@Herbie nice strip build! I agree that 3 or more may need a little cooling, either a thicker/larger baking pan, or a small fan. I’m using 2 strips under clone/bonsai mother trays 2x2 ft per 2-strip light, 4-6 inches from the canopy, and they are doing well.
I started my LED strip projects using these TCI strips from the Estonian shop in the Ebay link above. I’ve since decided to design my own strips, which are twice as powerful and use the most efficient white LEDs on the market, the Samsung LM561C chips. More on those here> DIY Grow Lights with high-efficiency LED strips
but to square the circle on this project, here’s my parts and design notes:
Below is everything I used to build a 3-strip, 75w light:
I wanted to see if I could contain all of the electricals within the baking sheet, and then use an acrylic sheet to protect it from water spray, leaves, etc. I also wanted to use a switch to offer a low light/ high light option:
Switched to one strip only, for seedlings and rooting clones:
Two strips lit, for rooted clones and mothers:
I used 25mm nylon spacers and nylon screws to attach an acrylic sheet over the strips. It’s not waterproof, but it does shield the LEDs and internal wiring from the elements. I’m very happy with the result:
As you can see, this clone bench is very tight on vertical space. If I was going to keep the lights more than 6 inches above the canopy I’d probably run all three strips over a 3 x 3 ft space. I probably wouldn’t flower with this light, but I would with my SolStrips, at twice the watts/meter as these TCI strips.
-b420