The strips you posted link to have considerably low operating current. I would suggest running them at 500ma. Because the connectors have line to line voltage limitation of 300v, the biggest constant current driver you should run them with is 150 watt (300vdc x 500ma).
If you don’t need light bigger than that, great choice. But if you’re looking for larger light they will get pretty expensive to use. Hlg 120 is about $50, you would need 2 to build bigger than 150 watt light. But hlg-240 is only about $70. Make sense?
@Bulldognuts that was my issue exactly. This is my first indoor grow, so I knew I needed a good light. I also knew I wanted a led due to space and heat issues. I literally read hundreds of reviews not knowing they were fake. So I did research, it was flawed, andI fell for the Amazon “blurple” lights.
I want to resolve that issue and build a high quality light, now that I am getting proper information, I think that’s something I can and really want to do.
Yea, I made a mistake, but people do that sometimes. I now understand my issue, and will hopefully be resolving that soon, with some assistance from a few fantastic people on here!
Believe me you are not the only one to make the Amazon blurples mistake. I came into the conversation a little late so not sure what lights you have or what what your setup is. But as far as the Blurples go, I use mine for seedlings. Seedlings do great under them. It’s probably not necessary but at least I feel better about wasting money on them. LOL. Remember you are not wasting people’s time. I have had a lot of help on forum and still get help. Lots of people here that can help with every aspect of growing.
Thanks but @dbrn32 has me covered. I have the HLG-185H-C1400B driver in hand to run the 4 PLC strips. The most frustrating aspect of putting the light together is sourcing the fasteners. The physical layout of the light is specific to my situation and my choice to use PLC’s custom heat sinks limited the screws and bolts to the size that fits the heat sink’s slot which receives the nut. Talk about ignorance when it comes to metric sizing and terminology. Greengenes quick build youtube video using the 23’ strips did not give the specifications for screws and bolts. Once I figured it out, I could not buy them locally (hardware stores including menards and home depot). I could not even get them through Amazon because they were out of not stock with no guarantee of future availability. Finally found the nut on Uxcell. A M3 square flat nut with exterior side measurement of 7mm. Placed the order and a week later am told they are not available. So back to Amazon and ordered screws and nuts that will work just not as well as the one I wanted. They are supposed to be delivered next week.
I could have changed the heat sink and just went with heat sink USA or an aluminum extrusion from T-nuts, drill the holes and use standard nuts and bolts. Oh well…
Yes exactly! To be honest there is lots of stuff on the internet thats quite misleading too! Im certainly no expert but if I can save someone a headache or a bunch of money that makes me happy. It seems lighting is the main area that most beginners get burned. The ( Amazon ) / hardware store lights are often misrepresented and sold to unsuspecting victims that dont realize that the best those lights can often do is grow herbs or be used for starter vegetables. Weed as most of us know is a total light slut.
You do this community a great service by offering valuable info on lighting and how to best optimize your setup at a reasonable cost. Thats huge man! Thanks
@dbrn32 so checking out some of the kits from horticulture group, And I do like their diablo and Samsung quantum boards.( the I QB288 V2 R spec with Samsung LM301H LED. Is there a reason you go with the photo strips above those, or are they pretty comparable?
