DIY COB LED grow light thread.

[DDG]

Hello.

So I have successfully built my own COB LED grow light and I know that there are other members interested in this topic but I don't know what information you want specifically.
I have written many attempts to go through my build but there is so much that I could say and depending on what the purpose is different things I need to say so I simply want to ask this.

What do you want to know?

I will post a list of online resources that explain certain things or link you to sites where you can brows different topics.

But do you want me to make a step-by-step guide for how I put the components together, and/or do you want a guide about how to select the components for a grow light, which are two really different kind of texts?

Regards

[Dirty_badger]

What power is your panel that you've built?

[JamesJoyce]

There are diy kits being sold that you just deal with a few cables and install easily... and on the other hand you can buy all the needed components and establish the light all by yourself... I want to know is there a great price difference between these two, is it worth the hassle to gather all the parts on your own?

[Herbitual]

What power is your panel that you've built?

This, certainly, and an idea of how much it cost to do so that we can compare with ready-made.

If you've built something with a 600W draw for a ton, then, yeah, I'm in.

(Well, I'll get one of the staff to put it together, obvs)

[DDG]

I haven't measured the final power drawn but estimating from the LED's datasheet my panel should be adjustable between 172W - 296W.

I haven't figured out yet(although I'm not certain anyone have proven which is the case) if there is any difference between adjusting a LED grow light using an adjustable constant current(which means the LED's are on 100% of the time but emits more or less light) and dimming them with PWM(which means the LED's emit a set amount of light but they are turned on and off faster than a human eye can react, and the amount of dimming is set by the ratio of time spent on and time spent off, or "duty cycle").

My panel are using the adjustable constant current method, using a MeanWell HLG LED power supply, there are many different power levels and any version that ends with a "A" feature a built-in potentiometer to adjust the output current(in case of a Constant Current model) or also the output voltage(in case of a Constant Voltage model).
The adjustment range is approximately between 100% and 50% output current(I used a Constant Current model).
Constant Current is most often used with LED's in series while Constant Voltage are most often used with LED's in parallel, though you could combine those two connections if you wanted to.

While any version that ends with a "B" feature two extra cables to which you can connect a potentiometer, a 10V PWM signal or a 0V-10V DC voltage to dim the output but this would be PWM dimming which ever of those 3 options you would go for.

As far as the final power level goes, I ended up using two CXM-32 series COB LED's so as far as you got a power supply that can manage it you could easily expand the number of LED's used.
The biggest problem is the availability of suitable heat sink, a passive heat sink(a heat sink that does not require a fan attached to the heat sink) will always be much larger than an equivalent active heat sink solution(a heat sink with an attached fan to actively cool the heat sink).

And the final cost comes down to you selection of LED, LED power supply and heat sink, obviously...
I used an old heat sink that I have scavenged from an old power amplifier(or some other audio equipment), and the LED selection wasn't the optimum one as I later discovered, the price and availability of the heat sink is mostly determined by where in the world you live, if you live in the US then there are nice options from heatsinkUSA.com, I have a suspicion that there might be some resources available in the UK that I do not know of.
Generally speaking the total cost of the system seems to be divided like this: LED's=20%, LED power supply=40%, heat sink=40%. Or maybe 1/3 on each of those parts.

The final cost may be influenced greatly by whether or not you already have all the misc tools and supplies that you need to put it together, I had to spend a little on tools to make threads for M3 screws to hold the LEDs to the heat sink but I have seen people online using nothing more than thermal paste(you really have to use a thermal interface material) and some high-temperature resistant tape.

I suspect that whether or not those kits is viable options depends on which particular kits you consider(and how much the "manufacturer" takes out in profit) but why don't you select a kit as an example and then we can go through the parts and find out for what cost we could make a similar LED grow light for?

[DDG]

Another option could be if there are enough people here on the forum that want an LED grow light to order heat sinks together because if I would buy a heat sink the shipping would make out about 50% of the final price tag.

Oh and my grow light features 3500k LED's and the LED's are rated for something like 17000lm(each LED). I don't have the equipment to measure PAR(Photosynthetically Active Radiation).

[lmozoz1]

Hey guys I just ordered the Meanwell HLG-600H-24B LED driver. (Description:
LED Power Supplies 600W 24V 25A IP67 Dimming CV+CC)

What string of COBS would be best to run from this driver? I spent a few hours understanding the difference between constant voltage and variable voltage, from my understanding the Meanwell HLG-600H is the best driver to purchase if looking to run as many watts as possible, as other models of Meanwell drivers MAX watts was 320 that I could find.

To be honest with you, my time is limited and I am struggling to work out what COBS I should order, I'm wanting to build a system that is safe as and works better than HPS. If someone wants to help me I will pay. I just don't want to order a heap of things and they don't work together properly when I try and put it all together or even worse cause a fire lol.

Also I am based in Australia if that helps.

[DDG]

I'm really sorry for not paying more attention to this thread, I have some issues which hinder me from actually checking my threads, if you still need help please PM me and we'll talk.

[DDG]

@Geokom85, what sort of LED do you have in mind in terms of wattage and what sort of space are you going to use the LED grow light with?

[Geokom85]

@Geokom85, what sort of LED do you have in mind in terms of wattage and what sort of space are you going to use the LED grow light with?

Well I want something powerful I have 2 1000w I bought online 1 draws 200w the other 270w but I want something that can replace or come close to a 600w hps also the ones I have are not COB. What do you think