Help me build 4 vertical strips for my tent

[Sour Wreck]

I want to put an F series strip in each corner of my tent. I have questions and need some design help. i understand parallel and series wiring, but don't know the differences for this application.

So far; i have the following picked out.

4 Samsung F series strips https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/samsung-semiconductor-inc/SI-B8V521B20WW/1510-2225-ND/

2 aluminum U channel, 8 foot pieces i will cut in half https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY78E88/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=AU6PGFJBQPQ80&psc=1

a roll of thermal tape to attache strips to U channel https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N0I4JUJ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AG2F6V09PFCTQ&psc=1


The questions are:

Series or Parallel and why?

what guage wire should i use?

how do i connect the wire to the strips?

and most importantly what driver?

 

[Randomblame]

The driver is dependent on how much power you want and this depends on how big your tent is? If it's a 4x 2' I would recommend a HLG-240H-48A and wire the strips in parallel. This way each strip would run at ~1,3A or ~60w, ~164lm/w. If possible take a few more strips to make it more efficient. Eg. 7 strips and the same driver would push it to 180lm/w.

Parallel wiring is safer because of the lower voltage.

Awg18 or awg20 solid core wire should be used.

And each strip has two pairs of connectors and one pair solder joints. The connectors are solderless.

Below is an example for a parallel-series connection, I believe, you can see how it goes.

 

[Sour Wreck]

The driver is dependent on how much power you want and this depends on how big your tent is? If it's a 4x 2' I would recommend a HLG-240H-48A and wire the strips in parallel. This way each strip would run at ~1,3A or ~60w, ~164lm/w. If possible take a few more strips to make it more efficient. Eg. 7 strips and the same driver would push it to 180lm/w.

Parallel wiring is safer because of the lower voltage.

Awg18 or awg20 solid core wire should be used.

And each strip has two pairs of connectors and one pair solder joints. The connectors are solderless.

So, that driver would work even in the 4 x 4 tent, correct? And I can drive seven or eight strips with that one driver?

Thanks for your help

 

[Randomblame]

Hmm!
You have selected the single row stripes, which are 50w strips. LED's are efficienter than HPS but not so much.
For a 4x 4' tent you need at least 8, better 10 or 12 strips.
And as driver a twice as powerful HLG-480H-48A or 2 HLG-240H-48A.
And if you wire in parallel, you can add as many strips as you want, the current flow is evenly distributed across all stripes.

 

[Randomblame]

Should look like this, but this are wired in series, maybe with a bit more space in between the strips. And the distance between the strips should be narrower to the outside and the largest distance should be in the middle, so you get the most even edge to edge coverage without a hotspot in the middle of the tent.

 

[Sour Wreck]

Hmm!
You have selected the single row stripes, which are 50w strips. LED's are efficienter than HPS but not so much.
For a 4x 4' tent you need at least 8, better 10 or 12 strips.
And as driver a twice as powerful HLG-480H-48A or 2 HLG-240H-48A.
And if you wire in parallel, you can add as many strips as you want, the current flow is evenly distributed across all stripes.

Not completely replacing HPS yet, but that is the long term plan, so it sounds like I need a HLG-480H-48A.

Initially, I want a strip in each corner. Stage 2 of the build later would be adding 4 more vertical strips, making 8 total.

Then stage 3 of the build would be replace HPS with another 4-6 above the canopy.

 

[Sour Wreck]

Should look like this, but this are wired in series, maybe with a bit more space in between the strips. And the distance between the strips should be narrower to the outside and the largest distance should be in the middle, so you get the most even edge to edge coverage without a hotspot in the middle of the tent.


View attachment 4040417

Saw that in riders thread. That would be my final stage of the build. Something overhead to replace HPS

 

[Sour Wreck]

@Randomblame will this work? both pieces are only 1/16" thick, but it will provide 4 fins and 3/8" worth of width that is 1/8" thick?

Thermal glue for these and thermal tape for the light strips, correct?

copied your idea, thanks

 

[Sour Wreck]

also, i just ordered the F series strips today. they are backordered but a sales rep told me that 400 arriving in the next couple days, so i will probably have them in a week or so?

is this the driver i need? will this drive a total of 12-14 of these 50 watt strips?

https://www.arrow.com/en/products/hlg-480h-48a/mean-well-enterprises

 

[Randomblame]

Yepp, the driver is okay for 12-14 strips, but it is a 48v/10,4A driver. The strips can only handle a max. of 1,8A(200mA per diode), this means you need at least 6 strips, better 8 for a HLG-480. Therefor I recommend to use 2 HLG-240 for 4 strips.
The HLG-480 is good for up to 550w and is already enough to replace a single ended 1k HPS, no matter if you use 8, 10, 12 or 14 strips. It's only getting even more efficient the more strips you use. Remember, 8 of the 4ft. single row strips(144 diodes) are the equivalent of 4 Quantumboards288, so it should work veeeeeerrry well!

 

[Sour Wreck]

Yepp, the driver is okay for 12-14 strips, but it is a 48v/10,4A driver. The strips can only handle a max. of 1,8A(200mA per diode), this means you need at least 6 strips, better 8 for a HLG-480. Therefor I recommend to use 2 HLG-240 for 4 strips.
The HLG-480 is good for up to 550w and is already enough to replace a single ended 1k HPS, no matter if you use 8, 10, 12 or 14 strips. It's only getting even more efficient the more strips you use. Remember, 8 of the 4ft. single row strips(144 diodes) are the equivalent of 4 Quantumboards288, so it should work veeeeeerrry well!

would it take 2 HLG-240's to run 4 strips? what is the minimum/maximun number of strips for each driver? you've already mentioned the minimum for the 480 is 6 strips. what't max? min/max on 240?

i am going to expand this as i go, so maybe i should just start with 6 strips

 

[Randomblame]

3 4ft strips is minimum! A HLG-240H-48A has 5,2A :3= 1,73A per Strip, x48v =~83w per strip. But you have 4 sides, so 1,3A per strip but still ~250w total.

 

[Sour Wreck]

3 4ft strips is minimum! A HLG-240H-48A has 5,2A :3= 1,73A per Strip, x48v =~83w per strip. But you have 4 sides, so 1,3A per strip but still ~250w total.

ok, thanks.

one more question on the driver?

i believe i understand, but i want to be sure. i can drive a min of 6 strips with the HLG-480 and just keep adding to it as i add more strips. is that correct? only want to buy the driver once if i can use it to expand to 12-14 strips.

thanks for taking your time to help me out.

 

[Sour Wreck]

total investment so far:

aluminum u-channels, galvanized wire for mounting $65
glue, tape and wire(buying enough to do the 12-14 strips when all is done) $50
4 samsung f series led strips $125
HLG-480H-48A driver $130

here is what one looks like in the corner of a tent



going forward i can build each 44" inch strip for roughly $45. so to add 8 more strips would be about $350

 

[Randomblame]

Yes! Looks good, but remember, you need at least two more strips(6pcs.) for a HLG-480, just because you ordered only 4.

 

[Sour Wreck]

Yes! Looks good, but remember, you need at least two more strips(6pcs.) for a HLG-480, just because you ordered only 4.

thanks, i'll call digi-key tomorrow and add 2 more strips to my order !!!!

 

[Danielson999]

Depending on your growing style, a 2 foot strip might easily cover your canopies from the side. No point having them go all the way down or up in the corners. You could even keep the same driver selection and just double your strips in each corner. You'd get far more photons on your plants where they need it most.

 

[Sour Wreck]

i generally flower in DWC at about 12" tall. plants can get as tall as 4 feet.

i want side penetration clear down to the base of the plant. once i get that covered, i wanna replace my hps with more horizontal strips

really kinda trying to mimic a sun cloak system.

 

[Sour Wreck]

thanks, i'll call digi-key tomorrow and add 2 more strips to my order !!!!

Boom !!!

6 f-series FB22B's coming soon

Will get back to Home Depot for more aluminum u channels this weekend

 

[Sour Wreck]

got more aluminum today. will build 2 more bases for the fb22b's.

i also picked up 4 pieces of angled aluminum i will use to create a 4x4 frame for strips to hang from.

will post pics later today when i complete the frame construction.