@dbrn32, I have a question for you please? I’m looking for a new light for a 2x3x64inch tent.
HLG’s website recommends a HLG 300L Rspec, and a new one is $379 and a refurbished is $329. This has two QB 288 Rspec boards.
But I am leaning towards building my own. Using the double QB 648 Diablo boards with the double slate heat sink. They list two different drivers for this application, HLG-240H-C1750A, or HLG-320H-C2100A. I know that the 320 will give more output. The double Diabo w slate is $285, and the driver is $85
I know this light will need to be dialed back a lot. But I am thinking this will give a good cover wall to wall. And also this can be used in a somewhat larger tent, or could be upgraded with a another board or two with a bigger heat sink.
Am I missing something here?
Do it.
Use “DUDE” as a coupon code. It’s ~20% off I think.
Nope. If you have the willpower to wire together your own boards, it’s the right way to customize and be able to upgrade in the future using the same fixtures.
Thanks, @Graysin. Just ordered the double Diablo boards, and DUDE got me a $57 discount, nice!
Now just need to decide on the driver. Can’t see any problems with more power though.
You’re gonna LOVE the Diablo boards. I have the 200 which is just a single 648, but it’s a beast. And like @Graysin said, going to BIY route gives you more room to play around.
Enjoy your new light! I’m a HLG addict. I was going to put Diablo boards on my 260 Rspecs. Then decided, naw, wait for 2023. Then HLG made me a deal on a 650R so I think I’m going to take them up on that deal. So that will give me the 650R w/UVA-30 in the 3x3. Then the dual 350R’s w/UVA-30XL in the 2x4. I really enjoy working with HLG!
Been a while since i priced out drivers, but last i knew the hlg-320 was maybe $20 more, i would most likely just get it.
Wish I would have seen this earlier, you could build with a lot of different led modules.
HLG all the way. You’ll be more than satisfied with whatever you end up getting from them. I’m running a 350R right now. The next light I buy will be one (or two) of their DIY kits.
The 320 will wear out the boards faster but put out better par numbers and the 240 inverse that so its up to you personally id go for the 240 for such a small space and if you go to a 4x4 down the line youll need a whole 2nd light anyways but if you have a dimmer installed it doesnt really matter
Just call HLG and tell them you want the driver and pot. for the 350R. Also ask them to substitute the 260XL length slate/heat sink if you ordered the regular 260 sized one.
@Outlaw @dbrn32 @GreenSnek @Blastfact @Borderryan22 @Graysin
Thanks for your help! I called HLG, and talked to a very helpful young man. He said that, they are not set up to sell drivers off the shelf. When I told him that I always remote mount my drivers, and still find it a pain to use the little screwdriver slot when dimming. He suggested that I order the Mean Well 320-B or AB from an online source, and he would send me the remote potentiometer kit at no cost. He said that the 240 would not ramp down to 0%, and would need to be unplugged to cut completely off.
I ordered the HGL-320H-2100B driver from an online electronic store, and with shipping, taxes, and tariffs it ended up $122, ouch! Glad @Graysin pointed me to that discount code.
I have two tents both 2x3 and both have a RAW 130 watt by ArgoMax, one is a 3000k and the other is a 4000k. I have been moving these lights back and forth as needed for veg or bloom. One tent has 12 two foot T5s on the back and side walls. I use 3000k bulbs in the side lights after the light flip, and stay with the 4000k overhead until week 3 of flip then change it to the 3000k. The last pull from this tent was 12 oz. The other tent is only running the 130 watt is producing about 6 oz. I want to put the new light in this tent and step up it’s light output without using the side lights. I plan to dedicate the two 130s to the tent with the T5s.
I would have gotten a Inventronics EUD-320S320DT and HLG has them. Kind of pisses me off. That driver, pot and box. They use to sell the kit lights with the new Diablo boards, driver, pot, slate and hardware. But I did see where they took them down and only offer the slate and boards. Might have been cutting into the 350R/650R sales.
The remote dimmer is easier, but the cheap potentiometers are pretty flakey themselves. The info on hlg-240 dimming is also correct, they are not rated for dim to off. They will however switch completely off from a properly operating and installed timer without physically unplugging the driver. They just won’t dim to zero output in a trouble free manner.
The new double Diablo is up and running. This was very easy to put together, and found that the online instructions to build the 260 kit works just fine for this application. At 50% it is giving a DLI of 42 at the top of the canopy at 36 inches. Also the light level seems very even, and reading an average 40 DLI in the center of the canopy and the corners average about 34.
I have the clone tent in a metal cabinet next to this tent. I have been mounting the outlet strips and drivers to the outside of this cabinet. This is a very convenient place for these devices, and really helps with the cable management.
I moved the old 130 watt LED into the clone tent to replace the two tube t5. Since I ended up with a extra driver for these lights. This works out great I can move the 130 watt 4000k back and forth from the clone tent to the other 2x3 tent with the side lights easily. I had to dial it down completely to get 30 DLI on the top of the Skywalker that I am trying to reveg. But it’s cover is so much better than the t5.
