Chinese LED grow lights - worth it?

werm11

werm11

Well-Known Member
I know you probably really want this light to be a quality product and if you're like me you're probably searching for any reason to make it worth buying. Sellers on AliBaba LIE. If those fixtures actually use cree, osram, bridgelux then it may be a good light but I'd put the mortgage on them being full of shit. Recently the owner of Area 51 LED found out sellers on AliBaba were using the Area 51 name to advertise their lights. Thats like taking a Daewoo Leganza and slapping a Mercedes hood ornament on it. Laughable. My point is they will tell you anything to get you to buy their light. They claim you will get 2.5g/w. That is an absurd claim and an irresponsible thing for a company to promise to their consumer. Two growers of different experience levels could use the same genetics, medium, light, etc and get two completely different types of results. This info coupled with the advice on this thread should make you steer clear. Take this advice before this turns into another 20 page bashing thread. Don't buy that light or any light off alibaba.

These are just a couple viable options for you and several more companies using quality cob lighting will be available very soon
Good luck to you

www.a51led.net
www.opticgrowlights.com
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
The guy that I am talking to about the Chinese lights sent me a "test report" for the fixture. Doe it make any sense? Is it good/bad? Is it fake? What do you think?

900w test report.jpg
 
Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
That Chinese blurple stuff looks great in a disco!

Growing plants with them might be a struggle.
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The blurple is great for plants with low DLI and that is what a lot of the "blurple" studies were based on, really good growth with just blurple they found....vegetatively

Then according to McCree, plants really want a lot of red...and use it efficiently and from a LED perspective, as a mono, they are the most expensive to make....and coupled with blue which are more efficient but less powerful per/watt....you have a blurple fixture, which gives a higher lumen reading with a lot of blue and fancy names and gimmicks [what a racket?] but shit for intensity and it shows to anyone who has done the comparison.....:peace:

but higher order plants like cannabis, especially in flower, really need a "fuller" spectrum and I think it is pretty commonly accepted that McCree got it right.....and could prove why the high powered white cobs, really get an HID like result
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
Abiqua said:
Efficiency = 64 lumens/ watt......Thats about CFL efficiency
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It seem like that ;) Apparently they don't lie as much as you a lot of you thought the do.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Newest-300W-led-grow-light-with-Spectial-Customized-Full-Spectrum-Real-630-660-UV/2004534143.html
Another "deal"! There is one very popular light 100x3w diodes. I read a lot of the feedback, people seem to be happy. It says that it's 300W which apparently is not true the actual consuption of one light is between 130-140W according to the a few costumers that measured it. So if we take the real numbers, having in mind that the light is like $100, if I get 10 of these for a 8x4 ft space. Isn't it going to be sufficient for flowering. Even thought they say it would be 3000W setup, it would be 1300-1400W one. What is the verdict? :neutral:
 
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
Can you get a Chinese light that works great? Yes, easily. Could you spend a bunch more money and get a more efficient light that will work better? Also, yes. I have a $130 vipar 300watt(185 actual) that works amazing, grows great buds. I also have a $1200 ti smart lamp probloom 600. Does it how better bud? Yep, but not anywhere near enough of a difference to justify the price jump(I got the ti for $50 shipping as a test light). The cheaper light I could get 9 or 10 of for the same price, that means a lot more space I can cover, so I'll probably pick the cheap Chinese over expensive not-Chinese anyday. LEDs still dot mess with my hps yield watt for watt(probably mostly due to penetration), but the 0.9-1.3 gpw I'm getting from my LEDs doesn't compare to the 1.4-2 gpw I can get with my 600 hps. The LEDs make it so I don't have to pull so much electricity to grow personals, and with a 400hps I think I pull around the same with my 330 watt actual pull led and the quality is a bit better. So that's my opinions, reasons, and returns as to why I use what I do. That being said, if I want to pull the most weight I can, I pull my 600s out.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Humanrob

Humanrob

Well-Known Member
bmdiyh said:
if I get 10 of these for a 8x4 ft space...
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If you buy your tools at Harbor Freight and are comfortable with things that are disposable, then it might be worth a try. If you are going to buy 10, go ahead and buy 12, then you'll have some spares for when things go badly.

It is possible that you will find good deals or get a unit that lasts for years. I bought two cheap Chinese lights as my first experiments with LEDs, and I will keep them as "spares" or use them as supplemental lighting when I can, but moving forward I've decided to save up and only buy quality stuff. I'm growing medical for a patient that is counting on me, if you're growing for fun, then you can take chances others can't.
 
bicit

bicit

Well-Known Member
bmdiyh said:
It seem like that ;) Apparently they don't lie as much as you a lot of you thought the do.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Newest-300W-led-grow-light-with-Spectial-Customized-Full-Spectrum-Real-630-660-UV/2004534143.html
Another "deal"! There is one very popular light 100x3w diodes. I read a lot of the feedback, people seem to be happy. It says that it's 300W which apparently is not true the actual consuption of one light is between 130-140W according to the a few costumers that measured it. So if we take the real numbers, having in mind that the light is like $100, if I get 10 of these for a 8x4 ft space. Isn't it going to be sufficient for flowering. Even thought they say it would be 3000W setup, it would be 1300-1400W one. What is the verdict? :neutral:
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Two 600w HPS bulbs that are 38-42% efficient would get you better yields for the same power draw and less money.

38% efficient for HID vs 18% efficient with the LED. I'm not sure why you would want to choose the later, it just costs more money no matter how you slice it.
 
bearkat42

bearkat42

Well-Known Member
I've got a couple of Chinese LED's that I use to maintain my mother plants (I grow with 2 Area 51 190w), but you'll be sadly disappointed if you're trying to flower with them.
 
P

pedrovski

Well-Known Member
I myself did use the a blurple light when I first started growing which did the job but hardly what your call reliable with the 3w leds so I am now using cxa 3070 leds there's no comparison in the growth in the plants and more importantly the buds. If you are wanting 10 of these Chinese panels at $100 each I would think that you are better spending your money on cree cxb or vero 29 v2 leds I'm sure you you would not regret that decision.

captainmorgan said:
If you want good lights stay off Alibaba.
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Don't forget everyone is using the cxbs from Kingbright on Alibaba so that isn't strictly true.
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
kmog33 said:
... LEDs still dot mess with my hps yield watt for watt(probably mostly due to penetration), but the 0.9-1.3 gpw I'm getting from my LEDs doesn't compare to the 1.4-2 gpw I can get with my 600 hps. ...
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I will be doing SOG so my plants are not going to be tall. So much for penetration.... I planning to keep them as close as possible to the plants (of course without risking damage to the foliage).

Of course I know getting COBs be the better decision. I have the option to build a COB lights for a bit more than I would pay for 10 of the the mentioned fixtures, but I keep thinking that if I buy enough low quality lights like these, a lot more then the manufacturer and the seller are recommending for that kind of space, I would be able to get a good yield out of them. And it'll still be a 1300W setup for flowering, which is not that much for electricity.
 
bicit

bicit

Well-Known Member
bmdiyh said:
I will be doing SOG so my plants are not going to be tall. So much for penetration.... I planning to keep them as close as possible to the plants (of course without risking damage to the foliage).

Of course I know getting COBs be the better decision. I have the option to build a COB lights for a bit more than I would pay for 10 of the the mentioned fixtures, but I keep thinking that if I buy enough low quality lights like these, a lot more then the manufacturer and the seller are recommending for that kind of space, I would be able to get a good yield out of them. And it'll still be a 1300W setup for flowering, which is not that much for electricity.
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Or get two 600w bulbs and get twice as many photons for less money....

or get cobs and do the same job with less power.

Those panels are crap, but if you insist on buying them, good luck too you.

Either way, you seem to be dead set on doing the exact opposite of all the advice given to you so far for some inexplicable reason.

Which begs the question of why start a thread asking for advice, if you're just going to ignore all of the advice. Why not just buy the panels and be happy?

That 'i grow with LED' badge seems to be highly desirable these days. More so than quality product.
 
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Abiqua

Abiqua

Well-Known Member
1300-1400 watts @ 20% = around 260 PAR watts

2x 600w HPS @ 38% efficiency = around 450 PAR watts

and the HPS will cost less and will require less to heat than 1300watts of 20% efficient light....

Sounds like I am beating the already beaten drum, but damn, don't buy the cheap LED's without understanding how light is outputted into a form that plants use...and what is considered excess heat and why.....:peace:
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
You know, the thing is I really understand why the COBs are the best option, but I first of all don't want to pay a lot which is how much the "brands" cost, I know they are good but I don't have the money. Secondly I am not really confident in my DIY skill, and I am not sure what will be the downside of me building my own light. Really I can't guaranty myself that what I build is going to last even until the first harvest. Really can't afford to pay a lot for electricity. So that's why I am looking for and alternative. And yes I see that this product is cheap, and it is not of the up most quality I can find, of course I do. Don't think that I don't listen to the advises I've read on this forum. But isn't it every man's dream to get the better and cheaper way to achieve good results. And I am really working on my ignorance on the topic Really! Please don't judge my questions, I only ask because I have hope that maybe I've found something that is worth it. That is how I learn.

I am really invested in what I am going to do. I want to gather as much information as I can, and if that means to be thought of as an idiot on a forum or two I am really fine with it. :roll:
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
Abiqua said:
1300-1400 watts @ 20% = around 260 PAR watts

2x 600w HPS @ 38% efficiency = around 450 PAR watts

and the HPS will cost less and will require less to heat than 1300watts of 20% efficient light....

Sounds like I am beating the already beaten drum, but damn, don't buy the cheap LED's without understanding how light is outputted into a form that plants use...and what is considered excess heat and why.....:peace:
Click to expand...
The only thing I don't get is how did we get to 20% efficiency of the chinese stuff?
 
D

draz

Well-Known Member
bmdiyh said:
The only thing I don't get is how did we get to 20% efficiency of the chinese stuff?
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Sad thing is the cutsheet you provided shows an efficiency of 15.7%! Efficiency = Pout/Pin (142.7/906.4), this is including driver losses. The led's themselves are around 20% but this would only be an estimate without the Leds LER.
 
bmdiyh

bmdiyh

Well-Known Member
draz said:
Sad thing is the cutsheet you provided shows an efficiency of 15.7%! Efficiency = Pout/Pin (142.7/906.4), this is including driver losses. The led's themselves are around 20% but this would only be an estimate without the Leds LER.
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They are a few different lights mentioned in the thread. I get your point about the report. I was asking about this one http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-Newest-300W-led-grow-light-with-Spectial-Customized-Full-Spectrum-Real-630-660-UV/2004534143.html Not to say that it's not but how did we get to the 20% . Humour me, and connect the dots, please.
 
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