If I’m reading the data sheet correctly, each strip is 13.6 watts.
I don’t believe that’s peak but closer to nominal efficacy. Probably a 20 watt strip If I’d guess. Ideally run it in the peak range and it will run cooler with more photons per watt. Sounds like 15 is a good number.
That wiring diagram is a series parallel circuit. Nothing wrong with that unless @dbrn32 has a better way for more overall output with a certain driver and wiring all series.
A couple of things come to mind when looking at that build. First, a full 320 watt driver is a lot to have on aluminum plate. Wiring like that would keep current pretty low and electrical efficiency higher, but you’ll still be asking aluminum plate to disperse a lot of heat. I understand the simplicity of not assembling a frame, but it would be a better light on heatsinks or with heatsinks added to plate with a thermal bond.
You could also move to a 2 driver setup and keep strips on each driver wired in series. It would be a lot less confusing to wire, and cut dc output voltage of the system in half.
You could lay strips out either way really. Having greater coverage is a superior light, but there’s so little difference in the two layouts that you wouldn’t really notice any difference in your grows. From that standpoint, keeping all the strips in line would be easier to wire.
If it were me, I would take a look at running two meanwell hlg-120h-c700a drivers. Each driver would run up to 10 560mm eb gen2 wired in series. And I would put them on 1" heatsink extrusions from heatsink USA. But pic you posted should end up in working light too.
Im not by any means committed to this build as it is, but I do like the idea and simplicity of the plate. The only thing I’ve bought so far are the strips, so changing anything but that is possible.
Ive dug back deeper through forum posts since last night and came across this.
I guess for simplicity, I could just copy this design and have a left over strip.
That’s a nice light, on smaller side for 3x3. I think when we were looking at that was actually for 32"x32".
Also, I think if you go with a little thicker plate would help too.
Aluminum seems to be the expensive part for me.
I priced out a 30x30x.125 aluminum sheet today local and they wanted $65+tax.
ill ask about .25" tmrw after work.
This is the shopping cart from heatsinkUSA for 15- 1"x24"heatsinks. This is before currency conversion. Almost laughable at $170CAD.
Crossing that imaginary line is taxing, cost about the same for me to source a piece of clean plate that size
That’s super ghetto! Deserves a giver award! Is there enough jam to bud out?
Stuff like that makes me SUPER excited that dbrn32 talked me into switching from platinum leds to rspec boards. Cant wait to see for myself. Buddy of mine is using my platinums in same enviroment and same strand to see results i will post pictures when its all said and done. So far the Boards are vegging quicker then the LEDs tho.
@dbrn32 , would there be any benefit to adding one r spec QBs in the center space of my 260xl? If so would the 240hc2100a drive all 3 boards or would I need a separate driver assuming there is a good reason to do it??? Oh ya I’m in a 2x4x5 tent.
Re wired the one light and built another man good thing I fixed it cuz its twice as bright now i was like doubling the output but only using half or something strange it even worked like that I dunno but everything worked just as you said thanks from referencing @Aolelon journal for the diagram it still dosent make sence to me but it sure is twice as bright lol thanks bro again good thing I didnt break anything being naive to electricity
Great mother if all things stinky! That bud is a monument for all to behold! I would love to smoke that! That’s the motherlode!
Oh he doesnt have green on there! Bad bad bad! It is now a proven fact that plants do use green light! It actually penetrates better too! Full spectrum baby!
That driver won’t run 3 288 boards, which makes the answer to your question pretty much a no. In order to run 3 boards you would need bigger driver and the board, which is roughly $150 upgrade plus shipping and taxes. For roughly half that amount or less you could add a couple of 660nm strips and a small driver specifically for them. And it would be more than most need in a 2x4.
Makes perfect sense to me. When you wire in parallel the current divides among loads instead of the voltage. So if you have 2000ma available to one led, two leds in parallel have 1000ma each. For leds in parallel would have 500ma each. Your light was designed to run each led at full output current of the driver, which couldn’t happen the way you wired it. I’m actually quite surprised the forward voltage was high enough for them to even come on…
You got it figured out though, glad you are happy with it.
He goes into green on this and how plants use the photons. DR. Bugbee is one of the top plant physiologist today.
