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Quantum Board build

M

Mrblu

New member
Lighting needs: 2x2x4 for mothers, 2x4x6 for veg, 4x4 for flower.

The idea so for: hlg 4000k 65w or 100w qb v2 for mothers. 1) Qb288 v2 4000k for veg. 2) 2 x Qb288 v2 r spec.

I have a pretty good understanding of how to put it together once I have all the pieces, just not positive about which pieces. I want to order and assemble vs buying a full kit from hlg. The ultimate goal is quantum boards all around. Wondering if the 4000k models are truly better for veg or go with the 3000K / rspec for everything? In either case do I need a 65w or 100w setup to effectively light a 2x2x4 for mothers ? One Qb288 is rated for a 3x3 veg so 2x4 should work , correct? Drivers...... So for the dual rspec board set looks like the - mean well hlg-240H-c2100A would be the best, most straight forward option? As for the mother driver and veg driver - suggestions please.

All that being said I feel I have a good base to understand advice from those who comprehend what I am attempting to accomplish. If some one is capable of making a parts list for me to research that would be phenomenal. Any help is appreciated.

Help me Obi-Wan your my only hope
 
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The HLG-65w 4K will do well in a 2x2 for mother plants, it’s basically a QB-120 prewired with its own driver. I suggest getting this dimmer along with it.

LPD LED Dimmer, DC Jack 5-24V, 6A Max, Strip Light Mini Dial Inline Switch Dimmer,SMD 5050 3528 2835 5630 LED Strip LED Tape LED Ribbon LED Rope LED String Light https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NRKNJH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nr5lEbQVRBETD

For your veg tent I think you’ll get better value and light spread doing a 4 board QB-120 3500k build using the same 240h-c2100 driver. This combination won’t require a heat sink whereas the 2 QB-288’s will need a heatsink if driven over 50 watts. The 120’s will give you better coverage, be slightly more efficient, and 4 of them are cheaper than 2 of the QB-288 rspec.

Horticulture Lighting Group 4X QB120 V2 Quantum Boards (3500K) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TMNVM9V/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_4K5lEbEFPVWAC


MEAN WELL Single Output LED Driver Power Supply, 250W 2.1A @ 59-119VDC - HLG-240H-C2100A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BQUMJZ6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_5L5lEb65FKYNS



This page will lead you to all of the other parts you’ll need outside of a frame.

Check out this page from Horticulture Lighting Group https://www.amazon.com/shop/horticulturelightinggroup?ref=exp_inf_sh_pub_horticulturelightinggroup

What are your plans for the 4x4 flower tent?
 
The 4000k makes many many nodes very close together. The 3000k with r-spec was a bit more stretchy from veg to flower. But if you are just growing tops only, I think the 3000k rapec is just fine from start to finish.
I’m going to try both of those in the same tent next grow. Veg with the 4000k and flower with both running.
 
I have a 238 W QB style light @4000K that grows me fine plants in veg and flower. I do have an older marshydro 96R running beside it that may make it a better all around spectrum.
 
Thank you!!! I see the value in your veg suggestion and believe it to be the better choice. So the the qb120 require no heatsink at all? In theory I could just wire it up and and Hang it with string? Deff will not do that, but I could use a material other than metal to attach the boards too for hanging? Basically in the 4x4 I'm going to buy everything separately and put together 2) 260w rspec kits. Then get some T5 leds for side lighting. The 4x4 is a being built as part of the room not a tent if it makes a difference, I have some size flexibility.
 
Yup, no heatsink at all. Depending on how high you set the wattage you may want to have a small fan blowing over the top of the fixture but as a veg light in a 2x4 I can’t see the need to exceed 50 watts per board/200 total. That’s about 70% of their wattage rating and the driver will only push them at 75% of their current rating so they will run pretty cool.

Technically yes, you could hang them independently or on a nonmetallic frame but personally I would not recommend it. MeanWell HLG drivers are self grounding so by mounting the driver to a metal fixture, the whole fixture is grounded. Similarly, if you wanted to run the driver in a remote location, you could attach a grounding screw and wire to the fixture and the driver. For safety reasons you want the fixture to be grounded so as long as you can achieve that, frame materials wouldn’t matter.
 
The white light is a great spectrum. If the Mars is that blue purple kind, I would get rid of it. They are not as efficient as the quantum boards are.
 
I will probably get a cmh or another good led eventually. The blurple light is good for veging or seedling, mother's etc. It has helped grow some monsters in spite of its detractions
 
Great info on self grounding I had not come across that. Do you recommend the dimmer you suggested for all boards or adjust the current on the driver? Also just order it off Amazon? I'm good with that i have prime. Just wondering if that is the best option. Not overly concerned about saving 10 bucks. Just want quality and support should i need it. Any other pointers for the build or other wise? You do seem to throughly understand this topic.
 
I meant the efficiency on the blue-purple lights is garbage. They are just not as good as a cob, quantum board, or HID system. They do not convert electricity into light as well as the others I just mentioned.
 
The dimmer I linked is for the HLG-65 only, for the veg fixture you can use the current dimmer on the driver. I prefer to make purchases on Amazon, it’s a personal preference, I just like the added layer of recourse should something go wrong. You can find everything except the driver and boards at a decent hardware store. Pay close attention to the electrical test points located on 3 of the 4 corners of the boards. You can’t have any metal from the fixture touch these points otherwise you could short circuit the boards. I marked the spots I needed to drill using the boards but I drilled them in another room to avoid any small shavings possibly damaging the boards.
 
Add nylon washers for extra caution? Also I started looking at the 120s more.... Do you think the 288 rspec offers significant impact. The 120s do operate more efficiently, am I over thinking the spectrum comparison. Should I save some money and go with 3500k 120s in veg and 3000k 120s + side lighting for flower? Thank you again for your guidance!
 
As long as you select the right size screw it shouldn't affect the test points. I didn’t use washers in my build and they aren’t necessary with the right screw. I mostly pointed out the test points in order to caution you regarding metal shavings from the build. If your not careful a shard could contact one of those points and short a board. I’m probably a little overly cautious but I felt it was worth mentioning.

The 288 rspec are a great board for flower but the 660nm reds aren’t really necessary for veg, and the quantity of chips on the 288’s isn’t really necessary either. The 288’s are a slightly smaller board by surface area, packed with more LM301B chips than you would get with 2-120’s, so you can double your coverage area while making gains in efficiency with the 120’s. 2-120’s will give you 240 chips over a little more than double the surface area as 1-288 board distributes 288 chips. Your plants aren’t looking for intensity during Veg, they just want a balanced photon rich environment. The 120’s in 3500k will give you everything you need in Veg. My opinion on Veg lighting is that you want to provide a balanced spread of light in the 3000k-4000k range to encourage growth, branching, and good spacing between nodes. The 4-120’s with the 240h-c2100a driver will let you run each 120 up to 60 watts. I’m not sure your going to need to veg at 240 watts but if you want to, this setup would give you the head room to do it. I honestly think you’ll be happy with the results around 200 watts.

Flowering is where you want to build for intensity and I like your plan for the 2-260watt rspec’s. I suggest you go with the XL version. It’s an additional $140 but it gives you better heat dissipation with larger heat sinks as well as better spread on the lights themselves. In my opinion, 2-260’s gives you better flexibility than HLG’s 550 rspec without sacrificing intensity. I’m not a huge fan of side lighting.... it helps to a certain degree but plants absorb most of their light from the tops of their leaves so the best you can hope for with side lighting is to hit the tops of the lower leaves. Personally, I’d rather focus on the primary light source.
 
Wires: solid or stranded, for board to board /driver? What Guage? 2 - rspec qb288 with hlg-240H-c2100
 
For the first one to get my feet wet I built a light set up for flower. Thank you so much Obi-Wan

The build: HLG QB288 Rspec x2, HLG slate 2 triple heat sink, hlg-
240H-c2100A mean well driver.

The build was very straight forward. The most challenging part was actually getting screws. Other than that my home work paid off . Did have a catastrophe..... The bar in my tent fell while hanging, light was un damaged did break a decent cola tho. All in all I didn't just break my $300 new light so I'm not overly upset. The light is undiscribably bright. I knew it would be bright but damn. Definitely more builds to come. Quantum boards for the win. If your considering it, absolutely worth it, do plenty of research and the build will go smooth.

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Added screws at the corners so it didn't rest on the boards
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Looking good!!! What’s the distance between the light and the canopy? Looks like you have them up as far as you can go.
 
15-17 inches. Laser thermometer reads 77F on the canopy closest to the light. Yeah just about maxed out. Couple inches of they react poorly. But I am harvesting in about 2weeks so at least they won't get taller. This new light should help them bulk up.
 
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