Hey Guru, Dude and Scotty. Love the podcast! Wish Guru would chime in more, or ya’ll should have a section of the show called Guru’s Dojo where he just lays the knowledge on thick. After hearing ya’ll talk about the HLG 550 that Scotty got from HLG, I wanted to share with you all a light I built from scratch that is very similar to the HLG 550. HLG and Growmau5 at ChilLED are making lights based around the Samsung LM561c diode. Samsung did not invest millions of dollars in R&D and production for horticultural lighting. This LED is designed to replace fluorescent lighting in offices, warehouses and retail. Samsung manufactures the LM561C LED on 1, 2 and 4 foot strips for direct placement into fluorescent fixtures. The light I built is comprised of 24, 2 foot strips (1,152 diodes, same as the HLG 550) wired to a 480 watt meanwell driver. I also added 660nm and 730nm leds after I put it together and did a run with it. I dont mean to sound braggadocious, I just want to inform the DGC that you can get the latest in LED tech off the shelf and put it together yourself without knowing a whole lot about electrical design, and build a light that can compete on price and performance with the best lighting horticultural LED manufacturers have to offer, because after all, you’re using the same components.

Check out the pics and let me know what you think. I built it into a 2×4 by 4’ tall patio box that lives on my balcony in Los Angeles. The entire fixture can go up to 525 watts from the wall and is 2 inches thick and almost goes edge to edge with LEDs. There are no fans in the light, the fans that blow on the plants and the exhaust keep the whole thing about as warm as a drinkable cup of coffee. The whole thing is bolted to the roof of the patio box with 1” between the LEDs and the roof. The strain that’s in there is Strawberry Banana from DNA Genetics and Im using RX Green Solutions, some kelp and recharge. Finished 1 run and in the middle of my second with this light. Just into the first week of flower. I hope this helps!