cob diy idea need input

[berulakide]

hello, i have some cheaper leds and am thinking of building some cobs. I have read a bunch on them now and have found kits for $50 and I wonder if they would be any good?


100Watt High Power 380-840nm LED Light + Heatsink Cooler+100W LED Driver+LENS


Specifications:

led driver:

OutPut: DC Voltage: 30V ~ 36V
Rated current: 3000mA + -5%
Rated power: 100W
Input Voltage: 85-265V
Effciency:> 88% storage Temp: -20 ~ 85 ° C


led heatsink with fan:

Diameter: 92mmX30mm (LxW)
Fan Power: 12V
Weight: 450g
Application:
Cooling; Avoid LED overheat
Fit High Power 100W LED.


100W led chip:　
Forward Voltage : 32V~36V
Forward Current : 3500mA
View Angle: About 150 degree
Light Color: 380-840nm
Intensity Luminous:8000-9000lm
Size (L x W): 5.2 * 4.6cm/ 1.14 * 0.79in

I am unaware of the brand chip, I just wanted to know if I built three or four if they would br good or if there is something better. I was going to make them individual units for placement.and with the led chip, heatsink, fan, driver, and lens all I need is to add power cord and mount them right?

 

[mikehod]

I've tested alot of those eBay lights be careful with the kits the drivers are sometimes not rated for the bulbs,meaning you want get full power.My best one I think consist of a 50.watt cool,warm,and full spectrum plus a 10 watt UV equaling 160 watt the UV probably isn't necessary but I've read some saying it increases THC .As for heat sinks I think those chepo water cooled blocks with small water pump works best.I've ordered some of those new 110v cobs but haven't gotten them yet.

 

[berulakide]

water cooled?? the picture shows just an aluminum heatsink. ok, is the full spectrum 100w chip good for both veg/bloom? and what kinda heat would these produce? as well as coverave area of each one? Asking about heat and coverage because i am using a 4x6 tent.also with this I just add in an on off switch and a 110v cord right?

 

[Owly]

A lot of those chips are junk, but they are cheap AF. You're not going to get grams per watt like you would with a good top bin Cree setup, but that doesn't mean it's not better than HID.

I feel like you'd do better getting two 100w chips and running each on 50 watt drivers, and sticking them on a salvaged heatsink (or even buy some simple ones).

 

[berulakide]

I figured they were cheaper, but are the full spec good or should I get somethng different?
something else I have seen is the 50w chip with integrated driver. direct 110 hookup, are they any good?

the $50 100w

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/322412757085?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&var=511379881498&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

another one $82
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/262114148671?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

the 110v diect 50w

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/20W-30W-50W-LED-Floodlight-COB-Chip-110V-220V-Input-Integrated-Smart-IC-Driver-/292057797014?var=&hash=item4400005196:m:mhmVYt7YOgsKn59Z_ydITBQ

 

[berulakide]

ok this is my first go so trying cheap and will maybe add top bin later. I just got 2 of these and one of them is full spectrum and the other is 3000-3500k. If they are crap chips, at least I have drivers heatsinks and fans. maybe top bins could be run by them?I think she said the drivers are waterproof.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/262025654301?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

just wanna try to build one, all I would need is a plug end and some time.

 

[Owly]

It's worth double checking voltage requirements, but I'm pretty sure that driver will work fine with most of the Cree chips. I've been playing around with an 50watt driver and a 50watt(?) chip I bought from Amazon (Sorry, I can't post links yet, but if you search for "50watt LED driver" it'll be one of the first). It was like $14, all you need is a heatsink, thermal paste, and a plug.

 

[berulakide]

still gotta get thermal paste or would thermal pads be better ? but hoping they are ok to learn with, and give me drivers and heatsinks to put top bins on if i need to. they should be ok to add to my tent with 2 mars lights.

 

[berulakide]

what size driver would I need to run 5 citizen clu048 cobs? I found a good deal on them, 5 for between 80-100 bucks. difference between top bin and not top bin?

 

[brewbeer]

Check out the indoor growing forum. There is a subforum dedicated LEDs that is very active and helpful.

 

[qballizhere]

what size driver would I need to run 5 citizen clu048 cobs? I found a good deal on them, 5 for between 80-100 bucks. difference between top bin and not top bin?

what family of cobs there are so many citizen clu048 what????
citizen is not rated in bin like cree you pick a cob family like clu048-1818 and kelvin

 

[berulakide]

it was the version 5 i think CLU048-1212C4-353H6K2
they are 117w max, so everyone else runs them about %50 or so so realy a 180w driver at the propper amp is gonna run 3 in a series or string whichever you call it? or do they need more power? I have comp fans and some heatsinks.

 

[qballizhere]

it was the version 5 i think CLU048-1212C4-353H6K2
they are 117w max, so everyone else runs them about %50 or so so realy a 180w driver at the propper amp is gonna run 3 in a series or string whichever you call it? or do they need more power? I have comp fans and some heatsinks.

What size space are you going to light up with them? Active cooling is better than passive you can use a smaller heat sink for higher wattage.
The clu048-1212 to replace a 1000w hps in a 4x4 you need at least 12 cobs but 16 would be preferable driving them @ 1.4A now you can drive them harder up to 2.7A and the harder you drive them the less you would need the same 4x4 would need 9-12 @2.1A also the higher you drive them the less efficient they are.

 

[berulakide]

I have a 4x6 fusion hut. I made the mistake of getting two mars 96 to start with. I wish I had of found cobs first, I spent about 500 canadian just less for the two. they are working well right now, I was going to just add cfl until I found cobs. kicking myself in the ass now coulda built a nice cob light.
So really I will have 2 cheap chinese led 50w cobs with heatsinks and fans one full spec and one 3500k ( on their way and have to build ), and the two mars 96 reflectors. I just figured if I could build a smaller clu48 fixture to add for flower. I just started 12 seeds and got 10 an inch tall now, so I have some time.
thanks for the reply, so my 50w , 30-36v, 3a drivers I have coming are no good for the citizen chips if the chinese leds suck? too many amps? thanks for your reply I have been looking at thr led section, great info just alot to skim through.

 

[qballizhere]

I have a 4x6 fusion hut. I made the mistake of getting two mars 96 to start with. I wish I had of found cobs first, I spent about 500 canadian just less for the two. they are working well right now, I was going to just add cfl until I found cobs. kicking myself in the ass now coulda built a nice cob light.
So really I will have 2 cheap chinese led 50w cobs with heatsinks and fans one full spec and one 3500k ( on their way and have to build ), and the two mars 96 reflectors. I just figured if I could build a smaller clu48 fixture to add for flower. I just started 12 seeds and got 10 an inch tall now, so I have some time.
thanks for the reply, so my 50w , 30-36v, 3a drivers I have coming are no good for the citizen chips if the chinese leds suck? too many amps? thanks for your reply I have been looking at thr led section, great info just alot to skim through.

OK the driver cant be 50w 36v and 3a it would be more like 120w driver 36v 3a
There is 2 different ways to wire these chips on way is in series and on way is parallel. It seems like you are not sure of what you have or what you are trying to do.
If the driver is 120w and has 36v and 3a you can connect the cluo48-1212 to them you would connect 3 and each one would run 40w each one of them would be driven about 1A if you only had 2 on the driver they would be 60w each and running 1.5A

 

[berulakide]

the driver is not the one at the top. I got these 2 of them one full spectrum and one 3500k. The driver says 50 watt , 30-36v, 3000ma (isnt that 3amp?)

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/262025654301?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

[berulakide]

curious if this driver would even run one clu048, just learning about it all bit by bit. not all the specs on it.

 

[Baudelaire]

The driver in the picture of the Ebay link you posted clearly says 1500 ma, not 3000 ma, and 30-36 volts DC output. So it's a 50 watt (volts X amps) driver. Typical generic Chinese driver sold all over.

I've been where you are now. The cheap Chinese stuff is good to learn on, but soon you'll focus on quality components as you realize they bring much greater efficiency and reliability for only a bit more cost. I'm talking Meanwell drivers and Cree, Vero and Citizen COBs.

You didn't say what wattage your LEDs were, but since they came with 50 watt drivers I'm going to assume they are 50 watt generic COBs. Running them at 50 watts will be inefficient and produce a lot of heat, which will age or burn up your COBs quickly. And the generic "full spectrum" chips are just junk in my experience. Best I can tell they are a basic white chip with a colored filter over the emitters. They take away spectrum to create the "blurple" light, spectrum that you're paying electricity for and then blocking with the filter. They do it so they can charge stoners 3x the price of a cool white generic industrial lighting chip. At the end of the day they use the same amount of energy to produce less light, cost a lot more, and decay their output much faster. Skip them.

What I've done, for a seedling and clone space of about 2 x 4 x 3 ft high, was string two 50w generic COBs in parallel off of one of those 50w cheapo drivers, with each COB on its own heatsink puck, mounted to the top of the clone space. You can buy the generic COBS for $2 shipped off of Ebay or AliExpress. Driving those COBs at half their rated wattage will give you much better lumens per watt efficiency, less heat and a longer life. I prefer the cool white chips, they seem to put out more light than the warm whites. But I am currently using a mix of 8 cool and 3 warm whites together that deliver an even +3000 lux at 12 inches across the space. Perfect for my babies and teens.

Now, if you're confident enough to start moving up into quality components you could probably substitute some Citizen COBs for the generics and boost your light output even more with the same drivers. I'm thinking that the CLU038 chips would work well there: they are rated at 58 watts at 36 VDC and 1400 ma, you'd be running them at 750 ma (splitting the driver's 1.5 amps by running them in parallel) for about 27 watts each, right in the CLU038's efficiency sweetspot. I've seen them on Ebay for $7 each delivered. The difference in light output would likely be significant, perhaps 50% more l/w. Hard to know because the generics usually don't offer specs and if they do you really can't believe them.

For the $50 you are paying for the generic Chinese COB light kit you linked to, you can build a top-shelf Vero or Citizen COB light engine that is likely twice as efficient (more light, less electric, and less heat). Use the generics to get your COB building skills down, and you'll be ready to move up to the pro stuff.

 

[berulakide]

thanks, I was a little slow learning about all this. Jumped the gun and already bought 2 kits, different chips. I will probably swap chips no doubt. I already have my ey on building some clu048 1212 3000k, use them for flowerring. prob 5 chips, heatsinks are a pain to find though, would a pc heatsink with a fan be big enough for one chip?

 

[qballizhere]

thanks, I was a little slow learning about all this. Jumped the gun and already bought 2 kits, different chips. I will probably swap chips no doubt. I already have my ey on building some clu048 1212 3000k, use them for flowerring. prob 5 chips, heatsinks are a pain to find though, would a pc heatsink with a fan be big enough for one chip?

yes it would but you will need a 12v driver for the fans