What Led's to get?

[Joint Monster]

I was considering purchasing LED's but was wondering about a few things.


How would a 1000w LED stack up to one 600w? to two 600w?


I've seen LED's from china ... 1000w's for 400-500 and then I've seen 1000w LED's for $1200-1700? Is there a major difference?



What brand would be good one a decent/fair-led-shopping-budget?


Can LED's alone product quality buds vs his in general?


Now I've done a lot of reading...maybe too much, and am a little confused, so hoping I could get some other people opinions on this.

 

[ElfoodStampo]

Quality of the actual LED's used in the light are important, then manufacturing w/ warranty is important. all the other components of mass produced units are made in china. controllers, rectifiers, fans, so as far as the "Brand" I would choose customer service. Lighthouse hydro I purchase through gotham and they're awesome. I've never had a problem. Even the units I get off ebay, they will send me parts for them if needs be.
A 600 watt LED will effectively cover a 3x4 ft canopy if your SOG.
LED doesn't penetrate like HPS or MH
The beauty of LED is its exactly what the plant needs, all of it. So your using 600 watts of pure growing energy The majority of energy given off with incandescent is not used by the plant like 70% waste heat and unused spectrum. . You can grow great weed with either or. LED is just more efficient at the process.
These are some LED buds grown under 600 watt blackstars.

 

[hyroot]

Area 51, apache tech, hans led, Cree globes, or DIY. Don't bother with anything else

 

[Chronikool]

^^^^^^^ pretty much....

 

[lumbo]

Area 51, apache tech, hans led, Cree globes, or DIY. Don't bother with anything else

Hmmmmm, lumigrow doesn't make your list. Bummer. I'm just getting into led growing and have decided on lumigrows due to the build quality. Don't trust the imported stuff. Can't help wonder why lumigrow isn't very popular amongst growers. I guess I'll find out the hard way, but I'm gonna give them a try.

 

[oneLoveone]

check out some of these here they are of good quality and cheap

http://www.weedgrowingsupplies.net/category/led-grow-lights/

 

[hyroot]

Lumigrows are good lights. They just cost 4 times as much as the others. Lumigrows use lower quality leds and have a lesser warranty.

 

[tags420]

Lumigrow's are over priced and use twice as much wattage as the best companies do for the same performance. And even then it is on the low side. When I was at the max yield show a lady came up to me with a light...it was identical to lumigrow 325. She said they have the same factory. It made me even more worried about lumigrow. I haven't seen that chinese version come to market yet though. Real LG's are not that bad of a unit, but for the price they are. You can get a much better light from other true American companies, Apache, Area51, CLW, Illumitex. Apache's and A51's flag ship models have a little better/equal performance while using 1/2 the watts than the the LG325, and both companies are about to drop new models that will really put LG behind. And CLW400 is a better buy for the wattage IMO.

The LG650 is really a bad design and waste a lot.
If it weren't for being under hydrofarms, I don't think people would ever have boughten into lumigrow's at all.

 

[sold777]

If you could make it yourself that would be great cause decent ones are overpriced IMO. I use pro source because I dont know any decent ones in the UK. I heard black dog are better now then they were a few years ago.

 

[icaruus]

I got 4 x Apollo 10, works rly nice tbh. (yes made in China). 276$ a unit.

Works like a charm, in my hydro setup.

 

[lumbo]

Thanks everyone for replies and advice. I appreciate it. Think I'll start back up researching what may be best for me. Maybe hold off awhile to see what new models come out.

 

[Mr John]

Got me a Lumigrow 325 that is US made and comes with a 5 year warranty. Will start a grow journal next month sometime when I get home, I am very curious to see how the 325
performs. I did try it out for a few weeks on some pepper plants and all seemed well, at full power is is bright as hell. BTW it pulls a full 325 watts at full power. Have never heard of
the LG using cheap LEDs before.

 

[Mr John]

Hello Tags, first off I respect your experience and value your input. I am a noob soon to be grower that has a LG 325 Pro light. I would like to know where you pulled your facts from stating the LG use twice as wattage as the other companies. I do agree that they are $$, I got a good deal on mine paying just over 800, I learned a long time ago you get what you pay for and hope I did not make a mistake putting my money and faith in the Lumigrow line.

Lumigrow's are over priced and use twice as much wattage as the best companies do for the same performance. And even then it is on the low side. When I was at the max yield show a lady came up to me with a light...it was identical to lumigrow 325. She said they have the same factory. It made me even more worried about lumigrow. I haven't seen that chinese version come to market yet though. Real LG's are not that bad of a unit, but for the price they are. You can get a much better light from other true American companies, Apache, Area51, CLW, Illumitex. Apache's and A51's flag ship models have a little better/equal performance while using 1/2 the watts than the the LG325, and both companies are about to drop new models that will really put LG behind. And CLW400 is a better buy for the wattage IMO.

The LG650 is really a bad design and waste a lot.
If it weren't for being under hydrofarms, I don't think people would ever have boughten into lumigrow's at all.

 

[hyroot]

the lg 325 only covers a 2x2 at $999. lumigrow uses bridgelux, epistar, epiled.

the a51 covers 2x3 -3x3 - 155 watts at $495 lifetime warranty a51 uses cree.

hans covers a 2x2.5 at 65watts. only a 2 year warranty yes. At $300 and uses cree.

apache at200 covers a 3x3 at 180 watts at $750 they use high end leds. i forget the name off the top of my head. 3 year warranty

cree globes. well cree. at 9.5w. 16 of those will cover a 3x3 at $13 each with a 10 year warranty

a 400w hps is more efficient than lumigrow.

 

[ElfoodStampo]

Hmmmmm, lumigrow doesn't make your list. Bummer. I'm just getting into led growing and have decided on lumigrows due to the build quality. Don't trust the imported stuff. Can't help wonder why lumigrow isn't very popular amongst growers. I guess I'll find out the hard way, but I'm gonna give them a try.

when you buy one of these take it apart, so you realize the lack of manufacturing reqired to build one, I think your buying a name more than anything., you could run 3 lights with identical components for the same cost! That's kinda nuts. but if you have cash to blow, i guess whatever will work. worst case, you have an expensive light that will hopefully last you a lifetime . Definitely post some pics of your grows so we can compare. that would be a cool thread.

 

[tags420]

the lg 325 only covers a 2x2 at $999. lumigrow uses bridgelux, epistar, epiled.

the a51 covers 2x3 -3x3 - 155 watts at $495 lifetime warranty a51 uses cree.

hans covers a 2x2.5 at 65watts. only a 2 year warranty yes. At $300 and uses cree.

apache at200 covers a 3x3 at 180 watts at $750 they use high end leds. i forget the name off the top of my head. 3 year warranty

cree globes. well cree. at 9.5w. 16 of those will cover a 3x3 at $13 each with a 10 year warranty

a 400w hps is more efficient than lumigrow.

Hello Tags, first off I respect your experience and value your input. I am a noob soon to be grower that has a LG 325 Pro light. I would like to know where you pulled your facts from stating the LG use twice as wattage as the other companies. I do agree that they are $$, I got a good deal on mine paying just over 800, I learned a long time ago you get what you pay for and hope I did not make a mistake putting my money and faith in the Lumigrow line.

Hyroot said it perfectly. In addition to more than just saying that they out perform, when you look at PAR footprint charts of all the units it is easier to see the differences. LG's aren't bad but I don't think they are the best/worth the money. Not too many lumigrows are actually used by people that I've seen. And the few grow logs that do exist, are all unfinished. People aren't as willing to share their results when things go bad.

Here are some footprint graphs to look at

Lumigrow 325 pro done by growers house



My homemade graph for the new Apache AT200. Not the prettiest to look at. Only measure to 3x3.



And brother scotch's very detailed and organized graph of his Area51 SGS-160 (the whole graph is ~3x2 pretty sure)



EDIT:
They all look very similar. But remember that the LG is using almost 2X the wattage as the others. So that's why it's not the best, but still good. Mr John, you will have to be the one to actually follow through and show us what LG's can do.

 

[budman111]

I use pro source because I dont know any decent ones in the UK.

Look up vipar LED, amazing Led at a pretty good price IMO in UK.

 

[Mr John]

Thank you for posting the charts. I understand now. When I leave afghanistan and get home one of the first projects (besides the infamous honey do list) is to setup my Jardine DR90II grow room and get the LG 320 fired up. I plan on starting with 4-6 plants in my Botanicare E/F system. I will post info and pictures from seedlings to maturation, yea I spent allot of money on that light. I will give honest feedback and share my pass or fails with RIU. I do have high hopes for this light but if it does not perform you will all know it, I have no reason to hide the truth, in fact I would want to share my results because if the LG does not perform I would not want anyone else spending their hard earned money on one.

Hyroot said it perfectly. In addition to more than just saying that they out perform, when you look at PAR footprint charts of all the units it is easier to see the differences. LG's aren't bad but I don't think they are the best/worth the money. Not too many lumigrows are actually used by people that I've seen. And the few grow logs that do exist, are all unfinished. People aren't as willing to share their results when things go bad.

Here are some footprint graphs to look at

Lumigrow 325 pro done by growers house
View attachment 2846749


My homemade graph for the new Apache AT200. Not the prettiest to look at. Only measure to 3x3.
View attachment 2846750


And brother scotch's very detailed and organized graph of his Area51 SGS-160 (the whole graph is ~3x2 pretty sure)
View attachment 2846751


EDIT:
They all look very similar. But remember that the LG is using almost 2X the wattage as the others. So that's why it's not the best, but still good. Mr John, you will have to be the one to actually follow through and show us what LG's can do.

 

[hyroot]

Thank you for posting the charts. I understand now. When I leave afghanistan and get home one of the first projects (besides the infamous honey do list) is to setup my Jardine DR90II grow room and get the LG 320 fired up. I plan on starting with 4-6 plants in my Botanicare E/F system. I will post info and pictures from seedlings to maturation, yea I spent allot of money on that light. I will give honest feedback and share my pass or fails with RIU. I do have high hopes for this light but if it does not perform you will all know it, I have reason to hide the truth, in fact I would want to share my results because if the LG does not perform I would not want anyone else spending their hard earned money on one.

My cousin is over there too. He was deployed a few weeks ago. Good luck out there and be safe. Don't jump on any grenades

 

[tags420]

It's not a bad light. I'm sure it can grow a great crop that will be worth it's price. There are plenty of examples of people using standard/average gear and getting amazing results. LG's are definitely still above average so I have faith. Just follow through so we can all see what goes down like you said.

Thank you for serving