HLG 550 vs Slate2 heatsinks

[jon]

Hi,

I'm currently trying to decide which setup to pick for my second 4x4 tent as I really loved my first qb set.

I would like to hear your opinion about which option would provide the best light spread and heat dissipation

The first option is the classic HLG 550 V2 with the large flat aluminum plate http://prntscr.com/np3rk2

The second option is to build my own aluminum fixture with 3 sets like this:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/ ... 75390u2KSI

I would just cut the slate2 heatsinks in half, then use aluminum tee parts from the hardware store to build a larger fixture.
I am considering making a fixture with 6 boards and running them at a lower voltage to reduce heat and increase the light spread
... but it is really worth the trouble? Should I just get the HLF 550 V2 instead?

[Jolly Green Giant]

welcome to the forum first off..

secondly, would never recommend cutting a slate double in half just to get two singles.. buy the singles slate sink instead ( or the slate 2 triples then you have a board space in between )

I prefer the spread of a diy frame over the 550 spread..
http://ledgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=56 here's the link to my old 4 board and 6 board upgrade ( if you haven't seen it yet ) both spread the light pretty dang good in my 5x5 tent..

easiest diy frame build would be to get 2 of those slate 2 triples I mentioned above ( basically the same spacing as my diy frame ) with 4 boards... then you grab 2 32" pieces of 80/20 ( I use tnutz https://www.tnutz.com/product/ex-1010-black/ ) 8 machine screws https://www.tnutz.com/product/imperial- ... _length=34 ( im unsure if it's 3/4" or 1" that we need to connect, I haven't tried yet.. with 1" strip heatsink it's 3/4" ) with 12 of the t-nut connectors https://www.tnutz.com/product/et-010-1-4-20/ you just slide the nuts in the extrusion.. screw the slate triples to each end of the 32" extrusion... and then use the 4 extra nuts to screw in eye bolts on the top side to hook rope ratchets... and that's it! this basically gives 6-8" to each direction of the quantum board.. and a nice spread of light..

again welcome to the forum.. this was one quick idea I had that's about full proof to slap together..

[jon]

Thanks for the reply,

Nice setup! Do you run the 6 boards at 100% or dimmed?

The Slate heatsink for 3 boards is 940mm so it means that my frame would be 37x37 in my 4x4 tent. Is this the optimal spread for 6 boards in a 4x4?

[jon]

Another question

If I want to run 6 boards at 70% ... do I need 3x HLG-240H with 2 boards per driver
or can I use 2x HLG-240H at 100% power, each driver powering 3 boards in series

[Jolly Green Giant]

I run my driver at full power all the time... with the 6 v 1's on a -54b ( parallel version ) each one is roughly drawing 1450-1500ma ( boards hardly ever split parallel amperage perfect in the real world .. 8.9a/6= 1483ma ) so with each board at 1500 I'm running them at 54% of max..

I have never taken a good light meter to it, so not 100% sure if it's purely optimal.. but the spread is really nice.. I just really like symmetry. having pretty much the same amount of space from each other throws a good pattern of light... 40"x38" to 37"x37".. your close enough

70% of the board max is just under 2000ma.. so you can go with a hlg-320h-c2100 for 3 v2 boards... if you wanted to run just under that, the voltage math is really really close on the hlg-240h-c1750 to fit 3 boards.. if ya went hlg-240h-c1750 with "a" type dimming, it should work.. ( 3 boards at 1750 is roughly 145v the cap it says on driver is 143v but they do allow slight over V)

[jon]

Thanks a lot for your help,

I'm probably going to buy 6 boards 3 two HLG-240H-C2100 in series

I'll take the weekend to think about it and probably pull the trigger on Monday.

[Adam]

Par maps of both the hlg550 and 4 boards spaced 60cm apart .

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1538/ ... 1549602580