Ok here is the new light build. I have an old budget led light build ive been running for like 7yrs. It still works great. And it has uv built into one board. But i wanted to make a new light for the tent its in currently. Something with a little more power and fits in the tent better. And i ordered some new parts so ill make a new build thread and i will list all the parts and links of where i sourced all the parts.
Parts list.
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heatsink. sourced from heatsinkonline.com Heatsink for Quantum Board - W Ă— 1
TRIPLE-W (900mm / 35.43’’
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Meanwell Led driver from from digikey.com HLG-320H-C1750B
LED DRVR CC AC/DC 91-183V 1.75A
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Hlg quantum board x3 QB288-V2-Rspec *refurbished boards. Hlg.com
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Pontentiometer from rapidled.com
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Things you need to do the job.
Heat shrink tubing, solder, flux rosin pen, soldering iron. If you solder then you know whats needed for that type of work.
Here is the heat sink. $75.50 shipped.
$147.85 shipped. $44 tariff!! Thanks trump… you idiot! Should have been $99.
This is the driver but im using the model with an external dimmer. This one pictured has a built in adjuster under the black plug in a pot. I dont like that so i started using the manual adjuster potentiometers there much better and quick to adjust vs. Popping out a plug and turning the pots adjuster with a tiny screwdriver!.
Potentiometers
$13 for 2 so $6 shipped.
Refurbished boards x3 of them.
$80.35 shipped.
Added all up this light build was $305
If there wasnt any tariffs right now this build would have been around $255. Now if hlg still made the triple slate heat sinks id have saved another $40. Bit i had to pay more because there no longer made. Which sucks because they come annodized in black. But really thats just cosmetics. When its up in the tent your not looking at it saying i wish it was black…..its a light for fucks sake who cares.
I taped all the boards to the heatsink. And used a spring punch to mark all the screw holes. Hlg did not provide me mounting screws like the do with all new boards? I would have bought those. So i just drilled and did not tap them as i had no screws. So i just predrilled and counter sunk the screw holes and just self tapped them onto heat sink. Now i fucked up a little. I was holding the whole assembled light on the side to finish the mounting hangers and the light slipped over on bench and i broke the connector off the board and chipped 3 of the far red leds. So basically i fucked up a board and its powering all weird now. I got 2 more boards on the way in case. Because samsung isnt making leds anymore and these boards will become hard to find if not obsolete. So the 3 boards needs to power evenly and there not because the one boards damaged now and its over driving one side of the board and under driving the damaged side. Damit jim!
See its F’d up….. shit. It slipped and thats a $25 + shipping oops!
took 3hrs start to finish.
You have to place the boards, mark the holes. Drill all the holes and countersink them a hair. Then you have to mount the boards, make the wiring, strip the wires tin then, solder, shrink and add power connectors. Wire up all the connections hard wire the power cords and potentiometer to the driver. Then you can test it out. Now you can use wego connectors if you want to be fast. But i am a computer circuitboard reworker from back in school and have all the equipment so i hardwire everything electronic i work on. From car stereos to led lights. If its a power cord its getting hardwired and shrinked properly.
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I figured out an easier way. Have some dude named PreyBird build you one.
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So you were able to lay the boards on the aluminum extrusion mark the holes then drill them correct? And what does the back of the board look like? is it the MCPCB board with no circuits showing? What I am asking is how do you get the heat transfer without shorting a trace or is the board designed to be in direct contact with the heatsink, or do you use something in between that transfers heat but not current?
Marty
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And take 3 months to get and pray a lot lol.
Marty
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No thermal interface required. Just the large heatsink. Just board heat sink is fine. The boards are coated with a white coating that doesnt allow anything to short.
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The heat sinks were $30 when hlg used to sell them. I have 2 of them when hlg sold kits. 3 led board kits w/heatsink. You just had to find a driver. They used to have diagrams on how to wire them up also. Man i miss those days already. I think im gonna buy some refurbished diablo boards and just put them in my inventory for a buil later on? I like to build and fabricate things what can i say. I run both of the 3 board kits as one light in a closet. And it makes some killer buds. Its BRIGHT!
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I know you like to build, me too, but not so much anymore. Kinda like I got that 1000watt complete light three channel with dimmer on all three channels and evenly lights my entire 5x5 for under $300 The one that Art mentioned seeing at Home Depot, but didn’t buy then I checked it out and bought one. Did a review on it on my 2024-25 grow log. All Samsung warm and white diodes and Meanwell driver, and can’t remember the maker but the top one for red, far red and UV diodes. All top notch materials on the build All aluminum heat sinks behing every arm. 10 arm fixture. Simple fact of the matter is this business is dying for home growers, the big commercial growers that can LEGALLY sell, are driving prices down in legal states. An Oz is now $50 here in Missouri in STL in the dispensary.
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Hey your response got me wondering about samsung leaving the led chips market. So i aske hlg.com whats up?
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I think im gonna snag some of the diablo boards for $40 each
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I have three lights that fit my tent perfectly from the LUXX 860 to the 1000 watt three channel, I doubt I will run “out of light” being 74 lol.
Marty
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Yep that’s way cool. Sadly i have 3 luxx 860 in storage along with the 2 tents the go into.
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Why don’t you use them anymore Prey? They are good lights. big and heavy but grow very good pot. The only thing I add when I use it is a little 24” UV tube that I run 1 hr a day an hour before lights off.
Marty
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Um im just scaled back in grow size. After the last scare from the police i just down sized the grow. I want to break out the big grow tents but the wife is concerned and so am i. So im just trying get in a good rotation for harvesting because i picked a few mor clients and need about a qp more a month in flower. So staying smaller and having a bunch of living inventory plants helps me make flower faster and more cultivar choices because there in flavor rotations. But ive got lots of equipment to play with. Im thinking about taking the 4 elite v2 light engines off my other light and add them to my breeding light. And make it a full cycle light it grows pretty damn good buds for just 2 light pucks. 4 would be amazing. So maybe they will make that a great light.
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Update on the light its in action.
this lights perfect for this 4x2 tent! Minimal design like this. love it simple easy low cost. Im gonna build something with some of those diablo boards. Im hoping they fit the other heatsinks i have off another light build im not using right now.
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I find it amazing how you always are building something. I love watching all of your builds. Great work @PreyBird1
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Thankyou sir. I like to be tinkering with things. Ive been playing with these little ebikes i got and testing different batteries for them. Gonna sell them. I got 4x of these lottle ebikes.
It was a tight squeeze in the wifes mazda 3 hatchback. Lol my wifes bff could not believe i got all 4 bikes in the back. But they fold up i told her!
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Looks great Prey how many watts? you have three boards on the one heat-sink. 3x ? Pontentiometer so dimming.
Marty
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Well from reading all your posts I don’t think the charges would be any different from what you had to what you have now. You have a lot going on. Unfortunately I think the giant wave of legalization is ending it’s been a long time since I heard anything about new states becoming legal, but I don’t really follow it either. I thought my state of MO would be one of the last and it actually was one of the first, MO is very conservative.
Marty
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Its a 320 watt balast divided by 3 so 106 watts each.
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Well to be honest I have never messed with building light boards from LED’s. But I thought the board and the number of diodes the capability of the diode was what determined the watt output not the ballast ? I thought the ballast had to be matched to the draw of the boards?
Marty
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