do LEDs work

[tiggaweed]

I am a new grower and building the perfect rubermade green house grow and i want to use LEDs because they have 99% less heat and they dont come up on the electric bill but i have herd they work and i have also herd they are not very good when i order my LEDs i will orfer them from growl.com. can anybody help me

 

[TeaTreeOil]

Yes some LEDs work, no not all LEDs work. You want high-power LEDs, specific for growing plants, the major company making these is Cree. They make the LEDs that are used in the Procyon 100. A 100w LED panel. If the individual LEDs are under 2-3 watt each, don't even bother.

Cree LEDS also power the UFO series of LED lights. But even Cree makes various LEDs, some low-power, and some high power. Be very careful, as there are very expensive lemons out there.

 

[cbtwohundread]

lots of terrific grows with led's a couple on this site if im not mistken u can google it and see for urself itll bring you rite back to the wonderful riu forum

 

[tiggaweed]

there was some good grows through google and i guess i am going through a good brand because i saw alot of them from growl.com

 

[tiggaweed]

now i see why they are expensive it will be worth the money for the girls

 

[Dan Kone]

now i see why they are expensive it will be worth the money for the girls

Actually the right LED can be the cheapest light out there in terms of grams per watt. It's a larger initial investment but they are much cheaper than HPS's when you factor in long term costs.

 

[tiggaweed]

what are the different colors of LEDs for

 

[Dan Kone]

what are the different colors of LEDs for

Blue is for veg. Red is for flowering. Orange/white are a multi-spectrum light that supposedly help correct problems in eariler LED's that were giving everyone popcorn buds.

If you are going to be flowering with LED's make sure your red blubs are +760nm. Don't ask me what an "nm" is. lol. I have no idea. All I know is all the successful LED grows I've seen have red bulbs with 760nm or higher. Or if the light covers the "far red" or infered spectrum that will work too.

 

[tonganet]

Hi All...new here. I've done some searching through the threads for info, and more or less answered my question(s) but I'd appreciate your comments here on my 'experiment' as it were. This is strictly amatuer time guys...

A friend of mine got two clones of the same plant and gave me one. I put mine in potting soil approx. 55 days ago under an LED panel (red/blue - 45w) on a 16/8 light cycle. The light is mounted around 10 - 12" above the plant itself (as per the instructions) and the enclosure has reflective mylar sides. I give it 50 ml of water every day or every other day depending on how wet the soil is. No heat from direct sunlight or halide bulbs means the soil can stay pretty moist for a long while, and I've heard these plants don't like their roots wet all the time, so I attempt to keep it somewhat dry as I've heard that is ideal for soil growers. (Again, newbie...don't know for sure).

The plant itself grew to 18" high and never grew a guard leaf or branch over 3" out, but off the main stem, everywhere it split to form a guard leaf, there is major growth...three or four tiers of tiny little leaves with big 'hairs' craning up towards the light. The little leaves look like frosted flakes at every bud site, and on the top, there are four nodes all close together, and the little leaves and hairs have completley obscured the top of the plant. Very dense on top.

My friend put his in soil about the same time I did, and he just stuck it in his window (which all kinds of plants seem to love). His window faces North, so he doesn't get any direct sunlight, but apparently it's just fine with the light it gets sitting in the window. His plant is like a whole different critter than mine, around 36" tall, lanky with branches reaching out about a foot towards the bottom. He shows none, or very little of the growth that my plant is showing despite being twice it's size. So far, a very interesting experiment.

My specific question...my friend maintains that I should now 'bud' this plant with 18 hours of complete and total darkness...not even a sliver of light and 6 hours of the light I've been giving it. This doesn't sound quite right, as I've heard the preferred method is now 12/12 to fool the plant into thinking it's winter.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated...thanks.

 

[Dan Kone]

My specific question...my friend maintains that I should now 'bud' this plant with 18 hours of complete and total darkness...not even a sliver of light and 6 hours of the light I've been giving it. This doesn't sound quite right, as I've heard the preferred method is now 12/12 to fool the plant into thinking it's winter.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated...thanks.

I'm not so sure about an 18dark/6light cycle. Doesn't sound like a winner to me. I'd stick with 12/12.

You're friend's plant is likely growing taller because it's attempting to stretch to get more light. Even though the reviews on those 45watt panels are not good as long as you're getting more node growth than him I'd put my money on you to have a higher yield.

 

[tonganet]

I'm not so sure about an 18dark/6light cycle. Doesn't sound like a winner to me. I'd stick with 12/12.

You're friend's plant is likely growing taller because it's attempting to stretch to get more light. Even though the reviews on those 45watt panels are not good as long as you're getting more node growth than him I'd put my money on you to have a higher yield.

Thanks for the advice, 12/12 is closer to what I've always heard from various sources...Yeah, I wish I had done a bit more research as the 45w LED panel cost me a bit when I could have spent just a bit more and went with a growl.com LED which seems to have better reviews in the higher wattage products. Still, I am getting quite a bit of growth with the light I've got.

Should I ever go back to a 16/8 light cycle or keep it 12/12 until harvest time?

 

[The Warlord]

no don't do 16/8 at all. 12/12 till harvest is the correct method. your buddy is giving you bad info.

 

[irishboy]

my leds always work great for me. i am using 90w tri ban right now, i like leds so much i just bought a 180w 5 ban with info red/far red spec in it. leds are somthing you have to be carful with you get on bad company and you will pay for it on yeild. i have friends that chose the wrong company and wasted lots of monye. i guess i got lucky when choshing my company lol, they work like a charm for me. here are some videos of my led grow lights that i use.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9rjAVSB7Zw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc3NMJtPENw&feature=fvw

hope this helps you

 

[dbo24242]

short answer: yes

long answer: the majority of purchasers of LED products were dissatisfied by them, and they work but only work well for some things and if they are properly made. quality has been improving.

 

[Mindmelted]

ufo l.e.d do not work.They produce light,but that is about it.
Not worth growing with.

 

[irishboy]

ufo l.e.d do not work.They produce light,but that is about it.
Not worth growing with.

how are u going to tell me. i use ufo leds did u not just see the video i posted? how did it not work?

 

[Mindmelted]

Used them and they do not produce like that unless used with other lighting.
Lots of info on the web to support what i say.The technology is no there yet.
You are not even using straight ufo.You got cfl also.I will put any of my hid grows up against your shitty l.e.d/cfl grow anytime.

 

[irishboy]

Used them and they do not produce like that unless used with other lighting.
Lots of info on the web to support what i say.The technology is no there yet.

its all about the company you use. i agree with you that some led unit arnt their yet but some are, one of those videos i put up didnt use any other lighting but led and for 3 weeks of flower time that real good results, i have been using a 90wtri ban for some time now and i have always gotten aboutthe same as my friend with a 400whps. i never used any other side light only led. i just bought the newest techongly led light with 5 ban spec its 180w with info red/ far red. i cant wait for it to come in and put it to use. i will post a journal of the grow for everyone can see. i am doing a grow right now with my triban 90w but will add my 180w once i get it.

 

[Mindmelted]

its all about the company you use. i agree with you that some led unit arnt their yet but some are, one of those videos i put up didnt use any other lighting but led and for 3 weeks of flower time that real good results, i have been using a 90wtri ban for some time now and i have always gotten aboutthe same as my friend with a 400whps. i never used any other side light only led. i just bought the newest techongly led light with 5 ban spec its 180w with info red/ far red. i cant wait for it to come in and put it to use. i will post a journal of the grow for everyone can see. i am doing a grow right now with my triban 90w but will add my 180w once i get it.

Then why are there cfls hanging down the sides of the plants.

 

[irishboy]

its all about the company you use. i agree with you that some led unit arnt their yet but some are, one of those videos i put up didnt use any other lighting but led and for 3 weeks of flower time that real good results, i have been using a 90wtri ban for some time now and i have always gotten aboutthe same as my friend with a 400whps. i never used any other side light only led. i just bought the newest techongly led light with 5 ban spec its 180w with info red/ far red. i cant wait for it to come in and put it to use. i will post a journal of the grow for everyone can see. i am doing a grow right now with my triban 90w but will add my 180w once i get it.

wait for that 700w led grow to be done on you tube and put your hid grow up agiants that. beat u the led will smoke you!