Ginger Viking
Well-Known Member
I have 4 drivers out of an elcheapo blurple. They are 700mA CC drivers with a 45-70vdc voltage range. What are going to be the best cobs to fill out this driver?
What to put on these drivers?
- Thread starter Ginger Viking
- Start date
nfhiggs
Well-Known Member
Some 54V Vero 29's would work well, one on each driver.
Slinging PAR
Well-Known Member
Nah, Vero 29 'C' version are better. They will chug along at around 45w.
Ginger Viking
Well-Known Member
How would 2 Vero 13's do compared to the 1 Vero 29c?
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Hmm! Two Vero13 would be less efficient, 40 lm/w maybe..
But why not look at the datasheets and compare output at 700mA.
It not that hard to estimate nearly correct numbers.
At first I would use a multimeter to check true open circuit voltage and current of the driver. Usually these drivers are around 540-600mA. If you run them at their voltage limit they need probably a bit of additional cooling.
A 54v Vero29B is probably the better option in terms of durability and efficiency...?!
A Vero29C would be even brighter (10-12w more), but ~66v could overload the driver in the long term depending on it's true voltage.It depends on where the actual voltage of the driver is and you should check that before you buy COB's.
From datasheet 2 Vero13D/3k/CRI80 @700mA would be ~138lm/w and each COB needs ~33v at that current an run above nom. current.
One Vero29C/3k/CRI80 would be ~65,7v @700mA and it's effiency would be ~185lm/w(underestimated)and run far below nom. current!!!
Estimating the driver has 600mA two Vero13 would be 39,6w and 5.465lm.
A Vero29C on the same driver would be 39,4w but 7.293lm!
So 1 Vero29c equals nearly 3 Vero13 but with a third less wattage!
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Ginger Viking
Well-Known Member
@Randomblame what CRI do you suggest to pair these with EB Gen 2 strips(keeping in mind of what's in stock online). I'm not necessarily looking for the most light out of these cobs but the best light for the plants. This will be a similar setup to yours with strips, cobs, and a uvb reptile bulb but without the far red.
Slinging PAR
Well-Known Member
@Randomblame nah, those drivers are fine at 66v. Those tureful/nl ones are bulletproof.
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it's a nice combi and works really well till now. Plants are in week 5 and get currently 3h UVB right when the light goes on and another 3h before the light goes out. I started with 1 + 1h in the first week and I leave it running for 12h in the last.
The splitting makes sense because this way they have a break between the irradiations to recover. But what I see so far 6h UVB 12-16" away from canopy does not cause any damage.
But back to topic!
EBgen2 is only available in 3500/CRI80 and 5000°k/CRI80, at least on digikey, right?!
Maybe arrow has strips in 3000°k, which is the spectrum I prefer as all-in-one but surely not in CRI90 or 70. But you can also use 3500°k/CRI80 with no visible differences on the plants.
But COB's are available in CRI90, I got my Blux V18c/3k/CRI90 (not Vero18, V18 is the one with screw holes like Citi's) for 3,93$ from arrow. (on sale, plus 10% discount and free shipped).
The splitting makes sense because this way they have a break between the irradiations to recover. But what I see so far 6h UVB 12-16" away from canopy does not cause any damage.
But back to topic!
EBgen2 is only available in 3500/CRI80 and 5000°k/CRI80, at least on digikey, right?!
Maybe arrow has strips in 3000°k, which is the spectrum I prefer as all-in-one but surely not in CRI90 or 70. But you can also use 3500°k/CRI80 with no visible differences on the plants.
But COB's are available in CRI90, I got my Blux V18c/3k/CRI90 (not Vero18, V18 is the one with screw holes like Citi's) for 3,93$ from arrow. (on sale, plus 10% discount and free shipped).
Randomblame
Well-Known Member
Ahh okay, never heard anything about this brand but if you know them..
I first thought it's from a cheap chines blurple.
Ginger Viking
Well-Known Member
You are correct that they are NL drivers. I looked the model number up and didn't find anything listed. This light vegged like a champ but almost made the plants too squat. Also a lot a heat compared to the light output.
Slinging PAR
Well-Known Member
They are pretty common in blurples.
My experience with them has been very good. Once I mated them with Veros life was good.
I tried to hunt them down a couple years back and found them on Alibaba express. If I recall they were about $8 USD a piece.
They shouldn't be warm, the drivers anyhow. Open air at full they IR at only 1c above ambient which is almost a wash. My meanwells are far warmer when running at full or near max.
What I do like about them is being able to run isolated CoBs on their own drivers. And they are easy to swap out, just use the existing 2 prong connectors. The wires are only 22-24 awg, but you can extend using 18-20awg with no significant voltage drops. I might even try to use cat5 cable for a project to see if it will work. PoE is 37w over a pair so I think muxing a couple pairs should be fine.
