That’s what sold it for me too bro. I’ll be building a 240w 5 strip fixture in the next week or so. So we can test and see what happens I guess
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Yeh the money and technology is wasted otherwise eh. Looking forward to seeing your 5 strip rig in action 
How about as an option for some folk, you could offer a larger type B driver with an external 100K pot in a wee box so it’s easy to adjust the output. The output could be adjusted depending on growth stage and you could dim the rig before opening the tent/space up.
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even running these diodes at near max you’re getting ~2.45 µmol/joule and from what i can find a SE 1000W HPS is only *1.02 µmol/j - so still about 2.5x the photon efficiency of HPS, and only about 16.66% loss compared to max (3.02 µmol/j)
the way i look at it is the gains in efficiency are minimal vs the cost of extra boards needed to run same wattage at low current. plus the increase in life is negligible also, even if it only runs 30,000hrs instead of 50,000 hrs or whatever, odds are i’m going to replace my fixture before it dies anyways as tech advances and prices drop.
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Fair points and well made. What do you think of the idea of an optional larger type B driver?
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You could do both options and order the drivers when you need them.
Depending on normal driver shipping time to you is what you could advertise as your lead time then you can build the rig while the driver is on it’s way connect the driver and ship the light.
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Loving all these options except the B driver. Lol. Been trying my hardest to keep excess wiring to a minimum.
Everyone has the options to buy “solstix” separately and choose their own drivers if they wish to build themselves. I wasn’t actually 
up on that information either @legalcanada it’s all speculative information I’ve gathered from fellow growers. @Albannach you can still dim both voltage and current adjustment on an A driver. That paired with an ammeter you know what you’re pulling anyway.
The guy that bought the 10 strip 300w rig (actually 400w) has set his room to bloom using 2 drivers. One at full straight off the bat. And one he is increasing as he goes through set 2 hours either side of the main driver.
Maybe we can try this a different way.
What would you want in your personal builds if you could buy one off the shelf?
@Pedro_Bann that’s pretty much what we’re doing for the moment with a few 150w drivers in stock
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I recon the best bet is to offer a range of rigs including your standard driver recommendations plus a higher output option for each rig giving the customer an informed choice
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Let me swing these by you.
Minisun. 500x450mm. 5 strips (choice of CCT) 150w driver. Comes with sonoff th16a as standard to set schedules and measure temps/humidity. (End user could set scenes for a sonoff 4ch pro r2. to be purchased separately. Via the th16a) and an ammeter.
Minisun punch…as above but with a 240w driver.
Midisun 1000x450mm. 10 strips. (Choice of CCT). 2 x 150w drivers. Ready rigged with sonoff 4ch pro r2. (The option to purchase the th16a separate with this one) and an ammeter.
Midisun punch… As above with 2x240w drivers.
Maxisun 1000x1000mm 20 strips. Choice of CCT. 4 x 150w drivers. 4ch pro R2. And ammeter. The option to purchase a th16a separately.
Maxisun punch…as above with 4x240w drivers.
@Robin your input is pivotal here too bro
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I like those choices bro, the lower output drivers would be good for folks with heat issues but they can still upgrade later if they want by changing the driver Hopefully more people will contribute their thoughts too.
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Easy to upgrade, maybe modular so a light supplied to light a 2x2 could be reconfigured to light a 1x4 or upgraded to light a 3x2 without it looking like a 1x2 light has been grafted to the side. This might not be easy as you are stuck with 400mm long strips. Being modular may also make them quicker and easier to build.
I wouldn’t want to be poking a screwdriver into my driver to dim it unless I knew what I was doing, so a B type driver with an adjuster knob set up so minimum setting is for veg and maximum setting for flower or something like that. I could draw a diagram for that if you like.
The inrush current of these drivers are pretty high even if its only milliseconds it might be enough to weld the contacts in the relays in the sonoff.
Your website isn’t the easiest to navigate, the shop at solstrips uk link at the top of the home page is easy to miss, scroll down a little then there is a banner for the US site I bet a good percentage of people visiting your site click that and go to the US site before finding the products on your site. To buy a solstrip takes 4 clicks to get to the page to choose options then add to basket. Might be better to have your product pages at the top of your homepage then at the bottom to order outside the UK click here.
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Thanks flippynips this is the kind of input we need. @robin takes care of the web side of things and is always glad of input there. There is a 10amp relay on each channel of the sonoff 4ch pro r2. So the startup doesn’t really affect it too much. The screwdriver in the driver is all insulated. it is effectively just a potentiometer that’s built in. But this is not the first time this has been mentioned so B drivers are definitely something we need to consider I guess. Cost increases a fair bit though particularly for multiple driver units when you buy potentiometers separately. (I’m not averse to using potentiometers myself it’s always just been unnecessary imho.
I helped a guy along the way design and build his own modular light for a 4x4 roof cube he had to get into the loft so. Needed to be strapped together once through the hatch and that went well. So modular is a definite possibility.
I’m not sure if you seen the little 300w actually 400w light I built and sold. But that’s kinda where we were heading with design. I have a few more bits of stock metal coming this week. So I’ll be building a “minisun punch” prototype and see what you all think.
Keep it coming guys
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I would like to see a modular design too 460x460 … or somewhere around there (500x 500)
it would make for easier shipping, setting up by the end user and manufacture (they would all be the same except drivers), standardization is always good for manufacturing keeping parts costs down and speeding up assembly.
If they are built to be connectable or used separately then they can accommodate any size grow room.
Then all a punter would need to do is choose spectrum, choose standard or punch version then choose how many units.
One of the Sonoff units you speak of will run up to 4 units and the ammeter could be optional.
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500x450mm are possible. And the bracing in the middle can be made to make a light fit an area.
You can kinda see that’s what we went for here. So let me try simplify what you’re saying bro.
Basically make a single model like the midisun. But work on making them modular so they can buy one or multiples at a time so they can strap them together. In either a linear or cube fashion dependant upon space.
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Yep thats exactly my thinking mate, on a budget you could buy one unit and add on to it later and plug it into the same sonoff.
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@Pedro_Bann I went and spent an hour or so playing. The dimensions are there. 75mm height. You think every block should sit on the shelf like this.
I will make it possible to “Daisy chain” 2 together by female 2 pin plug. Meaning you could buy your units like this. (I will post a pic of the finished blocks. But it’s looking like I leave a spot for you to wire in your driver of choice. Also considering wiring the ammeter in the driver side. I need to try that with this one see how it does. The general consensus seems to be remote drivers too. Whats preferable? I am trying to take everything you’re all saying on board and I’m grateful for your time
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looking and sounding great. i am 50 50 with the remote driver thing sure there is less heat but there is way more wiring to deal with in the grow space, onboard drivers makes for a cleaner build.
with the daisy chain do you mean with onboard drivers and link up the 100/240 volt side? that would make setup super easy and there would be alot less wiring in growspace too.
If every unit sat on the shelf like that you could have a stock pre built and parts pre built/cut and only need to buy the same for every build.
The hardest part will probably be making a decision on the V.1 model to start selling and how to print/stamp/lasercut ‘Soltrip UK’ into them.
happy days.
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Yup that says it all for me too. Very nice unit that, if i couldn’t build my own i’d be placing an order about now so i can see them selling ok.
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I have a mini mill in my workshop and also have cnc knowledge. Fuck I even have belts. Pulleys. Stepper motors and a grbl controller lol. I don’t understand what you mean by remote drivers mean more cable to trip over. You’d literally be swapping one cable for the 240v ac/in to the driver out. I think I’ve come up with a simple lock to join them together too I’ll keep you posted there.
Me and Mrs cola were chatting before and she said it’s probably worth selling 2 kinds of unit. A base unit and an add on. The base unit would need an input from the driver. Which hits the ammeter before the strips. Any secondary lights would be picked up on the ammeter via the “Daisy chain” cable.
I’m not exactly a wordsmith I apologise for that I’ll get you pics as soon as I can lol
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Nevermind, I was just thinking of my personal setup where my power board is inside my cab and with remote drivers I have outside the cab means that from the power goes outside the cab then back inside to the LED rig.
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I’m thinking of my predominant UK market of tent growers here. There would be absolutely nothing stopping the end user mounting the driver on top of the fixture though. I’m still having a mesh top on similar to the last custom build so that would/could house it nicely should you wish to have it in your room. Very much worth noting though as you say not everyone will be in a similar size area
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