LEDgardener

Hi all,

Looking to do my first ever build and am interested in the idea of a Space Bucket. I've a largish plastic bin at home that I'm not using but need some advice on lighting. I don't have the dimensions to hand but it's roughly a 1 foot square (circular ) space. I'm looking at using some LT-H282D strips to do the lighting but this is my first build so not sure on a few aspects of it. Can anyone give me some words of wisdom?

1. How many strips would I need for adequate lighting? The Parallel Strip Build Tool suggests 6 will give me just over 7000 lumens. Is this what I should be targeting?
2. Should I mount them all on-top or keep some for around the side while growing?
3. In terms of CCT, I seem to have the choice between 3000K, 4000K and 5000K. From reading this site, I'm leaning towards a half 3000K and half 5000K combination. Does this sound about right?

Thanks for the help. I'm excited to get this started

My novice opinion -

7000 lumens would be more than enough, that's at the top end of the recommended scale. I am building a light for a PC case which is around 1 sq ft also and I am using 5 of these bridgelux strips for 6000 lumens

https://www.digikey.co.uk/product-detai ... ND/6236279

One thing you will need to take into account is the space needed for 6 strips. Mine are 280mm long and just about fit in my case but as the top of yours will be circular then you will need to measure them to make sure you can fit them all.

I think it depends on preference but for what its worth I am using 3500k for all 5 strips. Have seen many grow journals where people use only 3500k and they produce some great bud.

6 strips is perfect for 1 square foot. It’d be a cool experiment seeing how they performed if you had 3 on top and 3 on the sides vs. All 6 on top. You might be pressed for space to fit them all on top anyway, so it might not be a bad idea!

I’d run 3000K or 3500K. I’d rather have more red on tap then gain the extra blue from 5000K.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I have what I need to proceed. I'll try and update this thread as I go.

One other quick question for someone that has experience in growing. I'll probably look to get a second bucket up-and-running in a few months so that I can have offset harvests. I was originally thinking of just having one driver to power both, but now I'm wondering if I should have separate systems so can have independent timings cycles. Any advice?

I’d go 2 drivers for sure in this case.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Nearly ready to finalize the order.

Does anyone have experience ordering from Digi-Key in Europe? Their local pages just look to change the currency to Euros. Am I going to get dragged over the coals in terms of VAT and import taxes?