Lighting DIY mars conversion. Questions and answers here.

[BigSm0]

yes mate eventually it will be 2 of those heatsinks with 4 cobs on each.i just keep looking at your bar lights and they look awesome so thats what i am going to do,just a cheaper version.sorry for asking about a mars conversion then changing my mind

That's cool man. That just shows your already addicted. Yes your right a little more money can get you a much nicer light when done.

 

[BigSm0]

I may just buy another 70$ mars 300 just to convert for fun and to help show people how cheap and easy it can be.

70-mars 300 X1 -70$
12.50-1212 cobs X 4 -50$
2.50-holders X 4- 10$

So for 130 you can buy a light, rip it apart and double the light output and decrease the heat. That's a good $50 investment.

 

[2Stoned2Care]

I may just buy another 70$ mars 300 just to convert for fun and to help show people how cheap and easy it can be.

70-mars 300 X1 -70$
12.50-1212 cobs X 4 -50$
2.50-holders X 4- 10$

So for 130 you can buy a light, rip it apart and double the light output and decrease the heat. That's a good $50 investment.

Now that would be a great idea to actually show people how to convert a mars 300 with a pic by pic tutorial.that would be one of the most viewed threads in my opinion because people want to diy but are scared because they have never messed with electrics,soldering ect ect.but when they see how easy it actually is there will be a mass conversion of all mars lights hahahaha

 

[BigSm0]

Now that would be a great idea to actually show people how to convert a mars 300 with a pic by pic tutorial.that would be one of the most viewed threads in my opinion because people want to diy but are scared because they have never messed with electrics,soldering ect ect.but when they see how easy it actually is there will be a mass conversion of all mars lights hahahaha

I agree and the little money it would cost me it could help out hundreds of members here. A real well documented conversion explaining how and why. Well if it gets stickied I would do it, hate to see the work and time get wrapped up in the rest of the messages here. Have one in my eBay cart right now what do you say @arty zan

 

[2Stoned2Care]

I agree and the little money it would cost me it could help out hundreds of members here. A real well documented conversion explaining how and why. Well if it gets stickied I would do it, hate to see the work and time get wrapped up in the rest of the messages here. Have one in my eBay cart right now what do you say @arty zan

Totally agree bro,there are some great threads with awesome info on this site but some times you have to trawl through 50 pages to find the info you need

 

[pop22]

Umm.. the Chinese are a bit optimistic with their drivers......( who'd a thunk.. ) lol! You'll likely get 450-550ma. Throw a party if you actually hit 650ma! But that's still fine and as we've all seen, it makes for a very nice light! Even at 25 watts, those chips will stomp the original led output!

Put my big girl under my mars 400w(180w actuall draw)so was able to open the mars 300 up and have a look at the drivers and there are 2 so i know now that i can get 2 1212s per driver so 4 cobs per light driven at 0.665a so around 25w per cob 100w for the light does that sound about right @BigSm0

View attachment 653736

 

[pop22]

Dude, you are a true asset to AFN!

I agree and the little money it would cost me it could help out hundreds of members here. A real well documented conversion explaining how and why. Well if it gets stickied I would do it, hate to see the work and time get wrapped up in the rest of the messages here. Have one in my eBay cart right now what do you say @arty zan

 

[BigSm0]

Dude, you are a true asset to AFN!

Thanks Pop! I struggled a lot when I first started reading about building lights. I'm a hands on type and this was the farthest thing from my comfort zone. If there are people out there like me or smarter folks who need a starting point my knowledge now could save allot of aggravation. I'll never save the world from poor lighting choices considering this is a BIG world but this little effort could go along way.

 

[Hygrade]

Hi guys. Thank you for allowing me to post here. Be prepared, I am total noob. First time posting here.

I am pretty sure the problem isn't the lighting but i just need to rule it out.

This is my 3rd go, I have had 2 successful attempts using blurple mars in the past. This time around I am experiencing very slow growth. The 2 sour crack are 29 days old and like 4 inches tall in 1l pots. They are going into flower so I guess I messed up this time. I transplanted them out of foxfarm ocean forest because the growth was so slow i thought it could be a problem with Foxfarm OF. I transplanted into cocoloco/kind soil. 2 weeks after transplanting them, they haven't had much new growth. Very little vertical growth. I suppose my transplant technique could of been sloppy and may be the cause of this. However, it could also maybe be the lighting since Im such a noob. Are these lights ok for veg and flower?

I converted a 400w mars II with (cxa1512 6500k 18v) x 2 and (CXB3590 3000k 72V) x 3

I also converted a 300w mars with (cxa1512 6500k 18v) x 2 and (CXB3590 3000k 72V) x 2

I started the seedlings under the 400w with all lights on at about 36" away. Maybe I should start them under cfls first like I did when i used blurple?

 

[Hygrade]

BigSm0 any advice?