Led Users Unite!

[sgt john]

I tried the different ones, the ufo type, and some of the other ones..
The best way for me to find the best one is to try them, put them to the test.
I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a light and have it not to produce results, so i researched on this site, and the the web.
I recently took some advice from Bagsworth about trying California Light Works, and got me a Solar Flare, and wow, first they are really well built, and so far they have produced faster growth than the 240w blackstar & h350 kessil. (still testing out the Kessil)
I would and will invest my money and time in the lights from California Light Works..

 

[Bagsworth]

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! It is so good to see these kinds of discussions on lights, I spent 4 months doing research when I bought my first LED light, which I am now ready to sell now that I have found CLW, but the wealth of knowledge brought me to a great light to start with. I truly think that each individual can have a different experience with any light bought, so saying that I think that each person needs to find what works best for their style of growing. Oh, I was only joking about the hater comment!!!! You really can't express emotion well with written word.

 

[Downinit]

My first LED was from them i.e. their store brand. I bought it for supplementing my HID light and it worked ok. However, it began dying (one row of LEDs at a time) within the first year. When I fully switched to LED a few months ago, I went with California Lightworks and am very happy with the results.

Don't those led's come with a 5 yr warrenty??

 

[Downinit]

Happy Holidays to everyone!!! It is so good to see these kinds of discussions on lights, I spent 4 months doing research when I bought my first LED light, which I am now ready to sell now that I have found CLW, but the wealth of knowledge brought me to a great light to start with. I truly think that each individual can have a different experience with any light bought, so saying that I think that each person needs to find what works best for their style of growing. Oh, I was only joking about the hater comment!!!! You really can't express emotion well with written word.

What is the light ur going to sell? Do tell

 

[Bagsworth]

What is the light ur going to sell? Do tell

Downinit, I have a 357 Magnum, not the Magnum+ model, replacing with 2 solar flare 200w veg masters. You interested?

 

[Downinit]

Thinking about it.. I'm currently using the BS 240 with decent results. Wanna add another. How did it work for u aand what do u wanna sell it for? What is the actual draw?

 

[GrowBrooklyn]

Don't those led's come with a 5 yr warrenty??

Not sure. The light was only about $130 and I got a year of use out of it, so I never went to the time and trouble of trying to get it repaired.

 

[Fluffhead420]

has anyone used a Lumigrow.com ?? I have heard a lot of great things and everything on their site look amazing, i have a lot of extra xmas loot and wanted to buy my ladies something sweet for the new yeaR...sorry i feel like i have looked for a grow journal regarding it but havent been able to find one...thoughts? just curious how it performs in other environments besides the ones they show on the site. thanks, merry christmas to you all!!

 

[FranJan]

If I were you I would have a little patience Fluff. There are few journals just started by people with Lumigrow's latest models that you may want to check out before buying. Plus Area51's latest models should be coming soon.

 

[Senseimilla]

I've used Spectra LED, Blackstar, HydrogrowLED. All good LED except for Spectra, maybe because of first LED grow, but I did use those to close. Other two are great LEDs to veg and flower with. Now I/ve sold my spectras a long time ago, I also sold my blackstars and my hydrogrowled, also 3 different chinese knock offs, blackstar, magnum, apollo 8 on ebay. Because now I use cheap chinese hydrogrowled grow light, Cheaper then 1 dollar per watt Ill take it. IM able to get a whole bunch of these 210 TRUE WATT and 560 TRUE WATT look a like hydrogrowled that grow just as well. Been using those about to finish my first grow with them. Im not going back to high cost LED until the value shows itself. Until then chinese for me. Only one I would like to try is BlackdogLED Platinum XL-U Light 750 True WAtt 5 watt bulbs. But for the price of one of those, is the cost of my 4 chinese LED 560 TRUE WATT. SO take what you want from that, Im stuck on chinese LED for a while.

That's exactly my point... I think people are crazy to go for the high dollar LEDs and I know some people are buying them just based on marketing. I have not seen results that justify going with the expensive brands over the less expensive brands (I include California Lightworks in the less expensive category as they are not that unreasonable for what you get). The only thing you get is a good warranty (assuming they honor it) and *maybe* a better built LED (since most of the expensive ones are built in china too). You don't want to go with the absolute cheapest or lights with no results you can check, but it's crazy to pay 2x-3x the cost of a blackstar or california lightworks for the same wattage/spectrum LEDs. If you're banking from your grows, maybe it doesn't matter to you... for me, I gotta see the results, but money matters. Still have not had one issue with my blackstars.

 

[Perro Negro]

That's exactly my point... I think people are crazy to go for the high dollar LEDs and I know some people are buying them just based on marketing. I have not seen results that justify going with the expensive brands over the less expensive brands (I include California Lightworks in the less expensive category as they are not that unreasonable for what you get). The only thing you get is a good warranty (assuming they honor it) and *maybe* a better built LED (since most of the expensive ones are built in china too). You don't want to go with the absolute cheapest or lights with no results you can check, but it's crazy to pay 2x-3x the cost of a blackstar or california lightworks for the same wattage/spectrum LEDs. If you're banking from your grows, maybe it doesn't matter to you... for me, I gotta see the results, but money matters. Still have not had one issue with my blackstars.

I would be curious as to what you mean by statements like
"I include California Lightworks in the less expensive category as they are not that unreasonable for what you get"
The best way to compare LED grow lights by today's standards is cost/watt. We can discuss spectrum and light/build quality but without testing every light on a Spectroradiometer this is the best way to compare what you are getting for money spent.

If you look at the table on this site which I believe is accurate based on the claims and costs of everyone Black Dog LED is far from the most expensive, we just have more powerful lights and don't claim crazy 400 watt 4' x 4' footprints. We actually cost less per watt than California Light Works for our larger lights. Keep in mind the following site is calculating the cost per watt for CA light works with the florescent wattage, which should cost way less per watt for that tech, so it would be slightly higher than even the $4.06/watt stated.

http://www.compare-led-grow-lights.com

Just curious what makes a light "high dollar" in your opinion. Is it the overall cost of the light or what you are actually paying for in terms of power? Do you have a different way to analyze the cost?

 

[Downinit]

That's exactly my point... I think people are crazy to go for the high dollar LEDs and I know some people are buying them just based on marketing. I have not seen results that justify going with the expensive brands over the less expensive brands (I include California Lightworks in the less expensive category as they are not that unreasonable for what you get). The only thing you get is a good warranty (assuming they honor it) and *maybe* a better built LED (since most of the expensive ones are built in china too). You don't want to go with the absolute cheapest or lights with no results you can check, but it's crazy to pay 2x-3x the cost of a blackstar or california lightworks for the same wattage/spectrum LEDs. If you're banking from your grows, maybe it doesn't matter to you... for me, I gotta see the results, but money matters. Still have not had one issue with my blackstars.

Im using the BS240 also with no issues!! Thinking about adding another!

 

[Downinit]

I would be curious as to what you mean by statements like
"I include California Lightworks in the less expensive category as they are not that unreasonable for what you get"
The best way to compare LED grow lights by today's standards is cost/watt. We can discuss spectrum and light/build quality but without testing every light on a Spectroradiometer this is the best way to compare what you are getting for money spent.

If you look at the table on this site which I believe is accurate based on the claims and costs of everyone Black Dog LED is far from the most expensive, we just have more powerful lights and don't claim crazy 400 watt 4' x 4' footprints. We actually cost less per watt than California Light Works for our larger lights. Keep in mind the following site is calculating the cost per watt for CA light works with the florescent wattage, which should cost way less per watt for that tech, so it would be slightly higher than even the $4.06/watt stated.

http://www.compare-led-grow-lights.com

Just curious what makes a light "high dollar" in your opinion. Is it the overall cost of the light or what you are actually paying for in terms of power? Do you have a different way to analyze the cost?

Here we go again.... Trying to sell lights on RIU... IMO and its just MO, but if a light cost more than $300... IT'S EXPENSIVE... Just my 2 cents

 

[Perro Negro]

Here we go again.... Trying to sell lights on RIU... IMO and its just MO, but if a light cost more than $300... IT'S EXPENSIVE... Just my 2 cents

No, not trying to sell lights. If we depended on people from this forum for light sales we would not be in business for almost 4 years. I DO respect the people on this forum and their opinions. Used to read all the time as a grower. Now, I am looking for insight and opinions because of all the knowledge in these forums. I did not try to convince anyone to try our lights. I this case I was curious as to how he was coming to this conclusion.

Thank you for your opinion on the cost of lights. I can tell you from my own personal experience that a light for <$300 will not be a good one, IMHO. The 1,000W HID lights/ballasts cost more than that so I am not sure how anyone would expect to pay less than that for new technology. Of course if you are working with a 2' x 2' footprint that would be a different story. Not that there is anything wrong with growing a 2' x 2' footprint. We can't all live in Colorado (prop 64!)

 

[Senseimilla]

Good catch... I actually meant to go back and edit it to say the light on their grower program. It's not that inexpensive for the normal light prices. Their grower feedback program pricing is what is a bit lower

I don't have anything against the more expensive ones, and if money were not an issue to where I wouldn't feel the difference in price, I'd probably go with one of the more expensive ones. I just don't see a lot of difference on the results side to justify the price differences -- then again apparently my blackstars are better than previous versions from what I hear. I may just be lucky

 

[Perro Negro]

Good catch... I actually meant to go back and edit it to say the light on their grower program. It's not that inexpensive for the normal light prices. Their grower feedback program pricing is what is a bit lower

I don't have anything against the more expensive ones, and if money were not an issue to where I wouldn't feel the difference in price, I'd probably go with one of the more expensive ones. I just don't see a lot of difference on the results side to justify the price differences -- then again apparently my blackstars are better than previous versions from what I hear. I may just be lucky

I doubt you are lucky. I am guessing you are a good grower. People often loose sight of the fact that lights are only part of the equation. Nutrients, temps, growing medium, and a myriad of other factors play an arguably larger role. One thing that would be tough to argue; an LED can (I say CAN, not always the case) have a better spectrum than traditional HID lighting. We just have way more ability to build the perfect spectrum. This can help make a good grower be better. People are constantly blown away by how much healthier their plants are after putting up LED, both in terms of looks and end results.

A good example of this is we had a professional grower doing a head-to-head against HID. Same genetics, same nutrients, etc. He got them independently lab tested for THC. The HID came back at something like 18% and the LED came back at 21 or 22%. I am waiting for him to send us the formal lab results, but it is proving what we always had a strong feeling about. Cool stuff in my opinion.

 

[Senseimilla]

Nice. I also believe a lot of people who fail on LEDs just need to adjust their techniques. I know there are a few things I thought were LED related that I now believe are more on me than the light. The environment the plants are in is a huge factor in how it reacts. I've decided a lot of the leaf yellowing, mg-ca issues were as much environmental as light related (ie, I tend to see mg-ca type deficiencies more often under the LEDs, but it's because the environment for them isn't optimal (usually too much heat/not enough fresh air or overwatering are the classics)). Pretty sure it's the same for others.

I would not be surprised on the HID comparison. My highest yielding grow to date has been under LEDs. Going to HPS + LED was actually a step back, but once again a lot of that is just dialing in the environment. I have gone back to LED adding HPS just added extra issues to deal with I am gonna add more fluorescents in as supplemental lighting/UVB sources to my LEDs for both flower and veg they help control the stretch and the extra lumens definitely helps when they plump up as well. They don't add a ton of heat like the HPS did.

 

[Perro Negro]

I would not be surprised on the HID comparison. My highest yielding grow to date has been under LEDs. Going to HPS + LED was actually a step back, but once again a lot of that is just dialing in the environment. I have gone back to LED adding HPS just added extra issues to deal with I am gonna add more fluorescents in as supplemental lighting/UVB sources to my LEDs for both flower and veg they help control the stretch and the extra lumens definitely helps when they plump up as well. They don't add a ton of heat like the HPS did.

Have you ever considered testing the final product with a lab? The one we just got the news about was the first. The funny thing is we are just about to have a lab test some samples from a customer which is blind since we don't know which is which and the customer won't tell us which is which until we have the final results from the lab. He has been replacing 1000's with LEDs and we got samples from one of his last runs.

He does have an interesting style to keep plant counts down. He goes one plant per 1000w or now 1 plant per large Platinum, can't to see how the labs turn out. A couple pics of his setup:

 

[Downinit]

No, not trying to sell lights. If we depended on people from this forum for light sales we would not be in business for almost 4 years. I DO respect the people on this forum and their opinions. Used to read all the time as a grower. Now, I am looking for insight and opinions because of all the knowledge in these forums. I did not try to convince anyone to try our lights. I this case I was curious as to how he was coming to this conclusion.

Thank you for your opinion on the cost of lights. I can tell you from my own personal experience that a light for <$300 will not be a good one, IMHO. The 1,000W HID lights/ballasts cost more than that so I am not sure how anyone would expect to pay less than that for new technology. Of course if you are working with a 2' x 2' footprint that would be a different story. Not that there is anything wrong with growing a 2' x 2' footprint. We can't all live in Colorado (prop 64!)

$300 is a bit low huh? I should have said i bought my BS240 used. I grownas a hobby and I can't justify spending big bucks on NEW Led's. Agin I'm just experimenting for fun trying for quality more so than quantiy! I also grow in a small 3x2 grow area and things have been really good with the used BS. I'm in no way insinuating you guys don't build quality lights I'm sure they are great!! I'm just cheap

 

[Perro Negro]

$300 is a bit low huh? I should have said i bought my BS240 used. I grownas a hobby and I can't justify spending big bucks on NEW Led's. Agin I'm just experimenting for fun trying for quality more so than quantiy! I also grow in a small 3x2 grow area and things have been really good with the used BS. I'm in no way insinuating you guys don't build quality lights I'm sure they are great!! I'm just cheap

I like to think of it as frugal, not cheap. Yeah, that is a good deal and in your case it sounds like the perfect fit. LED definitely produces better quality, which was anecdotal and as the lab reports are starting to come back it is becoming proven.

And BTW, I did not think you were bashing our lights in any way, just talking about the cost of LEDs, which we all wish was lower