I was playing around this evening and turned my 185h-54a driver all the way up on a single QB96 and the voltage was just over 57v. Is it safe to run like that? Not that that's how I'll be running them but just curious. These hlg drivers are beasts. It was pushing 235w to my 96. 175w is the max I've ran them but with the 120mm fans on the sinks they run fairly cool. This time next week I'll be puffin on some of my first bud from my 96s. I've got one strain I've been growing for over a year now and this is definitely the most frosty. I plan to add another 96 to the two I have already in my 5×3 and run them down the center and then add some kind of side lighting. Thinking of eight qb132s,I know it sounds like a ton of lights but I plan to run it all dimmed......I'm going for super even coverage. Something like this sketch...... This is my current layout.....
I love the new design. And those couple extra volts will not hurt those boards. I've noticed that some of the hlg series drivers drive harder than others it seems like they have individual personalities, sounds like you got a good one.
Its definitely a design that I want to make a reality. I was thinking maybe a HLG-480h-54a to run my three 96s and prob have some 320hs for the qb132s. I was maybe thinking the lrs-350-36 since they're fairly cheap.....well,cheaper. At max that would be alot of wattage but with coverage that solid I could run everything dimmed. 5×3 footprint is an odd size,to me anyways.....I just used every spare inch I had.
The board pulls how many volts it needs to run it's fine. However, you are probably running it with more than 4Amps and according to HLG the max with the SSTX heatsink is 4.2Amps. Since you use fans it might be OK but I would monitor the board temperature to be sure, use a laser thermometer and aim it to the bright side of the board, It should be no more than 85c.
What’s the max watts I should be with these for seedlings? I’m splitting 125 right now with 18 inches above
Just gotta go with what the plants tell ya. If they look good at that height and wattage then stick with it.
Ok cool , I’m a new grower so I just didn’t know if there’s a certain spot I should be at with seedlings and then veg and flower
Personally I go with around 8k to 10k lux for new seedlings. That keeps them from stretching. As they get bigger I'll increase it a little at a time.
You really need a cheap lux meter. Dr Meter from Amazon $30 . Check this out from Hlg's site Converting Lux to PPFD & Measuring Lux with Smartphone
Full on veg I hit anywhere from 20k to 40k lux and flower 40k to 67k lux. Some strains like higher or lower. It's just something you have to play around with.
One thing that never made sense to me is that its always recommended using low light for seedlings BUT in nature seedlings sprout under the full sun and get just as much light as the rest of the plants, so clearly they can take it
I’m just trying to get an estimate on watts I should be running with the distance of the lights , I’ll be getting an lux meter in the next couple weeks... I’m at seedlings splitting 125w at 18 inches of light distance
It might. I've had horrible luck with the cheaper ones. I finally ended up with a Bluelab. They're very pricey but if your serious about trying to grow great meds then it's a must IMO. Being able to know your pH and not questioning if it's right or not is well worth the money to me. It's one of things where you get what you pay for.
Ok I’ll look at a blue lab one, This is my first grow so I don’t need top of the line stuff right now . Just kind of want to get the hang of growing and learning the basics and the do’s and donts