DIY with Quantum Boards

run 4 boards on an HLG240H-C1050. you can't run more than 4 boards per driver and no driver will support 8 boards in series on this type driver as the voltage limit for the wire connector is 300V max as on the CC+CV drivers the voltage adds up per board. You could use a 480H-54 but the problem there is if a board fails or a wiring connection fails you could burn up your boards. I suggest using a pair of 240H-C1050 with 4 boards each.
As to wether to use an A or B driver, I've found the a driver a pain in the ass if you need to adjust the output more than once or twice. The POT inside the a driver is soft plastic and easily damaged. I'd suggest the b driver, which you'll need to add a potentiometer. You can use a 50K pot to adjust both driver from one pot.

PrometheanLeaf said:

The qb288 v1, what driver should I use to run four of them without heatsinks? I'd love to be able to put them on a 240w hlg ideally and run 8 boards over a 3x3 tray.

If not I suppose I'll just grab 12 boards.

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1050ma.

PrometheanLeaf said:

@Nizza I'm pretty much just wanting to know what ma is safe to run without any heatsinking for the 288s

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I'm thinking about picking up one of the qb18v2's and an lpc 35-1400, and I'm curious to know if using some aluminum angle would be sufficient for heatsinking. If I gotta get an actual heatsink from heatsink USA or similar, I might as well buy the prebuilt bar they have by the time I factor in all the shipping costs.

Got my 2nd light hung yesterday and got temps and rh dialed in. Getting the next round ready to go under this new light tomorrow.

Also some closeups of the IHG Lemon-Lime Punch @ F30 (5 days under the new setup). Maybe it was just time but already getting frosty.

pop22 said:

You could use a 480H-54 but the problem there is if a board fails or a wiring connection fails you could burn up your boards.

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And this goes for all CV driver builds using more than one board, right? I'm wondering how to best protect against this (cost effectively) as I'd like to use CV drivers for a couple build soon. The only thing I can think of, that was mentioned by someone else as a suggestion, is to put an inline fuse before the boards... what do you (or anyone, feel free to input, it's much appreciated) think? If that sounds reasonable, effective, and not too expensive, could you suggest something please?
The only inline fuse/fuse holders I'm familiar with are the ones usually seen used in automotive applications.
@ChiefRunningPhist If you have any suggestions, please feel free to share as well

pop22 said:

As to wether to use an A or B driver, I've found the a driver a pain in the ass if you need to adjust the output more than once or twice.

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100% agree.

pop22 said:

You can use a 50K pot to adjust both driver from one pot.

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Or use a rapidled (style) dimmer and not have to even think about it. They can also dim four drivers simultaneously (1 to 4 drivers). $5 a piece or something.

So with a CV driver you're going to want to wire in parallel. This means managing LEDs by voltage and like others have said managing LED operation by voltage can lead to thermal run away. One way to protect against this is to use the Io POT as a limiting POT, but if you're running 4 boards in parallel and 1 goes out then the max current limit you set your Io POT to will equally distribute the intended current of 4 boards to the remaining 3, but only if thermal run away happens. I'm sure some of you constant current people have noticed, as your boards heat up, the voltage drops, this is the beginning of thermal runaway. Though TBH Ive never seen true destructive thermal runaway on a QB. Only a bit of voltage drop. A fuse can be used as @2com suggested and pretty easy to add. They are cheap and will give you peace of mind.

If no thermal runaway happens and if your boards are wired in parallel with a CV driver, nothing happens, just one less light. So the only danger would come from a thermal run away event and if your limiting Io POT were set for 4 boards, but then the worst case scenario is 3 boards eating the current of 4 boards though total possible current is still being limited to only 4 boards worth of current. The QBs are tough as shit, they've been run with huge currents and still been just fine. You don't want to push them as it will reduce total life but I used to be more concerned with thermal runaway and since have settled down on the topic a bit.

I'd suggest fuses for peace of mind though I doubt youll ever have to replace.

CC drivers can be run in a parallel:series config and if this is the case I definitely recommend fuses. They can be run in parallel too but the CC drivers have lots of voltage for long series runs while the CV drivers have lots of amperage for greater parallel runs.

Love the avatar.
“Bad company corrupts good morals”
Epstein never had a chance

2com said:

And this goes for all CV driver builds using more than one board, right?

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I meant to say "all parallel builds" (with CV drivers).

ChiefRunningPhist said:

A fuse can be used as @2com suggested and pretty easy to add. They are cheap and will give you peace of mind.

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Such as? https://www.amazon.com/FICBOX-Standard-Assorted-Automotive-Replacement/dp/B074FSMTT6/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=inline+fuse&qid=1580760665&sr=8-10

These are the only style I'm familiar with so far.

2com said:

Such as? https://www.amazon.com/FICBOX-Standard-Assorted-Automotive-Replacement/dp/B074FSMTT6/ref=sr_1_10?keywords=inline+fuse&qid=1580760665&sr=8-10
View attachment 4470986
These are the only style I'm familiar with so far.

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Ya those will work, just size the fuse for the current amount you're wanting to limit.

ChiefRunningPhist said:

Ya those will work, just size the fuse for the current amount you're wanting to limit.

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So if you had these on a series circuit would you only do it on the first wire from driver to cob
And in parallel, does it go on the positive before each connection?
Say your driver had 4A and paralleling to 4 cobs for 1am a piece, you'd just do a 1.2amp, or so, fuse in front of each cob?

Airwalker16 said:

So if you had these on a series circuit would you only do it on the first wire from driver to cob
And in parallel, does it go on the positive before each connection?
Say your driver had 4A and paralleling to 4 cobs for 1am a piece, you'd just do a 1.2amp, or so, fuse in front of each cob?

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Yep. Positive or negative side, as long as when the fuse blows the circuit becomes an open loop. Some fuses are fast blowing and some are slower blowing, so just check the spec's and grab a fast blowing fuse to give your boards the quickest protection. There will be a time vs current curve for the fuses you look at, and just select a fuse that will fit your needs. One axis will be how much current and 1 axis will how much time it takes to blow.

Munchiedatarse said:

I wanna build a r-spec board. Would a sheet of aluminum 24inx24in 1/4in thick work for running 4 qb288 with a hlg 480h-c2100a

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yeah that would likely be fine as long as its perfectly flat. some thermal paste in between the boards and sheet wouldn't hurt but it takes quite a bit, something like ~8 grams of thermal paste per board.

So I have a few of the 133mm pin heatsinks I got from CobKits awhile ago, they're just sitting on the shelf, from a cob build that never materialized.
There's no reason I can't slap one of those 96 boards on them, is there? Maybe run em with 185H-54?

Chip Green said:

So I have a few of the 133mm pin heatsinks I got from CobKits awhile ago, they're just sitting on the shelf, from a cob build that never materialized.
There's no reason I can't slap one of those 96 boards on them, is there? Maybe run em with 185H-54?

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You may run into some overheating issues if you run it at full power, try to monitor the board temperature keeping it below 85 degrees Celsius. For the extra 15 dollars, I would buy the model with the heatsink(for a back-up). Then, if your curious, drill out some new holes on your 133mm pin heatsink, mount the thermal pad and board and fire it up. And I'm sure you know keeping a dedicated fan blowing on the heatsink will help with temperature as well.

And now you will be an Official HLG DIYer!

Yeah, I actually considered exactly that. Buy one engine, and a two boards.
The price is right for either option. One room is completely set up right now with 315cmh x4 and strip builds balancing things out. I actually need some higher power LED output, so I can hang it higher, to avoid the shadowing. These 96ers will fit right in.
Wouldn't have a problem with partial active cooling either, I have a modest hoard of cpu fans, and power supplies.

All this really comes down to an effort, to justify owning the Horticulture Lighting Group T-shirt, without being a complete poser.

Chip Green said:

All this really comes down to an effort, to justify owning the Horticulture Lighting Group T-shirt, without being a complete poser.

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I THINK I WILL PASS ON THE SHIRT .....

Heybudzbuddha when do you add nutes when growing in ffof Im growing autos using gh trio and ffof in 5 gal Im not sure when to add nutes and how much ml per gallon when come feeding time

Chip Green said:

So I have a few of the 133mm pin heatsinks I got from CobKits awhile ago, they're just sitting on the shelf, from a cob build that never materialized.
There's no reason I can't slap one of those 96 boards on them, is there? Maybe run em with 185H-54?

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Here are the heatsink recommendations for the QB96's:

man, i just picked up 2 of the v2 288's in 4k for veg for cheap off HLG and they are working fantastically. Way better than I thought. I did look at the b-spec's too but the 4k spectrum just looked better to me and they were significantly cheaper. Hoping some v3's come out soon but my two r-spec's are killing it as-is.