I was helping a dispensary owner configure his grow. I told him what the correct tonnage of A/C for his grow was. He didn't listen to me and was 7.5 tons short on A/C. I watched his grow temps shoot up 110 degrees fahrenheit. He ran it like this for a whole summer. That was a 70 light grow... Not everybody is willing to listen to or research what needs to be known. Lots of mistakes can be made. Today's Forcast... Partly Cloudy With A Chance Of Amber.
Excuse the droop... Watered about half an hour before this picture. I spent less than $100 on a brand new QB, shipped, 102 actual watts. I was vegging with 1000w HID prior to this. I will absolutely switch all lights over to LED. At least for veg. Will be expirementing with the QB for flower soon on my home grow, but for now, I'm gonna stick with HPS for flower while I am at work. something, something, subliminal message.
Hi . I really don't wish to but heads with anyone ,, but manufactures recommended operating temps are extremely important . If I was to do any testing on anything and expect the rest of the world to except my results then the tests need to be done at the manufacture's operating Parameters . I worked for Cummins engine company for decades . If I would to operate a Cummins engine 10% above operating temps that engine would be damaged at that moment . Honestly that engine might be destroyed on the spot, but 100% sure the gaskets would been overheated and you would have a blown set of head gaskets .. Running electrical parts above manufactures recommendations is creating excessive resistance .. All resistance creates Heat .. Its not my fault the guy who did those test didn't keep the HLG light with in normal operating temps . But because he didn't the test is not 100% conclusive /. What is wrong with doing a lighting test and doing it within the recommended parameters ?
The HLG had greatest temp and greatest drop in intensity. Heat matters immensely when it comes to component lifetime. Also the phosphor films attract dust and if your fixture doesn't have a protective lens then your intensity is bound to drop. The lens can add heat though and reduce final intensity, so it's a bit of a catch 22. If anyone is looking for longevity reports, Google for the "LM-80" of a fixture, or the LM-80 of the individual components making up the fixture. Sometimes you'll find one. Most UV emitters will have an LM-80 as low UV LED degrades fast. Regardless the manufacturer (migro used his own in the testing and saw reduction as well), there seems that there's an average of 5% drop. If HLG temps were reduced a bit, their efficiency wouldnt drop as much, but it'd still drop.
I worked for Cummins Diesel engine most my life ,, I hate Detroit diesels , the old two stroke diesels stink . So I do a test where I am testing a Detroit compared to a Cummins diesel . I operate the Cummins diesel at normal operating temps . But I let the Detroit operate above normal operating temps . What did I prove … I have a slanted bias test results ….
I agree. I pretty much stated this same thing a page back, but it was mentioned that I was just guessing.
@Headhunterpipes Where can I find the recommended operating temps of the QB288? I've searched around forums and the HLG page, and I couldn't find anything that stated temp numbers or anything that said that the boards required additional fans to remove the heat from the heatsinks. just that anything over 75+ watts required a heatsink.
Oh I know, I liked your comment I think, not trying to step on toes! Haha Just wanted to blab lol I took it as he's referring to the 15°F temp difference between HLG's and the other light engines? But maybe this is not what you were asking about?
@ChiefRunningPhist From this post about running the boards at 80-85 degrees and being what the manufacturer says it should be. I wasn't able to find any information giving these numbers.
When you purchase one of their plug and play lights you shouldn't have to buy additional fans to keep them at their recommended operating temp. If they get hotter than what they recommend a fan should come installed with the light to keep it at that recommended temp. It would be weird to spend a grand on a light then have someone tell you oh by the way these get super hot and you will either need to dim them or buy additional fans to cool it or it will cause premature failure.
Everyone take a step back and look at the data for what it is, an interesting test and little more. The limitations of this comparison cannot be overstated, just a quick list: -A single example of each fixture, thus no extrapolation to the products as a whole is possible. -No control variable(s) so there is no way to figure out if the reductions are from diode degradation, driver degradation, sensor degradation... -No mention of rather or not the optics/lenses were cleaned prior to testing. *Dust accumulation alone could account for most of the efficiency losses! -Based off the assumption that efficiency degradation will be linear, something that is unlikely to say the least. -The notion that the consumer would replace the fixture at 20ish percent efficiency degradation, a point at which these units still exceed the efficiencies of even the best legacy lighting options when they are brand new! -...
Oh sure, I see what you're saying, Idk what temp they recommend or state. I try to keep mine less than 110°F. I push 145ish watts per board but use 4x CPU fans per board (I gorilla glued to the heatsinks) to cool. I use a different CPU fan power supply now though, a bigger one so it doesn't get as hot. EDIT: Mine aren't true "QB's," rather the Chinese knockoffs, I doubt I'd have to run as many CPU fans, or if I did the temp would be less than 111°F (avg for me), because the HLG heatsinks are beefier and provide better heat dissipation than the Chinese knockoffs.
I think most home growers running 3-4 boards would replace their boards long before they lose 20% output with the rate that new stuff is hitting the market. I'm probably one of the few still running the HLG QB 288's V1's. By the time this 1st generation of quality LED's actually hit the point of needing replacing, LED tech will have advanced far enough that they will have an LED light that will truely run 50000 hours with zero loss in output.
I will look for the temp specs . I don't remember where I read the normal operating temps at . In another thread in here a member was asking what everyone's light temps were so I put a thermometer on one of my lights and it read 87degrees F . Then in the last week I read somewhere operating temp was 85 F . which made me think I was running slightly hot.
You can buy the 1v288 boards for 29.99 right now . That's pretty much dirt cheap … I could build a 640 w light for 300.00 bucks complete . PS shot off a message to HLG asking for normal operating temp for the 2v288 boards .. As soon as they e mail me I will post the specs ..
I'm not sure why those aren't sold out. 2/3rds of the growers buying QB's right now would never see a difference in the product using the V1 VS the V2
I agree except I want the Rspec boards for flowering . in one tent I only one set of four of the 2v288 boards , I didn't have a red color spectrum for my plants for my plants in flowering . In my other tent I have the 2v288 and the 1v288 boards and the 375 watts of cree/cob with the makets controller so I enhance the color spectrum with Far red and photo red .. That's a killer deal on the 1v288 boards and I don't think anyone can compete with those prices .. You know there is a shit ton a variables to honestly evaluate lighting performance . I don't know of anyone getting 640 watts out of a set of four 2v288 boards , I see HLG preassembled lights are 550 watts . and they got the power supplier on the heat sinks or in the grow room . I have allot of ventilation in all my grow rooms and the ventilation is where all the hotter upper air is getting sucked out or pushed down toward the plants . Recommended light coverage for my a 4x8 tent which I have two in operation is 896 watts . I have 1280 watts per tent but I have my lights dimmed . I did this because I want everything the same lights so if I need to fix something I don't need boxes of parts . I keep extra LED parts on hand .. boards and a power supplier ,, I haven't needed any of them yet and I have been using the HLG and the cree/cob diy boards for about a year in a half . I think the HLG boards are top notch … Have made 3 Cree/COB diy lights . The price was 1400.00 for 3 lights equaling a total of 375 watts .with a makers controller . I get so much more by buying the HLG Samsung boards . I have 84 plus square feet of grow space and my power bill is 280.00 to 285.00 a month . Personally I think that's reasonable . Regardless of which lights are side by side my plants grow toward the HLG boards .
For what it's worth I've been running an Ecodiesel and California Lightworks SolarStorm 440's since 2015. Extremely happy with both products.
Cool Cool on both . I have the California solar storm UVB lighting for a 4x8 tent , then I move the lights from tent to tent for the last ten dats of flowering to get more resin . I don't know anything about the eco boast diesel engines/trucks ? Is your truck a 3/4 ton truck and what fuel economy are you getting ?