Qb96 driver help

Any driver with a voltage number on the end is a constant voltage/constant current driver and needs to be wired in parallel. The only time you can wire in series is if the voltage output of the driver can vary according to load like they do with the constant current drivers. If you have a driver model number with a current level in it and not a voltage it's a constant current driver.

I think the best options for four of the qb96elites are two of the HLG-320h-54a's, two of the HLG-320h-c2800a. If you went with a single driver the option would probably be the HLG-600h-54a.

You don't want a 48 volt driver. You'll be messing with the output potential and they might not even come on. They're 54 volt boards essentially and won't operate that far outside of the 54 volt range. That's the voltage of driver you want if you go with constant voltage and parallel wiring.

Series wiring is more simple but the HLG-600h only comes in constant voltage/constant current models so no series wiring option for that driver.

The HLG-320h-54a will actually put out about 150mA more current per board then the HLG-320h-c2800a. The wiring is just a little harder with parallel wiring.

I figured out a fairly simple solution for clean wiring of my qb96's. I'll throw the pics up. It might help you. I put a female 3 prong plug on the output and ran an extension cord to the boards instead of just regular wiring. If you put a splitter on the end you can plug all 4 of your boards into it and it will make locating the driver outside of the grow area for easy access to the dimmer easy.

Congrats. I have several HLG boards and these qb96's are the most impressive out of all of them. I just flowered my first plant with them and I'm blown away.

 

Shit I need to do this. That’s genius.


Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum

 

It's not the cheapest way to wire the driver but damn it's simple and reliable. Makes the whole kit modular too. I can unplug everything and move it around in individual parts.

I can actually add a third board to that extension cord and just plug it right in without changing anything else. It will just split the current from the driver to each board no matter how many you have in parallel.

 

Those are just those cheap white walmart extension cords too. I get 3 prong to make sure I can ground the driver. If you want you can run the ground wire to the case of the driver to ground the lights as well. Get 16awg and it will just barely fit under the push in connectors really tight. Probably can't get it out.

 

Those are just some long screws with nuts and washers along with 9" trout leaders I used as hangers. It's $1.99 for a 6 pack since it's not fishing season.

 

Some of these more experienced growers are pulling 1.5g -2 g per watt.


Sent from my iPhone using Grasscity Forum

 

I'm currently only growing a single plant so I wouldn't speak to the maximum yield potential but I'm projecting about 16-20oz's. If I had 4 plants in there It probably would have hit 32oz's easy I've done it before with just the two qb260's. It's a lot more work. This is the 2nd time I've done single plants and it's so easy. The yield is enough for me to get by till next crop. I'm only supplying myself.

This is day 53 from flip to 12/12. This plant will be done 2 weeks earlier then it ever has. Wonder Woman. 10 gallon pot in promix/perlite fed with mostly GH nutrients.

 

It smells so good in my yard right now. I'm in a legal to grow state. Alaska.

 

No. I haven't kept up with a journal for a long time. I update grow pics in this thread pretty often.
HLG QB120 boards in 3k in stock for $29.

 

They really are great lights. You won’t be disappointed. You can use an HLG-480H-54a per two boards dimmed. This will give you room to expand as well as lower the heat output since driver won’t be maxed.

Here’s a link to my journal. Somewhere in the last dozen pages or so is when I got the qb96elites

Soil2Coco’s Indoor Multi Strain Journal

 

I almost suggested that but the boards run so warm above what the 320h puts out and two 480h's is like $270.

always baked, you never really said what size area you're covering. The 320's actually give you room to expand. I would rather run 3 on each driver for better coverage and lower temps on each heatsink. You could always add them later with a parallel wired setup because it won't max out the driver's voltage output. The current just gets split every time you add a new board evenly among how many you have hooked up.

If you wanted to cover a 5x5, 6 qb96's and two 480h's would be pretty badass. Probably still end up dimming it to the 850 watt range.

 

That's a huge area for that much power. You're pretty short on output. Each time you add a foot to the outside dimension of the grow area you almost double the power requirement to fill it with light.

The setup you have on the way would smash a 4x4 area but it's going to have issues covering much more then that because the qb96's are so small they don't spread as wide as some of the other boards.

I would add two more qb96's to those same two 320h drivers so you'll eventually be running 6 on there. That would really help you get more even spread since you won't have the advantage of those reflective walls up close to the grow area. It can boost the light output by over 25% when the floor space exactly matches the light footprint.

It's really never ideal to put less lighting in a larger space. It impacts the light output more then most people realize.

I don't mean to get you down. I'm sure you'll be impressed with them. I'm just OCD.