Finally got my 96 all hooked up. Plugged it in for a test run.....and holy shit that's insane!!!! Without messing around with the Io or Vo my watt meter was reading 130 watts which is around where I plan on running it. My question being is are these things suppost to feel this hot? Holding my hand in front of it a couple of inches i could just feel the heat. I'm sure i wired everything properly. Just curious as to everyone else experience. Thanks
Yes, they are hot! I got mine wired each to 240W... and that's where I run em If you can wire the driver somewhere else is maybe best for temps.
Yep they get hot. Set up intake fan extracting fresh air from outside and inpu into tent with exhaust fan as well. You want your intake fan smaller than exhaust.
Just wanted to make sure. I've got 8ft of cord on each side of my driver for that exact reason. I also found out that my 185h driver can push over 200 watts. I'm extremely impressed,I see another 2 in my future. Thanks
I've got great airflow in my tent,I always maintain slight negative pressure. Prob gonna mount a fan on the QB also....anything worth doing is worth over doing.
I'm definitely gonna get some active cooling going on. If need be I can hook my intake fan to my window unit that's close by.
I wasn't gonna post this, but imma gonna anyhow. I actually used to use neg pressure, but since I built a filter box, I'm more into a greater positive pressure. It just keeps dust, pests, crap away from my room. I still use an exhaust + filter (big ass 2 footer at least) but its not as strong as the intake... and my house still smells like dope (prob that positive pressure), but at least a lot of used air gets dumped back outside.
I should add, there's better models on youtube than my micky mouse operation... but it does work good, and I need to change the filters soon. No cat hair, little dust balls, crap in the air; maybe spores, but prob not many. I try to use good filters on it, but a couple near the wall I just left some lower MERV rated ones.
I think it might be a good idea to just plan on a fan on the heatsink. I use a 6" clip on fan blowing across mine horizontal and it works wonders for reducing temps. I think completely relying on passive cooling for a light of this power level is a little crazy. If you give it some air it really helps reduce the overall running temp. A 120mm powerful computer type fan on the top of the heatsink blowing down you can run them up to 320 watts per board according to HLG.
I got a computer fan on Amazon for like 11 bucks and it keeps the QB96 nice and cool at 300 watts.. Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
I got this to mount on top 9f my QB 96 heatsink. Look at this on eBay AC Infinity AXIAL 1238, Muffin Fan, 115V 120V AC 120mm x 38mm High Speed 854759004181 | eBay
I used to build gaming computers. A 110cfm 120mm fan is going to be screaming. I would get a speed controller for it. Looks nice.
I'm not to much worried about the loudness but I prob will get a controller anyways,they make one for it. I wanted something that moves a ton of air. They also have a low speed 65cfm fan but its smaller for $15, I wanted one that was gonna cover the whole heatsink. I like the fact that its 120v.....no 12v adapters needed. I'm using my tent for drying right now but by this time next week I'll have my 96 hung up and ready to roll. I'm going to switch things up a bit this time and only run 4 plants in my 4×2 whereas i usually run 8. Theyll just be bigger. I think that with my Blackdog phytomax2-200 and my QB96 I should have more than enough light to get a good yield in a 4×2 space.
That fan is going to make a giant difference in temps on that thing. When I was into air cooled overclocking I bought a fan for my cpu with similar CFM output. It's pretty loud. Yours says 47db. For a fan that's some noise. If you don't have to listen to it that might be fine. It's probably more power then you need. You could probably pick up 2-3 slower speed 120mm fans for the price of that one. They might not last as long though. Usually the higher output fans have better bearings and longer projected run time. That last 120mm I bought over 100cfm had a rated 100,000 hours of run life. I still have it and it's over 10 years old. Sunon fan.
I wanted a really good fan so I can run this QB fairly hard, even though its only gonna be responsible for a 2×2 area. I looked at the cheaper ones and decided to get the really nice one,AC Infinity seems to have a good rep. I went ahead and ordered the speed controller too. I'm hoping to get my first LB out of my 4×2 soon,hoping this new light steers me towards that. Only running 4 plants this time I should be able to easily get 4oz apiece.....hopefully.
I'm sure with that fan you can run the full rated 6000mA @54 volts max. They probably didn't consider a fan that's 110cfm and perfectly sized for the top of the heatsink when they made that max rating. If your cooling is superior you can push it harder then the max. The max ratings are a guideline. If you've ever watched the "qb288 torture test" videos that ledgardner made on youtube he put 600 watts+ through a v1 qb288 and it never burnt up. He was never able to burn out a board even though he tried hard. You can push the max rating no prob if you really wanted to with that fan. Not that you would ever want more then 300 watts through each qb96. That's a little bit crazy mode IMO but the max rating with fan cooling is 320 watts.
I would like to get 200watts, I really shouldnt need more than that. I'm trying to dial down from 486watts to around 400watts in my 4×2 area. I was definitely going for complete overkill when purchasing a fan.