Switching to LED from HPS

OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
growingforfun said:
It really comes down to what you want to pay and if you want to build your own lights.

If you can drop the bucks and dont want to be bothered with building it yourself and possibly making a mistake (even guys here with experience can mess up a connection) then look into hlg for QBs or timber grow lights for COBs as they are the 2 biggest names.

No offence to bcblonds.. but I havent been "properly educated" as to why that vender is a "product to beat" shall we say.. but I'm fairly uneducated in led matters. Long time hps guy, only have 1 run done under a tester QB
Click to expand...
What's your feedback on your "tester"?
 
G

growingforfun

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
What's your feedback on your "tester"?
Click to expand...
Extremely positive for a first run.

I run a 10x4 scrog (I'd always called it 10x5 until I remasured it last night) with 2 1kw de gavitas over it. The gavitas are centered a little to the outside so the middle of the screen gets slightly less light but it overlaps. The middle has always been a weak yielding zone but still produces alright.

I've never been a good grower from a gpw standpoint, for me a good yield under each light is 20 oz, less isnt rare. I know how to grow an all but I just dont always put in the effort to fill the screen or add secondary support etc.

I run perpetual scrog and I had a crop dead in the middle of the dead zone, so I figured fuck it I'll buy a 240 watt QB for it I've got the extra cash right now anyways. I got a BAVA 240 watt QB. It's not HLG but it's alright for a Alibaba board.
That area gave me just about 400 grams dry. I'm still curing it so it may drop a touch but it was 408 today so I don't think it has much left to drop.

I had hoped for around 230 grams from the area and counted that as a good win for the area before the qb. Less than 230 would be the norm. This is a 2x4 area to be clear.

I realize others can get more than this in a 2x4 but for me it's a solid win an its tempting to fully replace one of the gavitas and see if I can match or beat 20 oz.
My guess is that with 2 more of these basic boards totaling 480 watts I could replace the gavita. Would run me about $300.
Alternatively I could buy a timber for $799.
Not sure if timber is worth it or not but I'm almost willing to just say fuck it an take a shot.
The price differance is pretty huge obviously.

I wont be building anything myself.
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
growingforfun said:
Extremely positive for a first run.

I run a 10x4 scrog (I'd always called it 10x5 until I remasured it last night) with 2 1kw de gavitas over it. The gavitas are centered a little to the outside so the middle of the screen gets slightly less light but it overlaps. The middle has always been a weak yielding zone but still produces alright.

I've never been a good grower from a gpw standpoint, for me a good yield under each light is 20 oz, less isnt rare. I know how to grow an all but I just dont always put in the effort to fill the screen or add secondary support etc.

I run perpetual scrog and I had a crop dead in the middle of the dead zone, so I figured fuck it I'll buy a 240 watt QB for it I've got the extra cash right now anyways. I got a BAVA 240 watt QB. It's not HLG but it's alright for a Alibaba board.
That area gave me just about 400 grams dry. I'm still curing it so it may drop a touch but it was 408 today so I don't think it has much left to drop.

I had hoped for around 230 grams from the area and counted that as a good win for the area before the qb. Less than 230 would be the norm. This is a 2x4 area to be clear.

I realize others can get more than this in a 2x4 but for me it's a solid win an its tempting to fully replace one of the gavitas and see if I can match or beat 20 oz.
My guess is that with 2 more of these basic boards totaling 480 watts I could replace the gavita. Would run me about $300.
Alternatively I could buy a timber for $799.
Not sure if timber is worth it or not but I'm almost willing to just say fuck it an take a shot.
The price differance is pretty huge obviously.

I wont be building anything myself.
Click to expand...
Sounds like your a real world grower that actually harvests plants and not just make #'s up like so many around these parts.
So you haven't run led solo without the hps overlap training wheels?
 
G

growingforfun

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
Sounds like your a real world grower that actually harvests plants and not just make #'s up like so many around these parts.
So you haven't run led solo without the hps overlap training wheels?
Click to expand...
It was the best area for it, so that's where it went. Keep in mind we are just leaving the summer months so heat has been a major factor.
And I guess for a lot of the last run the 1kws on the side were actually dimmed to 600 and that's where the need for the qb actually came to my mind thinking back...

Now everything is running full power.

I dont really have much space to work with and so it's easier for me to test it out by adding to weaker areas, instead of replacing something that's working well and risk losing out on a sure thing.

My other option is an area that's aprox 4x4 but I have reflective material reducing it to 3x3 I was using to test a 315 cmh. I have completed 1 run over the full area at the end of last winter, it was ok but the buds were a little small. Giving it another shot in a more focused area and hopefully it does better, if not maybe I put leds there but the question comes back to if i want to run the bava board I'm already feeling performed very well or if I want to spend extra on something that's likely using better hardware.

I do concider myself "real world" things need to come in like clockwork an I cant afford to take a risk and get burned. I rely on plants going in on a schedual to make up for the apparently low gpw, but I feel my yearly total probably gets me fairly close to even with others.

I'm extremely happy with my most recent harvest because I believe it is probably the highest yield per square foot I've yet managed at dang near 2 oz per sq ft. I think I normally get closer to 1 oz per sq ft
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
growingforfun said:
It was the best area for it, so that's where it went. Keep in mind we are just leaving the summer months so heat has been a major factor.
And I guess for a lot of the last run the 1kws on the side were actually dimmed to 600 and that's where the need for the qb actually came to my mind thinking back...

Now everything is running full power.

I dont really have much space to work with and so it's easier for me to test it out by adding to weaker areas, instead of replacing something that's working well and risk losing out on a sure thing.

My other option is an area that's aprox 4x4 but I have reflective material reducing it to 3x3 I was using to test a 315 cmh. I have completed 1 run over the full area at the end of last winter, it was ok but the buds were a little small. Giving it another shot in a more focused area and hopefully it does better, if not maybe I put leds there but the question comes back to if i want to run the bava board I'm already feeling performed very well or if I want to spend extra on something that's likely using better hardware.

I do concider myself "real world" things need to come in like clockwork an I cant afford to take a risk and get burned. I rely on plants going in on a schedual to make up for the apparently low gpw, but I feel my yearly total probably gets me fairly close to even with others.

I'm extremely happy with my most recent harvest because I believe it is probably the highest yield per square foot I've yet managed at dang near 2 oz per sq ft. I think I normally get closer to 1 oz per sq ft
Click to expand...
Sounds a lot like me bro - slow and steady and something coming down often rather than trying to go big with harvests spaced out.
My only suggestion would be to run an led only run in that side space with no hps overlap and see how you do before jumping head first into swapping out your whole lighting.
I keep pondering a 315 with led strips around the perimeter for a 4x4 :confused:
 
Blue back

Blue back

Well-Known Member
[QUOTE
I keep pondering a 315 with led strips around the perimeter for a 4x4 :confused:[/QUOTE]

Use 2 315's with strips on a 4x4 and you'll be rock'n.
 
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