480 or 600w bar led for a 4'x4'?

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MedicinalMyA$$

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
I'm a bit confused on the value proposition of medium to high-end lights versus the cheap crap I now pick up on Amazon.

Start off with I have a 4 of 90s/180 enjoyield dual bar lights that I got for 90 bucks a pop. That was 50 cents a watt and totally filled a 4x4 tent. If any of them died I would have been okay but not happy. I spread the risk between four lights but not between multiple vendors.

Then I started playing with these

SZHLUX Grow Light 2FT 80W (2×40W) Full Spectrum LED Grow Light, Linkable Sunlight Plant Light for Indoor Plants, Grow Light Strip, Grow Lamp with On/Off Switch - 2 Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08JLLT777/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_TZWGB9ER650B00YHBWWS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


Ass kicking crap. I'm sure one or two will die soon enough. But I don't care. They're $14 a piece for 37 w. And yes, I tested the watts.

I did not use any type of light meter. If they are 10 to 20% less efficient then any competitor I still don't care for the price and replaceability. Electricity to run 600 watts for 18 hours a day for a month is about two bucks max. Who cares if you lose half of that or all of that. Efficiency for small grows is meaningless.

If you have a dark corner add a light. It cost $14 and another $0.30 to run for the month.

As far as popcorn at lower levels? I'm talking personal grow here, 4x4. That's easily 1.5lb of dense buds at the top level if it is well cared for. I don't give a s*** about the bottom levels. That's way more pot than I'll ever smoke.

I can hang individual lights over individual plants. We are talking a 4x4 that is not a big problem to manage and adjust and get the most exposure based on a given bar.

These lights would suck for a large-scale grow. But I think for a small tent such as a 4x4 this style of lighting is best. Buy the cheapest crap you can get and make it easily replaceable with more cheap crap. You will win in the long run.
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At a realistic 12c per kWh, a light drawing 600W for 18 hours a day for 30 days will cost $38.88, if you use a light that only draws 500W but provides the same PPF as the 600W, it will cost $32.40. That's $6.48 saved over 30 days, or about $78 a year.
If you are considering lights that vary in price considerably, say the less efficient 600w light cost $400 less than the more efficient 500W, the ROI would be 5 years before you start actually saving money in electric costs, and by that time the diodes would have lost a little brightness too.

On the other hand, replacing a less efficient 600W system with a more efficienct 600W system would provide more light and enable you to cover a larger area i.e. an appropriately larger tent. You could keep your electrical use the same but upgrade from a 4x4 tent to a 4.5x4.5 tent for example, a gain of about 4 square feet. The ROI in this case would be far more positive.

Also If you are limited by what you can plug in at the wall then forking out for more efficient gear lets you maximize that limitation.
 
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Indoorgasgrower420

New Member
Noodles42 said:
Hi everybody.
I just got a 4x4 tent and was wondering if a 480w led is enough for it or do I need more power like a 600?

I don't want to spend the money on a 600w if I'm only going to ever run it @ 80% but I don't want to get a 480w and find out I should have gotten a more powerful light.

Can someone help and maybe give me some ideas of what light would be a good fit?
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Bigger is better just turn down the lights or raise
 
Lenin1917

Lenin1917

Well-Known Member
testtime said:
And still nothing. I sent you a personal message to try not to call you out. But your moronic post still has no basis.
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Quality control, ease of warranty use, ease of use in general. Ain’t saying you can’t or even shouldn’t use cheap lights, par is par and spectrum is spectrum. But you’ll be dealing with a bunch of cables especially running multiple cheap light’s without daisychaining capabilities. Personally I’d rather spend 5-700 on something midrange and easy to use that’ll last a few years. Ain’t like the thing won’t pay for itself several times over in one decent harvest
 
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