Cheap LED Strips : A Viable Alternative

Well not to turn from the info nubes put in above.

I got around to testing the Cheap Chinese light this evening.

Note my measurements aren’t an accurate like to like for the following reasons though a comparison can still be made.

First my bridgelux’s strips in the light below have seen at least a year+ worth of use so their efficiency will be a little lower now than say new, also im running two thrive eb3 strips in this array so that will also bring down the efficiency of my home built, and its runs at a lower wattage overall 53w vs the 65w of the Chinese light, and finally im using a lux meter not a par meter just as thats what i have so true par comparison efficiency i cannot do though general light output i can.

So with that out of the way and some measurements, math, price lookups and calculations later heres the breakdown.

With 22% more energy usage its only outputs around 12% more light, math wise that works out to be that the Chinese panel is around 8-8.5% less efficient in a Watts to Light output metric vs my current used Bridglelux eb 2/3 meanwell xlg setup.

Cost wise with these style panels being in the $30-40cnd range i compared them out to say a 10 strip eb gen3 slim or eb2 strip setup running off an xlg-240 driver and $20 worth of frame and wiring supplies to light up your standard 2’X4’ sized space “tent” , saying that the prices are essentially even for say 4 panels vs a comparable Bridgelux setup.

Longevity who knows… though chip layout at least for this panel has it so these chips are actually driven on the lower side so id expect at least the chips to likely last for a good while, driver though who knows.

So say if factoring in new bridgelux strips instead of my older and thrive ones, and the ability to opt for a warmer color temp allowing more reds with the bridgeluxs as this chiense light even with the extra reds in the panel it still seems to leans pretty heavily into the blue side color wise with my eye just due to the amount of 5000k chips they throw on the panel.

Id happen to estimate $ for $ the bridgeluxs will be 15-25+% more efficient though you will have to build it.

So all that said if say one had a 2x4 tent didnt want to build a light and you could get these even cheaper than say that $30-40cnd range they could very well grow some nice plants.

Another down side to check out in the photos below is the cheap panel’s driver likely doesn’t have adequate filtering capacitors or any as you get bad zebra striping in any photos which is just the camera picking up the 60hz ac frequency carrying over past the driver and to the light, with meanwell drivers ive never had that issue.

Verdict … Getting there though not yet at least for me, though if someone decided thats the route they wanted to go all i would say is fair and happy growing :wink:

Onto some basic pics, check out the zebra striping the camera pickes up with the cheap panel.

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Thank you @Mr.Sparkle for all the build information, and for the in-depth dissection of a budget LED panel! After years of hesitation you have put me on the path to efficient indoor gardening, and for that I am grateful.

My previous DIY adventures were how would you say, inelegant. The splitter was $9 and the bulbs came in a package of three for $0.99. I can’t complain about the cost, and were I to build nine more the dollars per lumens would be nearly equivalent at the expense of efficiency.

I’m not yet sure how I’m going to mount the strips but I am excited to be past the procurement phase. Definitely looking forward to sharing my results.

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Quick question, how hot should the housing of the driver get? I’m running an XLG-240-L-AB at about 75% and that sucker gets really hot.

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Mine does as well, so hot you cant hold it very long.

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Yep, they can get somewhat hot. Worth measuring if you have an IR gun thermometer, but usually they’re around 50-60C max depending on location and air movement. For this reason, some recommend keeping them out of the grow room putting a fan over them since cooling electronics increases the lifespan, but they’re spec’d to have a super wide range of safe operating temps: from -40C to 90C.

Also, inside their aluminum cases the waterproof ones are basically full of electronics coated with a sealant that creates a solid brick. Because of this, the aluminum cases act as a heatsink of sorts, but definitely mount them with standoffs so there’s about 1/4" or more air gap all around them.

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As Nube said… :+1:

Here’s the spec for your driver.

XLG-240-SPEC-1.PDF (772.4 KB)
see page 6, the life time graph…

Notice that at 65C they begin to de-rate the life expectancy from 100K hours… You don’t want to run the driver hotter than 65C (149F) :+1:

Cheers
G

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I’ll have to get an IR Gun n check, but that makes me feel better. I figured it was normal, but still want to make sure.

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As the Brits say “they are cheap as chips” :laughing:
I use mine almost every day, checking leaf temps etc. Right now my HLG320s are ticking over at 52C.

Cheers
G

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Any use the Samsung 301d’s

@ChronicMcBudz they do get quite warm mine run in the 45-55c range, have run them in hotter locations but started to run into issues so instead of say my filter box they are in my grow chambers where they get a bit of recirculating air which helps them.

@BirD im sure some do, just more a price thing is all why we probably dont see them as much

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Bumping thread, not sure if this is the right place but this seems to be where ogs resident LED experts/builders are so I figure I’ll ask here.

One of my led grow lights last night I noticed was off and wouldn’t turn on. After looking around I noticed that the connector cord where it plugs into the light from the driver was very hot, and when I pulled the plug out it was all melted and fucked.

I’m wondering if I did something wrong to make this happen? I am shit at lighting and a few of my lights flicker if I touch the wago nut thing but others don’t. I’ve done 2 grows with this light so far I think.

Also is anyone familiar with any sites in Canada where I can buy these cords so I can hopefully get my light working again asap? I have no idea what they’re called besides waterproof dc conector cable.

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This is probably the cable you have, do a search for some near you?

2 Pin 8mm Waterproof Connector Male and Female

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Thanks. Nothing came up in a search for that. I checked the digikey Canada website but when I searched for waterproof connectors over 20k results came up haha.

Not sure if any more details would be useful. Light is solstrip rack 36" with 7 bars. Driver is meanwell 320h 24v i think.

It’s weird that this happened after I turned the voltage down a bit (lights too hot) before, during flowering they were all the way at max and got very hot to the point if I touched the drivers or heat sinks for too long it’d burn my skin. Could I have a wire not in snug enough or what? Doesn’t seem like there’s damage to anything but that cord.

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Does sound like a dodgey connection. If you don’t mind replacing both ends you can use whatever connector you choose.

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That connection is toast, and has been arching, probably due to the broken male pin and the other male pin is bent. You need to replace the connector with something of similar size, or the entire cable. Is that a DIY build? More pics at the other ends of the cable where it connects to the driver and at the light might help.

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I guess that would help haha whoops. Part diy from solstrip rack parts.

@ChemicalDependant I wonder if the million times I popped and unpopped the cord apart has anything to do with why the thing may have gotten bent. Maybe accidentally plugged it in without the pins being in the holes? I have no idea how to search these. On the Canadian version of digikey when I searched waterproof connector over 20k results came up haha.

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The plastic around the pin probably got melted and when you seperated the plugs it bent over.

Poor contact on the connection between the two plugs can cause arching to occur between the contacts.

Like Chemical Dependant said probably best to replace both sides of the connection, any two pin connector will work, you just need to make sure the positive and neutral stay in the same position.

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Appreciate the help everyone.

Is this the same/similar thing? I wouldn’t mind having to buy 5 to get them to me quicker. Not prime shipping speed unfortunately but quick enough.

I checked the other side of the connection and everything there seems to be fine. Just the part closest to the light is fucked.

Does the fact that some of my lights flicker a bit when I touch the cord and some don’t mean that I should look at more of the connections/ possibly rebuild any of the lights (besides the sheets) to make them more reliable/safer? I don’t have a kill a watt meter but when my lights are turned way up they get pretty hot, I always hear people talking about how cool their lights run. I don’t have fans directly on the lights tho.

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Nope only good up to 45 volts. How many watts and amps does your light pull from the wall ?

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OK ,…The connector nearest the light is the faulty one, not the larger one in the center of the cable.
Two butt connectors and some electrical tape could get you up and running temporarily until you find a replacement…?

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