Best e27 Grow LED on the market?

Hello all, I'm a veteran grower who has been out of the game for a couple years now. Before moving from N.Y. to Colorado I sold off all of my grow equipment and now it's time to get started again.

I'm looking to switch to LED and have been trying to absorb all the latest info to make an informed decision. Seems the DIY COB crowd is producing the best results grams per watt and I'm likely to head in that direction.

I see a large variety of e27 style grow bulbs available and wonder if any of them have a place in the grow? Obviously covering outside corners with them won't hurt anything but how much will they help and which would be best choice for that purpose? Would using them to veg be a terrible idea? Finally would 25 actual watts per foot still remain the rule of thumb using this type of LED?

I would always prefer EB strips over any LED bulb. They are also cheap, handy, and easy to mount. 25-35w/sqft is a proper number for flowering.

So if you prefer COBs over QB or strips (which seems to be even more efficient than single light sources), you could make a vertical addon with eb strips. It‘s also a great veg light.

Make sure, if you run LEDs, that your enviroment temperature needs to be higher, than you may be used to. 78-86F worked best for me.

I just mentioned EB strips, because they are really cheap, but there are also samsung (same as QB) strips, which are more efficient.

E27 bulbs and sockets can be bought in any hardware store though, that would be their advantage i guess and it's the easiest build imaginable. Plus they work just fine. Can't really imagine a major grow with them but for a micro box... great stuff.
I actually measured their lux output (4×13w/1500lumen bulbs) with the globes taken off and at 10cm it was equal to a 400w MH at 40cm.
That said, those strips provide way more light per watt and a broader range on colour options..

Regular 3000k 14-16 (100 watt equiv) watt bulbs from walmart can produce in the .55 to .75 gram per watt range pretty easily. By 2017 standards that is pretty sub par but it does work.

Thanks all. I spent last night reading up on the strips in the
Bridgelux EB Series Build thread. Seems it would be a cheaper build but I'm still lost in the choices. I have two 4.75'x2.25' spaces and a 5.75' x 2.25' space all seven feet tall. I'm considering flowering two girls in each space. I have additional rooms and space I can use for vegging and propagating.

Seems from what I have read building two 350 watt and one 400 watt fixture would take care of the three flowering spaces. Does anyone have a parts and plan for these size builds they can point me too? Maybe someone who would just enjoy playing light designer? Lol. In all honesty large portions of LED tech talk still sounds like gibberish to me, like asking the doctor to repeat himself in layman's terms.

Look in the eb thread page 68 (i think....), there is a picture, showing you a proper wiring (series/parallel).

Do you want your light NOW? Because if you wait one more month, gen2 will be out. Gen1 is running at 22v, gen2 at 19v. Thats why I am askig before I make suggestions. Price is nearlly the same atm, but maybe gen1 will drop, when gen2 will be released.

The most important factor is, how many strips do you want? My personal opinion is, set a budget, get a driver, and for the rest, get as many strips as possible. If you run them at nominal current, they also don‘t need a heatsink, just some easy frame! https://www.rollitup.org/t/growing-in-a-wardrobe.952498/#post-13878109

And read this thread, for example, it contains good infos for spacing the strips.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/bridgelux-eb-series-on-a-2-x-4-scrog.943414/

Serva said:

And read this thread, for example, it contains good infos for spacing the strips.

https://www.rollitup.org/t/bridgelux-eb-series-on-a-2-x-4-scrog.943414/

Click to expand...

Thank you Sir.

Serva said:

I would always prefer EB strips over any LED bulb. They are also cheap, handy, and easy to mount. 25-35w/sqft is a proper number for flowering.

So if you prefer COBs over QB or strips (which seems to be even more efficient than single light sources), you could make a vertical addon with eb strips. It‘s also a great veg light.

Make sure, if you run LEDs, that your enviroment temperature needs to be higher, than you may be used to. 78-86F worked best for me.

I just mentioned EB strips, because they are really cheap, but there are also samsung (same as QB) strips, which are more efficient.

Click to expand...

Are these the Samsung strips I'm looking for?

?

Serva said:

?

Click to expand...

Sorry meant to post link but not enough forum credit yet.
Found these on Alibaba with a minimum order of 10 for $5.85 each.

Ultra Bright Samsung LM561C S6 3000K 5000K 12v dc flexible strip led grow light for indoor garden

Uhhh, i dont know. From alibaba you never know what you get. I prefer bridgelux over alibaba just because of quality, and gen2 are pretty good, so why play the game? Especially when you are low on budget.

If I got you wrong, and you are only looking for the correct ones, than search for samsung f-series, or h-series (digikey, arrow, search engine: octopart)

NoTillPhil said:

Sorry meant to post link but not enough forum credit yet.
Found these on Alibaba with a minimum order of 10 for $5.85 each.

Ultra Bright Samsung LM561C S6 3000K 5000K 12v dc flexible strip led grow light for indoor garden

Click to expand...

Why not the quantum boards? Min order of 10, ~$25 each. The 304, waaay better than the strips.

I noticed these claim 200/lm per watt. That is what got my attention and the price seems fair enough. I am totally new to LED and ran the same mh and hps systems for almost two decades. You'll have to forgive me for my ignorance on the subject. Seems my choices are many when it comes to BYO and I dont have too much money to throw around. I don't exactly need the cheapest but I would like to get a decent bang for my buck.

On that note I have some old 4 bulb 4' fluorescent fixtures that may work out well in a strip build. I also like the even spread of light they offer.

Like I said, if it‘s not about time, just wait one more month, read more, and get bridgelux eb gen2. The claims on alibaba are not real. But indeed, samsung diods are more efficient than bridgelux, like 10-20lm/w. But cost twice as much.


But this is a really awesome kit, cheaper than some diy builds!
https://growerslights.com/collections/1000-watt-replacement/products/horticulture-lighting-group-600h-quantum-board-led-kit?variant=42943942538

I like the strips, because I can customize, but when the size of the panel would fit you, this could be an excellent choice