Dollar Store Grow Lights!
- Thread starter THC-CK
- Start date
THC-CK
Well-Known Member
Another Update:
She (hopefully) is three days into flower but still no sure signs. So far though, it "looks" female to me. Fingers crossed.
After the FIM and the training shown from below in the first pic. The other pics are pre and post a small defoliation.
Now, I just let her do her thing!
I'm still undecided on the light upgrade, whether I'll go quantum board or CMH... But I MAY finish the entire grow with these little guys!
She (hopefully) is three days into flower but still no sure signs. So far though, it "looks" female to me. Fingers crossed.
After the FIM and the training shown from below in the first pic. The other pics are pre and post a small defoliation.
Now, I just let her do her thing!
I'm still undecided on the light upgrade, whether I'll go quantum board or CMH... But I MAY finish the entire grow with these little guys!
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PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
You might consider HLG's newest light, a 225w full spectrum led which is supposed to be a 315w cmh replacement:
HLG 225
HLG ELITE is 225W LED lamp is powered with our custom designed high efficiency Full Spectrum White LED with boosted Red and Deep Red LED. HLG 225 is equivalent to 315W CMH.
horticulturelightinggroup.com
THC-CK
Well-Known Member
Very interesting! I had been looking at their V2 stuff last month, but did not see these guys. I'll investigate further. Cheers!You might consider HLG's newest light, a 225w full spectrum led which is supposed to be a 315w cmh replacement:
HLG 225
HLG ELITE is 225W LED lamp is powered with our custom designed high efficiency Full Spectrum White LED with boosted Red and Deep Red LED. HLG 225 is equivalent to 315W CMH.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
That new light is their same QB96 v2 board but with a bigger heatsink so they can run it at higher current for more wattage. It's cool, but you can get more output (360 watts) for basically the same price if you DIY it. You can buy these four items for $150 on Amazon now to make a 185w QB 96 v2 diy unit. That's pretty great for less than a dollar a watt top quality shit. Might need to buy a plug and wire too, but you get the picture..
Mak'er Grow
Well-Known Member
I can't see anywhere that this is anything besides a Quantum Board knock off or wanna be...the driver is probably a knock off too.
HLG makes the real "Quantum Boards". and the original board from HLG is only $54.00 or with heatsink its $69.00...why pay $79.00 on SCamazon ?
Really can not see that knock of being 185W and lasting.
The HLG board very well may be and probably is 225W.
And what about a warranty ?
I wouldn't waste $150 on that junk...could probably order it all directly from China for half that price and bypass SCamazon totally...lol
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
Guy, HLG sells on Amazon. They have a link from the HLG site to here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/horticulturelightinggroup
This same item is actually currently selling for $10 cheaper on HLG's site, but some of us have Amazon gift cards from Christmas to blow still and free Prime shipping. You can get the driver for around the same price from Digikey if that makes you feel better. At the end of the day the costs would be the same or cheaper to go with HLG direct plus Digikey for the driver. I guess you didn't really look real close at the item on Amazon, but here's a screenshot for you. Note that it says sold by HLG and fulfilled by Amazon:
Feel free to buy direct if you don't have Amazon gift cards to blow:
QB96 Elite V2 Engine
QB96 Elite V2 is a white LED Board with boosted red spectrum. Each Board is powered by 64 high power white LED, 16 630nm Red LED and 16 660nm Deep Red LED.
horticulturelightinggroup.com
Mak'er Grow
Well-Known Member
I didn't intend on upsetting you, sorry if I did.Guy, HLG sells on Amazon. They have a link from the HLG site to here: https://www.amazon.com/shop/horticulturelightinggroup
This same item is actually currently selling for $10 cheaper on HLG's site, but some of us have Amazon gift cards from Christmas to blow still and free Prime shipping. You can get the driver for around the same price from Digikey if that makes you feel better. At the end of the day the costs would be the same or cheaper to go with HLG direct plus Digikey for the driver. I guess you didn't really look real close at the item on Amazon, but here's a screenshot for you. Note that it says sold by HLG and fulfilled by Amazon:
View attachment 4453117
Feel free to buy direct if you don't have Amazon gift cards to blow:
QB96 Elite V2 Engine
QB96 Elite V2 is a white LED Board with boosted red spectrum. Each Board is powered by 64 high power white LED, 16 630nm Red LED and 16 660nm Deep Red LED.
View attachment 4453120
I did not look on SCamazon...no links and wasn't into searching.
Honestly I still wouldn't buy these...the light is fairly small and probably doesn't have a very big foot print so you'd need a few to fill up a tent.
Mind you they would light it up nicely (using multiples of them), but if I were to buy QB's I'd go with the larger boards for bigger foot print and possibly less heat.
I wonder if these were created to be drop in replacements for older COB lighting units...pop out the COB and drop in 1 of these...that could be interesting...lol
If making my own light I'd go with strips...they seem to generate less heat and give a bigger over all foot print for the same costs or cheaper in some cases...~$7/strip @ say 30W = ~300W for $70...plus the driver etc...and a much bigger foot print to grow under.
Best of luck and happy growing to all
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
I think they were somewhat made to be cob replacements, but with the added red that white cobs often lack. I believe that these have a 2x2 foot print @ 135watts, just like the QB288's, with the extra advantage that you can crank them up to higher watts than the 288's. There are less total LEDs but you can crank them up a lot higher, which I believe would also lead to better penetration. The cost advantage to these I see over the QB288 Rspec is a $25 savings per board/heatsink. So if you're gonna buy 4 of them to cover a 4x4 tent that's $100 less to spend on QB96 vs QB288. I'm gonna get one and compare it to a v1 288 and see how they size up at similar wattages.I didn't intend on upsetting you, sorry if I did.
I did not look on SCamazon...no links and wasn't into searching.
Honestly I still wouldn't buy these...the light is fairly small and probably doesn't have a very big foot print so you'd need a few to fill up a tent.
Mind you they would light it up nicely (using multiples of them), but if I were to buy QB's I'd go with the larger boards for bigger foot print and possibly less heat.
I wonder if these were created to be drop in replacements for older COB lighting units...pop out the COB and drop in 1 of these...that could be interesting...lol
If making my own light I'd go with strips...they seem to generate less heat and give a bigger over all foot print for the same costs or cheaper in some cases...~$7/strip @ say 30W = ~300W for $70...plus the driver etc...and a much bigger foot print to grow under.
Best of luck and happy growing to all
The spectrum looks pretty good:
Mak'er Grow
Well-Known Member
Thought I saw the 288 V1 boards @ $29 each...thats a nice price drop from not long ago...lolI think they were somewhat made to be cob replacements, but with the added red that white cobs often lack. I believe that these have a 2x2 foot print @ 135watts, just like the QB288's, with the extra advantage that you can crank them up to higher watts than the 288's. There are less total LEDs but you can crank them up a lot higher, which I believe would also lead to better penetration. The cost advantage to these I see over the QB288 Rspec is a $25 savings per board/heatsink. So if you're gonna buy 4 of them to cover a 4x4 tent that's $100 less to spend on QB96 vs QB288. I'm gonna get one and compare it to a v1 288 and see how they size up at similar wattages.
The spectrum looks pretty good:
That would be a great comparison grow for sure...tag me when you get it going...would love to see the difference, if any.
Do they use the 301B's in V1 or were are they 561C's ?
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
Yeah I got me one on sale. The v1's are 561C, and also no added red. The 288 I got was a 4k, which I will use for veg, so I don't plan on a compare grow just yet but can do some light measurements of each at the same watts and also a visual of footprint. I'm still sticking with my old hps for a couple more months until it's warmer, but gonna try a couple QB's in the meantime in prep for a complete upgrade to LED when I rebuild my grow space in spring.Thought I saw the 288 V1 boards @ $29 each...thats a nice price drop from not long ago...lol
That would be a great comparison grow for sure...tag me when you get it going...would love to see the difference, if any.
Do they use the 301B's in V1 or were are they 561C's ?
Mak'er Grow
Well-Known Member
I tried HIDs when I first started...was way too much heat to deal with even in the winter.
Also being in Canada a lot of things seem to cost more. Being on disability limits purchases drastically...I think it was over $300 for 2 x 288 boards and drivers and then still needed aluminum frame which was another $100 or more...not within my budget.
Everything I have has been built or made by myself...I do a lot of shopping for pieces from China
I have a perpetual grow setup which is basically a closet for mothers (x6 atm) and 4 tents (1 big box split into 4 sections) so when I do upgrades its x4 which get costly very quickly.
Anyways I just realized how badly we hijacked this thread...BIG SORRY TO @THC-CK ..lol
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
That infrared would be so beneficial with LEDs are you kidding me? I don't believe them tho. Is it even possible?
Mak'er Grow
Well-Known Member
I had the box/tent wired for 5 + lines and a common ground so I just used 3 wires of the 6 as + and 3 for - .
I wanted to test them before I put them to use in my seed making box/tent.
They got wired 2 in series and 4 parallel for 8 on each panel...but split into 4 discs for each 2 wires from driver due to not sure how much draw would be needed and it was only 22AWG...2 of the 6 wires didn't get used.
Each disc needs 60 VDC and with my homemade 'driver' I had to combine them until it totaled the 120VAC coming from wall which I converted to DC with a simple bridge rectifier.
When this set of seeds finishes I will be cleaning them up and moving them into a new box I'm making up to do seeds in, but your right they are kinda messy looking, but the plants don't mind...lol
THC-CK
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the info fellas.
After doing a few days of research I think I've decided on the HLG. Specifically the QB288 Board with 288pcs Samsung 561Cs.
Just going to get a single 135w and then a second one for my next grow.
These look to be producing some fantastic results and output. 2.5 µmol/J , 166Lm/W? Yes, please.
Update pic after slower recovery of defoliation. She should take off now!
After doing a few days of research I think I've decided on the HLG. Specifically the QB288 Board with 288pcs Samsung 561Cs.
Just going to get a single 135w and then a second one for my next grow.
These look to be producing some fantastic results and output. 2.5 µmol/J , 166Lm/W? Yes, please.
Update pic after slower recovery of defoliation. She should take off now!
Attachments
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
I'd reccomend getting 2 boards now and splitting the 135w. Then if you wanna get another driver for the second board, do it
THC-CK
Well-Known Member
Good point. Will they let me just add another board?
Airwalker16
Well-Known Member
As long as your driver is a constant current version, you can Ada's many as you want and it will just keep dividing the current across every one you add.
HLG-120H-48A/B.
Assuming your boards voltage is 48. Some are 36, and some are 54 too.