bartlancertp
Bart
I am building two racks, each with three 35W COBs and dimmable drivers.
I tried out one 55W Autocob in my 5' tall room, and it was too strong and bleached the top leaves of my plants. I spoke with @BigSm0 at Autocob.net, and he suggested 35W COBS, so I'm giving it a shot with his helpful guidance. The two racks of 3 COBS will come in at under $250 each, cheaper than the LED panel I was looking at, and more versatile.
My room is in an unheated area. It is 4'x4'x5". In cold months I will still be using my 600W HPS for heat, which means I will need to dim my COBs for lux and heating reasons. My HPS has 25/50/100% settings, so with dimmable HPS and COBs I can play with the two to control both heat and light intensity. In summer, I was often going over 100F in the summer, this should help with that issue. I am excited about the possibilities this configuration will lead to.
I originally was going to do one rack, then realized two will give me more flexibility. Each rack will have it's own dimmable driver. @BigSm0 spec'd out the drivers for me, and sold me the six 35W partial COBs (cobshop.net). The partial COBs have Citizen version6 1812 3500k 90cri. Today I attached the COBs to aluminum L brackets. I cut the L brackets with my reciprocating saw with a metal blade (took 6 seconds to cut two at a time). I attached the COBs with 3/8" long 10-32 round head machine bolts and lock washers. These bolts fit perfectly (fyi - had trouble with longer ones). Originally I had planned to put a strip of L bracket on the ends, but they seem so sturdy I decided to skip it. So I just cut the L brackets and screwed the COBs on---very easy.
I am waiting for the MEAN WELL HLG-120H-48A drivers that were spec'd out for me, then I'll post the final pics. (Amazon product ASIN B00DEDANWU ).
I tried out one 55W Autocob in my 5' tall room, and it was too strong and bleached the top leaves of my plants. I spoke with @BigSm0 at Autocob.net, and he suggested 35W COBS, so I'm giving it a shot with his helpful guidance. The two racks of 3 COBS will come in at under $250 each, cheaper than the LED panel I was looking at, and more versatile.
My room is in an unheated area. It is 4'x4'x5". In cold months I will still be using my 600W HPS for heat, which means I will need to dim my COBs for lux and heating reasons. My HPS has 25/50/100% settings, so with dimmable HPS and COBs I can play with the two to control both heat and light intensity. In summer, I was often going over 100F in the summer, this should help with that issue. I am excited about the possibilities this configuration will lead to.
I originally was going to do one rack, then realized two will give me more flexibility. Each rack will have it's own dimmable driver. @BigSm0 spec'd out the drivers for me, and sold me the six 35W partial COBs (cobshop.net). The partial COBs have Citizen version6 1812 3500k 90cri. Today I attached the COBs to aluminum L brackets. I cut the L brackets with my reciprocating saw with a metal blade (took 6 seconds to cut two at a time). I attached the COBs with 3/8" long 10-32 round head machine bolts and lock washers. These bolts fit perfectly (fyi - had trouble with longer ones). Originally I had planned to put a strip of L bracket on the ends, but they seem so sturdy I decided to skip it. So I just cut the L brackets and screwed the COBs on---very easy.
I am waiting for the MEAN WELL HLG-120H-48A drivers that were spec'd out for me, then I'll post the final pics. (Amazon product ASIN B00DEDANWU ).
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now I know my next project 
