Is this a wise choice for a new led!?
- Thread starter Tokintoucan
- Start date
RainDan
Well-Known Member
Hi @Tokintoucan
Thank you for the thread and also a big thank you to everyone for their very nice words - we do work hard at our customer service and make it a point to be a very customer focused company. I appreciate the feedback and will definitely pass it on to everyone else here.
I have replied to your PM - please feel free to respond either via PM, by email at dan@timbergrowlights.com or in this thread.
Best Regards,
Dan
Thank you for the thread and also a big thank you to everyone for their very nice words - we do work hard at our customer service and make it a point to be a very customer focused company. I appreciate the feedback and will definitely pass it on to everyone else here.
I have replied to your PM - please feel free to respond either via PM, by email at dan@timbergrowlights.com or in this thread.
Best Regards,
Dan
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
Actually, the light you originally posted is very much on par as the Viaspectra 900 you already have. The Cob I think would be a bit better overall, but I wouldn't expect a night and day difference.
In the end, they both utilize about the same amount of power. They're both rated for roughly the same space. Considering how much more the Cob cost, I think you'll be disappointed. Not because the Cob isn't a very good light. It is. But because it's not going to make any huge amount of difference in the end results of your grow. Certainly not 200 dollars worth at any rate.
I would hold off on buying one until you are ready to not only upgrade your lighting but upgrade your space as well...or at the very least until your Via 900 as at the end of its life, then definitely replace it with the Cob.
In the end, they both utilize about the same amount of power. They're both rated for roughly the same space. Considering how much more the Cob cost, I think you'll be disappointed. Not because the Cob isn't a very good light. It is. But because it's not going to make any huge amount of difference in the end results of your grow. Certainly not 200 dollars worth at any rate.
I would hold off on buying one until you are ready to not only upgrade your lighting but upgrade your space as well...or at the very least until your Via 900 as at the end of its life, then definitely replace it with the Cob.
Tokintoucan
Active Member
Haha it's getting my head round all these measurements that's hard? So would you recommend starting them (seedlings) under it at 10% then turning up gradually whilst maintaining the recommended height
Tokintoucan
Active Member
The thing that lacks with the vipar is the coverage, it's super intense in the centre...on the outside not as much lol. Would the cob not solve this issue? Also I have heard of people getting much better quality and quantity with cob? Is this a myth?
CobKits
Well-Known Member
depends on a whole host of factors. back in the day youd start seedlings under a 15W fluorescent because big fixtures werent dimmable. id go buy some small cheap LEDs for that at home depot and use it to start babies and keep the tent with your nice new fixture full and flowering all the time. but everybodys space is different.
CobKits
Well-Known Member
a lot of lights are like that. they sacrifice good uniform light coverage for some quick and dirty high par numbers in the center close to the fixture
i promise you that even 30W of cobs per square foot spread nice and evenly in a tent will yield you better quality and quantity than most of the setups out there at the current time
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
Again, the cob you posted is rated for a 3 x 3 area. (That's roughly the 1 square meter area you have.)
The Via 900 is rated for a 4 x 3 area (because it's made for rectangular tents, not perfect squares), so that's about the same area overall at the end of the day.
Again, the Cob is going to be slightly better, but if you're expecting to see some dramatic results, you're going to be very sorely disappointed.
The difference between LED and COB isn't really as great as many people make it out to be. Are Cobs better? Yes. Are they 50% better? Hell no. Not even close. At all.
Tokintoucan
Active Member
Thanks Dan! Although your pm doesn't seem to have come through
that's what I've heard elsewhere... also if there is a cob fixture that is better for my setup I'm all ears people, got about 8 week to decide haha
CobKits
Well-Known Member
depends what "LED" you are comparing it to. COBs are LEDs and the best COBs and single-diode LEDS run soft are literally twice as efficieint as other COBs/LEDs on the market. and thats not my opinion, thats a measurable fact.
good cobs and LEDs- 2.4-3.0 umol/J
crappy cobs and LEDs- 1-1.5 umol/J
HPS ~1.7 umol/J
good cobs and LEDs- 2.4-3.0 umol/J
crappy cobs and LEDs- 1-1.5 umol/J
HPS ~1.7 umol/J
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
*sigh*
The cob you listed IS perfect for your grow area. I've said that twice now. But it is NOT going to make a big difference in your grow over the Via 900 you already have.
If throwing money away is your objective, then buy the Cob you posted and be done with it.
If being practical is your objective, use the Via 900 to the end of its life (It's rated for 3 years continuous use) and THEN buy the cob you want. Chance are, by then, it'll be even better and ever cheaper than it is right now.
CobKits
Well-Known Member
anything similar to whats in this post. its all about coverage and good cobs are good cobs. its real hard to go wrong with anything like vero, citizen, luminus, cree on a meanwell driver. even if you run them hard as hell theyre still pretty efficient
Tokintoucan
Active Member
Money isn't a massive issue tbh. My main worry is the fact the vipar seems to lack the spread/power to cover the whole area nicely and the general consensus seems to be cob will do that which will surely in turn increase yields, my other "main" worry with the vipar is it has no warranty as it's been dropped and I've heard lots of stories about diodes failing etc. So the plan was to use the cob and throw the vipar under the bed as backup or maybe even use it on red mode for flowering? I do get where you're coming from and I'm not expecting to see a 50% yeild increase, but surely a better coverage and higher par figure will translate in to at least a measurable increase in yeild? I do appreciate your help although it may not seem like it lol
Johnny Lawrence
Well-Known Member
^ Don't listen to this fucking idiot.
Tokintoucan
Active Member
That's the issue. When it comes to this I'm new so trying to establish what's the truth haha
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
Says the guy trying to sell you something.
Brilliant.
Then go ahead and buy it. It's a great light.
CobKits
Well-Known Member
sound liek the vipar is jsut a coverage issue (and prob not current efficient diodes.
my advice: if youre not using it sell it for what you can get because any LED under your bed will be worthless in a year or two. im sure it works fine hung high in a tent though prob 20-25% less efficient than the cob rig youre looking at. hook some newb up with it for $100
Tokintoucan
Active Member
The vipar really is ok for what it is, would there be no benefit using it with the cob for the uv/ir etc
Johnny Lawrence
Well-Known Member
He's going to rent my Danley sound rig? How does that even make sense???
I don't own a lighting company, stupid. I just know that you constantly give out shit advice.
TacoMac
Well-Known Member
Not in your space, no. If you've only got the square meter to work with, you'd have to run the Via so high above the Cob that any benefit would be not worth the power consumption you'd be using and you don't really have the room to run them side by side. From above a good portion would be blocked by the cob fixture and whatever was left would be so weak as to be not worth it.
Just run one or the other. Either way you're not going to see a whole shitload of difference in that small space you're growing in.