Please Help Plan Mini RDWC Room - Lighting & Ventillation

Thanks guys. RapidLed is great, they had no problem swapping things around. (Although it came to about the same thing as when I added each thing separately, it's all good, they still got everything at a good price.) ~2100total... what do ya'll think? ...(I'm going for it ).

@nc208 , if you don't mind me asking, the website FAQ says: "Please note that shipping fees do not include any possible duties, taxes, VAT, brokerage fees, etc." Were you subject to any additional fee's at delivery?

Yes I was. My order total came to 275USD. 60USD for shipping, and duties and taxes from border was 28$ CAD.

twistedvinesofbud said:

Hi Michiganjesse! What brand Of CMH did you go with? How long have they been running?

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Sorry haven't been on in a while cheap one at the local shop not sure

Yep, 5% at the door... $300.

Got aluminum angles. Go to your local metal shop guys... literally got twice the amount for half the price compared to local hardware stores.

Just want to clarify something, if someone knows...

> Can I safely wire two of the drivers together on one power cord?

> If I do not mount the driver on the aluminum frame, is it extremely important to make sure to add a wire from the driver's ground to the frame? (ie. Is it important to ground the frame?)

-All major electrical, i.e.. breaker installation for the switches and what not will be done by a professional. But I am putting together the kit, so I'd just want to make sure the little stuff is all checked off. I'm highly analytical, or just being cautious.

And if you guys are interested, I'll try to do a build guide/walk-along maybe.

Although there is some discussion on larger wattage driver inrush current on start up, seems that lots of folks have multiple drivers operating on a single a/c input. I have 2 HLG 320's on a single a/c circuit and have had no issues tripping breakers. I would also STRONGLY suggest that you properly ground any fixture frame-Some of these drivers can produce hundreds of
dc volts-this WILL kill you. Stay safe

I was reading the Power Cord supplied and it says 300V. 12 Cobs at 37.7V would be over 300V, so maybe I'm better off using two cords. (I did buy enough to use one per driver.) It might look awkward (two plugs for one fixture) but I'll take Safe over looks funny any day.

For the Ground, I just tap into the Ground wire from the Ac side (which would be from the power cord) correct? Even if I mount my drivers on the frame (still working out layout), I might just go ahead and ground it anyways.
> I have to see if I can run the 18AWG wire greater than 12ft (If I will be putting the driver outside).
> I have to see if putting the Driver inside is good or bad.... two drivers are pretty heavy, and they probably create some heat.

Now that I have everything, Let's begin! ...

[The Frame]
Aluminum Angles have been measured and cut. (Tip; Use the proper tools, and a blade meant for cutting metal. Life will be much easier.) Also optional, take a grinder and smooth the edges of your cuts, as they can get sharp and jagged!

Next Step, to put together the frame using a square/level and then, dry fit heatsinks and mark where the angles will be put together. I have to say, the perimeter looks pretty large, but once I get the heatsinks in there evenly it will be just big enough.
>I am aiming to put the COBS ~10" away from each other (from the centre of each cob) width wise, which will be four cobs ten inches apart. Each row of four cobs will be spread ~12-15" apart

Yeah , it's a good idea to verify the insulation rating- big serial drivers produce serious voltage. The drivers will generate some waste heat so if temp control in the space is a concern, remote mounting of the driver outside the enclosure can help-all you have to run is the DC side into the space. I think I remember watching a Growmau5 vid where he made a nice mounting board to remote mount all of his drivers.
I'm a bit confused by the 300V rating you're referring to on the power cord. Are you talking about the AC power cord? If you are referring to the conductor you want to use to string the cobs together then it's a real concern-make sure that the wire's insulation is rated to withstand the dc voltage in a serial setup.
I tie the AC ground to the frame and driver to provide a safety net if a short occurs.

GBAUTO said:

I'm a bit confused by the 300V rating you're referring to on the power cord. Are you talking about the AC power cord?

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Yes I should have clarified, I was talking about the AC 3-prong Power Cord, when I said it had 300V written on it.
But now that you mention it, I did check RapidLed, and the (conductor) wire, is 18AWG wire (which seems to be the norm for COB Wiring) and is also rated 300V. However, I'm only wiring 6 Cobs to 1 driver which totals 226V, so I should be fine in that sense.

(For Mounting)To be honest I'm more worried about the added weight, than I am about the added heat. (That box of heat sinks was pretty darn heavy!...and so are the drivers.) But the tent is rated 300lbs and the total weight of lights is going to be under 100lbs, fan and filter another 60lbs maybe? I guess I'm just being over cautious.
(Against Mounting) I was worried about the wire not being able to go that far safely. But according to the calculator (below), I can easily go 25Ft. on the DC side with minimal voltage drop. So I may opt for this route instead.

http://www.calculator.net/voltage-drop-calculator.html

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On my 4 arrays rails, using a 320W HLG driver and 140mm pin sinks with an aluminum L channel framework, it weighs less than 25#. The driver is probably over 1/3 of the weight.