LED temps vs CFL temps

J

jstone1633

Well-Known Member
How do LED's compare to CFL's temps? Im going to be growing in a small stealth cab and heat will be an issue. I plan on expanding eventually so I would like as big of a light as possible. The cab is 26 x 13 x 37 and with (3) 42W CFLs I think temps could be a problem. Are LEDs cooler? Will a Pro Grow 180 be too much? Like I said, eventually I will move into a closet.
 
nick17gar

nick17gar

Well-Known Member
dude i have big 85w CFLs, and smaller ones, all over the house in separate grows. even in the closet i use for flowering with 4 CFLs for flowering, the CFLs make almost no heat. i wouldnt use the money on something that ur gonna use now, when your moving to closet soon, and there youll be fine with CFLs. i like CFLs, a bunch, for veg they rock, lil weak for flowering, but you can add more of them for barely any cost.
 
bigv1976

bigv1976

Well-Known Member
LEDs run much cooler than cfls but IMO leds are garbage unless you spend a good deal of money on a quality set up.
 
HippyDip

HippyDip

Member
My cheapo Chinese LED lights do not put off any heat to speak of. CFLs will put off almost no heat as well. I use two 4 ft florescent tubes (one grow one normal) for clones and early veg in a small enclosure. I use one LED light (114 LEDS) per plant in another small but tall space. My biggest problem now is the cold which has slowed flowering tremendously. The florescent lights put off enough heat to keep the top of the small enclosure warmer than the LED closet.

So in short both do not put off enough heat to be of concern. In the summer temps rise unless I keep the circulation fans going but is not really from the LEDs or Flouros, it is simply the ambient temps.

So either LEDs, CFLs or tubes would be a good choice to beat the heat.

I am having way better results under LEDs than I ever expected but keep in mind I am using one per plant (they were given to me by a non-believer) and I can only house two mature flowering plants. I am convinced they are better than florescent simply for the more appropriate wave lengths (72 red/42 blue).

Using LEDs have allowed me to realize my potential as a cheap bastard. I have experienced $2000 a month electric bills when doing Hydro drip with 8 MH 1000 Watt lights. We had to vent the light heat out via many yards of venting and 4 fans. 203_0396.jpg
 
bigv1976

bigv1976

Well-Known Member
CFLs will actually put out quite a lot of heat. Why speak about something if you dont know what u are talking about. I just tested a 26 watt white cfl and the bulb temp is 146.9 degrees so why would you tell someone looking for REAL info that they put out almost no heat. It is people like you that have filled this site with bullshit info dude.
 
J

jstone1633

Well-Known Member
bigv1976 said:
CFLs will actually put out quite a lot of heat. Why speak about something if you dont know what u are talking about. I just tested a 26 watt white cfl and the bulb temp is 146.9 degrees so why would you tell someone looking for REAL info that they put out almost no heat. It is people like you that have filled this site with bullshit info dude.
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I agree with the temps you speak of. I put (3) 42W CFLs in my small cab and temps rose to over 95°F quickly. Im not sure how accurate this is since there are no plants in the cab and the thermometer was a cheap indoor/outdoor sitting in direct light but I still don't want to have to worry about the temps. I know I could add more ventilation but I really don't want to for stealth purposes. The ventilation provides plenty of fresh air just not enough to evacuate the heat. Thats why I was considering the LEDs. Seems like quite a few people have good results with them and since Im growing on such a small scale I don't see why I shouldn't have good results as well. I know they are an expensive investment but thats how I see it...an investment. If I can provide enough herb for myself and not have to deal with anyone else than its worth it. Plus a good LED should last a lifetime...no more replacing burned out bulbs. So I guess now my question isn't if there is a difference between CFLs and LEDs, but is the Pro Grow 180 I mentioned before too much for my cab? Just how much cooler are LEDs?
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
LED's still produce heat... just significantly less. The air coming out of the fans on my LED's is certainly above room temp.... it's just with even remotely adequate ventilation it doesn't get time to build up.
 
yesum

yesum

Well-Known Member
Cfl and LED both give off the same heat as hid, it is just slowly released and does not create a hotspot. Very easy for me to cool my 2x2x5' tent which has both fluoro and LED. I turn the fan down to lowest. I think with hid I would need more air flow.
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
Eh... that's not true, HID get up to 600 degress... My LED's don't radiate even remotely close to the same kind of heat a HPS or MH does.
 
J

jstone1633

Well-Known Member
So does anyone think the Pro Grow 180 is too much for my current cab? Im just using PC fans but they should recirculate the air a few times a minute.
 
Endur0xX

Endur0xX

Well-Known Member
HippyDip said:
My cheapo Chinese LED lights do not put off any heat to speak of. CFLs will put off almost no heat as well. I use two 4 ft florescent tubes (one grow one normal) for clones and early veg in a small enclosure. I use one LED light (114 LEDS) per plant in another small but tall space. My biggest problem now is the cold which has slowed flowering tremendously. The florescent lights put off enough heat to keep the top of the small enclosure warmer than the LED closet.

So in short both do not put off enough heat to be of concern. In the summer temps rise unless I keep the circulation fans going but is not really from the LEDs or Flouros, it is simply the ambient temps.

So either LEDs, CFLs or tubes would be a good choice to beat the heat.

I am having way better results under LEDs than I ever expected but keep in mind I am using one per plant (they were given to me by a non-believer) and I can only house two mature flowering plants. I am convinced they are better than florescent simply for the more appropriate wave lengths (72 red/42 blue).

Using LEDs have allowed me to realize my potential as a cheap bastard. I have experienced $2000 a month electric bills when doing Hydro drip with 8 MH 1000 Watt lights. We had to vent the light heat out via many yards of venting and 4 fans. View attachment 1953022
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it looks like you are growing some decent buds with shitty LEDs, kudos to you
 
B

BlazedMonkey

Well-Known Member
Lol this sounds familar.
I grew in a cab knew I couldn't do hid, tried cfls (think I was around 200w) temps hit 103+ with the door shut. Got the pro grow 180 and they dropped down to mid to high 80s.

My cab is bigger than yours though and you may have trouble in that space with only pc fans. Also those lights are powerful you're not going to have the vertical room. If you grow in that 37"H cab get a 90w led (progrow or other good company). If youre going to grow in a closet then the 180s perfect.
 
J

jstone1633

Well-Known Member
BlazedMonkey said:
Lol this sounds familar.
I grew in a cab knew I couldn't do hid, tried cfls (think I was around 200w) temps hit 103+ with the door shut. Got the pro grow 180 and they dropped down to mid to high 80s.

My cab is bigger than yours though and you may have trouble in that space with only pc fans. Also those lights are powerful you're not going to have the vertical room. If you grow in that 37"H cab get a 90w led (progrow or other good company). If youre going to grow in a closet then the 180s perfect.
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Hmmm. Kind of the direction I was heading. Do you know much about the Pro Grow 90?
 
T

tmakonde

Member
I totally agree with you here. I grew weed with 2 x 45 watt cfls and a 300 watt cfl. the 45 watt do put heat out. the 300 watt can generate a lot of haet. and certainly can't put your hand on it as it'll burn yah.
 
yesum

yesum

Well-Known Member
Beefbisquit said:
Eh... that's not true, HID get up to 600 degress... My LED's don't radiate even remotely close to the same kind of heat a HPS or MH does.
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Over time they might. I have not measured either LED or hid, but read that a watt is a watt in heat terms. hid is hotter at the source of light but the mild heat from cfl or LED can add up.
 
HippyDip

HippyDip

Member
bigv1976 said:
It is people like you that have filled this site with bullshit info dude.
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No need take a thoughtful reply and lash out, it throws others on a drag. If you have scientific measurements just post them man, no need to be hurtful. My apologies if I offended you by posting my experience here. I thought this forum was to share and discuss. Not post and slam. I come here to chill and discuss a topic of mutual interest, not to get slammed.

Next time please just say, hey you may be wrong here about your post, consider "this scientific evidence". It will go much further and you will have better credibility.

I hope you take my reply in the friendly and cooperative manner it was intended.

My bad was probably that I was really thinking of all the venting I had to do when I was growing 60 plus Dream Queen and Pure Kush ladies under MH lamps. It was a heat nightmare. We vented hoods separate from air exchange.

Peace Out
 
HippyDip

HippyDip

Member
Endur0xX said:
it looks like you are growing some decent buds with shitty LEDs, kudos to you
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Ya it is really surprising. I thought I was done growing after a bad experience with a pretty big indoor grow (for us anyway) in the Santa Cruz Mountains. My partner went through an ugly divorce and his wife had the cops show up. They did not bust us but a great crop was lost due to inattention. Bummer.

So I had some Hash Plant seeds, germinated them while stoned one day, then put em in soil. I snagged the LEDs we had as an experiment on a 64 site aero-ponics cloner (we never got to use) and ended up with two good plants (birds ate 4 of 6 hehehehe - "free birds"). I have been using the LEDs and wow they work (1 per plant is sad though). Anyway I am pretty happy since I just ran out of KP and DQ from the big grow (it was a one year generous supply).

Now I am just trying to be patient since it is week 10 of flowering and I am dry on Christmas morning (wake and bake has always been my favorite since the early 70's grin).

My biggest problem with my cheap bastard grow has been the lack of heat (they are in a shed). Using MH lights would heat the area but that defeats the purpose of the low cost approach.

Maybe I will add some CFLs since others have indicated they put off more heat than I thought. It might take quite a few to add much heat to the area (about 5 x 3 wide x9ft tall). Still running cold and me hopes to get some knarly purple colors on the buds before harvest. Trichomes are still clear and buds are growing although slowly in the cold.

I plan to check for ice this morning.

Happy holidays.

Peace out.
 
J

jstone1633

Well-Known Member
HippyDip said:
Ya it is really surprising. I thought I was done growing after a bad experience with a pretty big indoor grow (for us anyway) in the Santa Cruz Mountains. My partner went through an ugly divorce and his wife had the cops show up. They did not bust us but a great crop was lost due to inattention. Bummer.

So I had some Hash Plant seeds, germinated them while stoned one day, then put em in soil. I snagged the LEDs we had as an experiment on a 64 site aero-ponics cloner (we never got to use) and ended up with two good plants (birds ate 4 of 6 hehehehe - "free birds"). I have been using the LEDs and wow they work (1 per plant is sad though). Anyway I am pretty happy since I just ran out of KP and DQ from the big grow (it was a one year generous supply).

Now I am just trying to be patient since it is week 10 of flowering and I am dry on Christmas morning (wake and bake has always been my favorite since the early 70's grin).

My biggest problem with my cheap bastard grow has been the lack of heat (they are in a shed). Using MH lights would heat the area but that defeats the purpose of the low cost approach.

Maybe I will add some CFLs since others have indicated they put off more heat than I thought. It might take quite a few to add much heat to the area (about 5 x 3 wide x9ft tall). Still running cold and me hopes to get some knarly purple colors on the buds before harvest. Trichomes are still clear and buds are growing although slowly in the cold.

I plan to check for ice this morning.

Happy holidays.

Peace out.
Click to expand...
Ice? Wow. What temps are your plants kept at?
 
HippyDip

HippyDip

Member
They range from 40 F to 60 F. It is near freezing here in the South Bay at night. The water trays are what scared me since they had a small amount of water 3-5mm deep in them. My dog's water bowl had a thin layer of ice yesterday morning. Yes pretty cold I know. It is amazing how resilient weed is as a plant. I know I should heat but do not want to risk fire in such a small area, besides the matra if "the cheap bastard grow". I have not spent a pennie on this grow besides the power for two fans, two LEDs and a dual 4 ft flouro on the teens.

Merry Christmas

Peace out
 
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