BonsaiHero Vs Area 51

gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
Hi all,

First time poster long time lurker here.

I am hoping to get some help converting to LED from 2 400 watt hps. I have managed to narrow my search down with the help of all the great info you all have made available on RUI. I usually run a 2 x 4 flood and drain table with 2 400 watt hps and bloom my plants at around 8 inches tall. Although right now I'm doing a soil bed grow for a change of pace (2 Serious Bubblegum and 4 Hogs started from seed). I would post some pics but I'm definitely not the best soil grower, way better at hydro. Underfed then overfed still pretty dank at 60 days, but I'm rambling.

Anyway, LED is the future of growing and I'm looking to get on board and realize some e-bill savings. So what an experienced LED grower recommend 3 of the 80 watt BonsaiHero panels or 2 Area 51 xgs-190 panels.

The BonsaiHero panels run at 68 watts so I'm looking at 204 watts for $750 which is more budget friendly and I don't mind saving money versus 380 watts for $1050.

I want to be able to pull down a pound+ off 5 to 6 plants. I was managing this in my 2x4 ebb and flow with 5 to 6 white russians under 2 400 watt hps. I would love to pull this off using half the electricity.

Sorry for the long post for a fairly simple question and thanks in advance.

edit forgot i posted a couple of times before taking a long hiatus
 
Bad Karma

Bad Karma

Well-Known Member
I would say it really depends on what sized plants your looking to grow.
If this is a smaller garden, where the plants won't get above 3 feet tall, go with the Hans Panel, and save some money.
If you are planning on growing larger plants, the Area 51 lights would be much better suited for that, as they have much better canopy penetration.
I own some Area 51 lights and can attest to having some great results with them.
I hope this helped and good luck with your LED garden.
 
gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
Awesome thanks BK. Under 3 feet, probably go with Hans. A51 is out of the 190's till at least tomorrow, maybe a sign.
 
gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know if you can daisy chain hans. It doesn't say you can so I am guessing no.
 
Bad Karma

Bad Karma

Well-Known Member
gu420 said:
Wow that never crossed my mind that they aren't A51's
Click to expand...
Yeah those clearance models aren't the real deal.
But it does go to show how much effort A51 puts into making sure that they're lights are head and shoulders above the crowd.
How many other LED companies go to such lengths, and actually test competitors lights, to make sure that they put out the best product possible?
 
gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
Yeah, I think A51 and Apache are probably the same, quality wise. But Apache can charge more because NASA uses them when there is no way NASA could of used a company with the name Area 51. I don't mean to offend any die hard Apacheites just IMHO.
 
hyroot

hyroot

Well-Known Member
watch multipasses thread. he has hans panels and the new a51. Probably the best led comparison grow.
 
vladimiroslav

vladimiroslav

Well-Known Member
Not sure 3 Hans can replace 2 x HPS 400. Maybe one, but not two... if you're looking for a pound++ harvest, you'll need to hit the 2g/watt mark with 3 Hans panels (the 80w version). Seems a lot to me... and more easily reachable with 2 XGS IMHO.

Maybe Im wrong tho, I hope because that would mean I can grow a lot more bud than I am now.
 
gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
vladimiroslav said:
Not sure 3 Hans can replace 2 x HPS 400. Maybe one, but not two... if you're looking for a pound++ harvest, you'll need to hit the 2g/watt mark with 3 Hans panels (the 80w version). Seems a lot to me... and more easily reachable with 2 XGS IMHO.

Maybe Im wrong tho, I hope because that would mean I can grow a lot more bud than I am now.
Click to expand...
Great there goes somebody having to make sense. You just rained on my parade. Thanks for the reality check. 3 grams/watt is incredibly, overly ambitious. I've been doing the same thing for so long I forgot about the math. Efficiency is everything and HPS is not efficient at 1 gram per watt, it has just been the standard for a long time.

What is the goal for LED watt/gram? Just a baseline average. I know being on the edge of technology things vary greatly, but there has to be a goal or what ias the point.

Off the top of my head 2 grams/watt would be spectacular if the lights are only running a couple of degrees above ambient air temperature.
 
vladimiroslav

vladimiroslav

Well-Known Member
1g/watt is already a good result, you can see in the link below that someone pulled 371g out of 4 panels, wich is amazing, above 1.5g/watt.... but still isnt a pound. The maximum someone made is 195g out of 2 panels... Double this (4 panels) and you're still 2 zips away from a pound.

http://www.ledgrow.eu/Reviews.html

3 Hans panels (3x80) are perfect coverage for a 2x4 area tho, but if you're looking for a big yield, then maybe the Area51 (2x190 watts) is more suited to the situation, and at the end costs less for more watts.
 
tkowitha123

tkowitha123

Well-Known Member
NO you can't daisy chain a han's panel. and I'll say I'm super impressed. I have 3 of his 65watt panel's and plan on another 3 of his 85 watt panel's here soon prolly 3 weeks so we will have a side by side comparison of the 2 most recent hans panels produced!!! I can't say anything negative about them, maybe they don't weigh enough... lol


my 6 panels will go in a 32inx10ftx8ft closet I also have 2 pair of t5 bloom floro's in there! I think it will be perfect :twisted:
 
gu420

gu420

Well-Known Member
tkowitha123 said:
NO you can't daisy chain a han's panel. and I'll say I'm super impressed. I have 3 of his 65watt panel's and plan on another 3 of his 85 watt panel's here soon prolly 3 weeks so we will have a side by side comparison of the 2 most recent hans panels produced!!! I can't say anything negative about them, maybe they don't weigh enough... lol


my 6 panels will go in a 32inx10ftx8ft closet I also have 2 pair of t5 bloom floro's in there! I think it will be perfect :twisted:
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info on daisy chaining. That will be good to see them side by side. The Heroes are so new it does make me a little nervous to buy them. Like when a new car model is introduced, you never know if they are going to be buggy.

I think I'm going to take Vlad's advice and go with the A51's. Hopefully I'll be able to push up close to 2grams per entire room wattage. I think with the evolution of grow tech people should add up the wattage of everything they have to use to manage their grows. Like during the summer I have to constantly run a 12,000 btu a/c unit, a 8" can-fan to remove its heat and a 6" fan for the lights and ballasts. And that is keeping the temp at 85f with CO2.

Thanks for for all the good advice. Luckily I have time till my next grow since A51 190's are out of stock.
 
tkowitha123

tkowitha123

Well-Known Member
I will say when I first got my 3-65 watt han's panels one of the power supplies was bad. Han's doesn't make the power supply, I wrote him an e-mail and told him my problem and in less than a week and had a new power supply no major questions asked and bam, it worked. Han's has great customer service. IMO
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
gu420 said:
Wow that never crossed my mind that they aren't A51's
Click to expand...
gu420, based on your original post/question, sounds like you should be leaning towards 2 A51/190's, 3 of the Hans panels, unless you're planning to reduce your area or number of plants won't replace your current setup. 240W vs. 380W, Hans is $2.63/watt, A51 is $2.63/watt, both are essentially same price per watt but 3x Hans won't replace what you have. Think about what you need as both come highly recommended...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top