Diy led

[Deku Nut]

Hey CHG, I understand wanting to do things the DiY way, not only can things end up cheaper than buying them but they come with a sense of accomplishment from having doing all the work yourself.
However when it comes such a key feature as a light is for growing IMO it will be more efficient for you to rely on the research and hard work already done by grow light manufacturers, you will be hard pressed to make something of a similar quality to what you can buy already assembled. Yet again IMO you would save both time and frustration just checking out our Sponsors Section and buying a quality light.
Good luck either way, and keep us updated on your choice.

[CheapHomeGrown]

Hey CHG, I understand wanting to do things the DiY way, not only can things end up cheaper than buying them but they come with a sense of accomplishment from having doing all the work yourself.
However when it comes such a key feature as a light is for growing IMO it will be more efficient for you to rely on the research and hard work already done by grow light manufacturers, you will be hard pressed to make something of a similar quality to what you can buy already assembled. Yet again IMO you would save both time and frustration just checking out our Sponsors Section and buying a quality light.
Good luck either way, and keep us updated on your choice.

Thanks, Deku Nut,
I reckon A good DIY light would be somewhere between the performance of an HPS and an HLG
but you could be right, a few bulbs in a veg room is very different from building LEDs to cover a flower room.

[forager]

i was looking at prices of spare chips for my fixture and when i saw how cheap they were my head went straight to the idea of making my own too. my light has 2x chips that i found for £30-£60 and i paid £300 for the light, so i paid £180-£240 for 2 heat sinks, a driver, some metal work and some components. i could have saved myself a lot of money.

going to follow this thread for research.

[forager]

Hey CHG, I understand wanting to do things the DiY way, not only can things end up cheaper than buying them but they come with a sense of accomplishment from having doing all the work yourself.
However when it comes such a key feature as a light is for growing IMO it will be more efficient for you to rely on the research and hard work already done by grow light manufacturers, you will be hard pressed to make something of a similar quality to what you can buy already assembled. Yet again IMO you would save both time and frustration just checking out our Sponsors Section and buying a quality light.
Good luck either way, and keep us updated on your choice.

ive got to agree with this. even after what i just said in my last post. although i want to build my own light now, i have a template to work from (my current light). so i have an idea of what the output will be based on the manufacturers measurements. without that you would have to perform your own measurements, meaning you will need to buy or rent the equipment to do that, which will probably bump the cost up to higher than just buying a pre-designed one. you might have better luck copying another manufacturers design though if you insist on going DIY, or just sucking up the cost and doing it anyway for the fun.

[CheapHomeGrown]

Over the last couple of weeks, I have been working on a light for my flower room, been testing my lights and taking results.
From my research you can make a very effective flower light to cover a 1.1m x 1.1m
For less than £150 ( 336w)
It's a lot of work, basic idea is to cover most the canopy with at least 550 par at 12"
Very even spread means I can use less power.

The bulb has a 200% angle so you need to add a reflector(spotlight)as I was losing half the light.( 25% light spread, covers a (1ft x1ft) 1ft below the bulb (400 at the edges(circle), but causes a 8" round circle at 788 par)

Overlapping this light every 8" will causes a very even light spread, only used a few bulbs at this stage but I think the results will be very impressive if I get this right, so 26 bulbs covering a 1.1m x 1.1m room, light fixing is 80cm x 80cm

That's 26w ft2, had to double and triple this but the basic test is giving me these results.

Without the hood in my veg room 8" below the led it was 380par and with the hood it went up to 780par but this is directly under the led
Moving the light meter right or left drops off fast at this distance( 3" your down to 400 par)


In my veg room, the leds are spaced 29cm (reflectors on),
Plants are 18" below the leds( even light spread of 350 par) 75 Watts
750 x 450
If I plants are 12" below the par increases but there a 2-3 dark spot between the leds( drops down to 250par)

So I will be making wider reflectors for the veg room, guessing 40% would be good,
Pars will drop off a little 12" below the led (guessing about 400), but will give a better light spread.

[Q_Buds]

So this is something I know quite a bit about, I can find some good quality LED COBs for you if you like.

Do bare in mind anything over 25 watts on ebay/amazon is trash due to binning the panels. The good ones get sold for much more than you are willing to pay

[CheapHomeGrown]

So this is something I know quite a bit about, I can find some good quality LED COBs for you if you like.

Do bare in mind anything over 25 watts on ebay/amazon is trash due to binning the panels. The good ones get sold for much more than you are willing to pay

I was using the Philips e27 bulb, removing the cap.
Main reason is a lot of web sites are saying leds degrade 3% per year.
Found 70 fire proof e27 bulb holders for £40, local to where I live

I can replace the bulbs every 18 months and its plug and play
40 bulbs cost £100 online (eBay or amazon can't remember).


But thanks for the advice, this is a really cheap led lol

[CheapHomeGrown]

Just took this picture, 6" under the led



And convert to par



No bad for a single led