Economy Brand Lights for New Growers (Please have experience with the light you mention)

ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
Not sure of brand or whether a brand name is necessary, but the combo of Philips 860W CDM Allstart lamp, magnetic ballast and bare socket cordset can be had for less than $200, produces 93CRI, and frosty bud. The only downside is that it's a vertical only lamp.

Of course, that makes it the perfect option for vertical growers like me!
 
GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
Olive Drab Green said:
Let's rephrase: How many plants roughly three feet in height can you flower at a time under one Tasty T1-2100 with Reflector?
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Yeah that's a tough one, I'm using the 3x T2-14000's which are 100w each and the largest footprint I've run so far is 3x4' which it covered well. That was 3x 5gal 3ft. plants filling that space. @Rahz can probably provide a better answer on coverage as I'm only on my second run with them. Cheers.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
Great COB grow lights can now be had from RIU advertisers from about $200 for small areas on up and they tell you and show you the components. Flowering with all COB's now as a Photon 180clu 1818 landed yesterday. Great even lightprint, quick spread with lenses. Huge lenses.

Replacing archaic hps fixtures doesn't need to be done all at once if money matters.
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
Olive Drab Green said:
For those curious about how I'm growing, this was less than 20 minutes ago at the end of week 6 in flower, both plants are under that one light. Check out the trichomes and the mass!

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24.6lm/watt ? for a large commercial grow why not just get LECs .the lack of violet and UV in that light is not going to help flavor or potency. and that spectrum does not come anywhere close to the mccree curve like LECs do
 

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GroErr

GroErr

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
24.6lm/watt ? for a large commercial grow why not just get LECs .the lack of violet and UV in that light is not going to help flavor or potency. and that spectrum does not come anywhere close to the mccree curve like LECs do
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The LEC's do a great job and excellent quality but the COBs put out even better quality in the form of terpenes for some reason. Don't understand why but I'm running both (Sun Systems LEC's and Tasty COBs) and while they're close, the same bud from clones off the same mother put out way more smell and flavour under the COBs.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
The best value is seldom the least expensive and need not be the most priciest either. Very good grows keep showing up from the cmh as well as COB's and both will be around for a while. Both will outdo hps and have excellent spectrums.

Some people buy Chevrolet and others Fords or Honda. I'm led all the way but would have a cmh if I had more room, just to do it.
 
Customcare8255

Customcare8255

Active Member
I'm also growing with this brand but using the 300 watt version. Check out my thread I just posted today. 3 weeks and and growing great.

https://www.rollitup.org/members/customcare8255.940405/



Olive Drab Green said:
So, I felt it might be prudent to create a thread for new jacks here getting into growing. I don't mean to insult anyone, but when I look around and see some CFL grows, I can't help but shake my head, because it's kind of sad. It's not just (in my opinion) pathetic due to yield potential, but you have to be so tedious with them, they can burn your plant, they contain mercury if I'm not mistake, and I just think if you can find an affordable LED horticulture light that at least grows above the standard of CFLs--taking efficiency and heat and alignment of your lights and labor required to do so--that people would find their growing endeavors can be managed much easier. I'm kind of shocked no one here's compiled anything for the new guys. No one wants to go out and spend a grand on an Amare or Kind if they don't know if they'll stick with it, so what the hell guys?

So, here goes. I originally started with 5-6 year old 3w Lighthouse Hydro BlackStars, a 240w and a 500w. I decided I wanted to check out newer lights to review and expound upon, and I wanted to buy an economy light to get some actual, quantifiable, and replicable data for the guys just getting into the hobby/biz. I looked through a few, and honestly seeing some recent grows with it, I think the backlash against MarsHydro's newer stuff is simply bias.

HOWEVER. Plenty of people have bought them before and there is evidence out there that it'll grow quality stuff relative to what a new or medical grower wants, but probably not for industrial scale. I chose a different light after looking into it for a month or two.

I bought a ViparSpectra Reflector Series 450w for $149 from Amazon, and I am surprised to say that it grows better than my 500w BlackStar flower light. I still have two weeks minimum left, but from what I'm seeing, I'm further ahead with two strains consistently than I was with what I had grown under my BlackStars. I'll include pics of specs with this post. But the ViparSpectra uses 5W Bridgelux and Epiled LEDs. Yes, the manufacturer is Chinese, but upon seeing the unit, you can tell it's a quality item. It has a large heat sink, built in fans, a specially designed reflector for better blending and dispersing of the light. It draws ~206w at the wall. PAR at 12" is over 1200. At 18, over 600. The diodes are a mix of mostly white and blue, with amber, red, and IR included that covers the entirety of the PAR spectrum. It has a veg switch and a bloom switch; you need both on in bloom, but if you want to save energy in veg, you can just run it with the veg on. I would personally just leave both switches on, because for 206 watts, why fuck with the spectrum? I ran some tests with a lux meter app, pitting my BlackStar against the ViparSpecta and found that, at varying distances, the ViparSpectra 450w was 2-4x more intense than the BlackStar 500w. The ViparSpectra also produced light that had more penetration and distance than the BlackStar, with ease. So, if anyone out there is interested in growing and are sick of the unprofessional looking and yielding CFLs they use, this is a viable option to start with. I'll be ordering a second one myself for better coverage. My only beef is it has a 3x3 coverage area with only a 2.5x2.5 core. So, hence the second 450. Why not, right?


So, all in all, I am really impressed with this light and strongly recommend it if you are just starting out. I will add current pics of my grow tonight (Tonight will be the end of 6 weeks, so 2-4 more weeks left. Keep in mind that the swell happens during the last 2 weeks of flower, so they're going to be much thicker than they are presently. Hope you all have blessed harvests! Cheers!

If any other visitor to this thread has any experience with economy-class lights that they think would HELP new growers, please feel free to share, to include MarsHydro. I want to compile as much information as I can based on actual experience with economy grade lights so that new growers who may not have the money to commit to growing by buying a more expensive brand of light. Please keep speculation and personal/emotional opinions out of this discussion, especially when you have no experience to either substantiate or refute the viability of a light. it doesn't help the new guys, it just fucks up the thread.

I am not affiliated with the manufacturer in any way. I just want to do what I can to help the new guys here.

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My ViparSpectra Reflector Series 450w:
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Lux Meter Test:

ViparSpectra
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Lighthouse Hydro BlackStar 500w Flower Light w/ UV and IR
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