DIY leds Discussion Thread for all your how tos and doubts and anything related
- Thread starter Thread starter Rocket Soul
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Sorry I've been away for awhile, I just started a new job. Checking this thread gives me lots to think about!
The conversation about heat has me thinking about the difference between IR and ambient temperature. If the plant sees these as equivalent them it becomes much easier and potentially more efficient to just run the space warmer.
If IR is preferable, then why does the plant do so well beneath the top layer of leaves? That's why I question whether the plant sees these differently.
As LED gets more efficient, we need to think carefully about the plant's need for non PAR energy to drive transpiration. I suspect that's why some have found success going "backwards" to HID lighting.
This might not matter so much in small tent grows but the moment we introduce scale to the grow, this has to be on point.
The conversation about heat has me thinking about the difference between IR and ambient temperature. If the plant sees these as equivalent them it becomes much easier and potentially more efficient to just run the space warmer.
If IR is preferable, then why does the plant do so well beneath the top layer of leaves? That's why I question whether the plant sees these differently.
As LED gets more efficient, we need to think carefully about the plant's need for non PAR energy to drive transpiration. I suspect that's why some have found success going "backwards" to HID lighting.
This might not matter so much in small tent grows but the moment we introduce scale to the grow, this has to be on point.
Are we building a grow room or a bomb shelter? LMAO
Might as well build both together, right? A bomb grow shelter. That way if SHTF, you'll have a good supply to last while you're down there..uhh, on vacation. Nuclear apocalypse? Psh! More like smoke a lot of weed-ocalypse!
jonesfam7715
Well-known member
Got some room cleared up so gonna finish this build, using aluminum angle bar heatsinking for the osram osconiq 4000k 90cri strips there are 72 diodes per 560mm strip which is less than the 88 diodes per h-influx 560mm single row strips. But they are thinner which evens it out a little, composite backing like eb strips, I would rather see aluminum, oh well. 32 xpg3 photo reds, 32 xpg3 2700k 90cri, 8 xpg3 royal blue, 4 xpe2 far red, 4 osram 850nm IR , 4 osram 940nm.
I'm gonna squeeze 4 more 4 up xpe2 far red gotta put em together first. I soldered a bunch of photo reds on old copper pcbs, breaking into the stash I have a lot more than I realized.
I'm gonna squeeze 4 more 4 up xpe2 far red gotta put em together first. I soldered a bunch of photo reds on old copper pcbs, breaking into the stash I have a lot more than I realized.
Somebody making techno? The only use i ever found for envelope generator is for the kick to go snap and boom.
A friend of mine that had a trimming side gig actually went to a trim in a grow like that: 15m cargo lift down to the growspace. Never found out the story about it i doubt that it was purpose built for grow.
Would love to see led IR morphology
Aristoned
Well-known member
Plant metabolism, using photo-radiant heat will achieve adequate LST faster and at a lower cost than convection heating. Now, which temperature is going to be adequate?
That depends, indica or sativa?
Indica strains will be more acclimated to a Mediterranean climate while the sativa genetics will be better acclimated to tropical. LED rooms run at higher temperatures due to the lack of photo-radiant heat, something HID has no problem doing. Now, IR diodes can be used to supplement specific wavelengths but they will never heat the plant the was a tungsten arc will.
I’ve found 300W works well in winter, 150W works well in spring/autumn. Summertime? Probably none, which is a good time for LED IR.. unless you have decent diodes to begin with.
I don’t think these diodes need supplementation, at all.
All kidding aside, I see this as a potential market; these people tend to be both paranoid and wealthy!
A properly run controlled environment grow would not care about the seasons because its environment is fully independent. But I see your point.
Abandoned missile silos abound in the West; could be that or an old command center.
Aristoned
Well-known member
If you already have heat then adding IR from a tungsten arc will not benefit your situation.
If the ambient temperature is high enough for optimal leaf surface temperature (LST) at the given plant life cycle (PLC) then the best option would be diode supplementation for IR.
I’ve found it is much less expensive to deliberately heat an entire home for a couple of tents instead of heating the tents directly. I had the option of using a heater from ACI but the IR tungsten arcs are less expensive, easier to manage and I get additional spectrum. The best part is being able to select a temperature within 1°.
Aristoned
Well-known member
No. From what i gather fron when i looked at its datasheet and blux blurb its home decoration; it is made to sit in the edge between ceiling and wall and has low diode count. Not for growing.
The one Blux that ive liked the most is their Vesta strips: double channel, 5000k/ 2700k both in 90cri (though i think theres some different versions of the gen 3, thrive, 80cri and more). Pretty cool for a full cycle build. Strips where 10$ each or even less at big buys from my local distributor before covid price hikes. My favorite build i ever made was with these though gen1 has shitty efficiency. I have to post that build some time.
Aristoned
Well-known member
I’m preparing to flower the Blueberry and Haze around the same time, I have my COB’s that are doing amazing work, the EB3 Slim 3000k 80 CRI are most likely going to be side-lighting for the Haze. I’m looking to build another fixture for a luminaire that can flower the Blueberry with similar results to the 3000k80CRI/2700k97CRI COB’s since they are producing a very nice flower.
Due to a short ceiling I’m leaning towards more strips instead of getting more heatsinks for another COB build. I saw the EB Edge on the Blux website and I was intrigued to see what the performance would be. I calculated I could get similar efficiency to the EB3 Slim’s if I under-drive them, I also think I may be able to make them “tunable”.
Protip: using Gen 7’s and Gen 8’s causes the 8’s to run at a slightly higher voltage.
Sounds like a plan. Edge: i think its mostly about form factor, would be the same diodes as corresponding EB gen.
Re gen7/8: are you talking about cobs, right? Generally when they step up a gen theres an efficiency increase but its usually not down to much output increase; its normally down to lowering the voltage with new components. If you look at osrams old reds vrs the newer ones output is very similar but dropping voltage down from 2 @350mA to 1.8V@700; enough to push efficiency from around 65 to 80ish % even if output is more or less similar.
Aristoned
Well-known member
Yep, form factor is the attractor.
Yep, pushing the 8’s with 7 voltages gets a bit more light at the cost of efficiency. Which really isn’t an issue for me coming from HID, running the best diodes really hard doesn’t phase me a bit.
What I’m looking for is a low clearance so I won’t worry about topping-out in these tents. I don’t have an 8’ ceiling like I did before. If I can get enough diodes under-driving I should be able to manage. These fixtures are either 1/2” or 3/4” thick and push out 240W already with the Slim’s. I’m also looking for a dual-panel setup for a 2x4 so I can have two plants at different life-cycles so I can adjust the height.
I also finished building a thermoelectric bud drier, it works so well I’m building a second one.
Im not entirely sure what your situation is or if i understand you correctly.
Youer mixing gen7 and gen 8 vero cobs?
Youre seeing higher light intensity coming out of the gen8s?
If yes to both this would be indicative of current hogging in the lower voltage gen8 cobs. Its actually not more light, its just that they are running on slightly higher current than the gen7s, if i understood my highschool electronics correctly. The extra light out of the low voltage cobs comes on the cost of less current (and consequently less light) out of the higher voltage cobs.Maybe a sparky could confirm to me as im not 100% if the cobs would work equivalent as resistors in ohms law.
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