Aussie High Lights – we're official

radiant Rudy

Well-Known Member
Eliminate that 1750 cob. It will create stress on the plant under it if i had to guess. 3k that. I would have went 35k all around with added IR at least. Not a believer in the COB salad for obvious reasons.
I would Definitely use dimmers & more importantly is raising the light. Raising the light will allow the plants to bounce back easier then a dimmed light hung low. Maybe the combination to start off.
Goodluck!
Ya i saw that psu has done pretty well with 1750 but it didnt seem to be working in my set-up. Its not a problem to swap in a 3k. Would you know or recommend a cob @3k 72v , 1.4mA that would be an appropriate choice?

I have been hanging my light as high as possible and i do utilize a 660nm bar and uv tube.

Thanks for your ideas and good wishes.
 
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loco41

Well-Known Member
Ya i saw that psu has done pretty well with 1750 but it didnt seem to be working in my set-up. Its not a problem to swap in a 3k. Would you know or recommend a cob @3k 72v , 1.4mA that would be an appropriate choice?

I have been hanging my light as high as possible and i do utilize a 660nm bar and uv tube.

Thanks for your ideas and good wishes.
didn't build my own cob rig, but I'm pretty sure the vero's in my timber lights are 72v @1400ma. I could be wrong and hopefully someone else can chime in and get you set up though.
 

radiant Rudy

Well-Known Member
didn't build my own cob rig, but I'm pretty sure the vero's in my timber lights are 72v @1400ma. I could be wrong and hopefully someone else can chime in and get you set up though.
@Prawn Connery @hybridway2 @Airwalker16 @loco41
thanks man I can look up the specs at timber.

just fyi

I was surprised just now when I went to wire in this pwm. Before making any changes I kill a watted the rig at 390 watts. I also kilowatted my pontoons they were 122w each. So i was way off when i said 500w all day. I wired the PWM on one of the 4k cobs. With the dimmer wide open KAW says 388w when the dimmer is turned to total dimming the KAW says 297w. So adding 3 more dimmers, one for each cob, might enable a decently balanced canopy. I selected that particular dimmer because it was the only one i could find that was rated for 80v. However labels on the device state 70v. I'm not sure if those 2v are an issue but i'm looking for a suitable dimmer rated 72v.
 

1212ham

Well-Known Member
I selected that particular dimmer because it was the only one i could find that was rated for 80v. However labels on the device state 70v.
I think I saw that on ebay. A PWM should dimm to all the way down to off, sounds like it's malfunctioning or damaged.
90v is a common voltage for dc motors so I searched for "PWM controller 90v" and found this.

 
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radiant Rudy

Well-Known Member
I think I saw that on ebay. A PWM should dimm to all the way down to off, sounds like it's malfunctioning or damaged.
90v is a common voltage for dc motors so I searched for "PWM controller 90v" and found this.

Excellent. Thank you very much. I'll grab 4 of these and mount the controllers like a old school Gizmo.

I'm thinking it may be worth it to rent a decent light meter and set up some reference points for managing each channel , providing settings for veg, and early middle and late flower.

Very helpful 1222ham, much appreciated.
Your order's in!


We'll email updates to great4that@aol.com.
You should get it by May 15.

Order total: $19.16



Shipping to:
Rudy
Order number: 04-04637-81464
DC6V-90V 15A Pulse Width PWM DC Motor Speed Controller Switch LW

DC6V-90V 15A Pulse Width PWM DC Motor Speed Controller Switch LW
Quantity: 4
You should get this by May 15 YIKES
 
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[ZooWeeMaMa]

Well-Known Member
Keep your heatsink clear of the driver for better board temps. No point in concentrating all that heat.
In colder temps like we're currently still having the added driver heat is a bonus and helps me to keep perfect temps. I see some red and black wire spools are gonna be coming to my house soon though because it's starting to get warmer so what gauge you recommend for that Rocket?
 

reza92

Well-Known Member
In colder temps like we're currently still having the added driver heat is a bonus and helps me to keep perfect temps. I see some red and black wire spools are gonna be coming to my house soon though because it's starting to get warmer so what gauge you recommend for that Rocket?
so just mount the drivers Inside the tent/room. Having them on the heatsink means there would be a hot spot on the sinks where the driver is sitting so wouldnt spread heat evenly across the board. Probably not a huge issue having the driver on top but still less than perfect
 

Rocket Soul

Well-Known Member
In colder temps like we're currently still having the added driver heat is a bonus and helps me to keep perfect temps. I see some red and black wire spools are gonna be coming to my house soon though because it's starting to get warmer so what gauge you recommend for that Rocket?
I dont have a highlight board and cant recommend. My suggestion is re the driver on the heatsink; i agree to have the driver in the tent if you have cold climate, just dont put it on the heatsink cause you will increase diode temps which is negative for efficiency and led life length.
 

Grow Lights Australia

Well-Known Member
@Grow Lights Australia
Loving the lights but to tell you the truth I'm kinda disappointed that there wasn't anyplace to bolt my drivers to the heatsinks like my HLG lights. Makes the setup feel janky. Other than that so far they seem good. Now let's see how they grow flowers.
High light flowers coming soon...
View attachment 4500679
We have never condoned placing drivers on heatsinks, and there's a simple reason for it: of all the places you might need to add warmth in a grow room, the LEDs are the last place you want to add heat to.

Heat kills LEDs. It reduces their useful life and reduces their efficiency. There is no advantage at all to running them hotter than they need to be.

In any case, you are trying to add metabolic warmth to the plants – not the LEDs. Having a driver on the back of a heatsink actually shields that heat from the plants. The heat rises and is usually ducted away. It is not the same concept as infrared heat that radiates down towards the plants from a HPS or CMH lamp (for example). Drivers produce convection heat that rises or is ducted away by other metals (heatsinks).

As others have pointed out, if you need extra warmth in your grow area, you are better off placing the heatsink on the floor or in front of a fan so that the heat can rise or be blown through the canopy to provide additional warmth. If it's really cold, then some growers add CMH or HPS lamps back into their grow rooms in winter to compensate. After all, if you need to add warmth, CMH lamps can also add light and beneficial UV. If you already have enough light, then a small heater at the base of the plants – not hanging over them – is the best solution.

I do understand that other manufacturers have started the trend of adding drivers to heatsinks, and that in some cases it might be convenient to have a driver up and out of the way (if you don't have much room on the floor, for example). But there is absolutely no advantage to it and there are several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that if you do have a hot grow room, you can't remove any more heat from it if all the drivers are bolted to the heatsinks. For many years growers used HID lamps with remote ballasts for this reason.

Also, many of the Mean Well drivers such as the ELG and XLG series have their current and voltage adjustment dials on the bottom of the driver, which means you have to unbolt the driver from the heatsink every time you wish to adjust them (unless you are running a separate potentiometer).

I'm sorry if some growers find it inconvenient, but we really believe there are far more advantages to running remote drivers than bolting them to a heatsink, and so that was a decision that was made during the design stage.
 

Grow Lights Australia

Well-Known Member
In colder temps like we're currently still having the added driver heat is a bonus and helps me to keep perfect temps. I see some red and black wire spools are gonna be coming to my house soon though because it's starting to get warmer so what gauge you recommend for that Rocket?
Anything from 14-17AWG if you are drawing 9A or more. If you are just connecting one board to one small driver, then 18AWG will work. We supply 17AWG with our wiring kits: https://growlightsaustralia.com/product-category/wiring-kits/
 

[ZooWeeMaMa]

Well-Known Member
We have never condoned placing drivers on heatsinks, and there's a simple reason for it: of all the places you might need to add warmth in a grow room, the LEDs are the last place you want to add heat to.

Heat kills LEDs. It reduces their useful life and reduces their efficiency. There is no advantage at all to running them hotter than they need to be.

In any case, you are trying to add metabolic warmth to the plants – not the LEDs. Having a driver on the back of a heatsink actually shields that heat from the plants. The heat rises and is usually ducted away. It is not the same concept as infrared heat that radiates down towards the plants from a HPS or CMH lamp (for example). Drivers produce convection heat that rises or is ducted away by other metals (heatsinks).

As others have pointed out, if you need extra warmth in your grow area, you are better off placing the heatsink on the floor or in front of a fan so that the heat can rise or be blown through the canopy to provide additional warmth. If it's really cold, then some growers add CMH or HPS lamps back into their grow rooms in winter to compensate. After all, if you need to add warmth, CMH lamps can also add light and beneficial UV. If you already have enough light, then a small heater at the base of the plants – not hanging over them – is the best solution.

I do understand that other manufacturers have started the trend of adding drivers to heatsinks, and that in some cases it might be convenient to have a driver up and out of the way (if you don't have much room on the floor, for example). But there is absolutely no advantage to it and there are several disadvantages. One disadvantage is that if you do have a hot grow room, you can't remove any more heat from it if all the drivers are bolted to the heatsinks. For many years growers used HID lamps with remote ballasts for this reason.

Also, many of the Mean Well drivers such as the ELG and XLG series have their current and voltage adjustment dials on the bottom of the driver, which means you have to unbolt the driver from the heatsink every time you wish to adjust them (unless you are running a separate potentiometer).

I'm sorry if some growers find it inconvenient, but we really believe there are far more advantages to running remote drivers than bolting them to a heatsink, and so that was a decision that was made during the design stage.
Thanks for the schooling, gonna be a pain modding all 8 of my lights to run the drivers off the heatsinks but it sounds like I'm fucking up by not doing so so fuck it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 

Grow Lights Australia

Well-Known Member
If it's any consolation, the drivers don't produce that much heat. If a 320W driver is 94% efficient, then that means 6% of 320W is converted to heat, which is about 20W. An additional 20W in a 4x4 grow area isn't that much but when you add it to a heatsink (it won't all go to the heatsink, but anything that has direct contact with the driver will conduct heat from it) then all you are really doing is heating up the LEDs for no good reason.

Running a main wire to the boards that exits the tent to a power board outside can also be quite a neat solution.
IMG_1923.JPG
 

Humple

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the schooling, gonna be a pain modding all 8 of my lights to run the drivers off the heatsinks but it sounds like I'm fucking up by not doing so so fuck it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
While we're on the subject of heat degrading LEDs, I'll throw in my unsolicited pitch for actually using the dimmer. Many here like to crank it and then simply adjust the height of the fixture, but that really isn't the most prudent (or efficient) approach. Peeps get excited about cutting-edge efficiency but then use more energy than necessary for the duration of the grow.
 

Grow Lights Australia

Well-Known Member
Um, I guess. I haven't seen that before! o_O

Is there any way to disconnect the main (AC) power cable and re-attach it to the DC side? That way you could simply put a mains plug on the AC side where you currently have a connector, and then transfer the connector and cable to the DC side connecting to the LED board. That would be my initial suggestion if it is possible. Even if it is 3-core wire with 3-pin connectors, you can just connect two of the pins.

If that isn't feasible, then it will at least suffice until you get some more cable.

On a related note, those plants look pretty healthy so you must be doing something right! :P
 

loco41

Well-Known Member
I swear stores don't carry shit any more. I couldn't find the fucking wire I needed in Home Depot so I had to rig em up on the hangers with fat zip ties until I can get some through the mail. This should be good for now until I get em remote wired right?
View attachment 4502249
cant wait to see those plants progress sir.

here's my tallest plant at 14 inches from my light. I think it's time to get the extension on the tent and raise it just a bit. im thinking 16 inches from that top would be a little better.

on a side note, check the red leaf stems. the plants have seemed super healthy throughout and still do, so I was chalking it up to genetics or at least not a problem, I like the way it looks to be honest. any thoughts on this would be super helpful, I haven't really dug into it yet.
 

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