LEDgardener

Also, thinking about a thin 2x4 sheet of aluminum which I'd tape the strips to:
https://www.homedepot.ca/product/paulin ... 1000862145

But as mentioned, running it cool should allow me to avoid the sheet altogether, ~$40, and the thermal tape as well, ~$20.

Thoughts on either one of these approaches?

Aluminum sheets are awesome. Highly recommend salvage yards for this type of product.

The sheet you linked has a thickness of .025"

That is not much thicker than a human hair. Basically one step beyond aluminum foil.

I would recommend .125" as a minimum.

Alternately you could look at 16ga aluminum flashing. I have done a couple of builds with that stuff now, but it needs some structural engineering (bends) to keep it from flopping around.

Here is a fun thread

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4097

Did you look at metalsupermarkets.com there might be one near you which means you can pick it up (no shipping cost)

Have you considered full-sized baking sheets?
$10 for a 26"x18" with a rim that makes it rigid and practical to hang.

Shimbob wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:35 pm

Have you considered full-sized baking sheets?
$10 for a 26"x18" with a rim that makes it rigid and practical to hang.

Where are you seeing that for $10? USD maybe? Its wierd, some things are just not offered in Canada or if they are they are 2.5x the price.

ATPinMotion wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:06 pm

Did you look at metalsupermarkets.com there might be one near you which means you can pick it up (no shipping cost)

Nice, there is! I thought it was only in the US. Thanks for that!

Deece wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 10, 2019 8:02 pm

Shimbob wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 10, 2019 3:35 pm

Have you considered full-sized baking sheets?
$10 for a 26"x18" with a rim that makes it rigid and practical to hang.

Where are you seeing that for $10? USD maybe? Its wierd, some things are just not offered in Canada or if they are they are 2.5x the price.

Well, it was a local restaurant supply store that was running a sales on them. 3 sheets and 22 1' F strips have made my veg tent overgrown.

Hey guys,

Here's my latest design:

https://www.digikey.ca/products/en?keyw ... E4000-C-B3
12x 2' strips
$122
* purchased

https://www.digikey.ca/products/en?keyw ... g-240h-20a
1x Driver
$98.02
* purchased

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/ ... -p8714529e
Angle for frame
3/4 x 3/4 x 1/8 in. x 8 ft = $23

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/ ... -p8710881e
Channel for inter rows
1"x3/4"x1/8"x8' = $27
$6.75 per row
3 lengths of 8' total = $81

https://www.princessauto.com/en/detail/ ... -p1450105e
Cross bar to mount driver
3/4"x1/8"x8' = $6

Let me know your thoughts

Haven't gone thru your design in detail but I really like the frame/heatsink components you selected, I like Princess Auto and their prices on C channel aren't bad either.

Great! That's pretty much exactly the feedback I was hoping for.
Thanks for the quick feedback. Man I'm rediculously excited about this upcoming build, will be a huuuuge improvement over my current setup.

In case it wasn't clear this is for a 2x4 build (not 4x4 as per the OP).

Update: Princess Auto didn't have the stock, and they recommended metalsupermarkets.com, the local spot was down the road.
They also didn't have channel so I opted for 1"x1" aluminum angle, both for the strips and the frame.

Deece wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 12, 2019 3:00 pm

Here's my latest design. Let me know your thoughts

Looks great man. No doubt you're making a lot more progress on this than I am. I did some research since my last post and really at a point where I guess that I'm admitting to myself that some of this is over my head/someone with my skill level should go with a DIY kit type option.

Anyways, I made a separate post to confirm a parts list for 4x 240W QB288 kits and I think that's the route I will go in the end. But please do keep posting updates about your build because I'll be checking in to cheer you on!

Good luck and thanks again to everyone who helped provide me with some really valuable information as part of this thread.