Going from HPS to LED. Worth it?

[HydoDan]

Led users will do well to steer clear of me if they are making claims, i will not yeild to this hype and some have torn them a new a-hole on this thread alone. The next gen leds maybe of some good but as yet id rather have all my light from a single source not multiple pathetic 3 watt diodes. I can agree to disagree but my view will not be bent. Seriously expect some big debates if they keep on this tact, hype has been around as long as cobs, pathetic the claims they make. Heat is never an issue in a cool tube, a watt is a watt and those hps growers are getting bigger yeilds.

I only came on this thread to bait them and only because my original comment elsewhere was that leds will grow some great bud but hps yeilds more, pretty much fact now for five years...

You all bought leds because of hype not fact now grow up and stop twisting the science!

Stick with hps and shut the fuck up. Fukwit!!!

 

[a mongo frog]

I have ran every light out there except for CFL, and right now I am running 1 room with 2000w HID and 2 rooms that are approximately 6'x6'x8' with 15 Pinnacle 300's (1 each for 2 plants) and 1 Viper 450 in a small closet. The reason that I went to LED in the 2 rooms and closet was primarily due to heat and energy consumption. The 1 room that I kept the HID is larger and can deal with the heat, which is a big concern with HID, plus energy cost. I know people will say that the Pinnacles and Viper are not COB's, and therefore not as good as it gets. Oh well, I don't have the best LEDS out there, but I find them to be pretty good in the terms of price and product produced. Anyway, to make a long story as short as possible, I would use an LED in a tent in a heartbeat, simply because of heat, not even counting amperage draw and cost, with is always a concern. BUT, as far as producing big plants and big buds, it is my belief that HID is the way to go. I like to grow big plants and with HID, I get 4' to 5' plants in a waterfarm system without a problem with a 5 week veg, whereas with the LED i'm lucky to get a 4' plant, which is a big difference as far as product produced. So that being said, if I was on a desert island with a choice of what light I could use without temp. height or energy consumption concerns, I vote HID, but if those conditions apply, LED would probably be a better choice. Oh, by the way I wouldn't put more than 6 plants in a 5x5 tent, your asking for trouble if you do. This is of course my own opinion.

Your not aloud to like LED and HPS at the same time friend. Its one or the other........... People that like both and can grow great product with both are liars and shit heads and lazy and............ Although your post makes perfect sense and is the truth about gardening, we cant have this type of posting going on, its to fair, its to correct. Led is best ups is shit ask @Olive Drab Green and @GreenSanta their bud is the best because of led. Its not because their great gardeners either.

 

[Jimdamick]

Lol, I just wanted to see what it felt like to be a hps grower bashing leds. If u read between the lines you will find that I was joking. I still hope people are slow to catch on because I think my weed is better than hps weed. I grow exclusively with LEDs and have for years.

I want to bring up a point, 95% of competent growers grow with hps while 95% of new

Your not aloud to like LED and HPS at the same time friend. Its one or the other........... People that like both and can grow great product with both are liars and shit heads and lazy and............ Although your post makes perfect sense and is the truth about gardening, we cant have this type of posting going on, its to fair, its to correct. Led is best ups is shit ask @Olive Drab Green and @GreenSanta their bud is the best because of led. Its not because their great gardeners either.

LOL

 

[Olive Drab Green]

You all bought leds because of hype not fact now grow up and stop twisting the science!

This is totally false and further makes this guy look dumb.

 

[Kingrow1]

Stick with hps and shut the fuck up. Fukwit!!!

Make me lolol!

 

[Kingrow1]

Your not aloud to like LED and HPS at the same time friend. Its one or the other........... People that like both and can grow great product with both are liars and shit heads and lazy and............ Although your post makes perfect sense and is the truth about gardening, we cant have this type of posting going on, its to fair, its to correct. Led is best ups is shit ask @Olive Drab Green and @GreenSanta their bud is the best because of led. Its not because their great gardeners either.

Olive drab green, dont make me laugh!

 

[Olive Drab Green]

Olive drab green, dont make me laugh!

 

[Chunky Stool]

I am getting better at growing, so each round is a little better than the previous. Adding a couple of COBs might be my next experiment.

 

[unbindmoney]

Cob leds are the newest technology and the best lights are DIY projects.. you can build a much better light than you can buy.. Do some research on cob leds and spend wisely...
www.cobkits.com
www.timbergrowlights.com
http://www.cutter.com.au

Listen to this guy, it took me just a week to understand vocab and very simple math. This site is filled with a treasure mine of information if you dig for it or just ask some people. Here are a couple links that got me started

https://www.rollitup.org/t/diy-cob-led-calculator.890214/page-9


Also I would recommend a DIY COB build, as you can customize to a greater degree such as turning the amperage down on the driver to produce only ~600 Watts @ the Wall while you can crank it up to ~1200 Watts @ the Wall if you wanted to. The vocabulary you are looking for that regards yield is PPFD, PAR Watts(/sqfeet and total), and lumens.

Here is how I worked out the Pros and Cons of DIY COB

Pros:
With high efficacy rating, can generate more than 1.0+ grams per Watt
Can spend less Watts @ the Wall without sacrificing yield (depends on Set-up)
Don't have to worry about Toxic bulb material
Don't have to worry about RFI interference by your digital ballast
Don't have to replace bulbs for a long time (~50,000 hour life)
Don't have to worry about the heat burning your plants if the lights are too close
LESS HEAT, meaning your Fans will not be working overtime = less power used

Cons:
Takes time researching parts and functions
EXPENSIVE AS FUCK compared to an HPS setup
You need to assemble the lights YOURSELF (in my case I am probably going to hire an electrician to work on the AC side and some soldering for my Flowering Tent)
Many, many, many different parts if you are going with an active heatsink and cobholders/reflectors and many wires.
Startup items will cost a good amount: Soldering Kit,Thermal Interface Material, 18awg Wires, Wire Cutter/Crimpers, LUX Meter, Potentiometer (if you want to Dim lights). Point is it the money will add up.
Did I mention it takes time to configure your own setup? Took me 50+ hours to work mine out and I still have some questions.
CAN FAIL if you wire it up incorrectly.


The material you need to assemble your lights will cost you more than $100+ but will last you a good while, in case you want to build more lights. For the amount I spent on building my veg tent lights (2'x2'x4') including materials needed to build it I could've bought a 1000W HPS setup with a Lumatek Ballast/Bulb and XXX-L Reflector Hood if I spent around $50-70 more. But this is because I am building a 4 COB setup with a 1400ma dimmable Driver, with the intent of using it as a Flowering light in case I am not vegging (like during Summer, where kWh rates go up) and also as it is my first time building a COB setup, this 4 COB setup is almost identical to the lights I will have in my Flowering tent so it serves will as a prototype that will give me some experience before I have to assemble my 4 Drivers, 16 COBs flowering light setup

Hope this helped.

 

[unbindmoney]

Dare to post threads where Cob is killing Hid here 1 plant 1 k holy smokes Eh


View attachment 3821104

I don't think anyone is here to argue with you about how much you can grow. I mean it looks like you have a ton of space and have a lot of experience. But for someone like me who does not have as much space as you (using 4'x4' tent) and whose kWh prices range from $0.25 - 0.30 using a 1000W HPS setup will drain my power bill as well as create a crazy amount of heat that will require my fan to be working overtime (using more power). From the looks of it you are growing at a commercial rate and I think most of us here are just starting out or growing as a hobby/personal use. Personally I would be very happy if my 600W COB Setup yielded 1.5g/Watt as it will yield ~900g (underperforming a 1000W HPS setup by just a little in a 4x4 tent).

Just my two cents, but what do I know, I've just started this hobby and have yet to even grow one plant

 

[Budley Doright]

I don't think anyone is here to argue with you about how much you can grow. I mean it looks like you have a ton of space and have a lot of experience. But for someone like me who does not have as much space as you (using 4'x4' tent) and whose kWh prices range from $0.25 - 0.30 using a 1000W HPS setup will drain my power bill as well as create a crazy amount of heat that will require my fan to be working overtime (using more power). From the looks of it you are growing at a commercial rate and I think most of us here are just starting out or growing as a hobby/personal use. Personally I would be very happy if my 600W COB Setup yielded 1.5g/Watt as it will yield ~900g (underperforming a 1000W HPS setup by just a little in a 4x4 tent).

Just my two cents, but what do I know, I've just started this hobby and have yet to even grow one plant

Nothing wrong with experimenting and having fun doing it, that's why I'm always changing things .

 

[Criminal_Med_Grower]

I'm curious - when growers say they're getting X grams per watt, do you just use bulb wattage or do you figure actual wattage pulled from the wall + inline cooling + air conditioning?

Anyways, interesting read. I've been out of the game for some time and it seems that while the topics change, there's always a pissing match to be found.

Thanks for the laughs.
Criminal

 

[Tyleb173rd]

Why isn't grams per square foot used more often?

 

[qballizhere]

Led users will do well to steer clear of me if they are making claims, i will not yeild to this hype and some have torn them a new a-hole on this thread alone. The next gen leds maybe of some good but as yet id rather have all my light from a single source not multiple pathetic 3 watt diodes. I can agree to disagree but my view will not be bent. Seriously expect some big debates if they keep on this tact, hype has been around as long as cobs, pathetic the claims they make. Heat is never an issue in a cool tube, a watt is a watt and those hps growers are getting bigger yeilds.

I only came on this thread to bait them and only because my original comment elsewhere was that leds will grow some great bud but hps yeilds more, pretty much fact now for five years...

Try to understand what people are referring to before you start to argue. You're talking 3 watt leds and everyone else is talking Cobs
Cobs can handle 100-150 watts each
Here is a pic of 3 watt led

Here is a pic of a cob

 

[Nugachino]

The initial cost is a bit higher. But for the most part you can tune the spectrums intensities. And eventually you'll save enough to make back what you spent.

 

[Kingrow1]

Try to understand what people are referring to before you start to argue. You're talking 3 watt leds and everyone else is talking Cobs
Cobs can handle 100-150 watts each
Here is a pic of 3 watt led

Here is a pic of a cob

Was on the understanding that the cob was a multiple package not a single point light source so technically i can veiw it in a few ways.

The point is that although good they arent hps and with all that science wouldnt it be better to be truthfull rather than try to convince me otherwise.

 

[ttystikk]

I'm not refuting the fact that plants can grow under LED lighting, nor am I refuting their light output vs heat efficiency. What I am refuting is that a bigger better plant can be grown under them vs HID. Top to bottom, nug for nug, any grow style (e.g.; 7' tall plant). If the heat "issues" associated with HID lighting are properly controlled/mitigated and all else being equal, the HID's are producing greater weight at higher quality.

Edit: "else" was intended "all else".

Refute this plant, over 2 lbs, grown with COB LED, not HID. Same conditions, same trellis, same nutes, LED grew bigger plants.

And the quality of the product is an even bigger difference than yields.

 

[Kingrow1]

Led growers should acknowledge hps more, too much hype and the advancements are still slow and limiting. No ones saying there shit buy wayd it go on taking over everything and trying to drive a nail into hps. Hps growers, apart from me seem, way more chilled and open to leds than visa versa. Like i couldnt suck dick any better than you guys are with those led units (joke).

 

[Olive Drab Green]

View attachment 3822310
Refute this plant, over 2 lbs, grown with COB LED, not HID. Same conditions, same trellis, same nutes, LED grew bigger plants.

And the quality of the product is an even bigger difference than yields.

I think you made a dent in him with that one.

 

[Budley Doright]

I'm curious - when growers say they're getting X grams per watt, do you just use bulb wattage or do you figure actual wattage pulled from the wall + inline cooling + air conditioning?

Anyways, interesting read. I've been out of the game for some time and it seems that while the topics change, there's always a pissing match to be found.

Thanks for the laughs.
Criminal

GPW is not a great comparison to any other than grow but your own IMO. Great way to compare what your doing, but that's it. I have to think this way because I read these threads and feel quite inadequate if comparing them to mine lol.