IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

Hey how're ye?
Didn't feel my question warranted a new thread so thought I'd ask here. I'm rebuilding my heated propagator and wanted to put some cheap led strips in the new one. Found some on ebay and have been googling guides on how to wire them, doesn't seem too complicated although I'm clueless when it comes to electronics. Here's a list of the stuff I've put together so far
http://goo.gl/2C9cf4

I'm pretty sure I have a few ac adapters lying around so I'm assuming I could use one of those? And depending on what adapter I find, I will need one of these?
http://goo.gl/NQfpJX
http://goo.gl/Gp0teC
http://goo.gl/avJ7qU

And some of this wire
http://goo.gl/n4q3p8

Could some one tell me am I on the right track and also if I wanted to put in 2x120mm pc fans, how would I wire them to the same power supply?
Thanks lads

solksagen said:

I was offered a 200W 3000K (luminus flux 22000 lumen) dimmable fixture for about $240.

Click to expand...

That sounds pretty good for 110-120 lumens/watt. But, what kind of distance do you need to the plant? They show these things mounted 20-30 feet above the ground.

I wonder if this is like SpectrumKingLED which seemed to be a similar industrial design, seemed too concentrated in a small area.

The adapters will need to supply at least 1.25amps @ 12v per strip. If you plan to run 10 strips (12.5A) the cheapest option is a atx pc power supply.

mickey oneil said:

Well I decided to keep the L450 (I know, call me crazy but MBFERTS.com ended up giving me a really good deal @ $450 which I know many of you still see that as too expensive).

Click to expand...

That's not too bad. I consider Blackstar to be a not-too-predatory rebranded import. Not as over-priced and glammed up (like Kind, Lush, HydroGrowLED, GrowBlu, Blackdog). Blackstar has a 480w fixture which I assume is 240-260w actual. It sells for $570. So, you got your light for less than a Blackstar.

At least you'll have some background with these lights, something to compare to a more efficient light if you decide to get one in the future. From my experience with Blackstar, I think you'll find it grows well -- but runs hotter and requires more watts for the same results. (Harder to see your plants' condition if it's a blue/red light like Blackstar. Having a whiter light is a huge benefit.).

Only plan on using 4, 5 max. Do I need anything else?

az2000 said:

That sounds pretty good for 110-120 lumens/watt. But, what kind of distance do you need to the plant? They show these things mounted 20-30 feet above the ground.

I wonder if this is like SpectrumKingLED which seemed to be a similar industrial design, seemed too concentrated in a small area.

Click to expand...

Thanks AZ, I was wondering the same. The SpectrumKingLED you refer to is http://spectrumkingled.com/our-grow-lights/ ? Those come with a 60° or 90° light beam angle, mine are 120° (60° optional), which sounds rather wide for a high bay light to me. It's suposed to cover a 30 gallon 24'' smart pot in a 7' tall 28'' (70 cm) square closet:

Can anyone suggest a driver to power a Cree CXA3070 chip (BB bin, 5000k)? I want to run it at or above the test specs listed on this page (1.4A, 38.5v).

Been watching this forum for a couple months, have read back many pages but not whole thread; so if I ask anything that has already been covered, please forgive my ignorance in advance.

I have a 8 x 4 x 7 that I run 2 x 18 gallon DWC tubs with 4 sites per tub~ I have been running 2 x 400w HID setup(CMH in veg & HPS in flower) with a several HOCFL's & few LED bulbs for side/supplemental lighting in Flower. I have had very nice results from this set up but tired of the wattage $$$ & ventalation/heat control $$$. Have been studying as much as possible & reading a million threads on the subject. I figure I want somewhere between 900 & 1200w of High Quality LEDS between 2 main fixtures + 4 to 6 LED light bars as side/supplemental lighting. I feel COB/MCOB is way to go. I have been saving, for what seems like forever, to have enough coin to buy commercial quality high end LED Grow Lights. So the cost is not as important as the quality of the fixture/LED's.

Now to my question. Does anybody have any experience with the Illumitex Neo Series, BML Spider Series, Lil' Tomato Concepts Cold Diamond Series or the OpticLighting Vero Series. From what I have found these seem to be some of the best out there but again I have no experience with a all LED grow. Would love any & all feedback. Thanks in advance, SF

Alright cowboys, who has tried growing with LED striplights? They come one a roll and you can change the spectrum a bunch of ways with the remote. SMD 5050 whatever that means.. I can't figure out how many individual watts they are though. They could make good side lighting, under canopy lighting or micro grow lights..

Let me know what you think..

sunny747 said:

Alright cowboys, who has tried growing with LED striplights? They come one a roll and you can change the spectrum a bunch of ways with the remote. SMD 5050 whatever that means.. I can't figure out how many individual watts they are though. They could make good side lighting, under canopy lighting or micro grow lights..

Let me know what you think..

Click to expand...

Nope waste of money

sunny747 said:

Alright cowboys, who has tried growing with LED striplights?

Click to expand...

It's my understanding SMD5730 (sometimes called 5630) is more efficient (around 110 lm/w) than 5050. I've been wanting to order some and try it. You can get more efficient LED, but I've been playing with LED "lightbulbs" from Home Depot which are around 90-100 lm/w. I thought SMD5730 might be fun to create mini panels to do the same thing.

When I started thinking about this I found 3 threads about strip lights:

https://www.rollitup.org/t/chronikoolz-stripped-lite-peep-show.567470/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/fun-with-smd-led-strips-5630-and-5050-in-preparation-for-the-bucket-of-light.635171/
https://www.rollitup.org/t/first-time-grower-experimenting-with-cheap-leds.610538/

I believe you want to keep them short, otherwise you get a voltage drop that affects performance. You also have to pay attention to whether they're "waterproof" IP65 which is encased in a clear tube. I think that reduces efficiency.

There are 60 diodes per meter. They run around .125ma per diode which is around 7w per meter. They can be cut as small as every 2", making as many as 20 pieces per meter.

Reserva Privada Purple Og18 and Strawberry Banana and Elemental Honey Bananas and Gummy Bears 37 days Under Area51 RW150s and KIND K5 750. I found my calling! LED and Coco and Botanaicare Expert Recipe! Couple these have 3 weeks left! I cant wait to see what kind a weight they put on? I know the quality will be top shelf! Under the purple light its a honey bananas Starwberry bananas under A51s. The purp og18 is great! makes lots tops! I think I got a purpwreck leanin pheno with the og smell! hopefully its got the 18s power? For the next year or so its gonna be RW150 watt under 1 plants vegged 40+. I keep lookin at the indagro pontoons! I just wanna try 1? anyboy got any info on em?

mickey oneil said:

My stupid iPhone is not letting me upload pics right now. But will later

Click to expand...

So... 10 days in and the trans seems to be doing well and thriving under the kind L450. Treating a ca/mg def, but seems to not be effecting growth.

JimmyIndica said:

Reserva Privada Purple Og18 and Strawberry Banana and Elemental Honey Bananas and Gummy Bears 37 days Under Area51 RW150s and KIND K5 750. I found my calling! LED and Coco and Botanaicare Expert Recipe! Couple these have 3 weeks left! I cant wait to see what kind a weight they put on? I know the quality will be top shelf! Under the purple light its a honey bananas Starwberry bananas under A51s. The purp og18 is great! makes lots tops! I think I got a purpwreck leanin pheno with the og smell! hopefully its got the 18s power? For the next year or so its gonna be RW150 watt under 1 plants vegged 40+. I keep lookin at the indagro pontoons! I just wanna try 1? anyboy got any info on em?

Click to expand...

Ask hyroot about the inda gros

has anyone used the spectrum king 300 or 400 watt led? watched a vidio says it the 400 produced better than a 1,000 watt hps hortilux eye and beat the gavita double ended lanp..just wondering if anyone has used or herd about them, they only use cree led's

spectrumkingled.com

spectrumkingled is overpriced crap.

Claiming that any 400W led lamp will outperform a 1000W hps is insane. They make more impossible claims than any other company. Hell, the guy himself personally told me his product will outperform our DIY builds by "100,000x". (in reality, his product pales in comparison) Real nice guy...

I'd stick with a 1000W HPS over that bullshit.

TheChemist77 said:

has anyone used the spectrum king 300 or 400 watt led?

Click to expand...

There are 2-3 people on RIU using his light. Seems like a decent light using Cree (compared to the Chinese rebranders sold for a fortune). But, seems to require considerable distance, and has sharp drop-off from center. But, the guys using the lights seemed to like them.

The SKL guy became controversial as a result of his "LED 101" page where he said COBs are inferior to individual diodes. Because of that stark contrast to what the experts here believe, I invited SKL to a thread where this was being discussed. He didn't seem ignorant of LEDs, but could never explain the basis for his claim. Sounded like a double-talker.

(But, it still doesn't make sense to me that he'd hitch himself to Cree and make efficiency a selling point -- and then lie about Cree products. That's a novel approach to preying on LED consumers. Everyone else simply rebrands a Chinese light and sells it for 4x more. This guy put some effort into carving out a unique space to compete against the bamboozlers. Still doesn't make sense to me. But, I share the sentiment that he wasn't on the level.).

Man there so many different units that are middle to high grade. Just depends on how much $ ya got? U need multiple panels for a decent size op? Buy the A51s! Got the $ to put 3400 in a 5x5? Buy 4 AT200s. Man! I want me some AT. I don't know boy everybody else? ,But I feel like kid n candy store with al the options these days! I cant wait to check A51s new units in JUNE! HEY @Eraserhead !? I'll take 4?

How many watts for a 3x4x5? Right now I'm using 2 RW150 and a W100 is that enough

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Rollitup mobile app

lmoore2680 said:

How many watts for a 3x4x5? Right now I'm using 2 RW150 and a W100 is that enough

Sent from my HTC6500LVW using Rollitup mobile app

Click to expand...

should be alright! your round 33 watt per. What type a setup you usin? Wherever your putting the 100 ,it might be little shy on that end. I would put the 100 in the middle!