Lighting DIY overkill 200W single COB

[L0wbob2017]

So last week i decided to start growing legal plants in my kitchen. ( vegetables )

The winters where i live dont give much light so i wanted to build a light for my mini-tent.
After a lot of thinking what would be best for vegetable and maybe in future cannabis, i ended up with a pretty mad idea.

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[COB]​

• I want to build a single COB light that can be dimmed to the power of need. Since efficiency should be good even at high current i decided to get a Bridgelux Gen 7 Vero 29. ( newest version )
• Part number: BXRC-30E10K0-C-73 | 64 - 75V | 500 - 3420ma | 3000K 80 CRI | 155 lm/W @ 1710ma
• I got a Ledil connector for the Angelina reflector.
• I also saved some gold thermal compounds for high performance.
• Also i am still waiting for the COB, i chatted with the digikey support and they told me it will be sent tomorrow.

[Driver]​

• The Vero 29C consumes up to 75V with a max current of 3420ma. I want to go up to 2800ma max. Sadly the HLG-240H only goes up to 2100ma.
• So for the driver i went with a Meanwell HLG-320H-C2800B. This is the dimmable version. Therefore i also got a 100k ohm potentiometer.

[Heatsink]​

• So everybody that knows a bit about DIY COB lights, sees that cooling will be a problem because a COB that consumes about 200W of power (~73V x ~2800ma = ~ 204W) will produce a lot of heat.
• Now here comes the next special part. I am going to cool that 200W COB with a passive heatsink.
• Therefore i got a special heatsink. It is made for a 200 - 300W COB module and it can take up to 220W of pure heat while staying under 70°C @ 25°C room temp.

Upper side:

Down-side: ( a lot of predrilles mounting holes for a few big chips )

In comparison to the driver:

 

[L0wbob2017]

@BigSm0 @iampepe @Dr.Bubbles @NastyN8t @Jupiter @Mr. Sparkle @wwwillie @Son of Hobbes @pop22

 

[The Elvis]

Nice im subbed!!!

 

[The Elvis]

I'm using 4 VR29s with 2 meanwell HLG-240H-C2100B drivers and the lamp is a power house!!! I'm ready to add 2 more COBS..
When I built the lamp i wanted control of each side right left So I soldered in 2 pots but after using it all this time 8 months i just set it and forget it.. i would like a Bluefish controller to mimic sunrise to sunset but not until I add 2 more COBS ..

 

[L0wbob2017]

I'm using 4 VR29s with 2 meanwell HLG-240H-C2100B drivers and the lamp is a power house!!! I'm ready to add 2 more COBS..
When I built the lamp i wanted control of each side right left So I soldered in 2 pots but after using it all this time 8 months i just set it and forget it.. i would like a Bluefish controller to mimic sunrise to sunset but not until I add 2 more COBS .. View attachment 792818
View attachment 792830

so u dont use any reflectors? what wattage u drive those VR29's ? How do u cool them? active, passive?

yeah a controller would be nice, maybe thats something i will get at the end of the year

 

[The Elvis]

I have some reflectors but I get better or bigger plants going open face COB. I get better light penetration this way. I run both sides at about 80% 100% is just to much to many photons and can bleach the leaves. If I remember right the lamp is a 440 watt lamp @100% 110v at each COB.. i cant remember the specs.. Im using passive sinks no power and they work very well.. there huge!!!

 

[Dr.Bubbles]

This is interesting. I've never seen a cob ran so hard. I would have to think that 2 cobs off that 320 Meanie would be more efficient. That heatsink is nice looking. I'm excited to see how this wraps up. Don't forget(like I did the first time) to wire the pot so it increases resistance as you turn CW. Unlike for audio, which is usually letting more signal through with CW rotation. Best of luck, that thing is gonna be like a gamma ray burst.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[The Elvis]

Here is my sinks huge!!! I thought id rather not have to power any fans or Extras like most LED companies will do . I wanted to dedicate all my power to the chips.

 

[The Elvis]

@L0wbob2017 you will not be disappointed in the Birdgelux VR29s they are worth every penny you pay!!!

 

[L0wbob2017]

This is interesting. I've never seen a cob ran so hard. I would have to think that 2 cobs off that 320 Meanie would be more efficient. That heatsink is nice looking. I'm excited to see how this wraps up. Don't forget(like I did the first time) to wire the pot so it increases resistance as you turn CW. Unlike for audio, which is usually letting more signal through with CW rotation. Best of luck, that thing is gonna be like a gamma ray burst.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

thanks for your tipp with the poti. in my signature u can take a look at my first DIY link. I alrdy made a lamp with a poti and PWM dimmers so i hope nothing changed with poti's since the last time i used them

you are right, running 2 or 3 COB's with that driver would be more efficient but at the moment i am low on budget and my tent is only a 80x80x160 cm tent which is pretty small.

My plan was to build a raised bed into this tent ( about 50cm height ) and hang the COB on top, from the outside through a little hole into the tent with only the reflector beeing inside. ( better cooling for the heatsink and no heat goes into my tent )
So i cant play with the height of the light. Therefore i wanted it to be driven harder for more light because i cant change the distance between COB and plants. The plants have to grow up to the light.

Aslo keep in mind, if you double the distance of COB to plants you end up with a quarter of the light that was before. So i need a lot more light for that distance. Another thing is, maybe thats the first growroom where you have to dimm the COB's down the closer the plants get to the light haha