Nice rack build @newb2.0 !
As for digital dimming, by which I take you mean a PWM dimmer with remote control, I am working with some controllers based on the Zigbee open source standard, but haven’t found one I can wholeheartedly recommend yet. When I do, we will offer it with a new strip we’re developing that will offer growers a whole new level of intensity and spectral control. Most DIY growers that have implemented digital dimmer controllers borrow from the aquarists’ toolkit of tank lighting controllers, but they are expensive ($200+) and less than optimal for our uses.
RE: 220v, the Mean Well drivers are set up to automatically switch to 220v operation, so you’d wire the AC side the same as any 220v appliance. I can’t say about the Sonoffs, you’d have to check the specifications. Small AC switches like that are often not capable of running 220v.
RE: far red, well there’s a lot of conjecture and debate about this. I fall out on the side of using it as a general spectrum augmentation, particularly in early cycle (sunrise) and mid-cycle to end cycle (sunset), based on the idea that these are the times of day when natural summer sunlight has a heightened proportion of deep red (600-680nm) and far red (680-740 nm) in its spectrum. So I use the red/blue strips for 20 minutes before full lights on, and then for the last 4 fours of the bloom cycle, plus 20 minutes after full lights off. I like the results, particularly for tightening up the finish, in terms of time (7-10% shorter) and uniformity (less stragglers).
RE: UVB well, @Guitarzan, I’ve gone back and forth about UV and decided for now to leave it out of SolStrip products for two reasons. One is safety, UV has significant health impacts, even in brief exposure situations, and I haven’t gotten comfortable with offering a product that could literally blind you without specific operational safeguards. The other is that LEDs that emit UV are very expensive, have a short life and poor efficiency. The reptile fluorescent tube UVB lights are a much better alternative than any LED solution available today. If you really want UV in your grow, get a couple of those.
Hi @Baudelaire, just curious if you have any plans to make a Red/Blue strip like in the X2 range but in a 36 volt variant?
I really want to add some deep red and blue to my two X3 builds but it will involve spending a lot of money on extra drivers for each as well as extra hardware to mount on the rigs which is not preferable.
If not, I may have to go and whip up something myself which is undesirable cos i have no idea how THAT will turn out
We don’t have any immediate plans for a 36v red/blue strip. You could add a cheap step-down convertor in front of each X2 red/blue and use them in an X3 array for about $1 per strip. Search “LM2596” on Ebay or Amazon. You’d need a voltmeter to calibrate, and a little solder, but that’s about it. Or you can pick up one of our 100w 24v Mean Well dimmable drivers for about $45 and have the option to run a sunrise/sunset cycle independent of your main light cycle to stimulate the Emerson effect.
Sorry, what I am meaning is that I already have a rig I built with a Mean Well driver and Solstrips. I was concerned if there is any issues with dimming the supply to the converters feeding the red/blue strips. Do the converters have any issue with their input being manipulated. ie: their current being altered using the drivers built in amperage potentiometers. I just want to make sure they would be happy and just dim with the 36v x3s on the same driver/rig.
Thanks.
@BudSy if by convertors you mean the the LM2596 step-downs, I don’t see why dimming via the amp pot wouldn’t work as expected. The convertors only step-down voltage, not current.
I understand Ohm’s Law, but that’s not how the step-down convertor works. It limits the current that it passed through it. Just as the driver itself holds voltage constant while amperage is raised or lowered via the dimmer pot.
We don’t do a lot of discounting at SolStrip.com, but we have a few SolSheet X lamps and kits that we need to move out to make room for some new products in the offing. I thought I’d give the good folks at OG first crack at them before we announce it more widely. Click the SALE tab at SolStrip.com and use the code JAN15 to receive 15% off now through the end of the month, while stock lasts.
Cool looking setup… so just to clarify in your setup you have about 6 square metres, and by my rough estimates based on watts are outputting say 150 - 180 K lumens from all the lights? Is that about right? If so that’s a good result in that space from that amount of light!
Just got 2/3 of my packages in the mail and figured I’d make a post here in case anyone feels like helping me build it step by step. It came with instructions but with me being paranoid of doing something wrong I figure one step at a time might be a better option since wiring is completely another language to me.
I am waiting on the last package and some pliers and wire strippers. They should all come tomorrow or at the very least sometime this week. The only thing I’ve done so far was attach the strips to the heatsinks with the nylon screws. I tightened them with a screwdriver but didn’t use much force to over tighten them.
I have 28 total x2 strips that are going to go on 4 aluminum racks with 7 strips ea and 2 of them ea sharing a 600w driver for total of 1200w in a 4x8.
I can prob figure out how to build the rack part (lol) but the last few steps I know I will have some trouble wrapping my head around and would be nice if I could get some kinda help so I do it right. Seems pretty straightforward but still my first time so better safe than sorry. Assembling Your SolStix Rack.pdf (382.0 KB)
Easy peasy. The dual single-pole connectors on the SolStrip X2s make it simple to build your parallel circuits just attach the positive leads on one side, negative leads on the other. In one connector hole, out the other, and on to the next strip in the same manner until your done. Should take about 20 minutes per rack. Hardest thing is stripping the leads…
