Thoughts on Extra Wide Board Layouts? First Build

[Skill_Murray]

Hey ya'll

Great forum! Been reading a lot on here lately and educating myself as I get ready for my first DIY build. Thanks to LEDGardener and all the super in-depth info, I'm feeling pretty confident.

One question I have tho, that I haven't seen much talk about is the orientation of the boards in a set up. Most set ups I've seen or the kits to build them are in a long narrow rectangular form with the short ends of the boards running parallel. I'm wondering what the coverage would look in a more square spread with the longer sides of the boards running parallel and some space in between?

I have a smaller 36" x 20" x 63" tent with reflective walls. I'm looking to build a 260W QB288 set up with a HLG240h-c2100 driver.

I've thought about getting 2 boards on individual single heatsinks and building an aluminum frame to run them in an extra wide orientation with the longer sides of the boards running parallel and about 8" of space between.

But then I also came across this kit on GrowersLights that uses a larger extra wide Slate 6 heatsink to achieve almost the same layout:
https://growerslights.com/collections/h ... 4580283493

Does anyone have any experience or insights on running the boards like this? Would this improve even coverage and penetration in my smaller space? I've tried estimating PPFD based on some of the tests others have done in 2x2 and 3x3 and it seems like coverage would be strong.

[Sativant]

That looks right on the money to me. I was wondering why most of the QB kits are arranged in such a narrow configuration.

[Jolly Green Giant]

welcome to the forum!

basically that's my new pattern in my tent... board- board size space-board.. etc.. I like it because I can set a pot below each board and fill in...

I think all the slate 6's run the same way as the XW. ( they don't have any on the site anymore.. I still need 6 single!!) as for whether to go XW or rails is up to you... the XW would resemble a hps style hood light footprint better.. the rails would allow for a better spread.. why I like the board spacing.

both would work in a roughly 6sqft tent... you could even get away with a hlg185 ( 6sqft x 30w=180w for flowering cannabis) another thought... Go cc+cv driver ( hlg***h-54 ver1 / h-48 ver2? still unsure about ver2 numbers) that way if you want to add more boards it's the same wattage.. just each one will run higher efficacy.. ( lum/w or umole/j )

again welcome

[sdfoster22]

The 48v driver is what runs v2. If you use the 600h, the 54 will work, but you get more power from the 48.

[Complex]

...Does anyone have any experience or insights on running the boards like this? Would this improve even coverage and penetration in my smaller space? I've tried estimating PPFD based on some of the tests others have done in 2x2 and 3x3 and it seems like coverage would be strong.

Hey,
I don't have any data or real experience to share yet, but just built a "260w kit" using angle aluminum. It's in the same 'configuration' (orientation) as a regular HLG 260w kit though - but with space between the boards. 32" frames, 6" space between the actual QB's themselves.
Does the "HLG 300" have close to the spacing you're thinking of? Maybe someone who has one of those can add some input.

[Skill_Murray]

Right on!

Thanks @jolly green. Yeah thats what I was thinking as far as getting one pot right under each one. Would the larger heatsink in the XW kit deal with the heat better as opposed to two singles? Like if I were to mount the driver right on top. Also I see what your saying on the hlg 185. Would it be more efficient to run with that or go with the 260 and run them soft?

I do like the idea of the frame a little better. Just being able to customize and potential for add on in the future. Plus the extra DIY build work thats always fun! Seems like I missed a window tho, the V2 288s and Slate 2 heatsinks are out of stock now. XW kit on growerslights is still available tho. Idk I might just wait it out. Still have a crop finishing up before I'm ready to run a new light.

In the meantime, if I went with a cc+cv driver like the h-48, what wattage should I be looking at? Still 260h? Would running more boards in that space just be overkill. haha. I did just see the QB11 Deep Reds, that could be a nice addition in the future. Could I run those on the same driver?

@complex - yeah I actually just saw the hlg300 ran in a similar set up! Pretty sweet, but for $600...damn. What size angle aluminum did you use? 3/4" or 1/2"?

[Jolly Green Giant]

two slate 2 singles should be less/ better with heat than a slate 6 double. not by much but better spread.

for your current space the 185 is better... but the 240 driver turned down would allow you to add to it and cover 3x3 for flower or a 4x4 for veg... whether it's the hlg-240h-48/54 get A dimmer to push that 260w range.

I think the deep red/blue strips are 24v around 1amp range.. possibly a series parallel combo wiring to fit a 48v ? maybe.. gotta think about that.

cheers

[sdfoster22]

Right on!

Thanks @jolly green. Yeah thats what I was thinking as far as getting one pot right under each one. Would the larger heatsink in the XW kit deal with the heat better as opposed to two singles? Like if I were to mount the driver right on top. Also I see what your saying on the hlg 185. Would it be more efficient to run with that or go with the 260 and run them soft?

Efficiency vs load 185h

Effeciency vs load 240h

185h 92% efficient at about max
240h 90% efficient at 75% on 110v supply
About a 2% difference, if your on 220v supply, they are both about 93% efficient.

In the meantime, if I went with a cc+cv driver like the h-48, what wattage should I be looking at? Still 260h? Would running more boards in that space just be overkill. haha.

The hlg-185h-48a (the a version maxes out at 4.27A, and the regular and b version maxes out at 3.9a) would run each board at approximately 49V @ 2.1A. 49V*2.1A=102.9w theoretically. You would get around 200w max and dimming. 185h-48b, or regular with a potentiometer, would run each board about 48.5V @ 1.95A. 48.5V*1.95A=94W (very approximate measurement) about 180-190w.

If you went with the hlg-240h-48a that's 5.42A. This would give you about 49.7V @ 2.7a per board. That's 134w per board and 268W total. The hlg-240h-48 regular, or b with a potentiometer, is 5A max. That's about 49.6V @ 2.5A. That's about 124W a board 248W total

Most people with the v1's shot for about 30-35w a sq/ft. The V2's actually output the same usable light with about 8% less total watts. That's about 27.5-32.2. I would run the 185h, as that would put you right in the middle, unless you plan on running co2.

I did just see the QB11 Deep Reds, that could be a nice addition in the future. Could I run those on the same driver?

Would you run these qb 11's the whole grow? Just during flower?
Or would you just use them as a sleep initiator?
What % of red would you like?
Meanwell makes the LDD Step down DC-DC Converter. You could use the LDD-700HW wired parallel to the qbs. It can be powered by 9-56VDC, and can output 2-52VDC. If you wired the qb 11's parallel to the LDD-700HW it would run each of them at 24.4v at 350mA for 17.08w between the two. That's almost 10% in the 660nm range, these LDD drivers supply 3 less volts than they are ran with. In Both setups they are supplied with about 49v, so the output would be 45v max, so you couldn't wire 2 in series to the driver. 24.4v*2=48.8. You could also use the LDD-1500HW and wire parallel. It can accept voltage of 9-52VDC, and output 2-46VDC. This would run each one approximately 29v @ 750mA for 43.5w between the two. They also make the LDD 300, 350, 500, 600, and 1200HW. Don't buy the LDD-XXXLW series. The vf isn't high enough.

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... ND/7704752

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... ND/7704734

You could also run the on a separate driver and use them as a flower initiator.

There is a list of drivers here

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/c ... ntum-board

[Skill_Murray]

The hlg-185h-48a (the a version maxes out at 4.27A, and the regular and b version maxes out at 3.9a) would run each board at approximately 49V @ 2.1A. 49V*2.1A=102.9w theoretically. You would get around 200w max and dimming. 185h-48b, or regular with a potentiometer, would run each board about 48.5V @ 1.95A. 48.5V*1.95A=94W (very approximate measurement) about 180-190w.

If you went with the hlg-240h-48a that's 5.42A. This would give you about 49.7V @ 2.7a per board. That's 134w per board and 268W total. The hlg-240h-48 regular, or b with a potentiometer, is 5A max. That's about 49.6V @ 2.5A. That's about 124W a board 248W total

Most people with the v1's shot for about 30-35w a sq/ft. The V2's actually output the same usable light with about 8% less total watts. That's about 27.5-32.2. I would run the 185h, as that would put you right in the middle, unless you plan on running co2.

Yeah, I don't plan on running co2 so, seems like the 185 will be spot on. I also don't really plan on upgrading the grow space as this is just for personal and a couple solid plants is plenty.

One more question on drivers - if the goal is to run the v2s at 2.1a per board giving me roughly 200w total, what is the benefit / difference of going with the hlg-185h-48a over say the hlg-240h-c2100a? Aside from the ability to add more boards later for higher efficacy. (I know this is now turning into a thread about drivers rather than one about layout)

Would you run these qb 11's the whole grow? Just during flower?
Or would you just use them as a sleep initiator?
What % of red would you like?
Meanwell makes the LDD Step down DC-DC Converter. You could use the LDD-700HW wired parallel to the qbs. It can be powered by 9-56VDC, and can output 2-52VDC. If you wired the qb 11's parallel to the LDD-700HW it would run each of them at 24.4v at 350mA for 17.08w between the two. That's almost 10% in the 660nm range, these LDD drivers supply 3 less volts than they are ran with. In Both setups they are supplied with about 49v, so the output would be 45v max, so you couldn't wire 2 in series to the driver. 24.4v*2=48.8. You could also use the LDD-1500HW and wire parallel. It can accept voltage of 9-52VDC, and output 2-46VDC. This would run each one approximately 29v @ 750mA for 43.5w between the two. They also make the LDD 300, 350, 500, 600, and 1200HW. Don't buy the LDD-XXXLW series. The vf isn't high enough.

This will be primarily a flowering light. I plan on setting up a smaller veg tent with my current light (Viparspectra 450) and build this new light for the flower tent. But I might try to run an Auto cycle under this new light while I'm waiting for veg. I appreciate the depth of your knowledge here, but this seems like it may be a little more advanced than I'm ready for right now. Need to get a basic build down first. haha!

[sdfoster22]

Yeah, build the basic light do a grow or 2, then you could add the reds in later to compare if it really makes a difference.

I really enjoy helping people out. I just learned how to run these red and blue strips myself. It was a bit of research, but the information is out there, you just have to put it all together.

Even if you don't want to run these at all. It's nice to have out there, just in case somebody runs into it later.