1000 watts of LED or 1000 watts HPS?

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cannabiscultivation

Active Member
Dilemma, I paid top dollar for 5 ufo's and a 270 rectangle LED.
They've been great for veg and temps low...(nice hard thumb size buds in last harvest all led)
but I put a few outside and even at 5 hours of sun per day they are growing monsters.
The Tent...not so much.
so should I try to work in the 1000 watt HPS or am I just looking to burn my crop by switching systems in mid grow?

Opinions please.


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PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Where to begin? First, I have grown mediocre, and later, great buds under leds.

You need to educate yourself on how.

Lots of vg info on riu being done by DIYers
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
What kind of leds ... Manufacture, led type, actual watts, type of leds how many , wave lengths, ..
 
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cannabiscultivation

Active Member
135 watt ebay 7 band ufo's (5 I know these work well as I used 2 of them on last crop of 3 plants)
one 270 watt rectangle from same ebay supplier (Mixwholesale).
3 energetic 17 watt led spots. I think the area is too small on the spots....I might use them to focus on shorter branches.
vs a 1000 watt bulb in a hydro hut hood that has been previously modified to have active ventilation hooked to it.
 
djwimbo

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
If you already have the 1kW, and the necessary other bits, then I'd flip at flower ... just to experiment.

Or you could run your 1kW on a light mover ... or mount it in the middle, use the LED's as supplemental, and rotate the crop regularly.

I know it sounds dumb, but do you need giant buds? You're just going to chop them up either way, are you happy with your potency as is?
 
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PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
Perhaps mixing them with either some T5s or medium wattage MH\HPS, hard to say which one without knowing what your current spectrum mix is.
 
tags420

tags420

Well-Known Member
UFO's and ebay leds just aren't very good. Sure people will say they are great, and I have seen a couple good grows, but up against a 1000w hps they can't compete. Only a few led companies have the power(par output) to hold there own in that league and even then they usually lack in total coverage. I think you know the 1000w is what you should do, but have already invested in the led's.

1000w in the middle and led's around the perimeter.

How big is your space?
 
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PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
tags420 said:
UFO's and ebay leds just aren't very good. Sure people will say they are great, and I have seen a couple good grows, but up against a 1000w hps they can't compete. Only a few led companies have the power(par output) to hold there own in that league and even then they usually lack in total coverage. I think you know the 1000w is what you should do, but have already invested in the led's.

1000w in the middle and led's around the perimeter.

How big is your space?
Click to expand...

with all the leds a 600 watt is probably enough, turn it on for High Noon!
 
Campo Cultivator

Campo Cultivator

Well-Known Member
I dont recognise the leds you are using mate its hard to give ant advice without the information
there are a lot of knock off leds on ebay that to be honest just dont work
it look as if you are saving money but ......
all I can tell you is with my leds I surpass any hid grow I have ever done and thats 12 years with hid and coming up top 3 years with leds
Ive found leds in terms of consumption to be 20% more efficient than hid as far as the unit itself is concerned (there are other savings on heat management)
SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME WITH RESPECT THAT
a) that you are doing something wrong
or b) the leds you have are not up to the job
if its b then I guess for cost of new units I would fire up the HPS and when you can afford to replace the leds then do so
If I was you I would also have the same worries in regards "do LED work" so I would suggest that when you get around to replacing ....you do it over time one quality small unit at a time from a reputable vendor who are willing to give you support and advice
So for now yeah fire up your HPS
Hope this Helps
 
509Zman420

509Zman420

Active Member
There are drawbacks and benefits to both LED and HPS...

LED:
Bad- Multiple led nodes makes it hare to replace burned out LED's
Coverage is not as great takes more wattage to equal to HPS ie (600w LED roughly 400-500watts of actual draw)
Start up costs are about 3-4 times the amount as HPS ( good rule of thumb $1-2 per LED wattage is an average price)

Good- Uses less electricity... I have a 600W led running 24/7 veg and it only bumped me up about $10-$15 a month
Cool to the touch which means you can place the light closer to the plant than an HPS
Most good quality LED's will last you for 50,000 hours (Thats 5.7 years running 24/7)

HPS-
Bad- Uses more electricity (1000W HPS on 12/12 will prolly hit you for $20-30 per light per month)
Get very hot so it needs to be cooled down it self

Good- Watt for Watt HPS produces more than LED
Cheaper start up costs

Each light has its benefits and drawbacks... it just depends on what you really want... Hope this helps a little
 
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cannabiscultivation

Active Member
Thank you all...This is what I was after..opinions...

I guess what started this thought process was the fact that when i put some bag seed babies outside they grew super fast and fat....much more then my led tent plants...
It tells me my LEDs are putting out quite a bit.
so it makes me think I could benefit much from m,ore light.
although surprisingly the bag seed babies did not wilt or stress one bit when put outside in direct sunlight.
 
Campo Cultivator

Campo Cultivator

Well-Known Member
as you put more light over the plants the efficency will decrease over 40 watts a foot
depends on what ure after I love putting up to 60 watts a foot but again not a good GPW (grams per watt) but a increase in quality as a rule to a point

as for led versus HID Ive found the opposite to my colleague
Ive found led to be 20% more efficient than HPS in a s far as coverage is concerned especialy when using multiple small units
but yeah if you can afford the electric bang on the thousand why not
 
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