Building a Home Made LED

willyweed · Oct 21, 2012

tenthirty said:
Unless your talking the Gavita double ended 1000w unit,
my HML bests every HPS out there in both lumen and PPF per watt,
and the quality of light is much better suited to the action spectrum of the plant. Not to mention that the light is pretty much coherent.
The next model will be much more homogeneous and there won't be a big red spike at 660.

Devil's advocate.
On the down side we're sport'in $2.50 per watt.
That would be $2,500 for 1000 watts,
and you have to build the things.

But................
So far the study is showing that I will be able to replace the 1k HPS with
about 600w of led, because of the action spectrum match and the more even distribution of light.
I already know the quality is better (everyone raves).

Lets say, right now, today, The system produces roughly .5-.7g watt every 2 months
on a total of 1k mixed lighting and it does this consistently.
We're gonna find out if we can maintain or best this figure over time and see if less than 600 watts of led can do the same thing.
There is one game changer in the work, the 315w agro bulb. Which, if it falls into my lap, I will replace the 600w HPS with it, post haste.
Just the whole thing of the plasma arc, just blasting out photons, is kinda romantic, like the sun. Besides, the spectrum is really good, or should be anyway.

Pic request

First group is day 13 after flip. They were mercilessly sog'd yesterday.
I was too busy to do it over a few days, so we're talk'in 5 or 6 big branches per plant were removed.
They sure do look awful happy for just hav'in the shit trimmed out of them.

View attachment 187638 View attachment 187635 View attachment 187636

Day 44 group

View attachment 187637

you say everybody raves about the quality .i have not heard this, maybe in the veg cycle but not in the flower cycle.i understand that you are trying to get 1000watt hps down to 600 watt led which is a fair challenge .if i am correct the led can only work between 66%-75% so to get 600 watts actual you will need 700 -850 watt led plus all of the cooling fans and are you taking into account the light infusion between the led and hps that you currently run good luck .i have read this post because it says growing with led but i did not figure out you were using hps as well .

rives · Oct 21, 2012

tenthirty said:
Considering I really like to make hash.
http://forum.grasscity.com/indoor-m...imum-resin-production-medical-cultivator.html

Comments???

Ya know, I can do a quick (2 month) testy on this.

Interesting article, particularly since I have a whole screen full of buds that look just like that right now. Like Vuk, I've always considered that to be bleaching, but I've been running my fixture even higher than normal (I was out of town), and came home to this. I've run this strain before, but not under my hybrid fixture, and only saw a couple of these. Obviously there is a strain-dependent component, because I've run this fixture at half of the distance before with no visible effects. They are pretty, though!

vukman · Oct 21, 2012

rives said:
They are pretty, though!

View Image

Very pretty indeed especially if you're going to go by what that article says.....you've got some major sticky trich.-infested buds there..........................you lucky dog you...... :biggrin:

Bet you feel like :dance013:

..........hehehe

rives · Oct 21, 2012

vukman said:
Very pretty indeed especially if you're going to go by what that article says.....you've got some major sticky trich.-infested buds there..........................you lucky dog you......

Bet you feel like..........hehehe

Yeah, well, that's true if the article is accurate! I'm a little more perplexed about how pervasive it is with this strain, yet nearly non-existent in other runs that I've made.

tenthirty · Oct 22, 2012

Reves, can you get a usb microscope shot of the tips?
What is the average distance between colas?

By the way, I just completed building version 2 of the HML.
9 XM-L NW and 9 XP-G WW.
It's drawing 88 watts and the heat sink is at 134.5f no airflow and 82.6f ambient.
88 watts it seems is a bit too much for the heat sink, though it will be fine with a little air flow.

rives · Oct 22, 2012

tenthirty said:
Reves, can you get a usb microscope shot of the tips?
What is the average distance between colas?

Maybe. I've been screwing around with it for the last hour and now the lights are out. The background is so white that it washes everything out and trying to hold the damn thing steady enough is a real trick. It's hard to brace off of a tent!

The screen is on two inch centers, so the bud centers range from that on up. That green lighter in the picture is 1" x 3" and is sitting on the screen.

tenthirty · Oct 22, 2012

I'll have to say Rives, your plants look almost perfect. The uniformity is almost astounding.
You my friend, are truly an artist when it comes to growing.

I'm still really curious about the hash tips though.

rives · Oct 22, 2012

Thank you. Actually, the back row got away from me a bit - I screwed up my right shoulder (rotator cuff) and there was no way that I could work the back of the screen in that tent with one arm.

I don't know what to make of the "hash tips" notion. It looks to me like it has just bleached the beejesus out of them, but it is pretty interesting how pronounced the cutoff point is between the white and the green - it just goes from one to the other with no bleed over.

hempfield · Oct 22, 2012

vukman said:
WOOOOOOOOT............the drivers are here!!

Total was $54 for the drivers but it's always the shipping cost that hurts..

3 small drivers were $8/ea--------45-65V out....630mA
2 large drivers were $15/ea-------80-130V out..630mA

They should suit the purpose.....

[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=39955&pictureid=956526&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

Where did you find those drivers ? Ebay ? What is the maximum power for the small/large ?

:tiphat:

repuk · Oct 22, 2012

rives said:
Thank you. Actually, the back row got away from me a bit - I screwed up my right shoulder (rotator cuff) and there was no way that I could work the back of the screen in that tent with one arm.

Ouch... I'm with you... one don't notice how involved are shoulders in every movement (even with no movement!) until you screw one up...

wish your rotator gets better!

I don't know what to make of the "hash tips" notion. It looks to me like it has just bleached the beejesus out of them, but it is pretty interesting how pronounced the cutoff point is between the white and the green - it just goes from one to the other with no bleed over.

I'm perplexed also. Some things in the article sound fishy to me (that 660 but not 680 thing, and 5W heat stressing the plant) and surely is strain (even cut) dependent.

what I'm very interested Rives is knowing yield results (in weight and flavor/potency) once you harvest, in comparison to previous runs.

I expect the LEDs to arrive today, maybe tomorrow, I will be assembling soon!

tenthirty, when you say everyone raves, what are the diferences they notice compared to crops not using the HML?

tenthirty · Oct 22, 2012

tenthirty, when you say everyone raves, what are the diferences they notice compared to crops not using the HML?

The HML first crop will finish in a few week. I was speaking about the Pro-Grows and leds in general.

The leds improved taste and frost. The HML plants do seem to be finishing frostier than the Pro-Grows though.... so far.

rives · Oct 23, 2012

Damn it's a pain to use this scope! Here's about the best shot that I got.

medmaker420 · Oct 23, 2012

great shots and conversation everyone!

it looks like flowering led shots will be plentiful before the new year woohoo

tenthirty · Oct 23, 2012

Wow!!! That is positively encrusted!
Put that one in the mail and send it to me.

I wonder if that is repeatable??
Can we encourage the whole plant to do that?

hempfield · Oct 23, 2012

So this is mostly resin and no leaf/stem/flower? Indeed, if we could stimulate the plants to produce only that kind of 'hash tips' all the growers will switch to micro-grows

I'm very curios about the potency of that tip. Does it ripen deep inside or just on the 'crust' ? :chin:

repuk · Oct 23, 2012

LEDs and drivers finally arrived!!! Will try to build the LED fixtures today!

hempfield · Oct 23, 2012

repuk said:
LEDs and drivers finally arrived!!! Will try to build the LED fixtures today!

:yay: I will keep my eyes on you mister ! :peek:

repuk · Oct 23, 2012

Don't expect the same level of perfectionism and craftmanship of you guys! You set very high standards!

vukman · Oct 23, 2012

repuk said:
LEDs and drivers finally arrived!!! Will try to build the LED fixtures today!

WHOOOOOOOOOOO WHEEEEEEEEEEEE.........WELL ALRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!

You go man,, you go!!

Congratz and let us know every step of the way..

I've got my chips, drivers, tweezers and wire strippers.

Got a question though folks...

Should I invest in an SMD soldering station or just get a soldering 'gun'? I'm leaning towards the station with hot air and digital read outs of the temps.
Seen them run from $150-up.........

Also, which gauge of wire should I be running to connect the led's?
I've looked through everything, done the math..etc..etc..

Still always boils down to experience rather than what the figures tell ya. Could go anywhere from 18awg to 22awg. Any recommendations and if so,,, why please.

I plan on running around 100-120 led's on a 12" x 24" sheet of Al. in a rectangular pattern. I'll have a mock up done soon and will show it then for approval..

Thank you all

<add edit>..........repuk.. I hear ya man.. If I get mine looking half as good as Hempfield there, I'll be one happy mofo......

rives · Oct 23, 2012

vukman said:
Should I invest in an SMD soldering station or just get a soldering 'gun'? I'm leaning towards the station with hot air and digital read outs of the temps.
Seen them run from $150-up.........

Also, which gauge of wire should I be running to connect the led's?
I've looked through everything, done the math..etc..etc..

Still always boils down to experience rather than what the figures tell ya. Could go anywhere from 18awg to 22awg. Any recommendations and if so,,, why please.

If you are trying to mount leds onto MCPCBs, I found an induction hot plate and the "interface" disc that they sell for using non-conductive cookware on it to be both fast and simple. Be sure and tin the power connection point on the stars at the same time, it greatly aids things later on.

22 gauge should be fine for what you are doing. How many leds are going to be in each circuit and what is the rough total length of the interconnect wiring? If I remember correctly, I used 22 gauge for the point-to-point connections and 18 gauge for the jumpers between the drivers and the first and last mcpcb connections.

You will want a good isolated-tip soldering iron for making the wiring connections. Many cheap irons and guns take one lead from the 120v circuit to one side of the element and transform the other - it's a great way to zorch low-voltage components.

Building a Home Made LED

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