Led Users Unite!

[Hudsonvalley82]

Just asked this question Gotham Hydro through their ebay store:

Knowing that the actual power draw on LED lights is never its full wattage advertised, what is the actual power draw on a standard 120V line?

I have seen 357 magnum LED lights use 357 worth of LED chips, but only draw 180W. I have read that most LEDs are run at 50% of their wattage does this mean that the 240W Blackstar is actually only drawing 120W worth of power?

There are several people who have measured the wattage and have stated that, I just wanted to hear it from the source to verify, as you guys would know best!

Thank you.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

I will then follow up with a question about all of their models...all the responses will be posted here

 

[Cereall]

Somebody did this a few days earlier, well with an actual test.
He opened up his blackstar and tested with ammeter, i think it pulled 1.15 or something close to there and around 140w actually used

My 260w Progrows only pull 167w each

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Im not much worried about it. ledbudguy probably just set a LED record as far as g/watt ratio in this case though...if he pull .9 on regular advertised wattage, he probably got around 1.6 at least on actual power usage. Probably closer to double. If anything this is a benefit.

Besides, I suppose I have 375 watts (actual draw) of blackstar for the price of 750 bucks. That is still a steal! Just thought it would be nice to address the whole advertising issue from the supplier, maybe they will toss a line in their adds about that. Seeing as how few companies do though, I can def see why a company wouldn't put itself at a disadvantage for most customers who have no idea about this...Hopefully now that it is common knowledge (at least on this thread) we can see what the deal is.

 

[jdizzle22]

Im not much worried about it. ledbudguy probably just set a LED record as far as g/watt ratio in this case though...if he pull .9 on regular advertised wattage, he probably got around 1.6 at least on actual power usage. Probably closer to double. If anything this is a benefit.

Besides, I suppose I have 375 watts (actual draw) of blackstar for the price of 750 bucks. That is still a steal! Just thought it would be nice to address the whole advertising issue from the supplier, maybe they will toss a line in their adds about that. Seeing as how few companies do though, I can def see why a company wouldn't put itself at a disadvantage for most customers who have no idea about this...Hopefully now that it is common knowledge (at least on this thread) we can see what the deal is.

Yeah I consider any company to rate their watts misleading like that to be unfit for anyones money. Who besides growledhydro/spectra do tell you the true wattage draw? All I can think of at the moment is Kessil

 

[Bad Karma]

Yeah I consider any company to rate their watts misleading like that to be unfit for anyones money. Who besides growledhydro/spectra do tell you the true wattage draw? All I can think of at the moment is Kessil

ProSource does as well.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Got this response:

Dear Notafraidto,

What you heard is correct. No single LED out there will draw the rated (marked) wattage. This is the result of stepdown transformers and internal fans. The light will actually pull around 140W.

- gotham_products

Just asked this question Gotham Hydro through their ebay store:

Knowing that the actual power draw on LED lights is never its full wattage advertised, what is the actual power draw on a standard 120V line?

I have seen 357 magnum LED lights use 357 worth of LED chips, but only draw 180W. I have read that most LEDs are run at 50% of their wattage does this mean that the 240W Blackstar is actually only drawing 120W worth of power?

There are several people who have measured the wattage and have stated that, I just wanted to hear it from the source to verify, as you guys would know best!

Thank you.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

To which I replied:

Thank you for your response, I thought that was the case. Companies like Kessil, Spectra and ProSource are advertising their actual power draws. 357 magnum has done the same (albeit not to obvious, but published none the less). I would recommend you do the same as to not disappoint the customer once they purchase the product and find out. When comparing pricing, its nice to know that one can compare apples to apples. I was wondering why spectra was so expensive, now I know. Their 300W model actually uses 600W worth of chips running at 50% capacity.

I appreciate your time. I would highly recommend putting in a quick line somewhere for each product that the actual power draw is less that the advertised capacity.

Got this response:

Dear Notafraidto,

What you heard is correct. No single LED out there will draw the rated (marked) wattage. This is the result of stepdown transformers and internal fans. The light will actually pull around 140W.

- gotham_products

 

[jdizzle22]

Got this response:

Dear Notafraidto,

What you heard is correct. No single LED out there will draw the rated (marked) wattage. This is the result of stepdown transformers and internal fans. The light will actually pull around 140W.

- gotham_products

This light of theirs that pulls 140w, what is the unit called/rated at? 280?

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

240 - 80 3w chips

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

After doing some research I came up with this: 357 supplies the info (you gotta look for it though), Spectra does as well. I cant confirm kessil. All it says is that it draws less than 36W. Probably is a 35W draw, but the statement LESS THAN can mean a lot. ProSource actually states the it the output power is 180W, but it has 180 1W chips...Hrmm...Can't confirm that one either...Same thing with the 90W model from them.

More people need an ammeter I suppose the moral of the story is.
Most expensive watt goes to Kessil: Assuming a 35W Draw - and a price of 240 Bucks (average good price I could find) that works out to $6.87 per watt.

The panel (with confirmed output wattage) with the most expensive watt is from the 357 magnum - 180W draw - $699 - $3.88 Per Watt. S T E E P. Hell of a light though. Grams per watt should be awesome from that mother fucker.

Most expensive watt I would find from spectra is the 300W model (360 actual pull) at $1100 - works out to $3.05 per watt, the lower wattage models were actually around $2.50 per watt.

Blackstar 240W costs $259 and uses roughly 140W. Works out to $1.85 per watt.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Blackdog LED has actual wattage as well FYI Most expensive watt is the BD360 for $1100 and the price per watt is $3.67. Cheapest watt is their Platinum XL consuming a total of 740W (good jesus) and sells for $1800. Thats $2.43 a watt.

 

[dunit]

After doing some research I came up with this: 357 supplies the info (you gotta look for it though), Spectra does as well. I cant confirm kessil. All it says is that it draws less than 36W. Probably is a 35W draw, but the statement LESS THAN can mean a lot. ProSource actually states the it the output power is 180W, but it has 180 1W chips...Hrmm...Can't confirm that one either...Same thing with the 90W model from them.

More people need an ammeter I suppose the moral of the story is.
Most expensive watt goes to Kessil: Assuming a 35W Draw - and a price of 240 Bucks (average good price I could find) that works out to $6.87 per watt.

The panel (with confirmed output wattage) with the most expensive watt is from the 357 magnum - 180W draw - $699 - $3.88 Per Watt. S T E E P. Hell of a light though. Grams per watt should be awesome from that mother fucker.

Most expensive watt I would find from spectra is the 300W model (360 actual pull) at $1100 - works out to $3.05 per watt, the lower wattage models were actually around $2.50 per watt.

Blackstar 240W costs $259 and uses roughly 140W. Works out to $1.85 per watt.

Most expensive panel is actually stealth grow. $1599 for 350 watts so $4.57 a watt.

So my magnums are a bargain compared to them lol

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Wow, those are catching up to kessil

The unit pricing concept is interesting. If we can get the actual wattage on all these models, we can come up with a complete list.
Im figuring the isis models are the same thing, actually running at about 60% advertised wattage, assuming that, that puts the 170W model around 95W, at $399 for the FX-1 that runs at $4.43 a watt, which also makes for some expensive watt. However if it is running at 90W, ledbudguy banged out something like 1.6-1.7 g/watt. so it might be worth it. If 160W is the actual draw though, the panel comes in at about $2.49 which is awesome. I emailed the supplier to find out.

Most expensive panel is actually stealth grow. $1599 for 350 watts so $4.57 a watt.

So my magnums are a bargain compared to them lol

 

[TshirtNinja]

After doing some research I came up with this: 357 supplies the info (you gotta look for it though), Spectra does as well. I cant confirm kessil. All it says is that it draws less than 36W. Probably is a 35W draw, but the statement LESS THAN can mean a lot. ProSource actually states the it the output power is 180W, but it has 180 1W chips...Hrmm...Can't confirm that one either...Same thing with the 90W model from them.

More people need an ammeter I suppose the moral of the story is.
Most expensive watt goes to Kessil: Assuming a 35W Draw - and a price of 240 Bucks (average good price I could find) that works out to $6.87 per watt.

The panel (with confirmed output wattage) with the most expensive watt is from the 357 magnum - 180W draw - $699 - $3.88 Per Watt. S T E E P. Hell of a light though. Grams per watt should be awesome from that mother fucker.

Most expensive watt I would find from spectra is the 300W model (360 actual pull) at $1100 - works out to $3.05 per watt, the lower wattage models were actually around $2.50 per watt.

Blackstar 240W costs $259 and uses roughly 140W. Works out to $1.85 per watt.

everytime someone downs us blackstar owners we just come back in spades..... i knew i shopped the better deal per watt no matter the draw.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Wow, you missed the biggest one from stealth grow - the 1250 model that draws 580w sells for $3499. Thats $6.03 a watt, move over 357, we have 2 new leaders in the most expensive watt race. What we should really be doing is figuring out the price per PAR unit.

Most expensive panel is actually stealth grow. $1599 for 350 watts so $4.57 a watt.

So my magnums are a bargain compared to them lol

 

[nmate2oo2]

Yeah I consider any company to rate their watts misleading like that to be unfit for anyones money. Who besides growledhydro/spectra do tell you the true wattage draw? All I can think of at the moment is Kessil

this is one of the guys im talking about...every post has the word spectra in it...can you say agenda

 

[dunit]

Wow, those are catching up to kessil

The unit pricing concept is interesting. If we can get the actual wattage on all these models, we can come up with a complete list.
Im figuring the isis models are the same thing, actually running at about 60% advertised wattage, assuming that, that puts the 170W model around 95W, at $399 for the FX-1 that runs at $4.43 a watt, which also makes for some expensive watt. However if it is running at 90W, ledbudguy banged out something like 1.6-1.7 g/watt. so it might be worth it. If 160W is the actual draw though, the panel comes in at about $2.49 which is awesome. I emailed the supplier to find out.

The ISIS draws 120W I ran an ammeter on mine when I tested my magnum. It's in one of my posts somewhere. The ISIS is a hybrid panel running 1W and 3W LED's. 1W LED's are driven at higher percentage of max rating than 2 or 3W so panels that contain 1W will draw closer to max rating than a 3W panel. Not 100% sure why and I think it has to do with heat tolerance but helps to understand the actual wattage draw

 

[dunit]

everytime someone downs us blackstar owners we just come back in spades..... i knew i shopped the better deal per watt no matter the draw.

Wow, you missed the biggest one from stealth grow - the 1250 model that draws 580w sells for $3499. Thats $6.03 a watt, move over 357, we have 2 new leaders in the most expensive watt race. What we should really be doing is figuring out the price per PAR unit.

Well what we really need is price per gram produced. Blackstar is the cheapest but for example if Stealth Grow pull twice the grams per watt then their cheap initial cost quickly loses its appeal if they are costing you money in lost product every run. The only panels we have hard production numbers to go on are ISIS and Spectra and pretty sure ISIS is the leader there. In a month I'll have 357 numbers to add to the list. Hopefully someone has some Blackstar, Kessil and Stealth Grow numbers to add to the mix and then we can really start making some informed decisions.

I realize there are lots of variables and it's not exactly a double-blind laboratory controlled test, but at least we will have an idea.

 

[Hudsonvalley82]

Hard to compensate with grower experience as well. ledbudguys poll had stirred up a bunch of controversy as well regarding his yield.