Does lumen count important with LEDs?

ganjafather27

ganjafather27

Well-Known Member
Hi there, I'm interested in switching to leds from hid.

So I'm looking for a panel that can replace my 600w hid, in a 4x4 tent.

Money IS definitely a factor here, so please leave out comments about your 2000$ cob setup, because that's not realistic for me.

I see this Mars hydro 192 reflector https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XBYHORY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480438020&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Marshydro&dpPl=1&dpID=61QwxMY9WqL&ref=plSrch#productDescription_secondary_view_div_148043857030 and it says it's covers a 3.5x3.5 area. But upon reviewing the specs, it only produces 22k lumens whereas my hps is like 80k. I also saw the 144 panels that produce 16k light, I figure 2 of them for a 4x4 area is 32k but still well under my hids.

Ive always been told lumens are what you should judge your light by, because that's what matters with grow lights. So my question is, can these Mars panels on Amazon compete with my 600w even though they have a quarter of the lumens?

Again, money is an issue, so if I can replace it for under 500$ then I won't, but if those Mars led panels can grow some dank, I want to switch .

Thoughts?
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Lumens will be low on blue/red dominant led panels that give off a magenta or purple-ish hue, like the Mars panels. But like the guy above me said, PAR values are more important to plants.

Looking at lumens is useful when comparing white light though. Because in general, white light (w/ no mono colored leds supplemented) with more lumens will also have higher PAR values.

And it will be tough to find good led replacement for a 600w HPS for $500 or less.
 
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J

JDMase

Well-Known Member
ganjafather27 said:
Hi there, I'm interested in switching to leds from hid.

So I'm looking for a panel that can replace my 600w hid, in a 4x4 tent.

Money IS definitely a factor here, so please leave out comments about your 2000$ cob setup, because that's not realistic for me.

I see this Mars hydro 192 reflector https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XBYHORY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480438020&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Marshydro&dpPl=1&dpID=61QwxMY9WqL&ref=plSrch#productDescription_secondary_view_div_148043857030 and it says it's covers a 3.5x3.5 area. But upon reviewing the specs, it only produces 22k lumens whereas my hps is like 80k. I also saw the 144 panels that produce 16k light, I figure 2 of them for a 4x4 area is 32k but still well under my hids.

Ive always been told lumens are what you should judge your light by, because that's what matters with grow lights. So my question is, can these Mars panels on Amazon compete with my 600w even though they have a quarter of the lumens?

Again, money is an issue, so if I can replace it for under 500$ then I won't, but if those Mars led panels can grow some dank, I want to switch .

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Don't get that Mars hydro light. I used it and it sucked for the most part. Id only use that as a seedling or a clone light.. Saying that if you're already a decent grower you may get results. But in flower it just wasn't up to it.

As the saying goes, buy right or buy twice.

I went 600w HPS and look forward to a DIY cob once I figure out what components to get.


And also, I wouldn't take Mars hydros "replaces" figures. I think they're abit exaggerated. If money is an issue why don't you buy a HPS/MH. As ive found you'll need the fan anyway for odour control and the costs of those are pretty cheap?
 
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Banana444

Banana444

Well-Known Member
SirBlunticus said:
A diy kit from Rapid LED.
You can select the color temp (cct).
http://www.rapidled.com/
http://www.rapidled.com/cree-cxb3590-triple-cob-array-kit/
Click to expand...
The heatsink they have with those kits sucks, i ordered the vero kitto check it out since the price is right at 220$ or about 1$/watt. Driver is dimmable which helps, but on full blast that heatsink gets hot AF. I just ordered a slab of aluminium to move the cobs onto and gonna use the rapid heatsink case for some monos. Also the light hanging kit it comes with sucks, but they got a good price on drivers and cxbs right now.
 
S

SirBlunticus

Member
Banana444 said:
The heatsink they have with those kits sucks, i ordered the vero kitto check it out since the price is right at 220$ or about 1$/watt. Driver is dimmable which helps, but on full blast that heatsink gets hot AF. I just ordered a slab of aluminium to move the cobs onto and gonna use the rapid heatsink case for some monos. Also the light hanging kit it comes with sucks, but they got a good price on drivers and cxbs right now.
Click to expand...
I got it for 250. There was a sale and I took advantage.
The kit looked easy enough to do, but now I'm worried about the heatsink :(
 
S

SirBlunticus

Member
ganjafather27 said:
Hi there, I'm interested in switching to leds from hid.

So I'm looking for a panel that can replace my 600w hid, in a 4x4 tent.

Money IS definitely a factor here, so please leave out comments about your 2000$ cob setup, because that's not realistic for me.

I see this Mars hydro 192 reflector https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XBYHORY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480438020&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Marshydro&dpPl=1&dpID=61QwxMY9WqL&ref=plSrch#productDescription_secondary_view_div_148043857030 and it says it's covers a 3.5x3.5 area. But upon reviewing the specs, it only produces 22k lumens whereas my hps is like 80k. I also saw the 144 panels that produce 16k light, I figure 2 of them for a 4x4 area is 32k but still well under my hids.

Ive always been told lumens are what you should judge your light by, because that's what matters with grow lights. So my question is, can these Mars panels on Amazon compete with my 600w even though they have a quarter of the lumens?

Again, money is an issue, so if I can replace it for under 500$ then I won't, but if those Mars led panels can grow some dank, I want to switch .

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
2700k for flowering
3500k+ veg
 
DrBlaze

DrBlaze

Well-Known Member
ganjafather27 said:
so if I can replace it for under 500$
Click to expand...
A year ago this would have been impossible with cobs, but costs have come down dramatically. There are several ways you could replace a 600w hps, depending on how much diy you'd be comfortable with. If the answer to that is "as little as possible", then the CLU058-1825 Active Light Engine would be a great choice:

https://cobkits.com/product/clu058-1825-light-engine-single/

Your hps setup is prob only about 35% efficient, so 400+ watts of 50%+ eff. led lighting would do the trick. Depending on your choice of driver the light engines could be run very efficiently from 100w-150w+ (or more, where it starts to become a 1000w replacement)

The engines are already mounted to a heatsink with fan and reflector, you just have to make a frame to hold the four of them, and then wire in the drivers (not very difficult). The drivers are dimmable as well, so going slightly larger on the drivers might be a good investment in the long run, if you ever need the light for a larger space (these are top of the line components that can last for many, many years)

4x 1825 light engines....$320
driver cost.....................$90-200
 
Banana444

Banana444

Well-Known Member
SirBlunticus said:
I got it for 250. There was a sale and I took advantage.
The kit looked easy enough to do, but now I'm worried about the heatsink :(
Click to expand...
Dont worry too much, i am happy with the light, it works, the kit is a good way to get started doing diy leds, and down the road you could buy a different heatsink like i am doing, also i mounted the driver to the light which also account for some of the heat. Oh yea the fan kind of sucks they use to cool this light too, but i got a circulation fan pointed right at it and that reduces the heat alot.
 
BuddyColas

BuddyColas

Well-Known Member
ganjafather27 said:
Hi there, I'm interested in switching to leds from hid.

So I'm looking for a panel that can replace my 600w hid, in a 4x4 tent.

Money IS definitely a factor here, so please leave out comments about your 2000$ cob setup, because that's not realistic for me.

I see this Mars hydro 192 reflector https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00XBYHORY/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1480438020&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Marshydro&dpPl=1&dpID=61QwxMY9WqL&ref=plSrch#productDescription_secondary_view_div_148043857030 and it says it's covers a 3.5x3.5 area. But upon reviewing the specs, it only produces 22k lumens whereas my hps is like 80k. I also saw the 144 panels that produce 16k light, I figure 2 of them for a 4x4 area is 32k but still well under my hids.

Ive always been told lumens are what you should judge your light by, because that's what matters with grow lights. So my question is, can these Mars panels on Amazon compete with my 600w even though they have a quarter of the lumens?

Again, money is an issue, so if I can replace it for under 500$ then I won't, but if those Mars led panels can grow some dank, I want to switch .

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Actually lumens are not a bad way to evaluate a light, as long as they are WARM COB lumens! I mean 3000-3500K/80cri. You can check this out, but 5000 lumens per square foot of warm cob light equals about 750-800ish ppfd. Check it out, do the math, let me know how you see it, but I have built for 5000 lumens of warm cob light per square foot and had great results!
 
Ann Lakins

Ann Lakins

Member
BuddyColas said:
Actually lumens are not a bad way to evaluate a light, as long as they are WARM COB lumens! I mean 3000-3500K/80cri. You can check this out, but 5000 lumens per square foot of warm cob light equals about 750-800ish ppfd. Check it out, do the math, let me know how you see it, but I have built for 5000 lumens of warm cob light per square foot and had great results!
Click to expand...
It's great!
 
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