Fill me in on LEDs

G

Greggl4321

Active Member
which one works well, they have a 1200watt model.

How can I tell, how this compares to hid?


There is a lot of sales people on the forums that try to upsell there product, I'd like some information okease
 
Find the LED lighting section of this forum. http://rollitup.org/t/if-you-are-ne...hoosing-what-to-buy-post-here.633304/page-294

It's all difficult to understand and predict. It takes a lot of study to understand it all. 30 actual watts per sq foot is what has been recommended to me. You can't go wrong with Area 51 lights. Most others will be sort of a risk. A lot of companies just rebrand crap LEDs and sell them as some magical light.. I have one of those :)

Mars Hydro, Kind LED, Apollo, These are the consumer grade lights that work ok and are inexpensive.
 
What's with people making there own I saw a several hundred page thread on this.


I'm wanting something that will put out like a 400w hps or more, thinking of going with led to prevent heat buildup


How good is the 1200watt king led on eBay? It sounds like it'd be strong, but I have no idea

More insight would be greatly appreciated
 
Greggl4321 said:
I'm wanting something that will put out like a 400w hps or more, thinking of going with led to prevent heat buildup
Click to expand...

You have to be very careful choosing an LED because there are 3 basic categories:

1. Inexpensive Chinese fixtures using epiwhatever diodes. These are inefficient and will generate heat. You'd be better off with CMH.

2. Expensive rebranded versions of the former. Lush, Kind, HydroGrowLED, Platinum, Blackdog, GrowBlu (to some extent Blackstar, but it's not as overpriced as the preceding).

3. Expensive and efficient fixtures. Area51, Rapid/Onyx, Apache, Bonzai/Hans, Grow Northern, Plantphotonics.

Most people get into LED because they just want to be part of the latest, greatest. They either do #1 and are disappointed about the results, or #2 and get ripped off.

#3 is the only way to go if you're getting into it for energy efficiency and heat reduction. Or, DIY.
 
az2000 said:
You have to be very careful choosing an LED
Most people get into LED because they just want to be part of the latest, greatest. They either do #1 and are disappointed about the results, or #2 and get ripped off.
#3 is the only way to go if you're getting into it for energy efficiency and heat reduction. Or, DIY.
Click to expand...

My favorite the California Lightworks 200w Solarflare
http://www.californialightworks.com/Products_SolarFlare.htm ............Expensive so sell your moms car
 
what does it mean when it says its a 900watt led but only draws 430 watts of power?

is marshydro not a good brand? what makes Area51 better? I see marshydro has a 5watt fixture
 
az2000 said:
You have to be very careful choosing an LED because there are 3 basic categories:

1. Inexpensive Chinese fixtures using epiwhatever diodes. These are inefficient and will generate heat. You'd be better off with CMH.

2. Expensive rebranded versions of the former. Lush, Kind, HydroGrowLED, Platinum, Blackdog, GrowBlu (to some extent Blackstar, but it's not as overpriced as the preceding).

3. Expensive and efficient fixtures. Area51, Rapid/Onyx, Apache, Bonzai/Hans, Grow Northern, Plantphotonics.

Most people get into LED because they just want to be part of the latest, greatest. They either do #1 and are disappointed about the results, or #2 and get ripped off.

#3 is the only way to go if you're getting into it for energy efficiency and heat reduction. Or, DIY.
Click to expand...


what do you mean epiwhatever diodes? DO all the chinese ones perform bad? Why is that???
 
Greggl4321 said:
what does it mean when it says its a 900watt led but only draws 430 watts of power?

is marshydro not a good brand? what makes Area51 better? I see marshydro has a 5watt fixture
Click to expand...

Marshyro/TopLED is an epi-whatever light. If your goal is to reduce heat, you should buy a CMH before the Mars. More light for the dollars. The only good thing about MarsHydro is that it's not overpriced like the rebranders. They have a public support forum on 420mag and may have more incentive to resolve problems more favorably than if you dealt with a stranger on eBay.

When LED fixtures mention their wattage, it's usually the capacity of the diodes (80 pieces x 3w diodes equals 240w). But, LEDs are always run at 30-70% capacity so they don't burn out faster. You always want to look for actual power draw. If it's not listed you should assume it's 50%.

Some lights like A51 specify actual power draw. An RW75 draws 75w (it has about 150w actual capacity, they just don't mention it because it's kind of pointless.).
 
did you say the heat would be lower with a CMH as opposed to an LED?

what do you think about the 1200 watt models, and the 5 watt diodes
 
Greggl4321 said:
what do you mean epiwhatever diodes? DO all the chinese ones perform bad? Why is that???
Click to expand...

Didoes convert electricity to light. Some diodes like Cree XTE produce more lumens per watt. Others, like Epistar, produce less. They run hotter.

The problem with Epistar is that Chinese factories buy bulk dies and encapsulate them on site to varying (or non-existent) quality. Epistar has lost control of its supply chain and its reputation. It's such a known problem that the Chinese government is implementing requirements on the LED industry this year to combat the bad reputation they've earned.

Most people looking at LED shouldn't. You can get more light for the dollar from non-LED. The rare person who says they're doing it for efficiency and heat reduction should stay away from epi-whatever lights. You'll pay a premium that takes 2-3 years to recover.

Nobody should buy one of the rebranded lights. They're the worst of both worlds.
 
Greggl4321 said:
did you say the heat would be lower with a CMH as opposed to an LED?

what do you think about the 1200 watt models, and the 5 watt diodes
Click to expand...

I didn't say CMH is lower heat than LED generally. I said it's a better choice when weighing heat, lumens and expense compared to epi-whatever lights like MarsHydro.

I think 5w lights are too intense for shorter grow spaces. I prefer providing light from more sources, more diffuse light compared to stronger and fewer sources. If growing just a few plants in a 4x4 pace I'd try to surround the plants with light. I think higher wattage from a single point isn't as good. But, it also has to do with the height of the plants.

Similar reasoning concerning 1200w monolithic panels compared to having four 300w panels. You'll get more coverage from more panels. More light angles. And, when (not if) a panel fails you won't be in total darkness.
 
Yea, to say my little Apollo runs cool would be an overstatement. yea, it's cool to the touch, but there is still heat. I have to either run my exhaust fan or keep the small tent door open a bit.
 
Another category of LED light are the Cree "lightbulbs" and PAR38 spots/floods sold at Home Depot. I got good results running as low as 22w/sq ft. They're not as efficient as A51, not as inefficient as epiwhatever. But, you can scale into those. Use them as supplemental light, acquire enough to use them exclusively.

In a short grow space like a 4' tall tent, a 3w mounted on white backboard (no reflector) epi-whatever fixture can be good. But, the Cree lightbulbs are better. Cree lightbulbs aren't too feasible for larger spaces due to the labor involved mounting them. But, I like them. Not hard to mount them to 1x4 planks of wood and create a large "fixture."
 
Greggl4321 said:
hmmmmmmmmmmm


might just have to go with an hps
Click to expand...

If you really want to reduce heat, you can. It will cost you about $3 per watt and you have to be very careful because there's a lot of scammy LED brands out there charging $3 per watt but selling epi-whatever diodes (Kind, Lush, HydroGrowLED, Blackdog, GrowBlu, Platinum). It's very easy to get ripped off.

If it's not worth $3/w to reduce heat, then it's good to accept that conclusion now and either get out of these shark infested waters, or consider DIY.

What most people do is buy $1/w Chinese imports and either have bad results, or high heat (as they provide enough lumens to get good results). Or, they get ripped off by the rebranders that charge $3/w for a Chinese import epiwhatever light.

CMH is getting a lot of good reviews. A little cooler than HPS. A bit better than epiwhatever LED.
 
Greggl4321 said:
hmmmmmmmmmmm


might just have to go with an hps
Click to expand...

Area 51, DIY or HPS. HPS is the easiest, and cheapest by far. For any LED setup you need 30-35 watts per square foot. At $1.50 to $3.50/watt or more, it can get pricey. Lol

I was just looking through my old notes. This has to be the highest $/watt winner. The Advanced XTE100 is $350 for an 80 watt light. $4.38/watt
 
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