Looks like you sorted this but a good practice is to add a 10K resistor to the dimmer circuit in addition to the 100K pot on the B drivers to ensure the pot will open up to full power in the 100% position. The cheap linear 100K pots you find on Ebay often have terrible tolerances of up to 10% from spec, which means your “100K pot” could actually have anywhere from 92K-108K resistance. If it’s below 100K, you’ll get less than 100% at full power without the 10K resistor.
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Thanks for getting back @Baudelaire i checked the pot with a multimeter and got 100K so it’s decent. A new inline plug and socket arrived today so it got fitted. Still have an issue with that HLG-320 B i got ffs!
Been through all connections now on both rigs just in case but found nothing. The same 25A cable is used on both rigs and the same 30A connectors. Both leads are now 7ft long but the 6 strip rig draws just under 260W. When i plug in the 9 strip rig it draws 340W which is closer to the drivers potential output.
If i plug an HLG-240 A into the 6 strip rig It draws over 300W from the mains. The HLG-320 B must be holding the current down when the voltage gets close to 24V. It’s the only thing i can think of that could explain it 
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Check the voltage on your A driver. I bet you’re overdriving it a bit, which will boost total wattage quite a bit. The B drivers don’t have a voltage pot, and seem to hold voltage to a much tighter range - basically 24.0v. The A’s can push quite a bit above that. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your drivers. You’re just seeing the difference between the two driver styles (which is one of several reasons I recommend the A’s.)
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When i checked earlier our mains was 238V and at the light i had 23.7V. I get that A versions put out more but i thought i should be able to drive 6 strips to max on a HLG-320 B. If i allow for driver losses they are getting around 230W so around 38W per strip. It’s even worse with the 9 strip rig after allowing for driver loss it’s running around 310W so 34W per strip.
An external pot is a nice thing to have but the loss in output is not
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I regularly get 350-380 watts from the HLG-320 A’s. 280-310 watts from HLG-240 A’s. 600+ watts from the HLG-480’s.
I’d still recommend trying a 10K, 1 watt resistor on the dimmer circuit. It’s a 50 cent fix. As well as running it with the circuit open. The operating characteristics you describe sound like a dimmer out of spec to me.
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I don’t think it’s the pot but i’ll fit the 10K resistor anyway, i should have some somewhere. Seems it’s not good to run these drivers at too low a power so the resistor should prevent that.
An HLG-240 (A) here draws around 310W from the mains so has a usable output of roughly 280W. The (B) version draws 263W when driving the same 9 strip rig so it’s output is well below the (A) somewhere around 230W.
It’s nice to be able to easily turn the drivers down before opening the tents up but a B version is not able to drive these strips that hard so they are good for a passive cooled rig but maybe not so good for an actively cooled rig.
I can get that HLG-320 (B) to draw 340W from the mains but it takes 9 strips to do it. The pot works fine in this case providing an increase in output right up to the last couple of degrees of travel.
That same driver powering 6 strips only draws about 260W from the mains and the last 15 degrees or so of travel on the pot makes no difference in output.
So it seems if you want to use the B version (external dimmer) -
For 6 or 7 strips use an HLG-240H B
For 8 or 9 strips use an HLG-320H B
If you want to run the strips hard always use the A version 
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Mines been sitting stable at around 645w since I re wired everything shortening the cables and soldered every connection (except the ones on the strips) instead of using crimp connectors. The potentiometer was delivered yesterday so I’ll get it fitted on the weekend to allow me more control. Hopefully you get to the bottom of what’s going on with yours @Albannach and find its an easy fix 
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My current setup is 7 solstix x2 (3500k) with a 320w dimmable driver that when cranked can hit 400w!? I only run it at 280w (40w) per strip and would like to run it more efficiently.
I want to add some more strips, and was thinking 2 more. Should I get 2 more 3500k or maybe the red/blue to my setup?
I’m not sure if there is a problem now or not bro cos that HLG-320H 24B does draw 340W - but only when driving 9 strips. Your HLG-600H 24B is obviously driving your 12 strips to their maximum 50W each so i’m a bit confused to say the least. I temporarily tried a very short cable, about 2 feet, that gained me 1 whole Watt 
I might have to get back to the seller now, not sure this driver is right. It may just be that 6 strips does not place a high enough load on it or something. It’s running right now but i’d like to know for sure if it has regulation issues so i can return it in time.
One difference between the 600 and the 320W drivers is that your 600 goes to full output with nothing connected to those dimmer wires. The 320 goes to minimum output with no pot connected. I wonder how yours will behave when you fit that pot bro 
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Ha ha. Don’t stress me out 
things are working perfect for me at the minute. If it’s not broke don’t fix it I say. I may just leave the pot for now until something light wise needs attention.
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Not sure why you are discounting 10% of the power output. Mean Well HLGs are 95% efficient. Maybe 15 watts are being consumed by the HLG-240 at maximum output.
More strips will draw more power, for sure. Still, your top end draws are low. SolSheet Xs, with 5 X2 strips and an HLG-240H-24A driver regularly draw over 300 watts when fully overdriven (I/O and V/O pots to “11” Spinal Tap style ).
No pot connected and dimmer leads separated? That’s just wrong. Should be full power. If true your dimmer circuit is bad.
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Thanks that is something i can chuck at the seller when he gets back to me.
Just checked the spec sheet, HLG 240 H (24V) = 92.5% efficiency so i was allowing for that plus any potential loss from wiring
btw spinal tap was a classic eh
Did some more testing today and i seem to have worked out what’s been happening. I disconnected the 100K pot on that HLG-320H 24B and got pretty much full output, don’t know why’ i thought it went to minimum the other day but it definitely goes to a draw of 340W when the dimmer wires are open circuit, but ONLY when powering 9 strips. It still only draws 260W when powering 6 strips though.
I did some more research on these drivers and they all stay in constant voltage mode until they get very close to their rated max current output. A type A version can however exceed it’s stated max current output at which point it will switch to constant current mode. The type B version cant exceed it’s maximum stated output so when the max working voltage is reached they hold the current down.
With 6 strips i get 23.8V at the light when the driver reaches that 260W mains draw. If i keep turning the 100K pot up after this point i get no further increase in output so it holds the voltage down to just under 24 and in doing so it also holds the current down because the two are linked. Six X2 strips can handle 12A max but that driver produces 13.3A at max so it’s sensing the under load and responding by cutting back the power.
With 9 strips the driver obviously has a heavier load so it’s actually reaching it’s maximum output of 13.3A before the voltage reaches 24 so it is able to put out it’s maximum because the voltage at the light does not exceed 23.5V at full output. This is the key to it all and it should have been obvious from the bloody start.
It’s been educational
Just in case anyone else is interested enough to risk a sore head, here is some good reading.
https://www.waveformlighting.com/tech/how-do-meanwell-hlg-led-power-supplies-work
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There you go. I was debating whether this might be the issue, but the dimming comments threw me off.
To sum up:
- As a general rule, in parallel-wired SolStrip systems, allocate 50 watts per strip at 24v constant voltage/ 2100mA maximum current and you’ll get full rated output and 50% or better dimming functionality out of both A and B style MW HLG drivers.
- The A’s, due to technical design differences, will give you some additional power of around 5-10% on the top end.
- You get that power in the A’s by overdriving the system voltage, which exerts its multiplier effect on output (wattage).
- There are important trade-offs to consider before overdriving your strips: a) It likely won’t hurt your driver but it may shorten the life of your diodes somewhat, especially if the additional heat generated is not managed well (below 60C); and b) the extra power will be used less efficiently by the strips and lower the overall efficiency of the system to a level that is still much more efficient than mass-market HID or “blurple” lamps, but less than optimum for premium LEDs.
Caveats aside, bench testing of SolSheet and SolStix Rack systems driven at up to 60 watts per strip for more than 12 hours at a time has shown no damage or measurable degradation of PAR spectrum or output. This has as much to do with proper heat management as anything, both the sheets and the racks with SolStix heatsinks were designed to handle it and maintain case temperatures below 60C in extended operation.
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I have my 12 strips running at 50w each give or take. The heat sinks are warm to touch but not uncomfortable. It’s enough heat to help me reduce the RH. I have 2 fans blowing at full speed directly across them oscillating to help distribute the heat around the tent. It works really well and it’s helped reduce the humidity to below 40%. @Baudelaire running them at 50w obviously shortens the life of the diodes but by how much in your opinion?? If it’s something like 25% then I’ll not worry too much but if it’s significantly more then maybe I’ll have to make some more adjustments.
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None at all at 50 watts.
SolStrips are rated for 50w, well within Samsung’s tolerances for their full 50,000 hour lifecycle rating (degradation of less than 10%). I was referring to driving them at 60w. I have no way of knowing what the longterm effects are, but my experience suggests any increased degradation rates are on the order of minimal to insignificant. In typical operation, 50,000 hours is 10-15 years. What lights were you using 10 years ago?
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The sun I lived in Spain 10 years ago so…
Thanks for reassuring me about how much I’m driving them. I’ve got things just around perfect on the lighting side of my growing but obviously I’m no expert and I had a little niggling feeling in my head I had it wrong. @Baudelaire thank you!
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My current rig, it’s actively cooled and i have since fitted a 50 degrees C thermal cutoff switch in case the fans fail. It runs stone cold at 240W and is still at room temp pushing 290W (with a type A driver )
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Check out how neat the wiring between the strips are. I’d be embarrassed to show mine
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I’ve had a fair bit of practice over the years bro
I pinched the Mrs driver for it last night, it’s an HLG-240H 24B and it’s dimmer works perfectly with those 6 strips. At max it’s drawing 265W from the mains so it’s putting out it’s full 240W when driver loss is accounted for 
I plugged that HLG-320H 24B i got for my new rig into her passive cooled 9 strip rig and it works a charm with it.
I actually got leaf burn the other day when i was over driving that new 6 strip rig. It was pushing 270W and the nearest top was about 16" from the strips. Seems i don’t actually need more than 240W in a 2 x 4 tent anyway lol.
The up shot is we both now have external dimmers on our rigs which is what we wanted all along and i can still over drive my 6 strip rig if i ever want to by plugging in my old HLG-240H 24A
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