what do you guys think of these two lights?

nomofatum said:

Also, if you read up and you have a higher than average IQ I expect you will come to the conclusion that you want more than 1 light type for best results. Each wavelength range has a different impact on the plants. Reds = flower, Cool/Blue = veg/stock size, UVB = resin stimulation.

Without the proper mix you create a bottleneck.

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i do have more than 1 light source. have another 300 watt led, uses less obviously. has uv and ir in it. also another small led in the mail, 23x3w red and blues for boost. thanks man. i didn't give every single bit of info about the room when i initially posted, it was only because i wanted a lil input along what u said. nobody seemed to see what i was saying, but u and az guy. i had a few problems i was trying to fix and i did.
BTW ive had it for 3 nights now and my plants seriously are happier. can't explainnn it easily, but they love the light even if nobody else does. only light im using is the new one... for now. i actually have the 300 on a timer for the 1st hr and last hr of 12/12 due to that panel having uv and ir. if they end up needing the extra light, i have it. the only thing i can say for sure is, i'm not having heat trouble, i'm using less electricity, and my plants are responding favorably to the change in light. they're NOT stretching, their color is looking nicer, and they're reaching nicely up towards the light, not droopy at all like i was experiencing with the hps due to having to keep the lap higher away from canopy due to high leaf temps. for my situation, i know my choice was solid and does what i wanted it to do.
I cannot fathom how someone can say in one breath that the lights get cheaper and better every year, but in the very next breath they tell me to blow a bunch of $ on something i don't want just because it may or may not be more efficient than what i chose. my argument was, why blow my wad on something that in one year, when i planned on upgrading, i would be able to get the equivalent of what they promoted for considerably less... maybe even better for less. out of pocket, this light cost me about $50. i guarantee i save that and a ton more in the next year on less electricity and no hps lamp replacement. nobody can tell me my choice was bad, it might not be their choice, but i am not them, they're not me, and we all have different wants and needs. my needs were met, cheaply, and some people wanna shit on my head to make themselves feel better about their expensive purchases. it would go up their ass sideways if they found out they could get %80 of their lights quality for 20% of what they paid for their light. should i spend 4x as much $ on a light that's only lets say 20 % more efficient? no. that's why currently, hybrid cars don't save people any money, unless they drive the car for about 30 years lol. same can be said about top of the line lights, next year cheaper will be better. maybe i buy 2 instead of their 1. might be somewhat less efficient, but the bud sure smokes good

nonamedman420 said:

i do have more than 1 light source. have another 300 watt led, uses less obviously. has uv and ir in it. also another small led in the mail, 23x3w red and blues for boost. thanks man. i didn't give every single bit of info about the room when i initially posted, it was only because i wanted a lil input along what u said. nobody seemed to see what i was saying, but u and az guy. i had a few problems i was trying to fix and i did.
BTW ive had it for 3 nights now and my plants seriously are happier. can't explainnn it easily, but they love the light even if nobody else does. only light im using is the new one... for now. i actually have the 300 on a timer for the 1st hr and last hr of 12/12 due to that panel having uv and ir

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There is a difference between UV and UVB. UV lights are almost always UVA only, for LEDs UVB isn't available yet, it looks like one company is introducing them in 2015.

UVA works like the deep blues, it helps with stock size/veg growth. UVB actually hurts the plant in a very minor way (assuming you don't go crazy overboard), like human sunburn. When the plants get burned they produce more resin (instead of melatonin for us) to help reflect UVB light from it's surface.

nomofatum said:

There is a difference between UV and UVB. UV lights are almost always UVA only, for LEDs UVB isn't available yet, it looks like one company is introducing them in 2015.

UVA works like the deep blues, it helps with stock size/veg growth. UVB actually hurts the plant in a very minor way (assuming you don't go crazy overboard), like human sunburn. When the plants get burned they produce more resin (instead of melatonin for us) to help reflect UVB light from it's surface.

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i understand that. so what nm rating is a good uv source for plants?

280-320nm?

nonamedman420 said:

i understand that. so what nm rating is a good uv source for plants?

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Just north or south of 300nm for the resin effect. 290-310 is what you are looking for. UVB range is 280-315nm.

UVB options:
Reptile Bulbs (CFL, T8, T12) - 10% version, pay attention there is a 5% version with half the UVB.
Tanning Bulbs
T5HO ATI True Actinic

my 300 specs:

nomofatum said:

Just north or south of 300nm for the resin effect. 290-310 is what you are looking for. UVB range is 280-315nm.

UVB options:
Reptile Bulbs (CFL, T8, T12) - 10% version, pay attention there is a 5% version with half the UVB.
Tanning Bulbs
T5HO ATI True Actinic

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seriously man, thanks. i know it's easy to get the wrong opinion of someone when all you see is a name on a forum and text. i can be just as obtuse as the next person, but through it all you still helped me. others too. thanks

i also have a hydrofarm 4 tube 2 foot t5ho with 6500k bulbs in it that i'm not currently using due to it primarily being a clone/veg light but am currently moving plants to and from the grow area to a darkroom for night time. not high tech but it keeps me busy and happy.
this room has many benefits for me besides the obvious. the act of growing a plant does something to me along the lines of what my son did for me. it gives me peace and tranquility and a place to relax and reflect on life and my choices, also a room to vent my frustrations all while just looking at a plant. kinda sounds stupid, but it gives me peace in my mind. i dont think i can put a price on what it does for me, but i would pay $170 any day for what it does for me.

Your brain can only do so much, it's the cost of being exceptionally intelligent to be socially inept. I'm a blunt and socially inept person myself. 138-143 FYI.

Watching thread. Interested in the results from you new light.

you're right. the smarter you are the more mental problems you have. 135-158. depending on which year i took the test. i'm also pretty bipolar so it is very hard for me to get my point across without resorting to petty arguments with online people i shouldn't even care at all about. i've also had way too many pople close to me die in very sudden and tragic ways, which stopped me from continuing my education. i couldn't graduate due to excessive absences and my brother died the day i was going to take my ged final

i'm talking over 20 family members and close friends in a 4 year period, it made my brain mush

az2000 said:

This is getting complicated. Let's define some parameters:

Space: 4x4, 16 sq. ft.
Light output: 320w
w/sq ft: 20
Cost: $170
Replaces: 660w HPS (41w/sq ft)
Goals: heat/energy reduction for < $200

You can have heat reduction for < $200. 20w/sq ft of LED (efficient or inefficient) will use less energy and produce less heat than 41w/sq ft of HPS. This will be accomplished at the expense of yield. If you're ok with that, there's no reason for anyone to question your choice.

Usually yield is the baseline. When someone asks about replacing what they have, it's assumed they mean keeping the same yield.

If you wanted to replace your yield with inefficient LED it would require about as many watts as you have with HPS, and about as much heat. You couldn't do it for < $200. But, you could do it for about $400.

If you wanted to replace your yield with efficient LED, it would require about 2/3 the watts of your HID. For example, three Area 51 RW-150s for $800 more. You would save 96 kwh per month. You'd have to determine how much you pay for electricity. Also factor in the cost of cooling in the summer. Let's say you'd save $20 monthly (avg). It would pay for itself in 40 months.

That may sound like a long time, but an inexpensive epi-whatever fixture might last 2 years. (Spending $400 every 2 years?).

There's no free rides. Energy/heat, cost or yield. Pick the one you're willing to sacrifice.

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and thanks, that's the type of input i was looking for, and usually what people look for when opening a new thread, not to be mocked, laughed at, and insulted. thank you for listening

Your cheap light wont last. It will burn out, end up in the landfill and then you will buy another cheap light. Then your $170 lamp will be a $340 lamp. My $200 redwing boots will last 20x longer than your cheap $20 boots. Theyre also more comfortable. They look nicer. In the end i spent less than you. I made less trash. I supported a company that pays their employees a living wage.

Im not rich. I had the foresight to save my money and make an informed purchase instead of making an idiotic impulse purchase.

Its pretty simple really. Pay now or pay later. A quality light will grow cannabis for a lifetime.

nonamedman420 said:

and thanks, that's the type of input i was looking for, and usually what people look for when opening a new thread, not to be mocked, laughed at, and insulted. thank you for listening

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I know almost nothing about lights, and only a little about gardening, and enjoy modest to abundant yields of ultra high quality finished product with each harvest, using a cheap panel and household LED bulbs with the plastic lenses removed. People often scoff at these toy-like lights; disregard such nerdist snobbery. To his credit, though you've effectively run off hyroot for the time being, the man can grow. But so can many here, including me. I have neither the interest nor the time to learn to be a lighting expert. Your point about dollars to donuts is well taken. Please post pictures when you have them, noname.

nogod_ said:

Your cheap light wont last. It will burn out, end up in the landfill and then you will buy another cheap light. Then your $170 lamp will be a $340 lamp. My $200 redwing boots will last 20x longer than your cheap $20 boots. Theyre also more comfortable. They look nicer. In the end i spent less than you. I made less trash. I supported a company that pays their employees a living wage.

Im not rich. I had the foresight to save my money and make an informed purchase instead of making an idiotic impulse purchase.

Its pretty simple really. Pay now or pay later. A quality light will grow cannabis for a lifetime.

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yeah, well good thing i bought from a company in the USA WITH A WARRANTY, SO YEAH NO PROBLEM MYSTIC MIKE. PICK SOME LOTTERY NUMBERS TOO KNOWITALL

nonamedman420 said:

yeah, well good thing i bought from a company in the USA WITH A WARRANTY,

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The eBay page you linked to says: "USA/CHINA one year warranty." Also says the light ships from a US warehouse.

What this usually means is that you're buying from a Chinese seller who drop-ships a container of lights to a US port (in this case, San Francisco). Someone near the port (in this case, San Leandro) performs the distribution task (picking product and shipping) for a variety of offshore sellers as they are instructed to do so. They won't perform warranty work. When it comes to warranty, the owner is told to ship the unit back to China, or settle for a pro-rated refund.

Hopefully the light will meet your expectations.

update... for anyone who really wants to know.
light still works, exact same watts at the wall as day 1, no bulbs burnt out. immediate positive influence on every plant under it, and awesome root growth also. i can say, IN MY ROOM, this things shitting on the hps it replaced... so far. i have plants in 3 different stages of bloom, and in veg... every plant is marching forward and doing better than with my hps. if it's junk, one man's junk is another mans treasure, and that's y i have no trouble shopping thrift stores of scoring some spring cleaning furniture. this light works, unless ANY of you have proof otherwise, you're ONLY assuming and we all know what happens there.

az2000 said:

The eBay page you linked to says: "USA/CHINA one year warranty." Also says the light ships from a US warehouse.

What this usually means is that you're buying from a Chinese seller who drop-ships a container of lights to a US port (in this case, San Francisco). Someone near the port (in this case, San Leandro) performs the distribution task (picking product and shipping) for a variety of offshore sellers as they are instructed to do so. They won't perform warranty work. When it comes to warranty, the owner is told to ship the unit back to China, or settle for a pro-rated refund.

Hopefully the light will meet your expectations.

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i did email before i bought, and it's the california location i'd have to deal with. i asked a lot of questions before i purchased, and that is where some of the info i got came from. i understand peoples concerns, but like u said before, in a different post here in led land, "I don't think $200 is a lot to lose if someone buys an inefficient epi-whatever fixture. " only was $170 shipped

If you are going to the trouble to build out a room or even a closet then chances are, youre going to want to use it for more than a few cycles. Why buy something that is destined to fail right out of the gate? Folks are trying to help you avoid headaches.

You started a thread asking for opinions. You got them. The difference between you and I is that I read about LED tech for 14 mos before buying a single chip. You ran out and bought a cheap fixture without really understanding what causes these devices to fail, and are scrambling to find someone to pat you on the head and make you feel like it was money well spent.

This is a public forum. Folks who are looking to buy a lamp and dont trust amazon reviews come here to learn. If you cant be helped, perhaps they can.

nonamedman420 said:

i did email before i bought, and it's the california location i'd have to deal with. i asked a lot of questions before i purchased, and that is where some of the info i got came from. i understand peoples concerns, but like u said before, in a different post here in led land, "I don't think $200 is a lot to lose if someone buys an inefficient epi-whatever fixture. " only was $170 shipped

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