LED light comparison question.

[User43]

Total noob here. Just noticed last month that LED was even being used as a growing light and was completely mind blown how much better it is, budget wise that is, which is all I truly care about.

So I didn't do as much research as I should have before making my purchases I just decided to go by the wattage equivalents. My veg tent is 2x2x4 and has a
1000w equivalent. My flower tent is 4x4x7 with a 1500w equivalent.

Now I have done a little more research and it seems the PAR is what matters and I might have basically equal lights so I might need an extra light in my flower tent.
They both have 680 PAR at 18 inch distance, except the 1500w goes all the way to 1950 PAR at 6 inch distance. But for all I know the 1000w light would as well it just doesn't list the PAR at anything closer than 18 inches. Any thoughts on if the 1500w will be good enough for a 4x4x7 tent all alone?

Im not too worried if I have to get a second light for my flower tent it is still insanely cheaper than the old school lights.

 

[Airwalker16]

What are the lights?

 

[User43]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QY16YRD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[User43]

Didn't link the 1000w light spec since the questions is really, will that light suffice for a 4x4x7 flowering tent.

 

[Airwalker16]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QY16YRD/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

K. So it pulls 235Watts on full power. For a 4x4 you'd want 3 of those Blurple LEDs. 680ish watts of inefficient diodes.
Now.... Can You Still return it? Are you within your 90days? Cause if so, get your money back and we'll get you what you need

 

[User43]

K. So it pulls 235Watts on full power. For a 4x4 you'd want 3 of those Blurple LEDs. 680ish watts of inefficient diodes.
Now.... Can You Still return it? Are you within your 90days? Cause if so, get your money back and we'll get you what you need

I don't want HID HPS or CFL if that's what youre getting at. If youre saying there are higher quality LED lights that you have in mind im all ears.

 

[Airwalker16]

I don't want HID HPS or CFL if that's what youre getting at. If youre saying there are higher quality LED lights that you have in mind im all ears.

Exactly what I'm talking about.

 

[User43]

So if it would take 3 of what I have, then maybe I just need 1 good light and the 1 I have? 2 total instead of 3?

 

[coreywebster]

I don't want HID HPS or CFL if that's what youre getting at. If youre saying there are higher quality LED lights that you have in mind im all ears.

Any reason you wont consider HPS?

Here is a brief list of LED companies to look into that sell LEDs that are worth using.

ChilLED
horticultural lighting group
timber grow lights
BcBlondes
DiyledUK
growlightsAustrailia
Cutter.au
Pacific Lighting Concepts
Amare
Cobkits

Be prepared to spend a lot more money for a light that does actually put out more light than HID.

 

[coreywebster]

If you want cheap blurples that are not that cheap when you add up the amount you end up spending then ignore the par maps, you cant trust anything they say when they claim to replace 1200w of hps with 235w, look at the power draw and aim for 50w (real power consumption) per square foot.
But at the end of the day you will still be spending a lot of cash for something that doesn't beat a cheap HPS

 

[User43]

Any reason you wont consider HPS?

Cost of electricity. Im doing this as cheaply as possible.
Got both lights on sale, My veg light was 50 bucks and my flower light was 89.
When they are both on 18 and 12 hours a day it will only cost me about 11 dollars a month in electricity.

Maybe it wont be the cheapest choice per gram, but it is WAAAAAY cheaper. Plus in order for the old school lights to be worth it per gram,
I would have to grow WAAAAAY more than the ol lady and I could possibly smoke. And this is 100% for personal
use I have no interest in selling it to anyone.

 

[bk78]

For around $250 usd you can get 2 240 kits from meijiu LED that’ll rock that 4x4. Return the blurples

 

[User43]

Im way past the 90 days. I bought them on sale before i was able to use the room. If the blurples produce 1/3 the plant for 1/3 the price im fine w that.

 

[mpaull]

Im way past the 90 days. I bought them on sale before i was able to use the room. If the blurples produce 1/3 the plant for 1/3 the price im fine w that.

Hi, I just completed my first grow. I started with a "cheap Chinese blurple". You will learn as you grow. My led is a phlizon 2000w (lol) cob light. Actual watts is 450. It vegged a 3x3 area quite sufficiently. For flower, it was GREAT for a 2x3 foot area. I added lights throughout my grow to get me to the end. You will learn as you grow. This site will get you all the advice you will need, just bare in mind... people will also crap all over your equipment no matter what you use, That being said... you are waaaaaaaaaaay under powered but, you have to start somewhere. Best of luck to you.

 

[coreywebster]

Cost of electricity. Im doing this as cheaply as possible.
Got both lights on sale, My veg light was 50 bucks and my flower light was 89.
When they are both on 18 and 12 hours a day it will only cost me about 11 dollars a month in electricity.

Maybe it wont be the cheapest choice per gram, but it is WAAAAAY cheaper. Plus in order for the old school lights to be worth it per gram,
I would have to grow WAAAAAY more than the ol lady and I could possibly smoke. And this is 100% for personal
use I have no interest in selling it to anyone.

Cool that's why most people look at LED, that and the heat.
But the problem is you will need the same amount of electricity use to light up your space fully with cheap LED as you will HPS.
Despite what they claim.

To actually cut down on power use you need something that's a lot more efficient and that's a bit more expensive.

A lot of new people overlook HPS because they have a misconception on the heat and power use. Then they buy an LED light they thought was enough and turns out it wasn't and they need a couple more. Sometimes they don't find out till half way through flower when they have stretched out airy buds. That's time and money wasted.

Anyway I always think in terms of lighting up the whole area but if your just growing personal you really don't need to fill your 4x4 and if you don't fill it there's no need to light it fully either.

Its not that those lights wont grow, you just need to know the limitations of them and the real world coverage which massively differs from the claims they make.

Best of luck with the grow man.

 

[Airwalker16]

Man @coreywebster laid it down. Couldn't agree more my dude.

 

[User43]

Cool that's why most people look at LED, that and the heat.
But the problem is you will need the same amount of electricity use to light up your space fully with cheap LED as you will HPS.
Despite what they claim.

Clearly I am the noob here, but I am very confused. I have a friend w a 600w HPS that he says costs him about 30 bucks a month in electricity(could be less, could be more he is a stoner after all). It would take a lot of LEDs to run up that bill... what am I missing?

 

[coreywebster]

Clearly I am the noob here, but I am very confused. I have a friend w a 600w HPS that he says costs him about 30 bucks a month in electricity(could be less, could be more he is a stoner after all). It would take a lot of LEDs to run up that bill... what am I missing?

Obviously your electricity cost is directly related to your wattage.
Cheap LEDs are not more efficient than HPS so you need the same amount (in some case more) of real watts to get the same results in the same space.
So it cost the same to run.

The way to reduce your electricity use is to use a light which produces more umols per watt, good LEDs do that but cost more money.

Or just use a smaller area to grow in which needs less light to fully light up.

 

[coreywebster]

A good example above from mpaull, he says his LED that consumes 450w flowers a 2x3ft space.
So he would need 3 of them to light a 4x4, that's 1350w.

Where a good LED you could light the whole 4x4 with 450-500w

A 600w hps would light a 4x4, though its kind of ideal in 3.5x3.5.

So to run the good LED is cheapest, the HPS second cheapest and the cheaper LED most expensive to run.

The HPS is cheapest to buy, the cheap LED is way more expensive and the good LED is a bit more expensive again (unless you DIY like a lot of us do)

 

[User43]

So to run the good LED is cheapest, the HPS second cheapest and the cheaper LED most expensive to run.

The HPS is cheapest to buy, the cheap LED is way more expensive and the good LED is a bit more expensive again (unless you DIY like a lot of us do)

The blurples are still cheaper to operate in my case, rememher I am not running 1350 watts.
The HPS is definitely not cheapest to buy. Both veg and flower tent blurples combined was 139 after shipping.


That said I think you've sold me on the better LEDs. Im gunna give these shit birds a chance and see what they produce first cuz im very cheap.
Unless I stumble upon a good deal on a good LED.
Im thinking buy 1 good LED for flower and put both blurples in veg?
I wouldn't mind producing enough to smoke and a little extra for edible experiments or maybe concentrates.