The HLG Blackwing - 4'x2' space

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This is going to be a grow with the HLG BLACKWING indoor horticulture LED grow light.

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/products/hlg-blackwing

Hello growfriends! FIrst off big thanks to @Les @HLG and the HLG crew for putting up these panels for test/reviewing. Also thanks to @Mossy for getting this all arranged.

Unboxing:

It arrives in a plain brown box. Nothing to suggest what might be inside.

And inside that box: A BOX!

Packed very nicely, two boxes and the inner box with form fitted foam to protect the panel. An info sheet, cables/hanger pack, and a neat sticker.

Top of the panel once out of the plastic. Driver, cord, dimmer. Beautiful black finish. Care was clearly taken as the holes were drilled before the finish was applied. No tool marks, burrs, or other blemishes I can see.

The bottom and the QBs:

Driver: A top tier MeanWell unit. The driver appears removeable with a couple screws. However, the cord from the driver to the panel itself is too short to allow much adjustment. There looks to be a watertight screw on connector. If you were handy lengthening the cable is probably not terribly difficult. I expect the efficiency of the panel to produce much less heat and perhaps the need to locate the driver outside the tent won't be necessary.

Dimmer: This has a very nice tactile feel to it. There are 10 clicks of adjustment to the wheel. Each one has a gentle bump and I suspect each click to be a 10% increase of intensity. I do not know if the dimmer is removeable. There are 4 visible screws but I don't know where or if they attach to the unit itself. You can also see the short cord from the driver into the panel. This is where you would need to lengthen if relocating the driver was necessary.

Continued.....

 

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The cable pack: Hangers and cables. A nice assortment. The ratchet hangers are a step up from the usual units. A metal wheel and release lever instead of plastic. The cable hangers are coated wire instead of bare metal. A nice touch.

These cables are about 18" long. So if you use this method be sure to count that into the height in your grow space.

A quick rig to show the hanging height:

This light has some weight to it but could easily be hung with a single of the ratchet ropes. You could split the cables to one each for more adjustment and even leveling of the panel.


About 17" from the ratchet eyelet

The dimensions are spot on at 28" long and 7" wide:

 

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Quick setup and hang/height test:

So I got my new 4x2 tent put together and did a quick hang and height test. I wanted to show how the light would hang with just the included hardware and how I ended up hanging it for more height.

This is with the included cables and rope ratchets: The light sits nicely inside the tent. 6" space front and back with 10" off each end lengthwise.

This is all the included hardware: Rope ratchet and 2 cables.

This is the maximum height you can raise the light with the included hardware

47.5" or ~122cm

If you need just a bit more space, you can remove one of the cables. This setup gets a little wobbly so you will need to use care in balancing.

Single cable gives: 54.5" or just about 140cm. Nice gain on height.

But, I think the easiest setup is to use 4 rope ratchets. One at each corner. Much easier to balance and you get maximum height. This does require either owning or buying another set. HLG send one very nice set and you can just use the hardware they send.


4 ratchets, one at each corner:

Max height: 61.5" / 157cm

I'm sure there are other tricks to get that last bit of clearance but this is just an easy setup for maximum height.

 

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The HLG Blackwing is rated at 225W on their website. I took measurements with my Killawatt meter. Both the light and the meter are brand new. I expect to see some change in the numbers as things wear in a bit.

Just turned on to level 1.

Can see the deep red LED row from the side and the glow along the tent.

Power readings: The dimmer has 10 settings on it. Lovely little tactile "bump" you can feel as it settles into the next click.

0) The light is on. I thought this one might be "off" but it reads 16.4W
1) Click up and the same as 0 - 16.4W
2) 39
3) 67.5
4) 97
5) 129
6) 159
7) 188
8) 214
9) 222
10) 222 (same as 0-1)

Maximum readout I got was 222W. But as stated earlier the light, driver, and wattmeter are brand new. I expect the reading to setting in over the next few weeks.