Making a led light

[Smokeaholic]

Alright i am very good in general at diy i took machining classes and i have been debating making my own led grow light.I need to buy diodes and the and ballast, have the face and back machined out of aluminum slabs from my old teacher and even better all i got to do is give him a cam/cad file for him to give to the students as a project all i have to do is pay for the metal and that it.
any ideas?

here is my list
100W COB SMD Integrated Diodes Chip $2 a piece
300 Watt LED Power Supply $80
ill need thermal jelly and about $40 dollars in aluminum for case and heat sink
2 computer case fans around $10 a piece

this will make a true 300 watt flood like

 

[orangesunshine]

ok i'll bite---what spectrum will the diode cluster create---how large are the diodes---do they reflect---whats the footprint from the fixture---how many diodes can you light up with 300w power supply---will 2 fans be enough to cool the fixture---what the heck is thermal jelly, a heat sink, and "flood like"---if your using a ballast why not just build a reflective hood instead

 

[Smokeaholic]

Well since it will be 13 inch wide and 16 long with 15 rows of 15 5 watt red and blue spectrum alternating with 10 100 watt drivers power it 2 fans will not be enough for this build 4 will do on it and this one wont reflect though. 2 fans will be enough for the 3 100 watt drivers on the 3 100 watt cob build i havent made dimensions yet for it this cob will be all red spectrum but this one will reflect.

I prefer to keep it all tucked nicely into a single box so i will just have both assemblies machined, if you have the option why not have things look professional.
btw thermal jelly is the metal liquid that bonds the diode to the heat sink.

 

[orangesunshine]

so you ask for any ideas---if i were trying to improve the LED---i would focus on increasing the footprint reflection, penetration into the canopy, and convenience in replacing parts like diodes and drivers

 

[Smokeaholic]

true the large one is more of a higher end larger mars hydro and the other one the cob build will have high reflective walls running out from the middle with a 60 degree angle 3 inchs deep and all three just in a line with 1 inch spacing from each other. this one i had in mind for a single plant scrog grow.

 

[orangesunshine]

be nice to see some pics and a bit more info on what it is you're trying to achieve

 

[Smokeaholic]

It will have to wait till i get a cam/cad program similar to surfcam which i am very familiar with or next time i pop into see the teacher its been a long time but the 15 row one i can make without a pretty case and still be happy with it ill post that when i make it i might do that instead of buying me a mini grow room have a badass 1000 watt grow lamp im also prone to end up scaling it down to 600 watts though just so i dont raise my power bill to much.
Also what im trying to achieve is something to talk about and a hell of alot cheaper than buying one of these high end model led setups.
downloading autocad inventor package so i might some rough images tomorrow if i can understand the damn program.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I assume you are still working on this project. I have an idea that I would like to try. I use hps in my grow and have learned some things from talking to other growers who have tried both ways. The interesting thing that I am getting from these conversations is, LED doesn't give the amount of bud growth and total yield that hps gives. But what it does give is higher levels of trichome production with seemingly higher potency.

My thought is why not use both technologies to give higher yields of more potent buds. My thinking is to buy/build 2-4' strip lights made from the LEDs that are somewhere around 250w each. Hang these in the flower space to the sides of the larger hps lights, but have them only run about 6hrs out of the 12hrs "day" Have the hps come on like normal and stay on all day, but then have the LEDs come on at hr3 of the "day", stay on for 6hrs then go off, leaving the hps to finish out the last 3hrs of the day.

The higher intensity of the LED seems to be what is encouraging the higher trichome production, so much like the midday sun, the LEDs will make the light more intense to induce higher trich production. Now I am assuming that my information is correct and I am taking a bit of a scientific leap to the conclusion that the LED lighting will do this. It could be that its more of the light spectrum than the light intensity of the LED, IDK. But I would like to try this in the future to see if it improves my bud. Just an idea

 

[WeedHopper]

Good idea Hush. Would love to see a real grow from someone like you on MP USING THIS SETUP. Least we would get the truth. Bet it would work with a combo like that. I seen a setup wigh HPS and HOT5s . It was one light fixture with both type lights. Very cool. The HPS was in the middle. I seen it online at a Hydro shop.
Was simular to this one
https://www.google.com/search?q=HPS...hid+and+t5+combo+system&imgrc=rNKxTp0NnEId0M:

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have a 5 x 5 tent and I have been thinking of using both HPS and the LEDs I have to see how I could improve yield and potency. This might be worth a go Hush.

 

[WeedHopper]

They have those systems already THG. They are cool looking.
http://www.growlightsupply.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=129_9_151


[ame]http://www.amazon.com/AgroLED-960425-Emitting-Combination-Fixture/dp/B0080KKF48[/ame]

 

[WeedHopper]

Here is a cool LED light system that looks like T5s.
[ame]http://www.amazon.com/AIBC-optimized-spectrum-traditional-fluorescent/dp/B00KRTE9QA[/ame]

 

[Hushpuppy]

None of these are what I am thinking but similar. I don't know if the T5 would put out enough of the intensity needed to promote the trichome growth unless the UV T5 puts out enough to make a difference, IDK. I am thinking of 1 or 2 4' strips of potent leds hanging on the wall on either side of the hps lights.