You have to bear with me because my knowledge on diy cob lighting is almost nil. 3 days ago I didn't even know what cob meant. However I think I caught the bug and probably will be building my own system. I've been pouring over everything I can find-here on afn, utube, riu, anywhere I can think of. I've come to the conclusion that this is something I can do. Right now to keep things simple I'm considering one of the Mau kits from Cutters but that could easily change. My question involves the size of my grow space. I grow in a closet that measures 28"x60". Would one long panel just short of 5 feet work in there and if so how many cob's would I need to light it up properly? I was thinking 4 or 5. I typically only grow 3 plants at a time but have done 4. Thanks in advance. Pipes
Lighting Question
- Thread starter Loud Pipes
- Start date
Questions that need to be asked: Where are you located in this planet and what's your budget?
The most straightforward thing would be 3 CXM-32-40-70-54(102€) on a HLG-320H-C1750(90€). Mount the cobs to some cpu heatsinks and hang those individually.
So for about 250€ you can build yourself a little rig that puts out light equivalent to half the sun's intensity on a clear day.
Now that's the best bang/buck ratio with focus on functionality.
If you want to get fancier you can add a second smaller driver and add some discreet chips in the 650 to 690nm range for the flowering stages. Of course if you wanted to make that all blend in nicely you'd need some framing(either aluminium extrusions or custom laser-cut frames).
You can get quite fancy with things so some more parameters would be nice.
The most straightforward thing would be 3 CXM-32-40-70-54(102€) on a HLG-320H-C1750(90€). Mount the cobs to some cpu heatsinks and hang those individually.
So for about 250€ you can build yourself a little rig that puts out light equivalent to half the sun's intensity on a clear day.
Now that's the best bang/buck ratio with focus on functionality.
If you want to get fancier you can add a second smaller driver and add some discreet chips in the 650 to 690nm range for the flowering stages. Of course if you wanted to make that all blend in nicely you'd need some framing(either aluminium extrusions or custom laser-cut frames).
You can get quite fancy with things so some more parameters would be nice.
Welcome to DIY. It is an intimidating section that's for sure but I can tell you the most rewarding.
Being a little wider 28" I would consider going with 5 on the overall length. cutter is a great option, cobkits and northern grow lights also have a good selection of light parts available. It really is very simple when you break it down.
Being a little wider 28" I would consider going with 5 on the overall length. cutter is a great option, cobkits and northern grow lights also have a good selection of light parts available. It really is very simple when you break it down.
I think cutter is still around 100$ for 50 watts. The Cree cob prices are still stupid expensive.
Thanks for the quick replies! I really appreciate it. I do have 2 retired Mars 11 400 panels and 2 more that I assume will retire themselves shortly so if I want I could pull parts off of them but from my experience I think the quality of their parts is suspect. I did recently order a Platinum panel-wish I wouldn't have done that-and tracking info says it will be here tomorrow so I don't have to jump into this build. I'm just going to sit back for a while and read and learn all I can for a while.
I live in the US and I realize Cutter is in AUS so shipping would be a concern. My budget isn't too restrictive. I want this build to be made up of known quality components. Thanks for your reply and interest. Pipes
I'm beginning to see that. Just the couple of days that I've been looking this a lot of the mystery for me is gone and a lot of my questions have been answered thanks to sites like this
This place is loaded with good info. Most of what you see here is within the past few months too so it's up to date. Converting panels is a good way to get your feet wet. It's fun to upgrade them and the light output doubles but the best way to go is to build from scratch. The mhydro lights use the cheapest leds, drivers, heatsinks and even fans so building from scratch is really the best way to go if you aren't on a strict budget.
Enjoy your research. It really is a great time, just try to be more Excited instead of impatient.
