Single COB builds

xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
Humanrob said:
Yeah, I do.

The funny thing is, the more I think about it, the less I like my own idea. I was chasing capacities -- the 1818 + SST-X, how can I maximize that combo? -- but lost sight of the impracticality of having that much light coming from a single source. It's better to spread the love out a bit.

I'm going to stick with the original plan on that one, and run the pair of X's off of the single -48A and have them hum along at 78.5w, nice and cool, no stress no problem.
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That's why I went with 10 CLU038s instead of 4 1818 or 5 1212 048s in my small cab. That's one of the best benefits of LED imo.
 
nfhiggs

nfhiggs

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
im not sure if you are asking "what is the advantage to running a CV driver in series like most DIYers" or ""what is the advantage to running a CV driver as opposed to CC in series like most DIYers"

the former is impossible with the chips we use - CVs only really work in parallel unless you have low voltage single diodes or cobs (3-24V)

1.you can add and remove cobs as you please and run them as hard or soft as you like. with a 200W driver i can run 2 cobs at 100W, 3 cobs at 66W, 4 cobs at 50W, 5 cobs at 40W, 6 cobs at 33W, etc. (and dim them all to less as needed)

with a 200W constant current driver you can run 4 cobs at 50W each, 3 cobs at 50W each or 2 cobs at 50W each. in the latter two cases youre utilizing less than 75% and less than 50% of your driver. want to run 5 cobs? too bad- your voltage wont allow it. want to run cobs over 50W? sorry youre limited to 1400 mA

2. makes better utilization of driver. in almost all cases you can get the full 225W output watts out of an HLG185. with constant current drivers depending on your voltage, if its a close match youre lucky to get 200W tops

3. nowhere in the system do you have high DC voltage. its at cob level - 36 or 50V, not 200-400+ with some constant current setups. this makes wiring inherently safer and opens up a wider use of holders such as BJBs which are limited to 150V

"A" drivers have built in voltage adjustment to limit voltage and control thermal runaway. "B" drivers are hard capped at their nameplate voltage (36,42,48,54, etc) and can also prevent thermal runaway when selected carefully to match cob voltage

so in short, there are little to no advantages to constant current drivers. other than thats how people want to do it because they saw it on youtube. In OPs case, there is no constant current driver that is ~100W and delivers 1750+ mA - it just doesnt exist. and with one cob there is no parallel or series to think about.
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FINALLY! Someone else that "gets it" regarding the mythical superiority of CC drivers. You are officially my new best friend! LOL.
 
superfreak86

superfreak86

Well-Known Member
I'm finally coming round to CV drivers as well. This was driven by the fact that I scored 4 x HLG-240h-48A's for $19.70 each on ebay, they are used but look in good condition.

I'm really glad to see here that they will be capable of running 50v cobs! I'll use them to drive some cxm-22's I got from @CobKits
 
Jimmyclone42

Jimmyclone42

Well-Known Member
I think cc drivers are great for 36v chips as they seem to line up very closely to the voltage of those drivers.. But for 50v and up chips cv is definitely the way to go..
 
xX_BHMC_Xx

xX_BHMC_Xx

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
im not sure if you are asking "what is the advantage to running a CV driver in series like most DIYers" or ""what is the advantage to running a CV driver as opposed to CC in series like most DIYers"

the former is impossible with the chips we use - CVs only really work in parallel unless you have low voltage single diodes or cobs (3-24V)

1.you can add and remove cobs as you please and run them as hard or soft as you like. with a 200W driver i can run 2 cobs at 100W, 3 cobs at 66W, 4 cobs at 50W, 5 cobs at 40W, 6 cobs at 33W, etc. (and dim them all to less as needed)

with a 200W constant current driver you can run 4 cobs at 50W each, 3 cobs at 50W each or 2 cobs at 50W each. in the latter two cases youre utilizing less than 75% and less than 50% of your driver. want to run 5 cobs? too bad- your voltage wont allow it. want to run cobs over 50W? sorry youre limited to 1400 mA

2. makes better utilization of driver. in almost all cases you can get the full 225W output watts out of an HLG185. with constant current drivers depending on your voltage, if its a close match youre lucky to get 200W tops

3. nowhere in the system do you have high DC voltage. its at cob level - 36 or 50V, not 200-400+ with some constant current setups. this makes wiring inherently safer and opens up a wider use of holders such as BJBs which are limited to 150V

"A" drivers have built in voltage adjustment to limit voltage and control thermal runaway. "B" drivers are hard capped at their nameplate voltage (36,42,48,54, etc) and can also prevent thermal runaway when selected carefully to match cob voltage

so in short, there are little to no advantages to constant current drivers. other than thats how people want to do it because they saw it on youtube. In OPs case, there is no constant current driver that is ~100W and delivers 1750+ mA - it just doesnt exist. and with one cob there is no parallel or series to think about.
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Great points, thanks Cobby
 
CobKits

CobKits

Well-Known Member
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
@Humanrob

Now that I have a moment I wanted to add something here. Aside from how cool my lights run, the ability to adjust each COB in placement and height is just freaking PRICELESS when you run different strains and plants at different phases to keep things perpetual and not harvest everything at the same time.
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
Tim Fox said:
here we go, they make them in all sizers
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Very interesting... I just built more lights than I have spaces to put them in! I love how this industry is growing though, every time I need to upgrade or expand there is all new stuff out there.

Evil-Mobo said:
@Humanrob

Now that I have a moment I wanted to add something here. Aside from how cool my lights run, the ability to adjust each COB in placement and height is just freaking PRICELESS when you run different strains and plants at different phases to keep things perpetual and not harvest everything at the same time.
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That's what I'm thinking. Even when I run a pair of plants through start to finish, I usually start with a couple of lights while they are vegging, add more as they get bigger, and add more (or switch to a more red spectrum) as they go into flower. If they are different strains they are often different heights, even with SCROGing. Flexibility is great.
 
Evil-Mobo

Evil-Mobo

Well-Known Member
Humanrob said:
Very interesting... I just built more lights than I have spaces to put them in! I love how this industry is growing though, every time I need to upgrade or expand there is all new stuff out there.



That's what I'm thinking. Even when I run a pair of plants through start to finish, I usually start with a couple of lights while they are vegging, add more as they get bigger, and add more (or switch to a more red spectrum) as they go into flower. If they are different strains they are often different heights, even with SCROGing. Flexibility is great.
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That's the other beauty of these plug and play. Need more light plug one in and hang it. Need less light take one down. Want to mess with the spectrum mix them up.

It's really hard not to love these lights. I will be starting a review soon running these in one 3x3 and I have a Quantum Light in another 3x3 with two of the same strains in each from seed then will follow up with clones as well. It's really close man but the flexibility of these lights is just awesome.................
 
HydoDan

HydoDan

Well-Known Member
I have an hbg 60 @ 1050 mA.. citizen 1812 5000k.. 13450 heatsink..... works great.. got another one on the way...
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
CobKits said:
those drivers are cool theres a bunch that fit mecha heatsinks and bolt right on

http://www.meanwell.com/webapp/product/search.aspx?prod=hbg-100

i often wonder about them exceeding their 85C case temp sitting on top of a heatsink like that
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The spec sheet is interesting... I'm getting to the point where I can understand some of it.

I don't have a lot of experience with passive heatsinks, I've only run one grow with them so far. But, when I've put my hand on them to see how they're doing, I've never felt any significant warmth at the tops of the pins. That said, hard to know of the driver mounted there would trap heat. I'm sure next time I need lights, I'll be looking into those.
 
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