Lighting Building my 1st light

[brian247]

Hey whats up guys, been reading up on these forums for a little while and finally decided I am up for the job of taking on a little project. I was thinking of building a light for a 4x4 space and I am looking for the most economical but still efficient; I know I could pull off running possibly 4 cobs but I am willing to even go up to 6 so I can run cooler and more efficient. I don't think I want to go with cree leds just because the price is not really what I am looking to invest if I go the route of more cobs. Please any input would be helpful. I am currently drawing up a blueprint of how to mount the lights but I am going to have to take a break to blaze up before I get it upload haha:smoking:

 

[brian247]

Here is a rough draft of what I am most likely looking to be building for maximum footprint. Let me know if you guys have a better layout in mind, I'm going to try to find which cobs and driver to pair along with but I'm having trouble finding cobs to even compair tbh, even if you don't feel answering any questions but you have helpful links please send them im willing to spend the time reading.

 

[wwwillie]

Hey now!
A worthy project for sure!
Citizen COBs are a fine choice. Do you have a budget yet? Meanwell are the driver of choice for most of us. It is what I use. Heatsinks, Mechatronix is a great brand of for those.
Kinda crazy today but I'll stop by later to see what your up to.
Peace
Oh and Welcome here!! Happy Growing!!

 

[Hippy_BiotabsF70]

Agree with @wwwillie above. Get on eBay and get some citizen 1212s. Cheap as chips and proven many times over on here. Also mechatronix heatsinks are far better than cooliance ones imo. Much heavier duty/stronger and more convenient as they are pre-drilled for most cob holders and for mounting to a frame. A little more expensive yes, but well worth it imo. I have used both types a few times.

In a 4x4 I would say 250w / 5 cobs minimum, but I would be tempted to make a 300w / 6 cob light and use a meanwell 320 dimmable driver. I believe with 4 or 5 cobs in a 4x4 you will start to loose the overlapping effect of multiple cobs, as you will be at the limit of each cob's effective footprint. Hope that makes sense!

My advice would be don't over think it. It's way easier than you probably think to build cobs, so just go ahead and do it. I had never built anything other than joints really, and found it very easy to build cobs once I'd got over my lack of confidence. Get the right parts and you won't even have to solder anything.

Feel free to ask any questions as I'm happy to help if I can mate.

 

[Hippy_BiotabsF70]

Saying that it all depends how many plants you are going to run. If you're only doing 4 plants, you could get away with 4 x 50w cobs in a 4x4 imo.

 

[iampepe]

Here is a rough draft of what I am most likely looking to be building for maximum footprint. Let me know if you guys have a better layout in mind, I'm going to try to find which cobs and driver to pair along with but I'm having trouble finding cobs to even compair tbh, even if you don't feel answering any questions but you have helpful links please send them im willing to spend the time reading.

Check out my latest light, 300 watts, 4 citizen 1818 are rocking my 4 x 4. Link in sig
Latest grow is in my mephisto goodness thread, beautiful plants.

 

[Hippy_BiotabsF70]

Sorry I should say I am talking from a UK perspective. If I was USA based I would go for 1812s probably, but they are very expensive over here compared to 1212s.

 

[brian247]

Just woke up to see all the feedback, thanks guys. I am based in the US, I was definitly looking to get a meanwell driver since everyone has experience and they have a good track record. I was looking to spend under $200 for sure which doesn't seem hard to achieve. If i did do a 6 cob system with the availability to dim the lights, would the system be pulling less power overall or would it pull the same from the wall and just put less into the cobs ? Never have found a clear cut answer for that and it bothers me haha. I have heard good things about the 1812's, I have to go get some things done for the day buy I will be back on.

 

[wwwillie]

Just woke up to see all the feedback, thanks guys. I am based in the US, I was definitly looking to get a meanwell driver since everyone has experience and they have a good track record. I was looking to spend under $200 for sure which doesn't seem hard to achieve. If i did do a 6 cob system with the availability to dim the lights, would the system be pulling less power overall or would it pull the same from the wall and just put less into the cobs ? Never have found a clear cut answer for that and it bothers me haha. I have heard good things about the 1812's, I have to go get some things done for the day buy I will be back on.

I am fairly sure it draws less power. If it doesn't that energy has to go somewhere and the driver does not get hotter when you dim. I have a meter connected to my dimmable set-up. I'll dim and see what the meter says. That will determine the answer for sure.

 

[stonehead]

If you dim by the driver it will draw less at the wall. My 185-1400 goes from 70-180w with 4 boards in parallel