Old skool here, need help finding right information on led ! Please help !

O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
Hi, I'm an old school grower of many a year and since leaving the forums behind for a decade I thought I should come back and see where things have gone. Shocked regarding led grows. There were some even 2008/2009 on here I'm sure it was by 2010 as I left about then, however the tech was not really there without spending big money and making yourself really.even then it was a guessing game with lots of ups and downs ! Big money compared to now and they ain't cheap now folks !
Anyways, I'm looking at leds after using nearly everything that's common, hps, mh, mercury vapour, pll 's, 125w cfl, 250w cfl I think you see I've tried lots over the years but never a single diode ! I was wondering about bars/strips/boards and the foot print they put down. I would like a single unit to cover 4x4foot, or a square meter . So 120cm2 / 4'x4' or a square meter which is about 40" squared I think, sorry I use cm and meter usually ! I plan on using 2 units that cover those dimensions and use hps or cmh /cdm/led to cover the same amount of space, 2.4m2 or 8 square feet I think I'll go with total for the next space !. What is my best bet on type of light. I'm uk so stuff I can buy online locally. From what I have seen they seem to be pretty much the same on good quality units, Samsung and osram , lumled or cree ! Same few manufacturers of drivers ? Is this about right ?
 
Hugo Phurst

Hugo Phurst

Well-Known Member
Old School here too. Retired & on a budget, so here's what I've learnt about led's lately...

Rule of thumb is 30-50w/sqft, 4x4 =16sqft.
So minimum of 400w to a killer of 800w.
At this time I have a preference for the quantum board style, because of the size, light coverage and passive cooling.
Again, at this time ;) Samsung LM301h or LM301b chips seem to be the best and Meanwell drivers are top of the line.
Dimming is a real nice option.
There's also "led binning", it has to do with efficiency & performance, it's seems that a company called HGL has the rights to all of Samsung's "top bin" led chips. A whole lot of people swear by HGL, but I went a cheaper route.

Led vs HID - IMO - No where near the penetration of HID, a COB (circuit on board) has better penetration than a quantum board you might want to look at those too.
I just bought apx. 900w of quantum boards (4x110w &a 480w) to replace my HID's.
At about $130 CDN/110w quantum led it's not much more than bulbs for Phillip's 315w CMH or 600w HPS.
Led's have no where near the heat produced by HID and the amount of light is impressive, a 110w board's output is closer to a 315cmh than I would have thought.

Anyways, my joint went out...... hope this is some food for thought

Good luck
 
O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
Hugo Phurst said:
Old School here too. Retired & on a budget, so here's what I've learnt about led's lately...

Rule of thumb is 30-50w/sqft, 4x4 =16sqft.
So minimum of 400w to a killer of 800w.
At this time I have a preference for the quantum board style, because of the size, light coverage and passive cooling.
Again, at this time ;) Samsung LM301h or LM301b chips seem to be the best and Meanwell drivers are top of the line.
Dimming is a real nice option.
There's also "led binning", it has to do with efficiency & performance, it's seems that a company called HGL has the rights to all of Samsung's "top bin" led chips. A whole lot of people swear by HGL, but I went a cheaper route.

Led vs HID - IMO - No where near the penetration of HID, a COB (circuit on board) has better penetration than a quantum board you might want to look at those too.
I just bought apx. 900w of quantum boards (4x110w &a 480w) to replace my HID's.
At about $130 CDN/110w quantum led it's not much more than bulbs for Phillip's 315w CMH or 600w HPS.
Led's have no where near the heat produced by HID and the amount of light is impressive, a 110w board's output is closer to a 315cmh than I would have thought.

Anyways, my joint went out...... hope this is some food for thought

Good luck
Click to expand...
Wwonderful information sir, thanks ! This "bin" business baffles me. They have to manufacture, then test then throw in particular bin ! Sort of reminds me of Enfield .303 when they picked the best shooters and turned them sniper, no difference in manufacture just pick of the bunch !
any how, penetration into the canopy eh so how tall a plant is best for the Samsung lm301b/h diodes ? I've seen some lovely grows using led, it seems the way to go with lighting for any application ! I was also wondering why bars/strips are expensive compared to boards ?
 
O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
So, I would really like people to give their real thoughts on leds and where they are made, I don't mean putting components together I mean made ! Hlg are everywhere now but from what I can see they are the same bits as everyone is selling, are they ? I know when you but a few items they will put your name on it , I noticed years ago with digital hps ballast that the name and colour changed but the internals ......... Same same ! Is this the case ?
 
BobThe420Builder

BobThe420Builder

Well-Known Member
Do research

Samsung diods are the best out,period

Full spectrum white lights. Some manuf add blues for veg and red for flower

Ones you mentioned are over priced for nothing

Diy QB lights and save $$$, or buy kits and yer dialed
 
weed-god-legend

weed-god-legend

Member
BobThe420Builder said:
Yes

QB lights are the best now, period

Samsung diods
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COB stands fo chip on board. optics make great cob groiw lights i would reccomend. migro makes good trust worthy lights i would check migro out for fair priced good kit thats well tested for you by the creator on youtube. he also tests basically every led out there so check out migro on youtube for better answers to this question P.s quantum boards are whats new i would opt for a mix of cob and quantum if you ca afford it, the optics i believe are somwhat a mix of both in the newer models i believe
 
O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
BobThe420Builder said:
Do research

Samsung diods are the best out,period

Full spectrum white lights. Some manuf add blues for veg and red for flower

Ones you mentioned are over priced for nothing

Diy QB lights and save $$$, or buy kits and yer dialed
Click to expand...
research, what do you think this is ? Bob you jump on lots of threads with a terrible attitude with no intention of helping your fellow growers ! If you ain't here to learn or help why bother ? So I ask again to give you the opportunity to help ! Why are the lights you use better than all the others ? I'm interested as I'm thinking of investing and upgrading from 2400w of hps and want real information, users opinions ! What else have you used to compare led with ?
 
Herb & Suds

Herb & Suds

Well-Known Member
Original StinkyG said:
research, what do you think this is ? Bob you jump on lots of threads with a terrible attitude with no intention of helping your fellow growers ! If you ain't here to learn or help why bother ? So I ask again to give you the opportunity to help ! Why are the lights you use better than all the others ? I'm interested as I'm thinking of investing and upgrading from 2400w of hps and want real information, users opinions ! What else have you used to compare led with ?
Click to expand...
My position is if the Hydro Supply is pushing it
It is over hyped and over priced just like most seeds
 
bk78

bk78

Well-Known Member
weed-god-legend said:
COB stands fo chip on board. optics make great cob groiw lights i would reccomend. migro makes good trust worthy lights i would check migro out for fair priced good kit thats well tested for you by the creator on youtube. he also tests basically every led out there so check out migro on youtube for better answers to this question P.s quantum boards are whats new i would opt for a mix of cob and quantum if you ca afford it, the optics i believe are somwhat a mix of both in the newer models i believe
Click to expand...
Boards are old news already. Watch more YouTube bro.
 
O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
Herb & Suds said:
My position is if the Hydro Supply is pushing it
It is over hyped and over priced just like most seeds
Click to expand...
I agree with that about hydro shops, they push what they ain't selling well or has a high price tag ! I'm undecided over boards and bars/strips ! I just want some real user information. Like would they buy again or go with something else ? Foot print ,boards is what made me undecided as footprint doesn't seem as good and less even spread but I do not know for sure. That's why I'm asking here ! Ask others in the same boat, growing good weed is better than a salesman who don't grow or smoke/ imbibe cannabis !
 
thisbuds4u101

thisbuds4u101

Well-Known Member
I’ve got indoor plants 5’ using the spider farmer s sf4000 which have the Samsung diodes beautiful healthy and similar to you grown old school for 35 years now running both 3 dominator xxxl reflectors with 1000w hps and 3 spider farmer running don each side so I’m still hanging on to my old school ways but working my way towards new tech
 
Hugo Phurst

Hugo Phurst

Well-Known Member
Original StinkyG said:
they are the same bits as everyone is selling, are they ?
Click to expand...
Pretty much, yes but places like HGL use slightly better bits.


Original StinkyG said:
Like would they buy again or go with something else ?
Click to expand...
I started of with a single 110w knock-off from Walmart:o LM301b & Meanwell driver:hump:, liked it so much I'm switching everything to QB's - So, yes

Original StinkyG said:
eh so how tall a plant is best for the Samsung lm301b/h diodes ?
Click to expand...
This tall is easy in a 5 gal bucket




IMGP7045.JPG ;)
 
O

Original StinkyG

Well-Known Member
Hugo Phurst said:
Pretty much, yes but places like HGL use slightly better bits.


I started of with a single 110w knock-off from Walmart:o LM301b & Meanwell driver:hump:, liked it so much I'm switching everything to QB's - So, yes

Ok, sounds good, how tall is your lady in this pic ? From top of pot/bucket ? Do you get good solid nugs all the way or how far down before getting light and airy, larf I heard it called on here, I always just said middling and above but same thing !
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