Is it a good led for growing weed?

420BByo

New Member
I'm new to grow weed and don't know much about how to grow. Recently I just got a new model led lamp from my friend. This led lamp is 1100W full spectrum with 46*10W double chip LED + 1*500W COB. and it just consume about 110w·h power. The main difference between this one and others is that it's Adjustable. The price is lower than 100 which I think is fair. So the problem is can anyone tell me is it good to buy?4.jpg
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
I'm new to grow weed and don't know much about how to grow. Recently I just got a new model led lamp from my friend. This led lamp is 1100W full spectrum with 46*10W double chip LED + 1*500W COB. and it just consume about 110w·h power. The main difference between this one and others is that it's Adjustable. The price is lower than 100 which I think is fair. So the problem is can anyone tell me is it good to buy?View attachment 4324940
Yeah, don't waste your money on such cheap amazon blurples. The parts are so cheap they do not even reach HPS efficiency(1,3μMol/J). Do yourself a favor and get a quantum board kit. Maybe you have seen them already cuz certain boards are also available on amazon.

If you want to buy a new grow light pay attention to these data:

- total PPF in μMol/s which means total photon flux of the whole fixture at maximum output(watt).
- efficiency in μMol/J or at least in %.
- real power draw, no crazy 1000w numbers, no theoretical output.

Manufacturers who don't include these numbers in their descriptions are not worth it. PAR maps will give you some numbers and can give you an idea how it may looks like in your tent but its nothing you can work with. Knowing efficiency and/or total flux is much better and you can calculate PPFD numbers above different areas at different hanging height yourself.

Here are a few US companies which deliever top shelf grow lights with really good efficiency. (>2,5μMol/J instead less than 1,3 with the light above, that's almost twice as much light out of the same watts)

• Horticulture lighting group
• Timber Growlights
• Pacific lighting conceps

If you like DIY have a closer look at Samsungs H-influx series or Bridgelux EB gen2 series. Its pretty easy to build something yourself and the LED area here is full of DIY lights.
 

420BByo

New Member
Yeah, don't waste your money on such cheap amazon blurples. The parts are so cheap they do not even reach HPS efficiency(1,3μMol/J). Do yourself a favor and get a quantum board kit. Maybe you have seen them already cuz certain boards are also available on amazon.

If you want to buy a new grow light pay attention to these data:

- total PPF in μMol/s which means total photon flux of the whole fixture at maximum output(watt).
- efficiency in μMol/J or at least in %.
- real power draw, no crazy 1000w numbers, no theoretical output.

Manufacturers who don't include these numbers in their descriptions are not worth it. PAR maps will give you some numbers and can give you an idea how it may looks like in your tent but its nothing you can work with. Knowing efficiency and/or total flux is much better and you can calculate PPFD numbers above different areas at different hanging height yourself.

Here are a few US companies which deliever top shelf grow lights with really good efficiency. (>2,5μMol/J instead less than 1,3 with the light above, that's almost twice as much light out of the same watts)

• Horticulture lighting group
• Timber Growlights
• Pacific lighting conceps

If you like DIY have a closer look at Samsungs H-influx series or Bridgelux EB gen2 series. Its pretty easy to build something yourself and the LED area here is full of DIY lights.
Thanks so much for your reply. That's really helpful.
I search the quantum board kit on Amazon and I don't think I can set up them now. So I prefer to buy a fully setup lamp.
I check their pages and mostly of them don't provide the data you mentioned above, while I l found similar product like the lamp I posted and there is one review showing some number111.jpg
I didn't know that number but that's a positive review.
SO can you tell me what that number is and is that lamp considered good? Thank you :)
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
Thanks so much for your reply. That's really helpful.
I search the quantum board kit on Amazon and I don't think I can set up them now. So I prefer to buy a fully setup lamp.
I check their pages and mostly of them don't provide the data you mentioned above, while I l found similar product like the lamp I posted and there is one review showing some numberView attachment 4325063
I didn't know that number but that's a positive review.
SO can you tell me what that number is and is that lamp considered good? Thank you :)

That's a lux/lumen meter in the picture above and 3600lx is extremely low. I grow with up to 60.000lx, lol!
Also a lux meter is the wrong device to test such a blurple fixture.
Lux meters are created to the human eye and they have a green filter built in because green is the brightest for humans. Plants use green light too but only when there is already enough blue and red light. They use the whole spectrum, filters are only needed at the ends of the spectrum(below 380 and above 750nm).
Those sensors are called PAR meters and they measure "photosynthetically active radiation".

Can I ask for your location? Continent is enough... And I need to know your budget.

I ask because it's hard to find good LED lamps in the EU zone.
LED-tech.de has the Zeus board XL for instance. (99€)

https://www.led-tech.de/de/ZEUS-308-XT-High-Performance-KITs

It's a 140w board which needs no heat sink! You only need an Meanwell LED driver like the HLG-150H-48B or ELG-150-48B(b means dimmable). The also have full kits and the how-to is the same like with Quantumboards.

To set up Quantumboards is as easy as it can be, bro.
A full kit contains the board(s) and a siutable heat sink and a driver. You need only to poke-in the 2 DC wires of the driver into the boards on board connector, screw the board onto the heat sink, add a wall plug on the AC side of the driver, install the hanging kit and voilá, done!

When you have your kit (which contains a how-to usually) and you have still issues you could come back, tag me and we do it together.
When you have it done you'll laugh about your worries, lol!

Believe me, these blurple fixture you find on am4zon/e3ay are not worth it. 99% of us have tried such a piece of crap and they do not deliver enough light nor a plant siutable spectrum.

A full spectrum is not pink!!!I t's white like sun light!!!
Plants have adapted to sunlight in millions of years and they use the complete range of from 285-800nm. Green light for instance is only partwise reflected(for this reason they look green), but most of it is used in the deeper plant regions (intercanopy). Red and blue wavelengths are used directly on the outer canopy.

DIYLEDUK.com is also a good EU source for LED lights and the owner is really a good one and very helpful. Top reputation and well made fixtures!

https://diyleduk.com/

You can get kits with boards or strips with Samsungs world leading LM301b diodes and you can also get pre-assembled fixtures if you still think you can't do it yourself.
Shipping cost are probably a bit higher because of a bigger package but the assembling is free.

Forget the fake reviews you see on the am4zon website. Its just nonsense!
If you read them read the ones with only 1 or 2 star rating.

3600lx of a blurple spectrum means ~70 - 80μMol/s PPF in the best case.
60.000lx of a warmwhite 3000°k spectrum means ~850μMol/s PPF and you can use it as all-in-one spectrum for germination, veg and flowering. Just dimm it down if needed.

These chinese blurples use the cheapest EPIstar diodes available. No Cree, no Samsung, no Luminus or other top brand diodes like Osram. Drivers are the cheapest too and you'll see burned out diodes within the first few month. There are only a few good blurples available currently but these lights will cost and you don't find them on am4zon.

When I look 6 years back I would have been glad someone had prevented me from buying 2 shitty Mars 300 reflectors, lol!
300 bucks in the trash bin and 3 month wasted time!!! Lots of us have done the same mistake(probably +90% of us) and we all have learned it the hard way. Those blurples are crap and not worth a try!!!

Believe me, if you want to be successful take something with a white spectrum. Either build from hundreds of high-end midpower diodes(like Q or Zeus boards or Sammy/Bridgelux strips) or created with top brand COB's (Luminus, Cree, Bridgelux.. like from Timber growlights).
It really depends on your location and the budget you have to play with.

For a good LED light you pay ~1$/wall watt minimum and for C3 plants like cannabis or tomatoes you need between 30 and 35w per ft² or ~330-380w per squaremeter. That means 120-150w for a small 2x 2' tent(60x 60cm) or 480-600w for a 4x 4' area(120x 120cm).
 
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Black-Thumb

Well-Known Member
Really appreciate everyone who shared wisdom in here.

The LED game is intimidating to get into for me (especially since I'm a simple outdoor grower). But, I have some new genetics coming that I'm pretty pumped about, and a free 2x2 or 3x3 space available. So I thought it might be cool to try growing with a roof over my head for once. Just 1 or 2 plants, to see what it's like.

I've lurked enough to know that LEDs appeal to me. But after one look at what's out there, I realized instantly that there was a huge market gunning for people like me. "Look at the cool colored lights ya dope! Doesn't this BASICALLY look like a BlackDog?! Only $100 for '1000 watts', how can you lose!?!"

At that point I slowly put my wallet away, stepped back, and started reading. Then I realized I didnt have the basic knowledge needed to meaningfully digest what I was reading. Haha...And, as usual, there were passionately fierce and knowledgable people on all sides of the issue with varying and convincing opinions on the "best" types of LEDs.

As of now, I'm realizing I will need to spend more then $100 for what I want, considering my skill level (not going to be building some sick rig, being a dope and all!). Which is fine. The money's not a problem, especially if what I get works well. But I also feel that if I buy quality (HLG and California Lightworks have grabbed me so far) and maybe consider a DIY kit and a little more reading, I could probably end up ok.

Although this wasnt my thread, the info shared here makes me feel much better about spending 2 or 3 hundred bucks to dip my toe in, and hopefully do it "better than wrong". While not getting suckered in the process.

So, thanks for sharing some of the knowledge you have all accumulated in ways digestible for rookies. While it wasnt exclusively info from this one thread that helped me, it was absolutely people like you that are solely responsible for my modest evolution on the topic of LEDs. That has a lot of value to me.
 

Randomblame

Well-Known Member
Really appreciate everyone who shared wisdom in here.

The LED game is intimidating to get into for me (especially since I'm a simple outdoor grower). But, I have some new genetics coming that I'm pretty pumped about, and a free 2x2 or 3x3 space available. So I thought it might be cool to try growing with a roof over my head for once. Just 1 or 2 plants, to see what it's like.

I've lurked enough to know that LEDs appeal to me. But after one look at what's out there, I realized instantly that there was a huge market gunning for people like me. "Look at the cool colored lights ya dope! Doesn't this BASICALLY look like a BlackDog?! Only $100 for '1000 watts', how can you lose!?!"

At that point I slowly put my wallet away, stepped back, and started reading. Then I realized I didnt have the basic knowledge needed to meaningfully digest what I was reading. Haha...And, as usual, there were passionately fierce and knowledgable people on all sides of the issue with varying and convincing opinions on the "best" types of LEDs.

As of now, I'm realizing I will need to spend more then $100 for what I want, considering my skill level (not going to be building some sick rig, being a dope and all!). Which is fine. The money's not a problem, especially if what I get works well. But I also feel that if I buy quality (HLG and California Lightworks have grabbed me so far) and maybe consider a DIY kit and a little more reading, I could probably end up ok.

Although this wasnt my thread, the info shared here makes me feel much better about spending 2 or 3 hundred bucks to dip my toe in, and hopefully do it "better than wrong". While not getting suckered in the process.

So, thanks for sharing some of the knowledge you have all accumulated in ways digestible for rookies. While it wasnt exclusively info from this one thread that helped me, it was absolutely people like you that are solely responsible for my modest evolution on the topic of LEDs. That has a lot of value to me.


Hmm!
Go with QBv2's or wait a bit for the new red spec series with added deep reds! They have way better efficiency compared to CL, are cheaper and its pretty easy to work with them.
There are literally only 2 wires to connect them boards to the driver. Screw them on the heat sinks, add the hangers and they are done. Dimming is either realized via built in regulator or via external dimmer. In this case you have still only two pairs of wires, a black/red DC output and a blue/white dimming circuit. Still easy peasy!
Many videos on youtube about how to use them but believe me, you don't need them! Its a more or less self explaining kit!
 

Black-Thumb

Well-Known Member
Hmm!
Go with QBv2's or wait a bit for the new red spec series with added deep reds! They have way better efficiency compared to CL, are cheaper and its pretty easy to work with them.
There are literally only 2 wires to connect them boards to the driver. Screw them on the heat sinks, add the hangers and they are done. Dimming is either realized via built in regulator or via external dimmer. In this case you have still only two pairs of wires, a black/red DC output and a blue/white dimming circuit. Still easy peasy!
Many videos on youtube about how to use them but believe me, you don't need them! Its a more or less self explaining kit!
Awesome info. Thanks!

I will do some research and see if I can track those down.
 

Black-Thumb

Well-Known Member
Hmm!
Go with QBv2's or wait a bit for the new red spec series with added deep reds! They have way better efficiency compared to CL, are cheaper and its pretty easy to work with them.
There are literally only 2 wires to connect them boards to the driver. Screw them on the heat sinks, add the hangers and they are done. Dimming is either realized via built in regulator or via external dimmer. In this case you have still only two pairs of wires, a black/red DC output and a blue/white dimming circuit. Still easy peasy!
Many videos on youtube about how to use them but believe me, you don't need them! Its a more or less self explaining kit!
Is this a good option?
Screenshot_20190513-145120_Chrome.jpg
Or step up to the 260 for $315 shipped. That's the one I'm leaning toward now. I just saw that one....

Now it's just a matter of deciding on 2 of the 135 kits for $360, or 1 of the 260 kits for $315
 
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whytewidow

Well-Known Member
Is this a good option?
View attachment 4332764
Or step up to the 260 for $315 shipped. That's the one I'm leaning toward now. I just saw that one....

Now it's just a matter of deciding on 2 of the 135 kits for $360, or 1 of the 260 kits for $315
You need make sure you get the color temp you want. But either way is a good option. Its 6 of one or half a dozen of the other
 

Fake stoker

Member
Do not believe 10W led chips. that is a trick. You should pay more attention on the actual wattage.
Blurple would be out of date soon. I suggest you to consider white color led light. There are some options in market like HLG or Fluence.
If your budget is limited, i recommend you to check Mars SP series. I am using their SP250 and happy with it so far.
 

Tylerw20

Well-Known Member
If the Marshydro would have used a different diode in the sp series I would buy some still using the Epistar.
I've been using the Marshydro Epistar 320 for two years not even close to what they advertise.
 
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