LED Light Recommendation

[curly604]

Sign up for the feedback program and you can get that light at 50 percent off which is still a little pricey is you ask me, I'm running 3 of 5 blackstar 500 I have and as where the comparison HPS counterparts (doing a side by side comparison) are killing the blackstar they may not do too bad, canopy penetration is the problem. I was told you have to do a few LED grows before you get your room and yourself dialed in to that type of grow. My first mistake was going to RO and then not supplementing calcium or magnesium (which growing under LED require whether you're using RO or not) so I'm starting to believe the idea of having to get the hang of growing with LED, it is different for sure.

what up dbkick , that sounds like a kick ass comparison man would love to see how that turns out for ya .... no journal eh? either way sounds sweet man , i could see penetratrion being a problem with blackstars as i dont even think they use real 3w chips .... not sure cant remember either way they are on the real cheapo end of things ... 1 year warranty and shit but i have seen some good work done with them , and sir you are absolutely right took me maybe 2 or 3 runs before i really dialed everything in with my led's , like you say calmag is necessary when using leds and i have found also tht soiless mixes or hydro setups work best by far..... this coco run i have right now is bar far the best run i have had. come by and check it out if ya have the chance man cheers

 

[dbkick]

what up dbkick , that sounds like a kick ass comparison man would love to see how that turns out for ya .... no journal eh? either way sounds sweet man , i could see penetratrion being a problem with blackstars as i dont even think they use real 3w chips .... not sure cant remember either way they are on the real cheapo end of things ... 1 year warranty and shit but i have seen some good work done with them , and sir you are absolutely right took me maybe 2 or 3 runs before i really dialed everything in with my led's , like you say calmag is necessary when using leds and i have found also tht soiless mixes or hydro setups work best by far..... this coco run i have right now is bar far the best run i have had. come by and check it out if ya have the chance man cheers

The blackstars don't do too bad really, there isn't much about the comparison ( I should do a update later) but I post most everything over here....https://www.rollitup.org/dwc-bubbleponics/492662-dissent-grow-169.html
Its mainly just a diary/soap opera/chat channel/sorta collection of journals (several people post pictures there, the more the merrier) kinda thread. 99 percent of it is nothing more than bullshitting.Feel free to stop by there, I'm def gonna update things on the comparison tonight, all my attention has been on the mob boss (which I'm not running in the comparison , its under HPS with the other two that I am using for comparison), its looking kinda sweet.

 

[postnothrills]

Here is my worry...it seems like every grow or review on the Magnums are by someone tied to magnum. The "dunit" dude I don't think is tied to Magnum but his grow is featured on the Magnum youtube account.

I haven't seen anything bad or heard any horror stories about the mag. The only thing bad I heard is from Avant2000 who JUST joined and only posts are talking about Magnums bad build and a bump for California Light Works, yet has no sign of owning one.

Now with that said, and not having anything really bad out there about magnum, the fact that they have that ledbudguy forum and people who act as reps posing as normal folks, it makes them seem suspect.

So, even though I really think the mag is legit, I'm not 100% sure. I'm tired of these LED companies being all shady. I talked with a rep from Optogan, who has been a leading innovator in LEDs (not for horticulture), and asked if they ever considered making horticulture lights and they are in the works but nothing yet. God I hope so because they are reputable. Lumigrow and TI SmartLamp seem to be the only to super legit horticulture lights but damn they are like $2000+ for just 300w.

I'm trying to find as much as I can on the AdvancedLED Extreme Flower lights. While I can't find anything bad, I'm not really finding anything good either. They are a US based company and ship out of their US warehouse, and claim to use Cree and US made Bridgelux.

I see everyone talking about Blackstar but something tells me those things aren't built to last. I'm a firm believer of "you get what you paid for" and the fact that they don't put real power draw on their site immediately turns me off to them.

So far, for what is affordable, Advanced may be the way possibly. Still hunting down stories. Pro Grow seemed hopeful until I found their horror stories. Like I said, Magnum doesn't seem to have horror stories but their "secret agents" running around makes me weary of them.

So unless I find anything bad about AdvancedLED (horror stories of dishonest business, lying) then I will probably get the 360w Extreme, if I do find something, then I will pull the trigger on the Magnum and cross my fingers.

 

[curly604]

thanks dbkick ill come check that thread out for sure cant wait to see how your comparison is going cheers man

 

[peter tosh jr]

kessil h150 these r the best led for a small space. they r the size of a soad can.i have3 over a2×2 flow table

 

[puffenuff]

Here is my worry...it seems like every grow or review on the Magnums are by someone tied to magnum. The "dunit" dude I don't think is tied to Magnum but his grow is featured on the Magnum youtube account.

I haven't seen anything bad or heard any horror stories about the mag. The only thing bad I heard is from Avant2000 who JUST joined and only posts are talking about Magnums bad build and a bump for California Light Works, yet has no sign of owning one.

Now with that said, and not having anything really bad out there about magnum, the fact that they have that ledbudguy forum and people who act as reps posing as normal folks, it makes them seem suspect.

So, even though I really think the mag is legit, I'm not 100% sure. I'm tired of these LED companies being all shady. I talked with a rep from Optogan, who has been a leading innovator in LEDs (not for horticulture), and asked if they ever considered making horticulture lights and they are in the works but nothing yet. God I hope so because they are reputable. Lumigrow and TI SmartLamp seem to be the only to super legit horticulture lights but damn they are like $2000+ for just 300w.

I'm trying to find as much as I can on the AdvancedLED Extreme Flower lights. While I can't find anything bad, I'm not really finding anything good either. They are a US based company and ship out of their US warehouse, and claim to use Cree and US made Bridgelux.

I see everyone talking about Blackstar but something tells me those things aren't built to last. I'm a firm believer of "you get what you paid for" and the fact that they don't put real power draw on their site immediately turns me off to them.

So far, for what is affordable, Advanced may be the way possibly. Still hunting down stories. Pro Grow seemed hopeful until I found their horror stories. Like I said, Magnum doesn't seem to have horror stories but their "secret agents" running around makes me weary of them.

So unless I find anything bad about AdvancedLED (horror stories of dishonest business, lying) then I will probably get the 360w Extreme, if I do find something, then I will pull the trigger on the Magnum and cross my fingers.

I have a couple leds from advanced and I really like them. Id recommend the diamond series over the extreme flower models, I have one of each and prefer the diamonds.

 

[Gnomercy]

I have a 180w and a 135w UFO from HTG that I love.. I actually gave my blackstar to a friend of mine after using these.

 

[Avant2000]

If you are going to drop $1k on a light...get the 5w from CLW. If you decide to "pull the trigger" and order a magnum+ after all that was said here then you are an idiot...

Google stevehman if you want to see several quality grows using the diamond series from advanced. They are on another 420 related site.

 

[curly604]

california light works is just as overpriced as magnum plus and the solar storm or whatever is advertised as 800w .... probly closer to half that .... for 2000$!!!! man that guy selling it or anyone buying that thing must be high as fuck and good on them for finding weed good enough to make them do something like that.

 

[Avant2000]

Yeah I have to agree. Solar storm at RRP is a joke!

 

[puffenuff]

I like the solarstorm. I think the real wattage on it is about 600w. The full price is kind of steep, but if you get on the feedback program I think its one of the best leds you can buy. I would be buying one if I didn't have another led up higher on my list. I will be testing one of california lightworks' units at some point this year though.

 

[skydogluvr]

I've spent a good bit of time lately bouncing around between websites and looking at LEDs. I'll have to say I appreciate the honesty from a lot of the Chinese sellers about the true wattage of the lights, something you don't see from a lot American sellers (resellers in most cases). I just purchased a light using 100 3w LEDs. The seller referred to it as a 300w light in the heading of the webpage, but clearly stated in the specs that it really drew 180w of power. They went into a little detail about power specs for red vs blue LEDs and overheating problems from driving 3w LEDs with a full 3w of power, etc.

The price was about half what a lot of retailers here in the States charge, and since it included delivery to the U.S. I took a chance and bought it. Got my fingers crossed it gets here ok. It's always a crapshoot ordering anything from overseas, but at the price I thought it was worth a shot.

 

[Avant2000]

I like the solarstorm. I think the real wattage on it is about 600w. The full price is kind of steep, but if you get on the feedback program I think its one of the best leds you can buy. I would be buying one if I didn't have another led up higher on my list. I will be testing one of california lightworks' units at some point this year though.

Actual draw on the mag+ is approx 360w so you are looking at 2x$1000 for same power draw driving 3w LEDs. As I stated earlier I purchased a mag+ but if I could do it again I would definitely look at other options like the solarstorm or, as skydogluvr mentions, save 50% by getting the light direct from a Chinese retailer.

Everyone bags the blackstars but I think they are just a reasonably priced version of most of the panels out there...

 

[curly604]

I like the solarstorm. I think the real wattage on it is about 600w. The full price is kind of steep, but if you get on the feedback program I think its one of the best leds you can buy. I would be buying one if I didn't have another led up higher on my list. I will be testing one of california lightworks' units at some point this year though.

what up puff , someone did the math and it worked out to about 450w ........ not up to par for even a 1000$ in my opinion , i mean shit you could go buy 2 blackstar "500w" or almost 2 vipar A300 , both of which would slap that overpriced thing off the map the 5w chips are ok but not that important .... they probly are not even that efficient i bet a good quality 3w diode could out produce them due simply to price compared to performance. california light works ... decent light but way way WAY over priced .... the magnum is just shit that is way way WAY overpriced , spend your money elsewhere people these guys/companies are just marking up their product 100% or more! no wonder CLW can afford full page adds in hightimes ..... they are ripping you off! cheers all stay weary and happy growing

 

[medikal]

If you are going to drop $1k on a light...get the 5w from CLW. If you decide to "pull the trigger" and order a magnum+ after all that was said here then you are an idiot... Google stevehman if you want to see several quality grows using the diamond series from advanced. They are on another 420 related site.

steve is a great guy one of the most consistant led growers around the site he represents does have some odd rules though had my grow there edited hard by mods then i was later banned all because i only had 1 ds 300 from advanced led at the time and the other was a progro but your not allowed to name non forum sponsor brands .... so was banned for naming my leds an nutes (canna over bpn anyday scabs) something that only seems to apply and be enforced on led guys btw ... all the hps guys name there ballasts globes an nutes no dramas ... makes me wonder ... was unbanned after some of their staff found themselves off the colarado invite list haha whoops that'll learn ya , but never bothered to post there again steves journels are well worth the long read though just dont expect to be allowed to have open discussions at that site

 

[postnothrills]

I don't know if I should feel bad about this but I received an email from e.shine. They guy, Robin, says they are the manufacturers for Advanced, and that you can order their light factory direct, and guaranteed to receive the same light. he also sent literature that has ALL the ins and outs of the light, like REAL power draw, which is a little less than is claimed on the Advanced LED site. You get the Epistar and Bridgelux leds and can modify the spectrum if you'd like (like adding some green into the mix). Prices are more than half of Advanced.

I'm worried though because I hear it can be hit or miss when you order direct.

 

[budman111]

Dude, i just went to the magnum led webpage and the first blurb fucked me right off......"Simply stated, we are the best led grow light manufacturer in the world!"

 

[stak]

Dude, i just went to the magnum led webpage and the first blurb fucked me right off......"Simply stated, we are the best led grow light manufacturer in the world!"

what a bunch of dicks! I can't believe a business would be confident in their product.

 

[ClassAcura]

Sign up for the feedback program and you can get that light at 50 percent off which is still a little pricey is you ask me, I'm running 3 of 5 blackstar 500 I have and as where the comparison HPS counterparts (doing a side by side comparison) are killing the blackstar they may not do too bad, canopy penetration is the problem. I was told you have to do a few LED grows before you get your room and yourself dialed in to that type of grow. My first mistake was going to RO and then not supplementing calcium or magnesium (which growing under LED require whether you're using RO or not) so I'm starting to believe the idea of having to get the hang of growing with LED, it is different for sure.

How do I sign up for the feedback program? I want to buy a few more 600w Blackstars.

 

[budman111]

what a bunch of dicks! I can't believe a business would be confident in their product.

Any company that has logo- Simply stated, we are the best led grow light manufacturer in the world!" can go and f@ck themselves, people who buy this shit deserves to be robbed. People say advanced nutrients has some shady logos but this is taking the last fuckin biscuit.