DIY 150w led grow light bar

I'm finally building my own 150w led bar finally. i wanted to save up enough so i could get top quality items. this light wont be finished completely for a while but this week i'll have it running to show you guys. it'll be around 4 weeks till i actually get to use it in the flowering stage (my veg room isnt that big and my bigger tent is filled up with finishing product).

for the cobs:
BXRC-35E4000-F-23 vero 18, 4k lumens, 2700k and 80 cri. (3) $37.50


BXRC-50E4000-F-24 vero 18, 4k lumens, 5000k and 80 cri. (2) $24.25

from digikey.com

Drivers:
95-190 Volt 1.05 Amp 199.5 Watt Enclosed Switching LED Power Supply - IP67 & Constant Current Adjustable (1)

its a meanwell driver 94% efficiency.

$60 from jameco.com


Heatsink:




4.600" Wide Extruded Aluminum Heatsink 30" Length


$84.60

this heatsink is serrated. from heatsinkusa.com


Additional tools/accessories.


Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - 3.5 grams

$7.75 (1)
Gold Kapton Tape Polyimide High Temp 1/4" (6mm) x 36yds

$7.40 (1)

Cooler Master Sleeve Bearing 120mm Silent Fan for Computer Cases, CPU Coolers, and Radiators (Value 4-Pack)
$13.84

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VM28NU4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1RockBirds New DC 12V 1A Switching Power Supply Adapter For 100V- 240V AC 50/60Hz Black (2PCS)

$9.99
14 gauge wire 10 yards

$2.37


i'm getting the rest of the items in the mail tomorrow, i hope 3 of the items should of been here friday but got delayed for some odd reason, so i wont show any pictures until tomorrow after i get off work.



this is my second diy led light, the first i have is a vero 29 3k running by itself. just to see how leds work since i have no knowledge of building anything with lights.



the heatsink is probably going to be an overkill with the fans blowing on it and it being serrated decreases the c/w. i could possibly get away with no fans but i rather be safe than sorry and its not like its adding much wattage.


right now the total pull at the wall should be around 175w with 150w being from the cobs themselves. i dont have a meter but am getting one hopefully when i save up again.



everyone is running cree but i'm not everyone and i love to see what i could do with the vero series. ( its pretty much intel vs amd in my book for cpus ) i haven't stumbled upon anyone using the veros except bueno in his new grow light but they are accompanied by reds.



later i want to do a side by side comparison of Xlamp 3050 vs vero 18. i know the 3050 is a little bit more powerful but i'll be running them on identical setups including driver, heatsink, fans and cables with of course clones.



i chose the vero not just because its cheaper but because they're actually better at L/W ( lumen per watt ) at least by what the datasheets confirm. like i said i am not a pro at anything to deal with electricity or leds. also chose 2700k for the orange, red and far red spectrum and 5000k for the blues and greens.


well, i'm off till tomorrow or the next day ( depending if i get the light working on the first try ) and i'll be uploading the pictures then and hopefully some harvest results by end of december!

well, i realize i either A: suck at soldering or B: my soldering gun is not strong enough. i'm considering B because of it only being 30w soldering gun and the vero 18 does have a pretty big heatsink for a LED or i shouldnt of put the leds on the heatsink before i soldered them. anyway i just ordered my pico-ezmate molex connectors so i'm going to have to wait on them to get here. should only take a couple of days.

shouldnt of put the leds on the heatsink before i soldered them

thats what i thought, haha, well like i said the vero series has a connector so i just bought 5 of them. i thought they did come with them since the feature said connector included but i guess it meant just on the led itself.

finally got my last pieces in today.

idk if this will work. lol

the 2700k cob vero 18

the 5000k cob

meanwell driver, should drive all 5 cobs easily.

hooked the fans up to a 12v 1 amp charger i found.

the serrated heatsink

laying everything out before i put it together, i wanted the airflow to be pushed towards the center in which will cool down the driver effectively. i just hope the fans push enough pressure or they will probably burn out soon. fans aare veeerrryyy quiet, cant hear them from a foot away.

put everything together and capped the ends off. as far as i got today, will upload everything else tomorrow.

kapton tape and i love that the vero has quick connectors like this.

soldering isnt my strong suit but i did it after many failed attempts. i think its because of the solder i used was lead free and the solder kept beading off my iron.

wired them in series

it LIVES! had to stand 15ft away to get a good picture. kept blinding my phone.

now i'm waiting on my 120mm fan filters. its pretty dusty in the room after a while so this should cut down on the maintenance hopefully and keep the ducts to the heatsink clean.

if you want to follow this lights performance in flowering go here: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=317102