orangesabc123
Member
Are you sure this is right?
Toasters are designed to convert energy to heat, leds are not,
PC Case for a grow?
- Thread starter lilgpack1
- Start date
Toasters are designed to convert energy to heat, leds are not,
lilgpack1
Member
well thats a big relief honestly because I havent been to hyped on the fact that one of those area 51's cost 400 dollars when I can get a nice HPS set up for half that price...my wallet thanks you 
I was thinking of getting a S series vortex inline 6 inch (heard they are quiet) and going with a DIY carbon filter (maybe buy one now that i have extra budget money) and doing a cool tube on the light...or do you think a vented hood is better
I was thinking of getting a S series vortex inline 6 inch (heard they are quiet) and going with a DIY carbon filter (maybe buy one now that i have extra budget money) and doing a cool tube on the light...or do you think a vented hood is better
lilgpack1
Member
even more to my point about LED growing...it seems like their is just to many sides to each argument..cant figure out who is right
orangesabc123
Member
DIY Leds may be cheaper than pre-made.well thats a big relief honestly because I havent been to hyped on the fact that one of those area 51's cost 400 dollars when I can get a nice HPS set up for half that price...my wallet thanks you
I was thinking of getting a S series vortex inline 6 inch (heard they are quiet) and going with a DIY carbon filter (maybe buy one now that i have extra budget money) and doing a cool tube on the light...or do you think a vented hood is better
Keep in mind quiet is a relative term, quiet at what distance? In what context? 6'' fans in general are not that 'quiet'.
A cool tube is probably better imo, the main difference is you can run a cool tube on a separate intake than the room. So for example you could put a 4'' fan cooling the hood and a 4'' fan scrubbing the tent as opposed to a 6'' fan doing both. (if the 4'' are quieter) That being said if you Just leave the side of the cool tube open they would in theory function the same.
There is only one 'right' side.even more to my point about LED growing...it seems like their is just to many sides to each argument..cant figure out who is right
The arguments for LED is that they may be more efficient watt for watt, IE you may be able to achieve with a 300watt led what you can with a 400watt HID. This seems to be true to some extent, although I don't know how drastic the phenomenon is. (You can check vs threads if you want to know more)
Another argument would be that LEDS are cooler per watt than HID, IE you need less cooling for a 400w LED than a 400w HID. Again in general this seems to be true, but to what degree I don't know.
The argument against LED is that HID is pretty much a commodity and thus is cheaper compared to the relatively newer LED which may be more expensive. (I have not compared DIY costs watt for watt but pre-made panels do seem pretty pricey compared to HID)
Another argument against LED is the penetration, being able to deal with tall plants, this seems to be less of a concern with the higher watt (50-100watt) LEDS, but it is a very real reality with smaller (1,2 watt leds)
Disclaimer: I am not an expert and reserve the right to change my mind about anything I said.
lilgpack1
Member
Interesting. Well I still have a few weeks before I have to decide. Question about HID, would one 400w HPS suffice or should I pick up a MH for veg?
I was thinking of getting one of those HPS that does both spectrums. I would purchase from a more reputable brand though to ensure quality
I was thinking of getting one of those HPS that does both spectrums. I would purchase from a more reputable brand though to ensure quality
bicit
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. It's physics. I'm a bit to inebriated to go into it...
. The gist of it is, that light and heat are the same thing, energy. Light eventually gets converted to heat once it interacts with the plant and the walls in the room. Everytime a photon hits something it imparts a portion of it's energy into that object, heating it up. This goes for plants as well.The advantage of LED's is the directional nature of their light (no reflector losses) and their higher efficiency. A typical HPS bulb is around 38% efficient, the average efficiency of the DIY panels on this site is around 45-50%, however some builds can be over 60%. What that means is that 38% of the energy going to the bulb is being converted into radiant energy, before being converted into thermal energy. A more efficient light source allows you to use less overall power to achieve the same result.
I really don't like the use of cool tubes, I think it's a bit redundant to have two vortex fans in the op's scenario. 1 fan and a carbon filter would suffice. If noise is a concern, you should look into the new 6" hyper fans. Built in dimmer, quietest vortex on the market, and the most effecient too using about half the power of traditional fans. They even make a 'stealth' version. Spendy, but worth it.
http://www.amazon.com/Hyper-Fan-Inline-Speed-Controller/dp/B00IXVFEC2
lilgpack1
Member
My original thought was to have HPS in a cool tube ducted to a carbon filter ducted to the the exhaust fan...I was going to leave one end of the cool tube open and have a circulation fan in the tent. I'm not sure if this would be enough to cool the light and scrub...obviously there is better ways but for a 2x4 grow with one 400w wonder if this would work....
i'll check out those metal halides too
orangesabc123
Member
Lots of factors to consider here...
What's 'better' might be just what works best for you.
You have to consider the cost of 2 bulbs vs the cost of a single, better bulb. The ease of use of 1 bulb vs switching back and forth. The spectrum comparisons between them(graphs).
Either way-> MH into HPS is time tested and works well. BUTT, Consider this, just to make things more complicated. Why not have a separate veg/clone chamber? Then you don't need to worry about MH, you can just put your veg chamber under a blue shifted CFL and under an enhanced HPS for flowering. (Perpetual like)
#addstoconfusion
lilgpack1
Member
Well a seperate chamber would be ideal but i dont think i will have the space. It would be ideal to have just one full spectrum bulb but i have read that this can cause unwanted stretching if you are limited on space like me. I have a 4 foot tall tent potentially a 5 foot..not sure how "limited" that is considered
bicit
Well-Known Member
You may look into optic grow lights options. Their 360w CXB3070 or vero 29 panels would be a good fit for your space. I prefer to use 4000k emitters, others swear by the 3000k. It's mostly a preference thing at this point, the community hasen't quite nailed down which is 'better' and it still very much up for debate.
You could also try building something like the optic grow light. Which I encourage, because it really isn't hard...
If you just want a basic bulb setup, I'd encourage you to look into the philips agro spec CMH. 315w, 3100k it's a good bulb to use full cycle. A lot of people have had good results under the sunsystem LEC, which makes use of these bulbs. I think you would be happier than with a traditional MH/HPS setup.
Just options to consider.
lilgpack1
Member
whats the heat like on one of those sunsystem 315w set up?
bicit
Well-Known Member
1227.6 btu