Looking for a DIY LED Setup: How To Destructions.

[Me2]

Hiya all.
After doing some research, it seems its a good time to switch to the LED, at least for summers.
However, the $1400+ per light price point is beyond my ability...I need 4 too.
So, I am a DIY type of guy and looking for a way to reduce that cost somewhat and make them myself.
Anyone have links towards this end or can post up what they did that works?
Currently have 2 x 600 HPS and 2 x 315w.

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Welcome mate.

There’s some good strips builds around. I had a play building one but then won a light so didn’t bother with it.

Grab the strips and drivers online.
Aluminium extrusion from Bunnings make a light weight but sturdy frame and heat sink.

Single coil wire and wago wire splitters are easy enough to find.

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Experts in LED Lighting Components & Design - Cutter Electronics

Cutter Electronics is a specialist supplier of Full Spectrum LED Lighting Components & Kits with expertise in the application of Power LEDs

www.cutter.com.au

 

[Aye Shroomer]

Post in thread 'Aye’s 2nd run'
https://www.theserratededge.com/forum/threads/aye’s-2nd-run.713/post-53660

This was my attempt

 

[Kee Mao]

@weledlight

 

[Hudo]

Cutter have quantum style boards they call 404 in a range of colours and price from 65 to 150
I just hacked to Chinese lights with cutter boards and built one from scratch using 6mm plate. I still need to upgrade my other 600 hps so not sure to buy or make another couple. What I have found is you can get heatsink off alibaba the quote I got was 5 heatsink for single quantum board 195AUD posted. They are predrilled for kingbrite boards but with the cutter you can just mount with th double sided heatsink tape they have or drill new holes and use self tapper. For the drivers I used 240w HLG drivers I got off high bay shed cob lights I got for 20 bucks each. Because the drivers are 36V I used one for each board. They have hanging rings on the drivers so you can use those to hang the driver off. The driver will be the most expensive component of the build so by repurposing the drivers the light cost me 180 bucks all up for a light that's retailed off cutter for around 750

 

[weledlight]

Cutter have quantum style boards they call 404 in a range of colours and price from 65 to 150
I just hacked to Chinese lights with cutter boards and built one from scratch using 6mm plate. I still need to upgrade my other 600 hps so not sure to buy or make another couple. What I have found is you can get heatsink off alibaba the quote I got was 5 heatsink for single quantum board 195AUD posted. They are predrilled for kingbrite boards but with the cutter you can just mount with th double sided heatsink tape they have or drill new holes and use self tapper. For the drivers I used 240w HLG drivers I got off high bay shed cob lights I got for 20 bucks each. Because the drivers are 36V I used one for each board. They have hanging rings on the drivers so you can use those to hang the driver off. The driver will be the most expensive component of the build so by repurposing the drivers the light cost me 180 bucks all up for a light that's retailed off cutter for around 750

Nice work, good use of resources
Cheers

 

[R3za92]

https://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Also don’t know what $1400 lights your looking at but there are much cheaper options available. Also Make sure you understand the differences in growing with led vs hps especially in winter.

Personnlly I like the panels from gla who do pre built lights or diy kits depending on what you want to spend.

Grow Lights Australia - Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

True Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights. Made in Australia with UV and Far Red. ePAR. Proven Yields, Quality and Efficiency. Price $ Per Watt.

growlightsaustralia.com

 

[Hudo]

Nice work, good use of resources
Cheers

It's the only way I can a light that can slightly compare to the kits you sell without getting divorced lol though somtimes I way up my options

 

[weledlight]

https://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Also don’t know what $1400 lights your looking at but there are much cheaper options available. Also Make sure you understand the differences in growing with led vs hps especially in winter.

Personnlly I like the panels from gla who do pre built lights or diy kits depending on what you want to spend.

Grow Lights Australia - Full Spectrum LED Grow Light

True Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights. Made in Australia with UV and Far Red. ePAR. Proven Yields, Quality and Efficiency. Price $ Per Watt.

growlightsaustralia.com

I would like to advise as a provider of information. Our 404 boards have 3 generations the first is standard white options with deep red or other 3535 colours

Gen 2 with current limited options to be able to add UVA etc

and our GEN 3 product yet to be release with the new Cree XEG so we can offer 17 colours of mono to the base white for a huge spectrum choice
Cheers

 

[Hudo]

I would like to advise as a provider of information. Our 404 boards have 3 generations the first is standard white options with deep red or other 3535 colours

Gen 2 with current limited options to be able to add UVA etc
View attachment 26537
and our GEN 3 product yet to be release with the new Cree XEG so we can offer 17 colours of mono to the base white for a huge spectrum choice
Cheers

Nice will they all still be 24V ?

 

[weledlight]

Nice will they all still be 24V ?

yes they will
cheers

 

[R3za92]

I would like to advise as a provider of information. Our 404 boards have 3 generations the first is standard white options with deep red or other 3535 colours

Gen 2 with current limited options to be able to add UVA etc
View attachment 26537
and our GEN 3 product yet to be release with the new Cree XEG so we can offer 17 colours of mono to the base white for a huge spectrum choice
Cheers

Cool story. I didn’t ask and prefer to support an Australian manufacture

Send me a link to those boards but and I’ll have a peek and form and opinion on them, they’d have to be cheap but to get me to switch Especially with gla looking. At building strips with the same spectrum as their 420 boards

 

[Hudo]

Cool story. I didn’t ask and prefer to support an Australian manufacture

Send me a link to those boards but and I’ll have a peek and form and opinion on them, they’d have to be cheap but to get me to switch Especially with gla looking. At building strips with the same spectrum as their 420 boards

Here we go....Cutter makes the boards in Melbourne

 

[R3za92]

Here we go....Cutter makes the boards in Melbourne

Yeah I realised who they where after I posted. Didn’t realise it was cutter with them having the grammar of a non English speaker using google translate.

Their lights look ok but I wish they’d go a bigger footprint pcb like the other manufactures are or actually fix their website so it doesn’t look like a 13yo’s tech studies project from the mid 2000’s. It’s pretty hard to navigate and looks like ass on mobile.

 

[Hudo]

Yeah I realised who they where after I posted. Didn’t realise it was cutter with them having the grammar of a non English speaker using google translate.

Their lights look ok but I wish they’d go a bigger footprint pcb like the other manufactures are or actually fix their website so it doesn’t look like a 13yo’s tech studies project from the mid 2000’s. It’s pretty hard to navigate and looks like ass on mobile.

I preffere more smaller boards than a couple big ones,better spread thats just what I like though not speculating it's better I'm not interested in websites either cutter just had what would work for me Australian Growlights didn't. I needed boards that were in the 23-36 v working range. I'm also into repurposing stuff 90% of the lights components are scavenged from other fucked lights lights . The Frankenstein light was made from some scrap 6mm and drivers came from a heap of highbays I got a about 4 years ago for 20 bucks each to get the heatsink's off them for my cxb 3590 cobs then I used to run 4 cobs off 1 driver in parallel to give them 60w each.so know I have 12 drivers that can drive the 24V cutter boards at between 96 -150 . All the other boards I've found from other retailers are usually 48V and above so I can't use the drivers. These board rip for the price I tested one last night and it was punching out over 1200 par @18 inches below and the 600 hps was pumping out around 1180 to 1200 at 20 inches (diamond reflector there shit) so now I have a more even spread

 

[R3za92]

I preffere more smaller boards than a couple big ones,better spread thats just what I like though not speculating it's better I'm not interested in websites either cutter just had what would work for me Australian Growlights didn't. I needed boards that were in the 23-36 v working range. I'm also into repurposing stuff 90% of the lights components are scavenged from other fucked lights lights . The Frankenstein light was made from some scrap 6mm and drivers came from a heap of highbays I got a about 4 years ago for 20 bucks each to get the heatsink's off them for my cxb 3590 cobs then I used to run 4 cobs off 1 driver in parallel to give them 60w each.so know I have 12 drivers that can drive the 24V cutter boards at between 96 -150 . All the other boards I've found from other retailers are usually 48V and above so I can't use the drivers. These board rip for the price I tested one last night and it was punching out over 1200 par @18 inches below and the 600 hps was pumping out around 1180 to 1200 at 20 inches (diamond reflector there shit) so now I have a more even spread

Agrees with reusing what you’ve got but if I’m going that far as to spread the boards out od just go strips which is even easier to get the voltage you want

The idea of bigger boards is to spread the diodes out more instead of cramming more in a smaller area which give better thermals which leads to more efficiency from the selected diodes.

 

[Hudo]

I

Agrees with reusing what you’ve got but if I’m going that far as to spread the boards out od just go strips which is even easier to get the voltage you want

The idea of bigger boards is to spread the diodes out more instead of cramming more in a smaller area which give better thermals which leads to more efficiency from the selected diodes

Yeah I'm aware of the strips but I salvaged 2 kingbrite LED's so the build on them 2 was about 130 each so that's a 480 w Led for around $260 and the Frankenstein was 130 ish (plus postage) so you may as well say a 720 watt HLG style light for 390 bucks the strips alone would of cost over 600( to get enough to add up to that amount of watts then I'd have to go buy all the c channel or angle to make it I used the shit I had laying around from other jobs and had a ball putting them together some blokes like to build shit others like to sit at a desk and I've got a 65 falcon ute that needs the money more than my growroom

 

[Hudo]

The Frankenstein built out of bits of shit

 

[Sedge]

Yeah I can see Frankenstein ,lol
lights look good too.