your on a tight schedule it can be hard.

syndacc · Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:35 pm

Heatsinks seems to be pretty expensive. How many watts do you reckon I could run with a 30x30x2mm aluminun angle profile on those EB2 1120mms? Found some in Finland (I live near the border) for 4,5€/m.

Norcorider · Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:19 pm

syndacc wrote: ↑
Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:51 pm
I've sent an inquiry but haven't got a repsonse yet. Your build looks good though!
The Atreum boards looks really nice and not too expensive either, but I live in Sweden so with shipping from the US and all that I could probably just buy a genuine HLG-board for the same price.

If somebody knows where to get some cheap, big heatsinks for something like the qboards in Europe I would appreciate some tips!

Thanks!
How about running 6-8 boards, on a 480-600 watt driver with no heat sinks? At about 70 watts each

syndacc · Thu Jan 31, 2019 11:56 pm

That all comes down to price. You have it easy with cheap and easy access to Atreum boards! If would have similiar prices here in europe I probably just have ordered one from there instead of asking on here

.
I just sent him a message if he would get a eu-warehouse soon though.
Can't wait for your ladies to flower and get frosty, too bad I live in Sweden where it's illegal, cannabis is such a beatiful flower that reacts fast for right and wrong!

unkle_psycho · Fri Feb 01, 2019 2:11 am

In a country like sweden with vast empty countryside it might be worth it to learn how to grow auto strains outside.

I saw claims that you can run bridgelux eb gen2's at nominal power rates without heat sinks. They were claiming 26w per 4 footer is fine. With the U channels you can surely go higher then that, especially if there is any air movement in your space.

Marine2143 · Fri Feb 01, 2019 4:31 am

Aloha & Autos should do fine in polyhouses. We are using these as heat sinks. $2.80 a meter.https://www.greenhousemegastore.com/har ... 8REALw_wcB

unkle_psycho · Fri Feb 01, 2019 10:02 am

We do have auto strains that do fine outside, although a greenhouse will boost growth exponentially.

Sweden has a pretty oppressive approach to cannabis, so many people would just settle on a natural guerilla grow, which does not stick out quite as much as a greenhouse

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=swedish+count ... iax=images

To the OP, you might find thin aluminum sheets for reasonable prices