Black Star 240W LED any opinions? In a 2x3 cabinet.

[cangrowww]

Hi everyone, I'm looking to design a new cabinet... approximately 2x3 area to cover give or take a few inches. I saw a few good things about the Black Star, but was wondering if anyone personally used them and whether their claims of a 2x3 coverage is accurate. I'm planning on a SOG grow so penetration isn't a huge problem.

If not, anyone use anything else that might have work for a good price? Thanks!

My first and only grow was a 600HPS, way too hot and I think more than I need for my area. Plus way too hot! Building a new setup and need some opinions.

Thanks all

 

[TriPurple]

I would recommend the BS 500...... it's perfect for 2x3. A 250 would suffice, but of course more watts is better.

 

[Endur0xX]

I am currently trying FERO's 336x3W, I was using both fero 4g 180 and a blackstar 240 in different setup, although I had the fero 180 in the HID's room (before I bought the 336x3 to replace the 2 400watters), I think the light is better than the blackstar but you need a little more height because having too close to the plants will bleach your plants. This light: http://www.feroledlighting.com/fero-adjustable-led-7-band/ looks perfect for 2x3 (as long as you have enough room to keep it at 15+ inches from the canopy) you can move the clusters to direct the light to the side. blackstar will grow buds too

 

[FranJan]

I would recommend the BS 500...... it's perfect for 2x3. A 250 would suffice, but of course more watts is better.

Got to agree here. You want your SoG to have real dense nugs and 1 BS240 is not going to do that over 2x3. You could get away with 2 or adding some wash lights/CFLs to 1 240 but that will increase your heat. If you've got a little height a 500 will have you covered for a SoG and you'll be happier with the results. Even so you still have other choices like Endur0xX is showing you. Have you checked out Cidly.com?

 

[cangrowww]

Thanks for the responses all! It would make better sense to got with the BS500. I'm still attempting to figure this out. I'm planning on making a 4 cycle perpetual grow. I'm wanting to stack two 2x3 cabinets on top of each other. So looking for the most cost effective way of doing things. Or maybe even one large cabinet with a shelf in the middle, figure the least amount of cabinets the more you can utilize carbon scrubbers and such. Overall 1k was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it seems like a good investment to me in the long run = )

Yeah, the fero's look cool... 1k per light is a little high for me right now though.

FranJan: I'll check out that Cidly.com and thanks for the input.

Is it more cost effective to build an LED yourself? I haven't looked into that yet, have people had good results with DIY builds? I'd be a little worried with proper angles and wavelenghts, not too familiar with the construction of these things. Although it would be a fun project = )


Thanks all!

 

[Endur0xX]

Its easy to fry plants with leds, if you want to do 2 cabinets over top of each other, you might be better off with old 1W led(there are still good ones out there!!), that way you can have them right close to the canopy and have enough height, if you don't have a lot of height, I think that the 3W can be tricky, and more expensive. Personnaly I am dishing my cabinet for a tent now because there wasnt enought height to do what I want to do.

Thanks for the responses all! It would make better sense to got with the BS500. I'm still attempting to figure this out. I'm planning on making a 4 cycle perpetual grow. I'm wanting to stack two 2x3 cabinets on top of each other. So looking for the most cost effective way of doing things. Or maybe even one large cabinet with a shelf in the middle, figure the least amount of cabinets the more you can utilize carbon scrubbers and such. Overall 1k was a little more than I wanted to spend, but it seems like a good investment to me in the long run = )

Yeah, the fero's look cool... 1k per light is a little high for me right now though.

FranJan: I'll check out that Cidly.com and thanks for the input.

Is it more cost effective to build an LED yourself? I haven't looked into that yet, have people had good results with DIY builds? I'd be a little worried with proper angles and wavelenghts, not too familiar with the construction of these things. Although it would be a fun project = )


Thanks all!

 

[brotherjericho]

Right now I'm using a PG180 in an odd shaped cab (sorta triangular) and I have three plants under it. The space is only about 3 sqft. After a week or so or looking at the plants, I knew the PG180 would not be sufficient alone because the coverage is not that great. So I'm supplementing with one PLL tube covering two plants and a circline covering the other, that way there is light all around the plants.

I only mention this because the coverage area for the PG180 is likely comparable to the BS240.

The dimensions of the panel are about the real footprint of the coverage area imho. So I think you'd be better off with 2 lower wattage panels over one higher wattage. But that is in my limited opinion. It just seems like the LED light is more directional and works very well directly underneath the panel but the light intensity rapidly declines outside of that.

I do not have a light meter, just judging visually.

 

[cangrowww]

Its easy to fry plants with leds, if you want to do 2 cabinets over top of each other, you might be better off with old 1W led(there are still good ones out there!!), that way you can have them right close to the canopy and have enough height, if you don't have a lot of height, I think that the 3W can be tricky, and more expensive. Personnaly I am dishing my cabinet for a tent now because there wasnt enought height to do what I want to do.

Interesting... do you know any names off the top of your head regarding the 1W led's? Sorry, new to the LED scene and not too familiar with what's out there.

Thanks!

 

[cangrowww]

The dimensions of the panel are about the real footprint of the coverage area imho. So I think you'd be better off with 2 lower wattage panels over one higher wattage. But that is in my limited opinion. It just seems like the LED light is more directional and works very well directly underneath the panel but the light intensity rapidly declines outside of that.

I was going to ask about that. I saw one post that someone said something similar... they said that the LED coverage area is mostly confined to below the panel. Is that typical of LED's?

 

[brotherjericho]

I was going to ask about that. I saw one post that someone said something similar... they said that the LED coverage area is mostly confined to below the panel. Is that typical of LED's?

It depends on the lens angles used. The wider the angle, the greater the overall coverage, but the less intense the light will be. The BS240 uses a combo of 60 and 120 degree lenses, but not sure of the ratio. The 120 will spread the light but will not be as intense (often referred to as "penetration") while the 60 will be more intense and spread less. So the 120 beam angle will give you some coverage outside of the actual light dimensions, just not sure of how much.

 

[PetFlora]

Def check out ledgrow.eu. He has 2 US Distributors. It may not quite cover 2 X 3 , but I think it will out perform the other choices mentioned above

 

[brotherjericho]

Def check out ledgrow.eu. He has 2 US Distributors. It may not quite cover 2 X 3 , but I think it will out perform the other choices mentioned above

Those lights look interesting, checked them out the other day. But at over $4/w (not including shipping), I think we need to see some independent grows.

 

[PetFlora]

A couple of these would work great in a small space for veg/clone and maybe even to finish PLUS @ $135 most affordable http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=524