LED Advise Needed

[buddwasher]

hi, am just finishing off 2nd grow but am moving set up

in short new place i need to go LED due to power saving

so please advise me on a reputable LED seller

i need to replace current x2 600w set up


Been told to look for: high intensity or high brightness 1w LEDs that are specifically 10mm (rather than say 5mm or smaller) and are current generation, not the things used in Christmas lights and novelty toys.

And Nanometers needs to run at between 430 nm and 662 nm. Whilst being able to be adjusted to run at 453 nm and 642 nm

Whilst being given accurate Micromoles per square meter per second measurements at given distances

Oh and last but not least - offers a 90 day money back period

???

thanx in advance

 

[finallylegal]

Check out www.gothamhydroponics.com They have a good variety of products, are based out of the U.S., and are the only company that offers 1, 2, and 3 watt led chipsets. They also have uv and infared led's on their flowering models. This supposedly triggers flowering faster. The only bad thing is the price to replace your current system is going to be considerably high. I have been considering buying one of 240w models to use along with 2-600 watt sodium lights. Keep posted on your decision and how happy you are with the product.

 

[buddwasher]

wont be till end of jan but will let u know thanx for link

anymore so i can compare nd research more - i have lots of time to waste

 

[karr]

I would stay away from Gotham Hydro. If you check their ebay auctions you will find a lot of good marketing, hell they even won the grow boys cup.

Then you actually research and find that they created a front magazine/website to run a fixed competation. The competation has nothing in it but that light, and in fact the whole "magazine" exists solely for this one comparison. Every link but the one to this comp is dead, and even the light comp itself has no information or anything besides "winner"

just another scam company rebranding chinese crap and exercising their marketing skills.

This last part is unsubstantiated and wholly my opinion. I feel that this company has been infiltrating various grow boards and reaping their product through low post count, new, and disposable avatar/users. things like random unknown growers being randomly chosen to test some prototype led, or a new member knowing exact unreleased specs on led units that are not even yet on the market. if you went as far as to analyze the sentence structure and grammatical errors i would bet all these people are the same one person..


as for a company i would suggest. Firstly i would give you this advice; GOOGLE! anytime you find a good product (led) google that name and the word journal. If needed add the term rollitup (or 420 mag, etc) and it will pop up people actually using the product and not marketing hype.

ok i would suggest Growledhydro.com

i have their weakest model, spectra 120, and it has been great for verging. I have not used it to flower as i have my 400w cmh for that. Eventually i will go to a spectra 300 for flowering. The coverage is smaller than any 600 and comparable to a 400. about 3x3 is about what you get with the 300 spectra. They run about 1k$ each, so you may find it hard to replace your 600s.

at this time beyond smallish personal grows i would not suggest leds. you would need too many and the electricity savings is just not that much. They do produce less heat, and do not need to be air-cooled, so its possible that could save a lot. but alone not that much..


to answer some questions you may have about this light, check out this comparison journal between a spectra 300 and a 400w hps
http://www.420magazine.com/forums/completed-journals/124858-setting-suns-growledhydro-300w-led-vs-400w-hid-demonstration.html

 

[gobbly]

Good info. Good you are doing your homework, so many ways to get ripped off with new tech.

In addition to other info, take a look at this guy
https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/392541-irish-boys-480w-720w-grow.html
He's got journals spread around a little, but links them all from that thread, and just about everything he does is incredible, as well as credible The theory is becoming more widespread, but he's someone who has more hands on experience than most.

 

[zem]

hey if you wana replace the 2 600's for power savings, i suggest you go with one 600 and save some cash in your pocket cuz you're on your way to a rip off from the LED hype.

 

[Tororu]

Is LED going to be the wave of the future for small closet / cabinet growers?

 

[OB 1]

There is a lot of misinformation out there with LEDs - the only company I trust is GLH - Mike is a very cool guy, and has a money back guarantee. Irishboy has been rocking with their lights, and I trust him completely. I think there's a discount right now if you mention one of his threads.

The power savings is minimal though - the buds tend to have more trichomes though with the enhanced spectrum. I use a CMH light for this reason, and it's a fraction of the cost.

The only effective power saving strategy I know of is using a light rail mover.

 

[zem]

Is LED going to be the wave of the future for small closet / cabinet growers?

maybe for cabs smaller than 3 squared feet, anythig 3sq.ft and above, get HPS. i'm sick with LED bs, too much lost efforts and too much money thrown away. really how many growers have lost years trying to get decent yield out of hopeless LED's, it's like going deer hunting with a bb gun. worst is the growers who payed the ripoff sums really silly stupid amounts for the lights and then live in denial for years trying to convince themselves and everyone else that it's a good deal to get LED's when really it's a fucking marketing hype and a ripoff. they throw pics at you saying "look these were grown under LED" so what?!?! i can probably grow a bud under any kind of light, what's that compared to the better HPS?

 

[OB 1]

maybe for cabs smaller than 3 squared feet, anythig 3sq.ft and above, get HPS. i'm sick with LED bs, too much lost efforts and too much money thrown away. really how many growers have lost years trying to get decent yield out of hopeless LED's, it's like going deer hunting with a bb gun. worst is the growers who payed the ripoff sums really silly stupid amounts for the lights and then live in denial for years trying to convince themselves and everyone else that it's a good deal to get LED's when really it's a fucking marketing hype and a ripoff. they throw pics at you saying "look these were grown under LED" so what?!?! i can probably grow a bud under any kind of light, what's that compared to the better HPS?

Everything you say is correct for all but the best of the current generation of lights - they actually can grow and bud better than a HPS. I was a Moderator at another site, and saw a sponsored competition start to finish, done by guys I trust completely. However, the cost is still way too high IMHO.

I'd say they are only really good for high temps since they throw a lot less radiant heat... but you can get the same result with a CMH bulb. Too bad they only go to 400 watts.

 

[buddwasher]

good point only running 1 x 600w - it was on my mind good to have back up

the reason i want led is about 7 fold :

1. way of the future
2. lower electric
3. Heat = easier to stabilise optimum grow conditions + less heat = less smell for nieghbours etc..
4. concentrated light wavelengths at the right par needed
5. if not more effiecient than HID soon will be (sort of point 1 really)
6. easier to surround plants with down, up and side lighting
7. security - normal electric consumption


with exchange rate and import tax i need a company in the uk

i seen : http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/ anyone used em ?

 

[buddwasher]

Also i read somewhere that as is 1w LED panels are better than 2-5w ones as they more effecient cant find the article but had me convinced

same article also explained how some led lights claim to be say 90w but cause they use certain type of leds that are 0.6w then infact the whole light uses only about 70w - interesting stuff - wish i could find it again

 

[zem]

since it's the way of the future,(which i doubt) i'll wait till then and stick with most efficient. listen to OB1 there is no power saving only heat saving. the price is insane, you will be paying way more. i personally believe leds have failed, period. the light of the future may be somethin else imo, induction or plasma or some new tech but not led.

 

[OB 1]

since it's the way of the future,(which i doubt) i'll wait till then and stick with most efficient. listen to OB1 there is no power saving only heat saving. the price is insane, you will be paying way more. i personally believe leds have failed, period. the light of the future may be somethin else imo, induction or plasma or some new tech but not led.

Yes - the number one reason is the best reason to wait... it's the way of the future, not now. Prices will decrease, efficiency and reliability will get better. Yes, reliability is a factor... make SURE you get it from a trusted vendor - many horror stories out there from people like Cammie at HGL.

About the one watt vs. three - if you under drive a 3w led at one watt, it will be much more efficient and last longer. And more expensive.

One last thought - if efficiency and radiant heat reduction are your main goals, get two 400 watt CMH setups - less than $200 each if you get the HTG 400 HPS setup and a Phillips CMH retro white vertical bulb - run it vertical with no reflector, and you can get better efficiency once you know what you are doing. Vertical grows have a big learning curve, but are more efficient in the right hands. Just look at Heath Robinsons stuff.

 

[buddwasher]

this isnt a for or against LED thread! simply i need LEDs and want help - i will certainly ask irish biy b4 i go ahead, thanx

http://www.1-hydroponics.co.uk/grow-lights.htm any comments on this company yet?



And my main reason for LEDs is paranoia lower electric bills is peace of mind


on leds u r saying i should go for new gen 3w's then use a 110v adapter to run them at 1w = would mean longer life ??

if so expense is not my issue - i am just looking for the most effient led light i can get

thanxs again OB1

 

[buddwasher]

Found the article :

1W VS 3W Diodes - Is Bigger, Better?

Common sense would dictate that a 3W LED would emit more intense and brighter light than a 1W. This is correct, however, this is not the whole story as some manufacturers claim. A single 3W LED will outshine a single 1W LED but it does not do so on a 3 to 1 basis. To be more clear: a 3W LED is not 3x as bright, powerful, or intense as a 1W LED. Expanding upon this, we can reach the conclusion that 3x1W LEDs will be brighter, more powerful, and more intense than a single 3W LED and the reason comes down to efficiency.

LED Grow Light Efficiency

So how can it be that 3W is really less than 3x1W? It revolves around the design of LED chips and the circuitry used to power the diode. For an LED module (chip and diode) to run, it takes a certain amount of energy (overhead) to power it up. What this means is that a 1W module will not produce an entire watt of light energy due to the overhead of powering the circuitry. Similarly, a 3W module does not produce three watts of light intensity either. The amount of overhead depends on many factors - most of which are beyond the scope of this article but suffice to say that higher wattage LED modules have more overhead in order to operate.
In real terms, this means that a good 90W LED grow light using all 1W LEDs actually operates on about 80-85 watts. That same 90W light using all 3W diodes would consume only about 50-55 watts. I think we can all agree that 85W is greater than 55W, right? This trend is evident in all LED grow lights, no matter if they utilize 3W, 5W, 6W or higher. In an industry that knows the critical role that light intensity plays in getting big yields, cannabis growers should quickly realize that using 1W LEDs is one of the keys to success.
So those side-by-side pictures of LED grow lights showing how bright a 3W VS 1W LEDs is not as impressive anymore, huh?


http://www.myhydroponicgardening.com/the-cannabis-growers-guide-to-led-grow-lights-1w-versus-3w-and-higher/ - the site seems well written and fairly neutral

 

[zem]

And my main reason for LEDs is paranoia lower electric bills is peace of mind

we are tryin to help, if you wana consume 150watts or above, get a 150w hps or more.

that article is comparing 1w led vs 3w led not comparing efficiency in growing plants vs. hps.
some crazy people, thats how they sell, thats how lmao