IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

[Greengenes707]

Talking with Captain he suggested the 1-2 9.5w in addition to my RW-75, mostly because of the diminishing returns after about 30w per sq foot. I had originally planned on getting 2-4 of the floodlights for additional flowering lights but will probably stick with 2-4 9.5w at least for now and see how it goes. Maybe I will do 2 of those 18 watters instead, though. I will have to do some tests and see when my yield starts to level out with the addition of more and more lights.

Also the height issue is only for veg, flowering chamber has much more height. Is there a difference in heat with the glass domes off vs on? I think in my veg chamber the closest the plants will get to the bulbs is probably about 4-6" - I am setting up a perpetual scrog, so the canopy in veg won't be going above the screen. Captain said you could put those bulbs right in the canopy, but I assume he meant with the glass on.. not sure if having the glass off would change that or not?

And yes, definitely aware of the electrical shock issue, if I were to go that route I would be careful, plus the way my lights would be hung it would be pretty hard to accidentally touch one of them, but definitely will keep that in mind! I used to work in construction and am pretty used to those shocks, still not the funnest thing, though!

Read this thread...it will give you ideas/help you with your situation. Very similar.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/djs-led-medical-grow.656712/

One of the best a51 grows to date IMO.

 

[az2000]

I like 3 of these to 1 5000K or Daylight white. Some say you don't need a 5000K, I've seen some recommend a 5 x 2700K to 1 x 5000K when it comes to flowering. The 5000Ks veg better but I would go 1 to 1 in veg with these.

What's an example of how 4-6 bulbs are mounted? Spacing between them? (They point down? Affixed to some kind of grid frame?).

 

[FranJan]

In Captain M's thread I posted a picture of 4 CREE bulbs mounted horizontally, bulb end to bulb end, in a lengthwise cut of PVC, each secured with a circular clamp around the heatsink and with aluminum foiled taped on the inside of the PVC to act as a reflector. I used three 2700 to 1 5000 for flowering and 1 to 1 for vegging. They're going bye bye anyway, finally joined the COB revolution .

 

[GCMDH]

It's an interesting light but there's not a lot of ironclad info and flowering is gonna be hit or (probably) miss. Looks like you might have to be the first monkey in space on this one. IMHO look elsewhere but if you do go for it at least you'll end up with some nice heatsinks for a DIY project with better LEDs.

Thanks for your advice . They told me that they are just manufacturer ,good at making good products . not good at growing . http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_products/

 

[part time grower326]

Would anyone out there that would be so kind as to look at eBay and give me a few options for a led light.I know they aren't going to be the best but honestly I just need something that will work decent for a small cabinet.size should be small enough to fit a 25x19" space.I know nothing about led but I think they will be my best option for my next cabinet build.I'm trying to stay kinda cheap because I don't have a ton extra right now and I'm not growing the best stuff in the world just something to have a stash and maybe make a lil cash.thanks

 

[vitamin_green_inc]

Would anyone out there that would be so kind as to look at eBay and give me a few options for a led light.I know they aren't going to be the best but honestly I just need something that will work decent for a small cabinet.size should be small enough to fit a 25x19" space.I know nothing about led but I think they will be my best option for my next cabinet build.I'm trying to stay kinda cheap because I don't have a ton extra right now and I'm not growing the best stuff in the world just something to have a stash and maybe make a lil cash.thanks

VIPAR, TopLED, or the led lightbulbs that are like normal lightbulbs

 

[Bad Karma]

VIPAR, TopLED, or the led lightbulbs that are like normal lightbulbs

Almost, while Vipar, and the Cree light bulbs, are good suggestions, TopLED is shit. We do not recommend their lights here. They're made from the cheapest parts, have no quality control, and can not penetrate a canopy properly.
@part time grower326, for your needs, you would be best served with a Vipar reflector LED light. Good luck.

 

[GroErr]

Almost, while Vipar, and the Cree light bulbs, are good suggestions, TopLED is shit. We do not recommend their lights here. They're made from the cheapest parts, have no quality control, and can not penetrate a canopy properly.
@part time grower326, for your needs, you would be best served with a Vipar reflector LED light. Good luck.

Ditto on the Top LED assessment, I can't complain about their build quality but gave them a couple of runs and they can't flower worth shit. I documented the second flowering run here with those Top LED reflector panels if you'd like some more details.

 

[part time grower326]

What kind of wattage should I look for? I've seen some with low watts and some that say 300w.I have no clue about LEDs so any help is appreciated.

 

[FranJan]

^^^It's easier for people to suggest the wattage if you tell them the panel you're interested in. For example 150 watts of CREE diodes pack more of a punch than 150 watts of Asian mystery diodes so you would need something like double the watts of a budget panel compared to something built on CREE technology. And that 300w you see advertised are the maximum watts a panel can theoretically run at but almost no one runs their LEDs at their max for several good reasons. So find panels that you like, then ask "How many watts of company X's panels do I need for this grow space"? Then people can try to answer you.

 

[part time grower326]

What about the vipar?I looked at some of theirs and seemed affordable on my budget.some of the others ive seen are mars hydro,pioneer,and king.I stay away from anything that doesn't atleast have some kind of brand name even though I don't know how much you can trust that because they all look the same.

 

[part time grower326]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/380985542051?nav=SEARCH

Any experience with this one?its been one of the only one ive seen with veg/bloom switches and I assume that's better than having one setting.

 

[GroErr]

http://m.ebay.com/itm/380985542051?nav=SEARCH

Any experience with this one?its been one of the only one ive seen with veg/bloom switches and I assume that's better than having one setting.

Definitely not a good one part time, been there done that, they veg well but lack in flowering spectrum/output whatever you want to call it. I recently documented a second try at flowering with these in here. They grew buds but they were fluffy, no density, no weight, a waste of electricity imo. I just posted results against that grow with a new light (sig), same plant/strain, clone from the plant I ran under these LED's, this round nearly tripled the weight of those panels in essentially the identical environment.

 

[part time grower326]

OK good to know.thanks

 

[part time grower326]

So I've seen and heard some pretty good results with vipars and mars.I've found a vipar 400w 200w draw that I'm thinking I may purchase when the time comes but they seem to be just one spectrum and not able to switch from veg-flower.is the spectrum enough to cover both?I can always veg under my 6500k CFLs I'm more worried about flowering.my CFLs aren't doing as good as I'd like.I don't need the best buds but I'd like enough to have a nice lil stash.its more of a hobby for me

 

[Flatlines]

im running an apollo 300w multi band works like a champ just needed to tinker with the distance from plant found thy respond best to 18-26inches away but that is my set up... just hope u guys dont slam ur lights down need to get 1 more light for a flower only n one for veg but for now im only growing 3 girls so im all good

 

[part time grower326]

I looked at Apollo before but wasn't sure.I read pretty good reviews of them on amazon.my cabinet is going to be kinda small and I'll just be doing from seed grows from time to time probably of random bag seeds.Atleast once I'm gonna order some fem seeds and scrog them but I want to get at least one run through once I get my cab built before ordering seeds.

 

[Flatlines]

my space is 4x4x4 smallish space n the apollo works great but its not big enough in reality it covers a 2x4 (since the light is not square" rectangle) square perfectly if i had a second light so i could angle my set up then i could cover a much larger are per light n even get some side light action from my main lights.. n im growing snow fruit fem from seed as well man... but yea def a good idea to do a random seed run if u want to tho since u dont have ur box built n wanna test out ur light... im basicly doin a random grow was thinking scrog but its my 1st grow in this country so i jus wanted a little goods for me 1st..

lol i orderd my light from amazon but i checked reviews on fourms n read good things so leap of faith n its paying off plants are 40days in veg one is a super random bag seed n the 2 on the right are snow fruit

 

[part time grower326]

Once I get my cabinet and get it started I will mount the panel to the very top and it will be lighting a space roughly 25"x 19" from a height of 35" so it will be small so I figure that would be enough light
to fill that up

 

[az2000]

lighting a space roughly 25"x 19" from a height of 35"

That's not much vertical space. How tall will your plants be? You have to maintain some distance between your canopy and the light.

I grow autoflowers in a 48" tall tent. I grow in 3-gal round containers (12" tall?), the plants are 24" tall. That leaves about 12" for a fixture that's 3" deep, needs 2" above for ventelation. Now we're talking 7" distance between canopy and light. Sometimes less if the plant's unusually tall. I always have to LST (bend) taller branches down to keep 6-8" of space.

So, with that kind of space, you either have to grow smaller plants in smaller containers (or scrog), and/or limit your lighting choices. For example, instead of 5w bulbs in reflectors, I'd go 3w on white backboards for softer more diffuse light.

As a comparison, I get decent results from a Blackstar 135w (85w actual) UFO. There are two in the 4x2 tent, so two plants get the benefit of two lights (reflected light, more diffuse). I'm getting 4-5 oz per plant. Big dense buds. I think I could do better with some additional light on the side with the autoflower in flower.

If you're in a 2x2 area, you could grow one plant under one similarly powered light. In flower add 2-3 of those CREE 8w bulbs at Home Depot, 2700k.

Anyway, my point is: your vertical space probably eliminates 5w or reflector lights. You'd do better diffusing that power.