Hey guys, I've recently been researching and upgrading the entire lighting system for my garden.
For this specific project I bought two non-fully functional Mars Hydro 1200s for dirt cheap. In the picture it showed around 1/2 to 2/3 of the lights working but, worst case scenario, I figured they would be worth the cost just for their metal cases.
They arrived today and I took them apart. Looks like they were manufactured in 2014 and this model has no power switches at all, only a power in and power out plug. I pulled out the multi-meter and as luck would have it, all of the power supplies tested just fine! So the problem with a good portion of the LEDs not getting power is likely that some just got burned out. None of the power supplies have any sort of label on them but with a bit of trial and error, looks like there are 9 total 700ma constant current supplies in there, 4 of which have a second 12v lead for the fans. The fans say they are 12v 0.24a. The power supplies work with 1-3 36v cobs on there (with 3, I think it caps the voltage on the supply and can't provide full current, it was closer to 600ma with this setup?) so it seems capable of a 36v up to around 90-100v
Now, options for new LEDs to put in there!
My tentative plan is to use this 1200w case in the middle of a 4'x4' area, upgraded with 4 cobs (undecided on which, is Cree the best 700ma choice?), maybe some additional lights in there like reds or blues. but that will only use a handful of those supplies, and there are 9 in there!
With the extras I was considering some of those crazy efficient strip lights (like quantum boards but strips), 4 x 2' strips in a 2'(ish) square around the light, and another 4 x 4' strips to make a second, larger square.
I'll snap some pics and maybe draw out the plan soon. Any input/tips/advice would be appreciated!
For this specific project I bought two non-fully functional Mars Hydro 1200s for dirt cheap. In the picture it showed around 1/2 to 2/3 of the lights working but, worst case scenario, I figured they would be worth the cost just for their metal cases.
They arrived today and I took them apart. Looks like they were manufactured in 2014 and this model has no power switches at all, only a power in and power out plug. I pulled out the multi-meter and as luck would have it, all of the power supplies tested just fine! So the problem with a good portion of the LEDs not getting power is likely that some just got burned out. None of the power supplies have any sort of label on them but with a bit of trial and error, looks like there are 9 total 700ma constant current supplies in there, 4 of which have a second 12v lead for the fans. The fans say they are 12v 0.24a. The power supplies work with 1-3 36v cobs on there (with 3, I think it caps the voltage on the supply and can't provide full current, it was closer to 600ma with this setup?) so it seems capable of a 36v up to around 90-100v
Now, options for new LEDs to put in there!
My tentative plan is to use this 1200w case in the middle of a 4'x4' area, upgraded with 4 cobs (undecided on which, is Cree the best 700ma choice?), maybe some additional lights in there like reds or blues. but that will only use a handful of those supplies, and there are 9 in there!
With the extras I was considering some of those crazy efficient strip lights (like quantum boards but strips), 4 x 2' strips in a 2'(ish) square around the light, and another 4 x 4' strips to make a second, larger square.
I'll snap some pics and maybe draw out the plan soon. Any input/tips/advice would be appreciated!
