QB Lighting for a 4x4

I only know for sure that the qb288v2 was built by samsung. I assumed the other v2 boards since were but they might not be. Still HLG is the originator of this board lighting tech and all of their boards have legit samsung diodes whether built by samsung or another factory. Look at what led gardner has to say on the subject. Pretty much what I tell people.
Quantum board first build - THE LEDGARDENER.COM FORUM
"Quantum Board" is a brand name owned by Horticulture Lighting Group (HLG), so the 312 boards you've found on Alibaba aren't QBs. They may not even have Samsung LM561C diodes. Some people have been fortunate to find good deals on QB-like boards from China, but others have been ripped off by sellers who claim to be using genuine LM561Cs, but are actually using something else. Another important part of the equation is how much copper has been used in the PCB - real QBs have a fair amount (LEDGardener could probably tell us how much), but a lot of the cheaper boards are pretty skimpy on copper. It's my understanding that this means you'll have poorer heat dissipation. Not saying you definitely shouldn't try to save money by going with these imitation boards, but you should be aware of the risk. If you have the money, the simplest thing to do would be to buy the 260w, two-board kit from HLG.

As for the voltage - that's dependent on the design. QB304s use 110v, QB288s use 54v, QB132s use 36v, QB120s use 24v. I imagine you'll find a variety of voltages on Alibaba."

 

I might be wrong about samsung building them. I swear they advertised that when the 288v2 first came out.

 

I personally own over 12 of their boards and have helped put together hundreds of setups through pm or directly locally with their products. No joke even large commercial ops. I have yet to have a single board fail or not 100% impress. For what that's worth.

 

Bought my first HLG product almost 2 years ago now. A 3500k qb260 kit with 304 boards. You can still see it on the right side of my tent. I paid $285 for it. No joke. They used to be cheaper. They raised their prices to about current levels in July of 2017.

 

With the hundreds of setups I've helped put together and all the people that have personally seen my lights there is not a single person that is not almost slack jawed when they see them come on in person. It doesn't matter if it's a qb260 with 304's or a single qb120. They are the brightest lights you've ever seen for the wattage in your life. You can't even look at a 60 watt qb120. It's blinding. Everyone who sees them or works with them is very impressed. Just look at the lighting section for a hint. It's literally clogged with threads on just qb led lighting. That isn't by accident it's because every good grower who switches to them suddenly has no problem whatsoever smashing 1g/watt efficiency and I've seen first timers approach 2g/watt. That is pro level efficiency with any other lighting system.

 

Some Chinese boards are good like the post I linked said and I have already but you roll the dice. HLG boards are Samsung diodes. They invented the board lighting method and everyone else is copying them. The others are the ones you have to worry about being legit diodes not HLG.

 

No just hang each 96 elite by the screw holes on the side of the heatsink. You'll be able to move them around and adjust the height on each one. Having 4 hangers isn't that much. Here's my $5 hanging solution. Those are 9" trout leaders, a swivel clip, and some screws.

 

4 qb96 can easily fill a 4x4. See the par ppfd chart posted on page 2. It get's really nice readings.

 

They aren't the same leds. The qb96 uses Nichia diodes I think. They're the highest power handling that I've seen. Each qb96 board is capable of about 1.5-2 times the power range of the qb288 so the diodes are not created equal. Besides that the qb96 uses more blue leaning white leds combined with a significant amount of reds and deep reds. This makes a fatter, more ideal spectrum curve for flowering IMO. It averages out to about 3500k with all the extra red but the qb96 has as much or more blue in the spectrum as most 4k samsung lights. I've seen the spectrum curves and compared. I've flowered with both the samsung leds and the qb96's and I think there was an improvement in the cola size for sure with the qb96.

You would get better spread with the samsung leds but the qb96's just seem to be a little better if you're willing to push them with slightly more power so you can give them the distance to spread from those smaller boards. That's why they do best with 2 320h drivers or stronger in a 4x4 and you would probably run less power with qb288's or 120's 132's.

 

That is a baby picture of me on my 1st birthday in the background.

 

we got v2 in stock . 150s an 288s

 

the newer qb96 use lumileds 5050 ss far as i know

 

For bloom out of the HLG products I do feel like the qb96 elite boards are best for flower. Might not be the cheapest option but it will give you the most vigorous growth.

 

He works at invisible sun. You can find them with google. They're out of the UK. GC won't allow direct advertisement from an employee unless you pay them advertising fees. Can't say I blame them but Onthemooch was a GC user before being a lighting guy. I think he's avoiding getting the post removed. You might not think they're paying attention but I've seen GC drop the hammer on him before. I really like the 150 veg boards I got from invisible sun. It's an inbetween size that HLG doesn't make. v2 diodes also.