Area 51 LEDs

just got my a51 3x100 today.. interestingly, it looks like it's a similar basic spectrum as kylepc91's, but the spatial arrangement is different: my whites are shifted to the edges and everything is more symmetric. this makes complete sense -- since the whites have 60-degree lenses, moving them outside will spread that penetration out as far as possible. looking forward to putting these into action!!

shame these use cheaper chinese diodes , wonder if area51 would be intrested in a area51 vs advanced led shootout ...

Wow, I knowthat Advanced uses "American" diodes, but only for some of the colours that they use, they have to get the others from Indonesia, Taiwan etc., because the American diode manufactureurs (Cree, Bridgelux etc.) don't make those colours. Maybe this is why Advanced states on their page "USA Made Bridgelux Blue and White 3w LEDs" makes one wonder where the other colours come from. Now to have decent light for flowering, most LED light makers (American or otherwise), usually weight the Reds, at 65%-70%, leaving just 35%-30% for blue, white, orange and green. So you end up with maximum 30% "American" diodes. Go ahead and pay the extra $170 for that less than 30%.

Advanced also puts lens on ALL their diodes, which with a 10% loss due to reflection and absorbtion on each diode, really makes me want to go buy one (sarcasm). I am not affiliated with Area 51 in any way and I am as sceptical as the next guy. Their price is great but I am waiting for a few grows to go through before I spend my hard earned cash on any light (American, Chinese, Mexican, African what ever). There are a lot of grow journals out there with the Advanced lights that give it a high rating, regardless of the fact that Advanced does offer partial rebates to individuals for doing a grow journal with their lights. Can you say conflict of interest?

The other thing about Area51's lights that caught my attention (just because I don't like the idea of losing a crop due to light failure) is that it is modular. If one 25 diode module dies (or the driver), you can still function with the remaining modules and drivers (in the case of the 100x3), with 75% of your light. They send you a free replacement module (or driver), that you can easily replace with a screwdriver once it arrives. Yeah, rather than wait a week or two to send my unit back to Advanced and have Advanced fix it and send it back out to me.

What I would love to see is somebody do a comparison grow (same clones, same nutrients using the same resevoir, same ventilation etc.) in seperate light sealed units. Then we could compare apples to apples. A true head to head comparison. Maybe it will happen, yeah when pigs fly. Until then we will be bombarded with wild claims from everyone. Not many people would be willing to say that they got hosed for $600 on their new LED lights, so the lies continue.

Sorry if I am ranting, but when I hear things like "cheaper chinese diodes", I wonder about then xenophobia in American society. I suggest that you don't buy an iPhone or an iPad, they are all made in China, with Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese and German parts. Heaven forbid! The American lead in technology ended a long time ago. They can barely keep up, hence the wonderful financial crisis that the poor average American now gets to deal with. You snooze, you lose. Yes, I'm a foreigner, one of those god damn Canadians, and bloody proud of it!

Borghead

What leds do you use borg?

Hiya puffenuff, currently I am not using any lights (LED or otherwise). My last child leaves in September to go to college and I will finally start growing again (it's been close to 30 years since my last grow - lol). I am considering LEDs, due to the low electricity use and slightly lower heat emitted, but as I said, I really want to see a few more grows before I drop that kind of coin. If I don't see enough grows/information posted about any LEDs, then I will consider using CFLs until the dust settles. They don't have to be the "most amazing things since sliced bread" as I will be doing this for personal consumption and not to supply others. I have found that the LED market is flooded with wild claims and basically lies ("our 120 watt LED lights replace a 400 watt HPS" , "our 200 watt LED light will provide coverage for 20 square feet" etc.). I have researched extensively on the neccessary spectrums needed for a decent flowering light and both Advanced and Area51 seem to cover the important ones. I don't have anything against Advanced (they seem to be a decent light and apparently their customer service is good - some others are VERY questionable), but the price of $545 dollars is SCARY! Sort of like a "pig in a poke".

For me living in Canada, it is important for me to deal with a company that will provide good warrenty support to Canada (not all american manufactuerers will provide warrenty support to Canada, and I really don't want to have to send my unit back to China). I like Area51's modular design, so currently, that is the way I am leaning. So if you are asking me to recommend a LED light, I really can't, since I have no experience with any. I have done a lot of research, but some of the "facts" listed by some companies, are outright lies and I will be avoiding those companies like the plague. It's a crap shoot right now as the industry is still very young. I guess the old expression "buyer beware" really applies in this field.

Borghead

borghead said:

Hiya puffenuff, currently I am not using any lights (LED or otherwise). My last child leaves in September to go to college and I will finally start growing again (it's been close to 30 years since my last grow - lol). I am considering LEDs, due to the low electricity use and slightly lower heat emitted, but as I said, I really want to see a few more grows before I drop that kind of coin. If I don't see enough grows/information posted about any LEDs, then I will consider using CFLs until the dust settles. They don't have to be the "most amazing things since sliced bread" as I will be doing this for personal consumption and not to supply others. I have found that the LED market is flooded with wild claims and basically lies ("our 120 watt LED lights replace a 400 watt HPS" , "our 200 watt LED light will provide coverage for 20 square feet" etc.). I have researched extensively on the neccessary spectrums needed for a decent flowering light and both Advanced and Area51 seem to cover the important ones. I don't have anything against Advanced (they seem to be a decent light and apparently their customer service is good - some others are VERY questionable), but the price of $545 dollars is SCARY! Sort of like a "pig in a poke".

For me living in Canada, it is important for me to deal with a company that will provide good warrenty support to Canada (not all american manufactuerers will provide warrenty support to Canada, and I really don't want to have to send my unit back to China). I like Area51's modular design, so currently, that is the way I am leaning. So if you are asking me to recommend a LED light, I really can't, since I have no experience with any. I have done a lot of research, but some of the "facts" listed by some companies, are outright lies and I will be avoiding those companies like the plague. It's a crap shoot right now as the industry is still very young. I guess the old expression "buyer beware" really applies in this field.

Borghead

Click to expand...

Right on Borg, I wasn't looking for any suggestions since I already have my leds and know which companies I am interested in for future purchases. I was just wondering if you had any hands-on experience with leds in particular with advanced because you seemed to have such as strong opinion on them, glad to hear you don't really have anything against them. Thanks for clearing that up! And you've certainly done your fair share of research so I have no doubt you will make a wise investment with your money when you finally decide to get your grow on again...wow 30 years since your last grow...a lot has changed since then! Good luck Mr. Borg!

puffenuff said:

Right on Borg, I wasn't looking for any suggestions since I already have my leds and know which companies I am interested in for future purchases. I was just wondering if you had any hands-on experience with leds in particular with advanced because you seemed to have such as strong opinion on them, glad to hear you don't really have anything against them. Thanks for clearing that up! And you've certainly done your fair share of research so I have no doubt you will make a wise investment with your money when you finally decide to get your grow on again...wow 30 years since your last grow...a lot has changed since then! Good luck Mr. Borg!

Click to expand...

Hey Puff My First Hydro Grow Was In 1975.We Got The Idea Out Of A Popluar Mecanhics Oh Fudge Puppies I Cant Spell A Lick Tonight Oh Well.We Used Fish Water For Our Nutes.

maybe just me but borghead seems overly defensive of area51 an both his posts seem more advertisement then fact certainly spouts a lot of BS for someone who admits he has never grown with leds seems to be a recurring theme surrounding area51 on alot of sites people are aware of it most are not.

i own 2 ds300's they are more expensive due to the diode an drivers they use im happy with what i payed for them they work thats all that matters to me id rather pay more for something that works then less for something that doesn't , area51 use the same leds as in my progrow they outside of veg are garbage for bloom they will grow you buds but not the kind of buds im looking to grow.

This is why i avoided riu for years these types of ad posts like borgheads from affiliates go on every day here have for years this isnt new to leds it happens with globes nutes aircooled hood brands you name it , its just not many people posting led grows and least of all on riu so you see the same people popping up on public forums under different names on different sites these people are nothing more then opportunistic parasites who have latched onto our lifestyle like leeches and as soon as we are drained they move onto the next easy targets

ill send u an invite puff to a private community if im allowed it needs approval from up the chain but reading your posts an grows you'd be a welcome addition you will have direct contact will alot of world class breeders as well both from canada the us an holland where its all about the growing and the lifestyle not the the bullshit an ego that often clouds the simple joy of growing all the big boys hang out there an openly share experiences ill talk more in the email ill send you , you remind me of me the good side of me anyway but hey noone perfect an we all have our reasons

good luck to all growers
im out of rui for life it gets no 3rd chance

potroast is just about out of friends and when he runs out of friends who is left to protect you all

I'm already liking the contact that I've had with Area 51. Leave them an email and they will completely explain themselves. People need to give shit a chance. Dude this thread isn't even that old. No one on RIU has tested them yet... We are just people visiting this thread to look at what people have so far. And so far it seems like any other, except that you are dealing with a U.S. affiliate. I'm not sure about you but to be totally honest, I live in the united states, I'm never going to screw over my country a fucking dime. If I can I'm going to buy from area 51 and request cree and bridgelux when available. I have even already designed my unit. If necessary I will post the god damn email. As I smattered about 10 random questions into a tiny email.

Hello ILovePlants, thanks for contacting us.

The 1 watt versions has 2Xs as many diodes as the 3 watt versions, the 1w
version of the 50x3w is 100x1w. The 3w version will be slightly higher in
wattage.

3 of the 50x3w would have better coverage than 1 of the 150x3w, wattage
would be near identical. I can sell 3 of them for the same price as 1 of
the 150x3w.

There's 2 switches on each light, switch #1 controls rows 1+2, and switch
#2 controls rows 3+4. I have a veg spectrum on switch #1 (more of a full
spectrum, 45% blue/violet, 45% red/orange, 10% green, yellow, UV, and
switch #2 has all red, both switches 1 and 2 makes a flowering spectrum,
roughly 66% red, orange, 21% blue/violet, 13% green, yellow, IR, UV.

You can have the LEDs moved to wherever, and have the switches control
differently, they just have to stay the same as far as which rows they
control, switch #1 = rows 1+2, switch #2 rows 3+4.

Our current blues, violets and whites actually handle a little over 4
watts max right now, we just don't power them to the maximum, but rather
1/2 power, at 2.1 watts each. Reds and oranges max out at 3 watts, and we
power those to about 1.5 watts. We might be using some 5 watt white LEDs
in the near future, and 5 watt 735nm.


Jeff Price
Research, Development and tech support

medikal said:

i own 2 ds300's they are more expensive due to the diode an drivers they use im happy with what i payed for them they work thats all that matters to me id rather pay more for something that works then less for something that doesn't

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This is a great philosophy Medikal.

There is way too much hype and uncertainty in the led community. There are shills posting and commenting with alterior motives[FONT=arial, sans-serif]. Hps growers commenting on "led popcorn buds" and derailing threads on nonsense. Then you have manufactures who do not explain their product details in a way that's easy for the average customer to understand. Often I read posts of people who bought an led light thinking they were going to avoid paying for ventilation...wrong.

The led grow market is like the wild west, full of swindlers, villains, shills, and there is no sheriff.
[/FONT]
Our pastime is a skill. Some are better than others at it. Most of us are students of the art learning from our failures and gaining more knowledge after each grow. For some of us its these area 51 lights that work best for your growing style, for others its a vertical hps or spectras. Everyone has one thing in common in this hobby, we want to grow some good buds.

There are so many variables involved in each persons grow room (lighting/nutes/grow medium/level of dedication/intelligence/creativity/freedom etc) that area 51 light may work great for me and terrible for you.

I use a bs240, china unit purple spec, glowpanel45, and a 150hps space is 2x4x7. It works for me, others may not like it but for me it rocks.

Know what your needs are people and buyer beware.

Hiya Medikal

Do some reading and research. I checked with Bridgelux and the only 3 Watt LED they sell that is in the spectrum that Advantage uses (760nm,740nm, 720nm, 660nm, 630nm, 615-480nm, 460nm 440nm, 415nm, 380nm - call them if you doubt me), is the 460 nm. As to the Epitar, the only one they could use would be the 630 nm (which is red). However, both Bridgelux and Epistar do sell some of the other wavelengths in 1 watt diodes. Either way, Advantage is making false statements, and that turns me off them.

What you say is true, I have not done any grows with LED lights. However, none of this is what you refer to as B.S. The B.S. that I see, is on the web pages where these companies make false promises and lie about their product. If you had bothered to read my post, I said what I would like to see is a REAL side-by-side comparison. Same clones, shared reservoir, same sized growspace, with the same fans, pumps and venting. Have the grow areas be seperated for light and have several grow lights evaluated (Advantage, Area 51, Solar Storm etc.). Maybe even have one of the grow areas runn CFLs as a control.

You see, I am an electrical engineer, and for me, having used everything from 1/8 - 5 watt LEDs in various components, have not found any quality differences in "American" LEDs versus "Asian" LEDs. That was different 5 years ago, when Cree and Epistar were King. Now all these LEDs are manufacturered in asia. So why would I want to buy American branded (asian made) LEDs at double the price? By the way, where exactly do you think the Advantage, Penetrator, Magnum+ etc. lights are made?

Shenzhen Baisheng Semiconductor Lighting Co.
LG-LED Solutions Technology
Twilight Group
etc.

all chinese plants (most of them in Shenzhen). By buying all the parts premade from China and assembling the parts together in America, makes it "American" made.

You are happy with your DS300s and I am not surprised. They do look like a decent light (read my previous posting where I say this). They have the right spectrum, it appears that they have the right ratios, and I'm sure that they work very well. I was considering getting one of them (don't care if they are made in China), but was saving up to be able to purchase them. I may still. But for me, I will continue to wait until I see more grow journals before I decide which LED light to get. I can guarentee you however, that the next DS series (Advanced) will be modular, because it is the smart way to go. I'm glad that Area51 thoughtthe concept up.

Borghead

2001vettez06 said:

update: Loving the lights, got my temps down now, at first had to vent the room with a dryer vent and fan. That was good enough for low 80's temps, but I thought I might want to play with lower temps at night to see how colors might change so I got a 10k btu portable ac and that's really done it. In the end now I could have gone HPS lol, but I'm loving the Area51's and they are doing me right. I did also have to add some furring stips to support my tent as the Area51's are quite a bit heavier than the Blackstars and T5 fixtures I was using, but I am also 2x the wattage too, but cheap tent didn't like that. Was sagging enough to where I worried something could break in time.
Too bad I'm a screwup and let some banannas happen and now I have some seeds showing up . Not the lights fault though, so next run I'm probably going to buy some legit genetics instead of trying to nurse bagseed up to dank. Plus get better at growing.


This is the one that's seeded. She's so beautiful too. Guess I'll have to take her even though she's preggers.

Garden pic with the lights, you can just barely make out the Area51 label on top of the light in front, although facing the other way.

Click to expand...

Hey ,It seems that they are good products .So far with good results.I am considering to buy two .But one more problem： If one or several LEDS dead after half a year or several monthes, how will they to deal with the problem? I do some research about LED grow lights , they have the same problem ,if one or several of LEDS are dead , the rest of the LEDS won't work .That means i lose one or several LEDS and will lose the whole light.That's not what i want .I see that HTG and HGL have new module LED products .They told me that they can solve that problem.If one module is dead , just easy to replace the dead module with new replacement .I think it's ok .At least , I loose one module ,not the whole light .What do you think ?

This is what i think. Hydro grow LED... i ordered a 84x2-pro $649.99.. i ordered on the 11th. today is the 18th. 7days and i havent even recieved an email.. dunno about this company..before i ordered i asked if it was in stock.. 4days ago i got mad and chatted with them.. the guy admitted it was in stock at there china manufacturer... even coming from china isnt 7days a bit long to stay out of touch with a client who has purchased your product and yet to recieve. atleast tell me its on the way or shipped.. btw i spoke with a fellow named vince with the company..he took care of my order.

yea. they want 75$ if i cancel.. and it was never in stock.. i found out when you order they have it built for you in china i suppose. i know a friend who got a apollo6/cidly led and it was on his doorstep within 5days. hes in usa.. if i could do it all over again or didnt have this 75$ hangin over my head when i got 700 in it already i would never pick this company.. The people are tools.. the guy clearly told me sir all of our products are currently in stock... so i order.. 4 days later the guy says sir it wa sin stock at our china location.. when i ordered i said i wasnt looking for a long wait. dont care if its made in china but i want it already in usa when i order.. Sir. our 84x is ready to be shipped... ok sign me up... 7days later 0 email/response. F them at this point

damn wadz, hate to say i told you so, but... lol tried to tell you man! $649.00 for a 4-spot (84 led) panel is highway robbery, and then you don't even get the product! ugh...

my first grow turned out well I think for me. I nuked the plants with nutes in the final few weeks so things weren't ideal. I had light poisoning due to having a wiring issue in that room with the neutral and hot wires on the AC line letting some voltage leak into the outlet and consequently allowing the LED's to stay powered with 1.3v enough to let the glow a bit :/. That caused the herm issues, at least I hope that was it and it wasn't all just inferior genetics... All said and done, one of the 3 bag strains was some of the strongest my friends and I have ever dealt with. It's super strong smell and potency, actually made us somewhat nauseaus when trimming the plants due to stinking up the room so much :/. Has a definate fuel type smell and a bit of a faint fruity after taste.

Got kudos from some Cali and NY guys as well who are longtime smokers of some good dank. Another of the 3 was very good, and the 3rd was ok, but not awesome compared to the best one. We got some Sannies seeds for the future . Plus some dank seeds that another friend has collected from some legit stuff he's collected over the years. That's running now and looking pretty darn good. Future plans are for 2L hempi runs and going to switch to that sorta modified hydro type setup those guys use.

That cat on the prior page raging about "shills" for Area51 talking them up and repping for them, and then saying how great Advanced LED were. How's he not a shill? I mean, short of knowing people in real life etc... We are just taking eachother at out own "words" here. Anyway, I guess I get pissy when my integrity is questioned. Moving on...

I have nothing really else to compare these lights to. I have some Blackstars 240's I started with, then liked them enough to go extreme with my setup. Extreme for me anyway. Could other lights be better? Probably, but bang for the buck I think I got a good deal. Nothing I researched came close to the price per watt with a decent warranty and what I considered midrange quality. Let me clarify and say that I think Advanced is mid range and most other lights are mid range at best. There are some high end lights, but expect to pay 10+x the price for them, and I can't afford that.

IMO Advanced are E-shine rebadged and tweaked a bit in the spektrum. From what I understand the drivers, diodes etc... in Advanced are Chinese and not Epistar etc.. like previously claimed. I don't think it was Advanced trying to bait switch, but more a China hustle on the part of their supplier. Anyway, maybe I'm wrong, but that's my 2 cents anyway after researching them. They work well, I think they are just overpriced a bit for what you get. I'd say they are probably around the same performance as the Area51, but that's just a guess and being new at this hobby I could be full of bad info and wrong theories too, so don't anyone think I'm some professor here.

At the end of the day, I think most of us are just reasonable guys trying to have fun and get some good results. Seems like there are always a$$hats trying to stir the pot and create chaos wheter it be this hobby, cars, aircraft etc... Some people just can't let other's have their own opinions or admit they could be wrong lol.

peace