Need help with LED

[Fish Weed]

Growing in an armoire, 3 1/2' wide, 2 1/2' deep and about 6' of grow room. Growing with cfls right now and the heat is killing me. Want to switch to an LED.

What is a good unit for this space? I'm growing 2 plants that are only a few weeks old. I'm also thinking of buying a 4' x 4' x 7' tent so something that would work in the tent too if I decide to switch everything over.

I've done some reading and research but still unsure what would work best. Any suggestions?

 

[AquariusPanta]

I'll be selling a BlackStar V2 240W Flowering unit here in about a month. Let me know if your interested.

 

[Fish Weed]

Was looking for something that I can use for both Veg and Flower. I'm not on a budget but don't want to spend too much for a light for a small space. I don't want to go with some of the Chinese lights because of all the bad reviews about quality. Just looking for a good light or 2 that will grow some decent plants.

 

[churchhaze]

In general, the more you want to spend, the more efficient your setup will be, upto about 50% with cxa3070 3000k AB driven at very low current.

Running at a low current gets the most efficiency out of any given led, but means you will need more leds to get the same total output power. This means there's a hard tradeoff between startup cost and efficiency.

Anything lower than 30% will sort of defeat the purpose since a fresh HPS lamp is more efficient than that, although and HPS also loses light from the reflector not being 100% efficient.

The vero line at 3500k or 4000k will give you approximately 35-42% depending on how hard you drive while top of the line cxa3070 3000k AB is more like 40-50% depending on how hard you drive. Check with supra's spreadsheets to get a better idea of how efficient your setup will be at a given current as I'm mostly going by memory.

Growing in an armoire, 3 1/2' wide, 2 1/2' deep and about 6' of grow room. Growing with cfls right now and the heat is killing me. Want to switch to an LED.

What is a good unit for this space? I'm growing 2 plants that are only a few weeks old. I'm also thinking of buying a 4' x 4' x 7' tent so something that would work in the tent too if I decide to switch everything over.

I've done some reading and research but still unsure what would work best. Any suggestions?

 

[AquariusPanta]

In general, the more you want to spend, the more efficient your setup will be, upto about 50% with cxa3070 3000k AB driven at very low current.

Running at a low current gets the most efficiency out of any given led, but means you will need more leds to get the same total output power. This means there's a hard tradeoff between startup cost and efficiency.

Anything lower than 30% will sort of defeat the purpose since a fresh HPS lamp is more efficient than that, although and HPS also loses light from the reflector not being 100% efficient.

The vero line at 3500k or 4000k will give you approximately 35-42% depending on how hard you drive while top of the line cxa3070 3000k AB is more like 40-50% depending on how hard you drive. Check with supra's spreadsheets to get a better idea of how efficient your setup will be at a given current as I'm mostly going by memory.

@churchhaze
Your dead on with the 4000K V18 being 35~42% efficient (80 CRI @ 1050mA and between 25~50 degrees celsius). Going off the CRI charts provided by Bridgelux, 4000K (80 CRI) offers the best overall spectra between a 3000K (80 CRI) and a 5000K (70 CRI). Of course all being tested at 25 celsius, the CRI could easily be differentiated at higher temperatures.

Based off your knowledge and experience, do you believe small COBs and stars generally have more or less efficiency in comparison to those previously mentioned?

 

[Bad Karma]

Was looking for something that I can use for both Veg and Flower. I'm not on a budget but don't want to spend too much for a light for a small space. I don't want to go with some of the Chinese lights because of all the bad reviews about quality. Just looking for a good light or 2 that will grow some decent plants.

If you don't want to spend too much, but you don't want a rebranded Chinese panel, grab an Area 51 RW-150. They're on sale and will easily flower your two plants.

 

[Fish Weed]

I was looking at the Area 51 lights and the G8LED 250w. Both of them are in a good price range and seem to fit the area that I have. Does anyone have either of these that could give a review of them?

 

[AquariusPanta]

Just so you know, you can grow through Veg/Flower with the BlackStar V2 I offered earlier. It's "full spectrum", with a few blue and white chips spread on the panel. I'd be willing to sell it for $225. Puts out 145W on the meter, including it's fans.

 

[Fish Weed]

Just so you know, you can grow through Veg/Flower with the BlackStar V2 I offered earlier. It's "full spectrum", with a few blue and white chips spread on the panel. I'd be willing to sell it for $225. Puts out 145W on the meter, including it's fans.

I'll take a look at it on their website for the stats on it. How many hours do you have on it?

 

[AquariusPanta]

I'll take a look at it on their website for the stats on it. How many hours do you have on it?

By the end of the current grow, it will have around 1100 hours logged into it, with 38,880 hours left. I bought it a few months ago, so it's fairly new. I can fill you in with the details if your interested. Just PM me sometime.