Noob trying to work out LED lighting

[coreywebster]

Hey Poobzilla.... I purchased the exact light as you to start off with but, the rating of 600 Watts was bit overstated. Sub $80 light on Amazon, so I bought a second one. Running 2 of these things side by side, I have to be honest, The light intensity is not all that great even with 2 running. Read... Read.. and more reading... seems like the 600W claim is really only good for a 2x2 space. So... I invested in the Spiderfarmer 1000w and I have to say its way better than 2 of these 600w lights. I am not a LED guru and just assumed the 600Watt was going to be all I needed, turns out I was wrong.

This is what's given LED a bad name for many years.

Those spider farmers are nice, but they need to get on board with the rest of the good light manufacturers and start naming the units what they draw instead of dodgy hype names like 1000w, doing themselves out of business and respect as they are.

 

[Poobzilla]

80cm x 80cm Area

All our recommendations for a 80cm x 80cm area.

diyleduk.com

If you wanted pre assembled or plug and play options from UK

EDIT, sorry I missed your post above where you have checked them out.

Haha yeah. My dealer put me onto a boy who recommended them. Should be able to get one though. Been emailing the boy there so all looks good. Think I would have preferred a cob kit but sold out.

 

[masho95]

Those spider farmers are nice, but they need to get on board with the rest of the good light manufacturers and start naming the units what they draw instead of dodgy hype names like 1000w, doing themselves out of business and respect as they are.

No where in the Spider Farmer name or description is it listed as 1000w. People may assume the w there but it's not the case, but I can totally see why due to all the other Chinese light manufacturers and their claims.

It would make sense to name them SF100, SF202, and SF457.

I hope people aren't looking at a SF4000 and thinking it's 4000 watts of power draw. Lol.

 

[coreywebster]

No where in the Spider Farmer name or description is it listed as 1000w. People may assume the w there but it's not the case, but I can totally see why due to all the other Chinese light manufacturers and their claims.

It would make sense to name them SF100, SF202, and SF457.

I hope people aren't looking at a SF4000 and thinking it's 4000 watts of power draw. Lol.

Maybe its just an ebay thing..

Spider Farmer 1000w LED Grow Light Sunlike Full Spectrum Indoor Plant Veg Flower for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Spider Farmer 1000w LED Grow Light Sunlike Full Spectrum Indoor Plant Veg Flower at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

SF 4000w Commercial LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Samsung Lm301b Veg Bloom Indoor for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for SF 4000w Commercial LED Grow Light Full Spectrum Samsung Lm301b Veg Bloom Indoor at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

I found the actual spider farmer site to be more straight forward but there really is not reason to call anything 1000/2000/4000 other than to mislead the consumer.

 

[Poobzilla]

80cm x 80cm Area

All our recommendations for a 80cm x 80cm area.

diyleduk.com

If you wanted pre assembled or plug and play options from UK

EDIT, sorry I missed your post above where you have checked them out.

They come with a choice of driver, either XLG or HLG both meanwell. When it says the XLG has an external dimmer and the HLG has an internal dimmer, that just means that the dimmer is attached to the driver via a wire for external and the dimmer is physically on the driver for internal.
Correct?

 

[sarahJane211]

I've done going from cheap blurple to the more expensive blurples and seeing there was a lot of hate for them(not going to name brands) and then learning that lights do use green light to photosynthesise so not all the light of broad spectrum is wasted.
That's when I was considering the COB lights mentioned in original post and was feeling pretty good about my decision even after i had a few suggestions to watch prof bugbee videos.

I went from cheap burple ......... waste of money ($25) to
COB ........ waste of money but the COB chips war only $2 each, (still burple) so not a big waste to
HLG 240w + 2 Chinese quantum clone boards ($150).
My only slight niggle, the Meanwell driver is hot as hell, unless you're in a cold climate, you don't want it in your tent.

Holy shit, those quantum boards are bright white 47,000 lux compared to the burble 2,000 lux (at 24")
(or did I mean Lumens?)

 

[sarahJane211]

They come with a choice of driver, either XLG or HLG both meanwell. When it says the XLG has an external dimmer and the HLG has an internal dimmer, that just means that the dimmer is attached to the driver via a wire for external and the dimmer is physically on the driver for internal.
Correct?

My HLG has an external dimmer .........

 

[Poobzilla]

I went from cheap burple ......... waste of money ($25) to
COB ........ waste of money but the COB chips war only $2 each, (still burple) so not a big waste to
HLG 240w + 2 Chinese quantum clone boards ($150).
My only slight niggle, the Meanwell driver is hot as hell, unless you're in a cold climate, you don't want it in your tent.

Holy shit, those quantum boards are bright white 47,000 lux compared to the burble 2,000 lux (at 24")
(or did I mean Lumens?)

I am glad I have settled on an option now. I am in a cooler climate than most so may help. My wee tube heater has hardly ever hit the 77F temp i set on my temp controller even while heating is on. I am not sure what you mean. Never really seen much products described with lumens, more umol.

My HLG has an external dimmer .........
View attachment 4495389

Oh well that doesn't really help lol. I guess you get different versions of each I suppose. All I know at this point is I want it assembled for me but not sure what the better option would be.

Edit: shit that sounded a little snarky, never meant to come across like that

 

[sarahJane211]

I am glad I have settled on an option now. I am in a cooler climate than most so may help. My wee tube heater has hardly ever hit the 77F temp i set on my temp controller even while heating is on. I am not sure what you mean. Never really seen much products described with lumens, more umol.

I'm too cheap to buy a light meter that reads umol ........ my smart phone can read Lux.
But whatever you use to measure the lights, the 240w quantum is 20x brighter than the '600w' burple.

 

[CptTripps]

I'm running a 3X3 with a MH-TSW2000. It gets plenty hot in the tent. I have my exhaust fan on a temperature gauge where if it gets above 25 (77), it kicks on. This has kept me between 21-23 (70-75) at all times. So the LED is like a perfect little heater for the tent.

I'm growing in a room that stays cool year round...also in a colder climate.

Here's the gauge I used...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071NG8MZK

 

[Poobzilla]

I'm too cheap to buy a light meter that reads umol ........ my smart phone can read Lux.
But whatever you use to measure the lights, the 240w quantum is 20x brighter than the '600w' burple.

Oh, didn't know you were taking readings, my bad. I was talking about manufacturers specs mostly and the units given in reviews.
It's a hit to the wallet and the soul having to spend more money but needs must.

 

[Poobzilla]

I'm running a 3X3 with a MH-TSW2000. It gets plenty hot in the tent. I have my exhaust fan on a temperature gauge where if it gets above 25 (77), it kicks on. This has kept me between 21-23 (70-75) at all times. So the LED is like a perfect little heater for the tent.

I'm growing in a room that stays cool year round...also in a colder climate.

Here's the gauge I used...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071NG8MZK

I'm able to have my extractor running and still stay in the 70's, that will be why I hardly hit 77. I'm trying to maintain a minimum negative pressure with a fan speed control to have constant air being sucked in. Only issue is humidity, but I noticed having turned my extractor off at night to try and get some sleep the humidity has risen and then it gradually decreases during the day. Not so sure i like it when it gets down to the 40%'s but seeing if I can help with light mistings every now and then.

 

[CptTripps]

Amazon.com: raydrop Cool Mist Humidifiers for Babies, 1.70 L Quiet and Small Ultrasonic Humidifier for Bedroom Nightstand, Space-Saving, Auto Shut Off-(0.45 Gallon, US 110 V): Home & Kitchen

Amazon.com: raydrop Cool Mist Humidifiers for Babies, 1.70 L Quiet and Small Ultrasonic Humidifier for Bedroom Nightstand, Space-Saving, Auto Shut Off-(0.45 Gallon, US 110 V): Home & Kitchen

www.amazon.com

Put it on a spare mechanical timer, on it's lowest setting. 30min on, 3h off. That'll keep the humidity up.

 

[Poobzilla]

Amazon.com: raydrop Cool Mist Humidifiers for Babies, 1.70 L Quiet and Small Ultrasonic Humidifier for Bedroom Nightstand, Space-Saving, Auto Shut Off-(0.45 Gallon, US 110 V): Home & Kitchen

Amazon.com: raydrop Cool Mist Humidifiers for Babies, 1.70 L Quiet and Small Ultrasonic Humidifier for Bedroom Nightstand, Space-Saving, Auto Shut Off-(0.45 Gallon, US 110 V): Home & Kitchen

www.amazon.com

Put it on a spare mechanical timer, on it's lowest setting. 30min on, 3h off. That'll keep the humidity up.

With buying a new light even 20 quid is a bit steep. Will be added for next grow as in a month or a little over if things go well i will be flowering maybe and that when i will be paid again after next. Put in my wishlist so I don't forget.

 

[PadawanWarrior]

They come with a choice of driver, either XLG or HLG both meanwell. When it says the XLG has an external dimmer and the HLG has an internal dimmer, that just means that the dimmer is attached to the driver via a wire for external and the dimmer is physically on the driver for internal.
Correct?

My HLG has an external dimmer .........
View attachment 4495389

The XLG is an AB driver, and so is yours Sarah. They should have both dimming functions. I love the external dimmer that the B type provides. Makes it super easy to adjust, and you have a wider range of wattage. I was stoked when my new HLG light kit came with the XLG and potentiometer.

 

[coreywebster]

They come with a choice of driver, either XLG or HLG both meanwell. When it says the XLG has an external dimmer and the HLG has an internal dimmer, that just means that the dimmer is attached to the driver via a wire for external and the dimmer is physically on the driver for internal.
Correct?

Yeah the internal dimmer is a rubber cap with a tiny screw which you can adjust and the external is a potentiometer something like what SarahJane showed.

The internal would look something like this