Stealth/Safe DIY CXA3070 project

Dawamesk

Active Member
Hi all !

This is my first post and it's a pretty long one so here is a little track for you to make it less painful:

I'm a new european member of the forum willing to start a 100% organic indoor LED grow and I will probably need a couple of advices to bring success on my project.

I've read a lot of the threads dealing with LED DIY builds with CXAs which allowed me to gather a good ammount of knowledge already. Therefore I'd like to start by giving HUGE thanks to all the LED DIY gurus out there like SDS, SupraSPL, Gaius, Happy75 and all the others ! You guys did really spend time sharing your skills and expertise improving the community knowledge and we all owe you for what you've done so far ... this is really much appreciated !

So here we go, my project consists of growing the following babies (for a start) in a 2x2x5,3 tent for my own consumption:
seeds.JPG


My main concerns are:

- having a truly stealth/safe setup to have my mind free from stress when I'm not home (safe meaning electricaly safe and stealth meaining the less noisy possible)
- reaching a good 150-200grams of sweet flowers per harvest (but quality will definitely prevail on quantity here)

- having dimmable light source if not too complicated to build (not afraid of soldering but my elecrticity knowledge is quite poor)

- being able to clone my babies and have a couple of mother plants in a separate small grow box

To reach those goals I am planning on geeting some Cree 3000k CXA 3070. AB bin if possible but I will maybe end up using z2 bin cobs since those seem to be the only ones truly available nowadays (z2 are still ok to make a descent grow right ?).

Since it has to be the safest setup possible I'm thinking of using passive cooling (never fails) or well known reliable components only for active cooling. I guess 4x3070 cobs will be enough to light that room up and I 'd like to have each cob separately mounted onto heatsinks (no pannel here) to be able to play with light distribution and ajust the height and be as close to the canopee as possible (yes I will probably grow multiple type of strains at the same time).

My grocery list (for the most important items and to be updated shortly):

- 4 cree 3000k CXA 3070 cobs for the main tent and an extra one for clone/mother plants

- this kind of heatsinks if i go passive cooling (1 per cob):
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2-pcs-up-to-100W-Watt-LED-Aluminium-Heatsink-Round-XXL-10W-20W-30W-45W-50W/1397878241.html

- this kind of heatsink+fan if i can't go passive cooling:
http://www.arctic.ac/us_en/alpine-11-gt-rev-2.html

- Meanwell drivers, 1 per cob:
http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10001_10001_2101315_-1


Now a few questions for the experts:

1 - Provided that I drive the 3070 z2 at 60w 1050mA current will 4 of them be enough to ligth up that space and reach the 150-200grams I expect ?

2 - are the passive cooling heatsinks I've choosen good to keep the cobs at a descent temperature or is there maybe other heatsinks you guys could know of that will be more effective ?

3 - are the active cooling choosen fans reliable enough not to fail too easily ? In other words: do you know other types of fans well known to be highly reliable and more secure ?

4 - for the clone/mother box is it better to run 5000K cob rather than 3000k and will a single 3070 be enough for that purpose ?

5 - do you know drivers that could be more safe to use than the selected ones ?

You can be sure I have another thousand questions in mind but I don't want to flood you guys so I'll keep them for another time ... of course when you have remarks on the overall thing or maybe on some smaller details don't hesitate to throw them at my newbie's face shouting WHAT THE FUCK YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU DANGEROUS WANNABE LED BUILDER cause I won't complain ;p

One last thing, I will do my best to update this thread as often as possible trying to give back to the community what I've learned from it (even though the ratio will definitely not be well balanced;))

OK that's enough, let's call it a post !

PEACE
Dawamesk.
 
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uzerneims

Well-Known Member
Hey!
All the luck traveler!
I'm planning too stealth setup, i've had experience with stealth HPS cab, living with mates, no one knew, harvested ~65g's... (made some stealth hacks, like PANIC BUTTON, when someone comes in, some suspicious person, after hat of button, HPS went down, and 1x CFL came in, and fans turned off, so no sound at all, it was really good thing, but no concerns to LED's, those few PC's speakers could not be heard if they're insulated, just small bzz....)

AFAIK, LPC-60-1400 isn't dimmable, better go for more expensive HLG series... So you could run them in series, and total cost would be same/better, but in the end you would get dimming capabilities.

If you have budget, of course running 5000k COB is just an great idea for clones/veg box.

Some users had added Andruino to their lamps, so they could use a thermostat if fan fails etc... But in my experience, none of fans had broken (in PC scene).

If you drive - 3070 @ 1050mA, it is - ~38W with all heat, etc... but they are very efficient running at 1050mA. Total ~150W of light, ~45% PAR efficiency - definitely you will yield your 1gp/w or even 1.5gp/w!

Good luck!

That track was awesome!
 

Dawamesk

Active Member
Hey man !

Well thank you for your feedback on your stealh cab I very much like the panic button idea !! Funny and conveniant stuff :)

I'm actually not that concerned about the stealth aspect of the grow, the only thing I want is having this tent as silent as possible.

I will definitely use a 5000k for clones/mother plants then ! You think a single cob is enough to have a couple of bonzai mothers and a little batch of clones ?

Also good to hear that PC fans do not fail that often even though I would prefer passive cooling since it's less hassle to build and will remain safer IMHO.

For the drivers I have to say I'm a bit confused ! Problem is I've seen many threads showing how to have dimmable LED lights and they all seemed to me quite complicated ... are the HLG models easily dimmable with some kind of potentiometers on them maybe ? If so it won't require any other equipment to be able to change light intensity right ?

Basically, what model would you usefor yourself then and how many of them will be needed to drive the 4 3070 @ 1050mA like you recommended ?

I'm glad you did enjoy that track, it's one of my favorite reggae classic and I will reward your quick and helpful reply with another one then ;)

Here you go mate:


PEACE
Dawamesk.



Hey!
All the luck traveler!
I'm planning too stealth setup, i've had experience with stealth HPS cab, living with mates, no one knew, harvested ~65g's... (made some stealth hacks, like PANIC BUTTON, when someone comes in, some suspicious person, after hat of button, HPS went down, and 1x CFL came in, and fans turned off, so no sound at all, it was really good thing, but no concerns to LED's, those few PC's speakers could not be heard if they're insulated, just small bzz....)

AFAIK, LPC-60-1400 isn't dimmable, better go for more expensive HLG series... So you could run them in series, and total cost would be same/better, but in the end you would get dimming capabilities.

If you have budget, of course running 5000k COB is just an great idea for clones/veg box.

Some users had added Andruino to their lamps, so they could use a thermostat if fan fails etc... But in my experience, none of fans had broken (in PC scene).

If you drive - 3070 @ 1050mA, it is - ~38W with all heat, etc... but they are very efficient running at 1050mA. Total ~150W of light, ~45% PAR efficiency - definitely you will yield your 1gp/w or even 1.5gp/w!

Good luck!

That track was awesome!
 
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Dawamesk

Active Member
Thank you Mechmike !

unfortunately those are hard to find (out of stock everywhere I've checked) ... any other meanwell driver that could makle it here ? What are the specs I should check on the drivers tech sheet to suit my needs ?

Sorry to be such a rookie :bigjoint:

PEACE
Dawamesk.
 

Positivity

Well-Known Member
I've been driving 5 on a similar 1.05a 190v driver. All has worked well including running temperatures. Although they are on a heatsink and getting air cooled. Not sure how they'd run otherwise...maybe the same.

I actually prefer the "b" version of the mean well drivers. The "a" version has the internal pot while the "b" version allows external dimming via potentiometer. On the "a" you would need to open the driver case and adjust the pot with a multimeter..it's a lot more work than using a resistor and a kill a watt

I'd consider 4 on a 1400ma driver if using a dimmer. You could just dim down to 1050ma if you wanted. I haven't tried 4...it should work. If will easily run 3 at 1.4a
 
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Dawamesk

Active Member

Dawamesk

Active Member
And maybe for veg/clone chamber, i would use smaller led's, drive them with smaller current, so in the end, for veg chamber you get better light spread, and cheaper price.
Sounds good dude !

What LEDs/driver would you use then ? Or maybe you have a link or two showing similar type of setup so that I can have a better view of the thing and dig in the right direction ?
 

Mechmike

Well-Known Member
Ok guys,

I guess I like the one single driver for 4 cobs idea and I've found the MW 709-HLG185H-C1400B on stock:

http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-185H-C1400B/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMvV8Y9YugmIgmy193Qkqm18F74KAwdI4e8=

I feel more confortable if I don't have to open the driver to implement dimming ... so will this bad boy be able to properly run 4x3070 at 1050mA and 1400mA ? Is it a good catch ??

I'm not so far from ordering it I think !!!
The HLG-185H-C1400B max voltage is 143 which is not enough for 4 CXA3070. You will need over 160v. To my knowledge, there are no 1.4a drivers that make that much voltage. You will proably need at least 2 drivers for 4 @1.4a.
 

Positivity

Well-Known Member
The HLG-185H-C1400B max voltage is 143 which is not enough for 4 CXA3070. You will need over 160v. To my knowledge, there are no 1.4a drivers that make that much voltage. You will proably need at least 2 drivers for 4 @1.4a.
Good catch mike...I should have checked the driver spec first.
Yes, only 3 per driver.

From what I gathered..passive/minimal cooling..200g harvest. 1.05a should be a good choice and keep you on one dimming driver. 1.4a is the more expensive option and not quite as good a fit on the driver specs.
 
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Mechmike

Well-Known Member
Inventronics.....
Their 1.4a version maxes out at 142v. I haven't found one with more output voltage at 1.4a anywhere. There is a limit that is imposed by the exchange from volts to amps. As the amperage increases the available voltage decreases. Ohms law. The HLG-185H-500C max voltage is 400 while the same 200w rated 185H-1050C maxes out at 190v.

http://www.futurelightingsolutions.com/en/Technologies/Semiconductors/Lighting-Solutions/LED-Driver-Modules/Pages/9025109-EUC-200S140DT.aspx?ManufacturerName=INVENTRONICS&isFLS=true&IM=0
 

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
Their 1.4a version maxes out at 142v. I haven't found one with more output voltage at 1.4a anywhere. There is a limit that is imposed by the exchange from volts to amps. As the amperage increases the available voltage decreases. Ohms law. The HLG-185H-500C max voltage is 400 while the same 200w rated 185H-1050C maxes out at 190v.

http://www.futurelightingsolutions.com/en/Technologies/Semiconductors/Lighting-Solutions/LED-Driver-Modules/Pages/9025109-EUC-200S140DT.aspx?ManufacturerName=INVENTRONICS&isFLS=true&IM=0
Your right, I could of swore I saw a 200w Inventronics @ Futurelighting.....but I was wrong, my bad!
 

Dawamesk

Active Member
Well if I understand you guys correctly this litte babie here would be perfect:
http://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Mean-Well/HLG-185H-C1050B/?qs=/ha2pyFaduioN6sKJPGIR6r%2bZo3c9zhYmnc8I/uZypFY/If9ayeasuvzm7aLRQmJ

Only problem I couldn't find any supplier having it in stock ...

Do you maybe know of some similar driver from another manufacturer with a better availability ?

If not, I might give a go to the 709-LPC60-1050, 1 per cob, but I have to forget about dimming then and my understanding is that they are slightly less reliable than the HLG serie am I right ?

Or I'll have to get two HLG-185H-C1400B which are on stock but it is a pretty expensive option ...

Like Goodie Mob said ''Decisions Decisions to make''
 

Mechmike

Well-Known Member
TRC Electronics may have the HLG-185H-C1050B. It might be worth a call to them since they don't indicate whether it's in stock or not on the website. The two 1.4a drivers (HLG-185H-C1400B) certainly do cost more upfront but they will run either 2 or 3 emitters each so that would give you the option to expand from 4 to 6 emitters in the future. If you can get the 1050 that would save on the upfront cost.

http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/HLG-185H-C1050B.shtml
 

Dawamesk

Active Member
TRC Electronics may have the HLG-185H-C1050B. It might be worth a call to them since they don't indicate whether it's in stock or not on the website. The two 1.4a drivers (HLG-185H-C1400B) certainly do cost more upfront but they will run either 2 or 3 emitters each so that would give you the option to expand from 4 to 6 emitters in the future. If you can get the 1050 that would save on the upfront cost.

http://www.trcelectronics.com/View/Mean-Well/HLG-185H-C1050B.shtml
Ok great !

Will get in touch with them and see what they say ...

Will let you guys know the outcome :)
 
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