Need more efficient LED

1212ham

Well-Known Member
If you're up for it, a DIY strip light would be great. It's easier than it looks, but it is addicting. ;-)

6-10 of these would be great, they can be within a few inches of the canopy.

This would be good, but out of stock.
 
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journalreader

Well-Known Member
If you're up for it, a DIY strip light would be great. It's easier than it looks, but it is addicting. ;-)

6-10 of these would be great, they can be within a few inches of the canopy.

This would be good, but out of stock.
Thanks for the recommendations! The reason I went with a higher-powered one, to begin with was so it could penetrate the canopy more. What do you personally use if you don't mind me asking?
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
There are hundreds of posts about buying components off Alibaba from Chinese mfrs. Without getting into the issues of quality, the shipping is expensive and there's 30% tariff that never seems to get mentioned.
HLG makes outstanding products, but they're out of stock most of the time on the best kits. Chilled and Timber are 2 other reliable sources here in the US.
If you have the time and talent, DIY is a great way to go ... both for the cost savings and the education.
That said, if you're into plug and play, here's a suggestion.
I'm not a huge fan of mars-hydro lights, but some of their new lights are defensible for small areas. https://www.mars-hydro.com/led-grow-light/mars-ts-series-led-grow-light/mars-tsw-2000-led-full-spectrum-hydroponic-led-grow-light is recommended for 3x3 flower area, which means you could even run it dimmed and get good PAR at the edges of the grow. You could also look at the TS1000 but I think it's underpowered for you.
 

journalreader

Well-Known Member
There are hundreds of posts about buying components off Alibaba from Chinese mfrs. Without getting into the issues of quality, the shipping is expensive and there's 30% tariff that never seems to get mentioned.
HLG makes outstanding products, but they're out of stock most of the time on the best kits. Chilled and Timber are 2 other reliable sources here in the US.
If you have the time and talent, DIY is a great way to go ... both for the cost savings and the education.
That said, if you're into plug and play, here's a suggestion.
I'm not a huge fan of mars-hydro lights, but some of their new lights are defensible for small areas. https://www.mars-hydro.com/led-grow-light/mars-ts-series-led-grow-light/mars-tsw-2000-led-full-spectrum-hydroponic-led-grow-light is recommended for 3x3 flower area, which means you could even run it dimmed and get good PAR at the edges of the grow. You could also look at the TS1000 but I think it's underpowered for you.
I would love to do a DIY, but I'm already borderline overwhelmed learning about all of the other aspects of growing still I don't want to add much more to my plate lol. That tsw 2000 looks appealing and affordable. Thanks for the info
 

1212ham

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the recommendations! The reason I went with a higher-powered one, to begin with was so it could penetrate the canopy more. What do you personally use if you don't mind me asking?
I run Bridgelux EB Gen 2 strips, I fixed the link in my post above. They are a great value since the Gen 3 became available, but there are many good strips out there.
Bridgelux EB.JPG
The mars lights will do the job, but they are lower quality. You want 30-35 watts per square foot with efficient LED and more like 50 with the blurples.
If you go with mars, the TS-1000 is 150w and should be plenty. Spider Farmer is better and HLG is an American company with top quality and great service. Give it a little time, more people will probably respond this evening.

 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
I would love to do a DIY, but I'm already borderline overwhelmed learning about all of the other aspects of growing still I don't want to add much more to my plate lol. That tsw 2000 looks appealing and affordable. Thanks for the info
Just remember your doing this to shave some more of that heat off.
The tsw 2000 would be overkill at 300w but it can be dimmed.
The ts 1000 is 150w.

They are currently converting their lights to use samsung 301h diodes so if you go that route you want to ask them if they are available now.
It will be a lot more efficient than the current diodes they are using but they would still be more efficient than the light you currently have .
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
...
The mars lights will do the job, but they are lower quality. You want 30-35 watts per square foot with efficient LED and more like 50 with the blurples.
If you go with mars, the TS-1000 is 150w and should be plenty. Spider Farmer is better ...
The 1000 level product from Spider Farmer and Mars-Hydro are weak around the edges if you look at the PAR maps which is why I suggested the M-H tsw2000 for the space. The SF 2000 level light is rectangular for a 2x4 space and wouldn't be appropriate.
You're right that they're not up to the standard of HLG, Chilled, etc.. but for an inexpensive plug and play fixture they're hard to argue with (well, not on RIU :wall: )
 

journalreader

Well-Known Member
Just remember your doing this to shave some more of that heat off.
The tsw 2000 would be overkill at 300w but it can be dimmed.
The ts 1000 is 150w.

They are currently converting their lights to use samsung 301h diodes so if you go that route you want to ask them if they are available now.
It will be a lot more efficient than the current diodes they are using but they would still be more efficient than the light you currently have .
Good point, I would think the dimmable feature could help keep the temps down? And the ability to move the ballasts outside the cab would help I'd imagine? Does the 1000 allow for that as well?

That space is asking to be stripped. 2 foot strips of any of the many offerings. Samsung, bridgelux eb or vesta.

OP, what country/part of the world?
US
 
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coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Good point, I would think the dimmable feature could help keep the temps down? And the ability to move the ballasts outside the cab would help I'd imagine? Does the 1000 allow for that as well?



US
Yes dimming lowers wattage and output so means you can aim for the power/light you need and have less heat. 130w-150w is all you need with the right LED.

Remote mounting will take some heat out too.

I think some of the others mentioned spider farmer which would be better.

I may have been wrong about the mars ts range been upgraded, possibly its their other range, the sp.
 

Barristan Whitebeard

Well-Known Member
Yes dimming lowers wattage and output so means you can aim for the power/light you need and have less heat. 130w-150w is all you need with the right LED.

Remote mounting will take some heat out too.

I think some of the others mentioned spider farmer which would be better.

I may have been wrong about the mars ts range been upgraded, possibly its their other range, the sp.
The new light that I have seen so far is the 300 watt SP 3000 (an upgraded SP 250) with LM301B and Osram 660nm diodes.
 

journalreader

Well-Known Member
Yes dimming lowers wattage and output so means you can aim for the power/light you need and have less heat. 130w-150w is all you need with the right LED.

Remote mounting will take some heat out too.

I think some of the others mentioned spider farmer which would be better.

I may have been wrong about the mars ts range been upgraded, possibly its their other range, the sp.
Considering 130w-150w is ideal for my space, would the SF 2000 or 1000 be better considering dimmer capabilities etc?
 

Bosgrower

Well-Known Member
Considering 130w-150w is ideal for my space, would the SF 2000 or 1000 be better considering dimmer capabilities etc?
I suggested the 2000 because your space is slightly bigger than a 2x2 and if you look at the PAR maps the 2000 will give you much more even coverage at the edges than the 1000. Also, since it is somewhat more powerful than you need really need, you can run it a bit dimmed and extend the life of the diodes.
I suggest that once you get into the 3rd week of flower that you run it full strength as long as you have reasonable distance over the canopy.
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Apart from the better coverage and extended life you also benefit with higher efficiency by running them softer and can be slightly closer than you could be with the smaller unit on full blast.

I was confusing the sf 2000 with the ts 2000 which is way more than you need. The sf is 200w so its kind of ideal with a little bit of dimming.
The sf 1000 would be under lit .

In veg you can run it 40-50%
 
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