What is a good led for 200 or less

Cletus clem

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
Ghost of Davy Jones said:
It is the 9 slot. I'm kinda excited to rip it open. gotta wait until Monday. Im wondering if i should replace all 9 slots with vero's.... or maybe just 5 and leave 4 the factory purple for different spectrum? what do you think?
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Meh. I wouldnt leave any more than 2-3. Maybe the middle row outside edges, only leaving 2? If a couple of the far red pucks from rapid led would fit in the slot that would be pretty cool. A bump in the 660&730nm ranges would be the most beneficial.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
For a small budget where you want the maximum PPFD for your money.
I would do 2 strips of double row 4 foot Samsung strips on a 200W, ELG-200 driver ( I think you need to have a 220V circuit to run these full power). Strips and driver are $50 each, so that is $150 for 200W of high efficiency LED. This is adequate for 4x1 canopy. Or you could mount the 4 bars (from 2 sets) vertically on 4 corners facing the middle, that should grow one mean plant with serious yield.
 
Cletus clem

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
For a small budget where you want the maximum PPFD for your money.
I would do 2 strips of double row 4 foot Samsung strips on a 200W, ELG-200 driver ( I think you need to have a 220V circuit to run these full power). Strips and driver are $50 each, so that is $150 for 200W of high efficiency LED. This is adequate for 4x1 canopy. Or you could mount the 4 bars (from 2 sets) vertically on 4 corners facing the middle, that should grow one mean plant with serious yield.
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Interesting how fast things change. I just skimmed back through this thread as i remembered you had commented on it previously. In september your post was that $200 in parts dosnt really buy you much! The samsung strip builds are very intriguing. I think its pretty cool though that people are buying amazon blurples for the purpose of upgrading them. It gives people that already made the mistake of buying them a path to something better without having to buy an entire new light or a complete new build. Even better will be if people post their results and experiences with them. I dont know much about the blurple cobs theyre putting in them though. I know by themselves they arnt very useful. Do you think they would provide any benefit? Like leaving 2 or 3 in a 9 chip setup with the rest of the chips being vero 18s@ 3500°k?
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
Look 200W is still a modest amount of light and is not going to grow kilos of weed. But seen from a modular perspective, you can with 2 of those units run cheek to cheek with a 600W HPS.

You can still cover a 5x5 with a 1000W HPS for a smaller initial outlay if you are in the correct climate zone for it to not need air cooling etc.
But this is not what going LED is all about. At least for me, I feel great that it is not eating new bulbs and reflectors that keep making new waste and saves a bit on the admittedly giant carbon footprint of growing indoors.
 
Cletus clem

Cletus clem

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
Look 200W is still a modest amount of light and is not going to grow kilos of weed. But seen from a modular perspective, you can with 2 of those units run cheek to cheek with a 600W HPS.

You can still cover a 5x5 with a 1000W HPS for a smaller initial outlay if you are in the correct climate zone for it to not need air cooling etc.
But this is not what going LED is all about. At least for me, I feel great that it is not eating new bulbs and reflectors that keep making new waste and saves a bit on the admittedly giant carbon footprint of growing indoors.
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I wasnt saying that, maybe you misunderstood me? Or you misread my post? Its all good man,no ill intent. just talking shop. I run 2, 240w vero 29 setups in 2, 2.5x2.5 tents and am totally for low wattage high efficiency grows. I would run more but have a very handicapped breaker box in a rental.
 
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truentgoon

Well-Known Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
Because it's garbage.
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Yeah well no one in this thread is really giving links on where to find a budget led like op asked except the people mentioning viparspectra led. Not everyone has $500-$1000 to spend on a led for a small grow. Or enough know how to make their own led.
 
Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence

Well-Known Member
truentgoon said:
Yeah well no one in this thread is really giving links on where to find a budget led like op asked except the people mentioning viparspectra led. Not everyone has $500-$1000 to spend on a led for a small grow. Or enough know how to make their own led.
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Then buy an HPS. Problem solved.

You can get a CMH with a remote ballast for $300.

It works like this - basically any blurple panel(few exceptions, like the SS550, which is expensive) is equivalent to an HID of equal wattage. Blurples(again, few exceptions) are great if you're looking for low wattage with low start up costs. A 600 watt(actual wattage) blurple panel will not outperform a 600 watt HID. It will come close. A 600 watt COB or PCB rig will outperform an SE 600.
 
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truentgoon

Well-Known Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
Then buy an HPS. Problem solved.

You can get a CMH with a remote ballast for $300.

It works like this - basically any blurple panel(few exceptions, like the SS550, which is expensive) is equivalent to an HID of equal wattage. Blurples(again, few exceptions) are great if you're looking for low wattage with low start up costs. A 600 watt(actual wattage) blurple panel will not outperform a 600 watt HID. It will come close. A 600 watt COB or PCB rig will outperform an SE 600.
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That's cool and all but what if people are on a really low budget like $100.

Hps gets too hot. I have a 150w hps and would not go any higher. It's a nuisance to vent and lose cfm with bent ducting. I like my fan and filter nice and straight in my 3x3. Viperspectra looks like a really good combo with the 150w hps.
 
Johnny Lawrence

Johnny Lawrence

Well-Known Member
truentgoon said:
That's cool and all but what if people are on a really low budget like $100.

Hps gets too hot. I have a 150w hps and would not go any higher. It's a nuisance to vent and lose cfm with bent ducting. I like my fan and filter nice and straight in my 3x3. Viperspectra looks like a really good combo with the 150w hps.
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HIDs really start to lose on efficiency when you go lower then 600 watts. Which is why cheap blurples are attractive to many people looking to light up a small footprint.

In a 3x3, I would highly recommend a 315. Or a QB kit from HLG. Scrap that 150, and if possible, don't purchase the Vipar. Saving up for $300 isn't that difficult, especially when you're not wasting a hundred or two on shitty lights.

Do your homework. Cheap light are cheap for a reason.
 
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truentgoon

Well-Known Member
I agree on spending a few more bucks for a better led. Can you link both of those so I know im looking at the right models.

If those led's cover the whole 3x3 then yeah I would scrap the 150w. Although I still have 1 fresh spare bulb I want to use for a couple more grows.
 
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truentgoon

Well-Known Member
Johnny Lawrence said:
IMHO, this is one of the best CMH systems you could get. it would be pretty much perfect for a 3x3.
https://growershouse.com/ceramic-mh-315w-cmh-optimum-performance-package

Or for a few bucks more, you could run this thing, which will be a bit cooler and a few watts less.
https://growerslights.com/collections/horticulture-lighting-group-quantum-board-led-kits/products/horticulture-lighting-group-260-watt-xw-quantum-board-led-kit
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Looks good, but aren't those metal halides not led? Doesn't MH produce the same heat as hps and only blue spectrum?

The second link looks like an led panel.
 
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