Led Users Unite!

Mohican

Well-Known Member
Got a Malawi baby growing under a 110w 6500K cfl (Ace) and reflector (HomeDepot) and then I will switch to my Kessil 350 Magenta.

__037African Baby Day 37.jpg

Tried the Kessil on a house plant and the results were amazing. Fast growth with hardening of the plant structures. Can I keep vegging with a mixture of 6500K CFLs and the Kessil on a 18/6 timing?
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
does anyone have the same led unit pictured here? got it for cheap and threw it in my grow room.
The only panels I've seen use that layout are some of the older coral panels, so it may not work on plants. I would be a little cautious with that light till you know more about it. Good Luck!

Can I keep vegging with a mixture of 6500K CFLs and the Kessil on a 18/6 timing?
Sure, why not? And you should really think about doing a journal. People around here, (myself included), would love to see a single Kessil 350 grow journal, though I would bet some would like you to do it without the CFLs, (not me). Either way Happy Growing!
 

MajorCoco

Well-Known Member
Hi,
Forum newbie here, and after reading this I thought that maybe I should have posted my "DIY LED Cupboard Growlight" experiences here! Anyway, I've already posted that thread now, so I'll just give the raw stats from it:
2 LED Arrays (One cool white, one warm white; 9000lm and 7000lm respectively. 85W each at 2.8A), 2 Drivers and 2 Heatsinks. LED outputs peak at 450nm and 625nm.

Total cost (it was an expensive experiment in the end) was £300 for 16000lm. (the lumen rating seems pretty accurate too)

Not necessarily a route I'd go down again without building my own LED drivers...They were annoyingly expensive. The arrays themselves are also going to get much cheaper/brighter over the next year or two I'd guess, so DIY may become a much cheaper option in the near future.

Overall I'm happy despite the cost. The 85W LED puts the 85W CFl bulb in the shade (literally, it casts a distinct bulb shaped shadow on the wall. You can see it in the photos). A clear sign of impressive penetration and intensity of light from the LED.

Now we just need to see if the spectrum suits the plants. I have high hopes. Everyone here seems to favour the off the shelf lights, but for smaller grows the DIY option shows some promise.
 
Good call BradyBoe! You hit the nail on the head.

I have heard that it may extend flowering into a long period while using LED's, however, I am not an expert on the subject, so I cannot say for certain.

Thanks for the comment, and thanks for standing up for our right!

-pf-
How would a 90w UFO Tri Band LED work suplemented with 2 daytime 100w CFL's (CFL'S = 25w ea) and a small fan foe circ. All in a small tent. what are my chances with proper nutrients. any and all please, and thanks...
 

curly604

Well-Known Member
depends man that might be good enough for a plant or two max will work fine for you though , how bigs your tent , how many girls you trying to cover?
 

Senseimilla

Well-Known Member
Greetings gents. I just got my blackstar 240w veg a bit over a week ago and am loving it for veg. Just ordered 5 240w flower lights for flower hope to have some good results to report in a couple of months.
 

PrezDickie

Well-Known Member
5 240w lights!? how big a area are you working with and how many plants?! did you check out either of the blackstar's new series? chrome is out now but not on website yet, just ask guys about it and they have a 2nd series ready to be released any time now too
 
depends man that might be good enough for a plant or two max will work fine for you though , how bigs your tent , how many girls you trying to cover?
tent is 20"x36"x63" with reflective interior and upper and lower ventilation. I will add 2 more CFLs for veg and for flowering. So, LED overhead with oscilating fan and 4 CFLs, one on each side covering 3 ladies...
 

Senseimilla

Well-Known Member
At the moment 6ft2 3 plants each will get 2-3 lights over it I'm trying to simulate somewhere between 600-1000w hps. I may pull 1 out and put over my veg area if 5 ends up being too much. I'll be expanding space in a few months so if it's overkill I can space them out then or use them alongside my 400w hps for a nice sized flower. I've seen about the chromes but they're more expensive and I have zero proof they're actually better -- whereas the 240ws are perfect dimensionally to provide even coverage in my cab across the canopy with little wasted space. i'm going to be curious how 5 in a small space side by side increases intensity compared to one :) It's just over the # of LED lights in one blackstar 900w but evenly spaced across the canopy instead of in a small box less than half the size of my canopy. I'd rather have too much light and take one out than later realize I have too little and end up with airy buds.
 

Senseimilla

Well-Known Member
Shiiiiiit, at that price you could just hire someone to grow the weed for you. :lol:

And with that in mind here's some views from the cheap seats (2 x BS240w's + 1 x Chinese No-Name 5wx60 aka the White-Tard 300MW) :)

View attachment 2063041 View attachment 2063050 View attachment 2063058 View attachment 2063060 View attachment 2063065

Maybe with all the money I'm saving staying away from Kessil's I should go take a few photography lessons.;-) Well, cya round kids!
How are those flower girls under the blackstars turning out?
 

PrezDickie

Well-Known Member
my blackstar chrome series (only the 4 spot model) in use. two weeks into flowering. pick was taken just before i had to raise the light again with my supplemental cfl turned off to show what the light penetration and spread was with the light that close to the plants

DSCF3515.jpg
 

Senseimilla

Well-Known Member
my blackstar chrome series (only the 4 spot model) in use. two weeks into flowering. pick was taken just before i had to raise the light again with my supplemental cfl turned off to show what the light penetration and spread was with the light that close to the plants

View attachment 2078763
Looks like either the light's too close or you need like 4 more :) does it not concern you the focus of the light is on your side branche snot your tops?
 

PrezDickie

Well-Known Member
Looks like either the light's too close or you need like 4 more :) does it not concern you the focus of the light is on your side branche snot your tops?
took that pic about 45 seconds before i raised the light, and i rotate the girls a quarter or half turn everyday plus switch sides of the cab about every 3 days. the cab is open in the pic but its totally lined with mylar so that plus my led all red bloom boost spotlight and the cfl's provide plenty of light for all the buds

was just using that pic to show the light dispersment of this model since it was pretty clear in the pic. you can see what my grow looks like most of the time in my grow journal
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
How are those flower girls under the blackstars turning out?
Let's see, the only plants I've harvested from those pictures was some Blue Cheese, which is curing right now. Should of gotten more, but I harvested more than the last time I grew BC so I'm happy. There was a lot of Tangerine Dream, (2 SoGs and 1 plant in a 3 gallon), in those pictures so I've still got 6 to 10 weeks left with those ladies. I had a SoG of Magic Bud but you have to veg that plant a little it seems and the ones I was growing were way too small, so I chucked those into the hash bin. I've got a new crop of them vegging right now, and they'll be in the tent soon for round 2. I also totally fucked up a BC plant in a 3 gallon bag that was showing a nitrogen deficiency and I don't think she's gonna make it :cry:. One of these days I'm gonna learn that when you grow organically, you HAVE TO WAIT to see results before you decide to add more nutes! Oh well, live and learn. Here's some of the BC (wish you could smell this, very intense blueberry smell, like concentrated strong), a Sea of TD, and a little TD bud from a clone growing 2 kolas. Happy Growing Boys and Girls!

BC.jpg Ladies.jpg TD.jpg
 
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