Doubt about LED W and space.

Tetrahidrocannabinol

Tetrahidrocannabinol

Member
Hello there,
I want to switch to led lighting, but I have a couple of doubts i’d like if you guys can help me to solve.

First of all, is that i have an indoor growing space of 120x120x200 mts (tent), with a 600 watts dual light that I want to change, mainly for electric bills and also safety issues. I have seen there are 800w and even 1200w led cob lights. Can I use 800w or 1200w cob led lights in this same space or I will just be losing some energy? Should I try to buy a 600w led? Will the plants grow somehow healthier or bigger by using more watts in the same space or I will be just losing those extra watts?

Secondly, I have had some problems with the ballasts and in almost a couple of times I think I was lucky I didn’t have a fire in my place. That’s other reason to change to leds. Are they less dangerous regarding this issue?

And my last doubt: in my country there aren’t HQ leds, most of them are generic leds made in China. As far as I have read, all recommendations point that you need HQ Leds in order for this to work. Any suggestions?

Any tip or suggestion is welcome, and thanks guys :)
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
If 600W is too high on your power bill using 800W or 1200W of led is really gonna hurt.
What kind of low end ballasts are you using that are fire hazards?
All electronics can be a fire hazard if your trying to run low end equipment :peace:
 
Tetrahidrocannabinol

Tetrahidrocannabinol

Member
OneHitDone said:
If 600W is too high on your power bill using 800W or 1200W of led is really gonna hurt.
What kind of low end ballasts are you using that are fire hazards?
All electronics can be a fire hazard if your trying to run low end equipment :peace:
Click to expand...
No no, they say 800 w, but the real electricity consumption is of 200 w.
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
dandyrandy

dandyrandy

Well-Known Member
I used to use blurples. They work. Not the best I've found but if you like them great! I ran them for a couple years until I ended up here. Lots of failures and heat issues in my 4 x 4. Now 5 years of use on my present setup no failures and no heat issues. A small footprint light with the light sources close together generally means more distance needed to cover the area somewhat evenly in light. That way the edges get covered and less larf is produced. I like around 14" distance from light source to light source to get better distribution. Unless using smaller diodes like strips or other designs. But for cobs I like a 12" to 14" spacing and around 18" to 24" distance to canopy with around 50 watts per sq ft. I seem to get the best penetration. But the more cobs the better. But cost goes up. 16 3590's in an area 45" x 45" works for me. ~650watts at the wall. I have 4 "zones" of 4 cobs on one driver. That way I can vary the wattage as well as the distance to vary the intensity. ymmv
 
Tetrahidrocannabinol

Tetrahidrocannabinol

Member
dandyrandy said:
I used to use blurples. They work. Not the best I've found but if you like them great! I ran them for a couple years until I ended up here. Lots of failures and heat issues in my 4 x 4. Now 5 years of use on my present setup no failures and no heat issues. A small footprint light with the light sources close together generally means more distance needed to cover the area somewhat evenly in light. That way the edges get covered and less larf is produced. I like around 14" distance from light source to light source to get better distribution. Unless using smaller diodes like strips or other designs. But for cobs I like a 12" to 14" spacing and around 18" to 24" distance to canopy with around 50 watts per sq ft. I seem to get the best penetration. But the more cobs the better. But cost goes up. 16 3590's in an area 45" x 45" works for me. ~650watts at the wall. I have 4 "zones" of 4 cobs on one driver. That way I can vary the wattage as well as the distance to vary the intensity. ymmv
Click to expand...
So maybe could be better to buy three of equivalent 200 watts and ”spacing them”?
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
dandyrandy

dandyrandy

Well-Known Member
Tetrahidrocannabinol said:
So maybe could be better to buy three of equivalent 200 watts and ”spacing them”?
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Yes depending on area. I ran 4 180 watt actual draw in a 4x4 area which worked quite well. ~20" from canopy. I did have uv diode failures and one driver failure in approximately the two years of use until I went to diy. They were relatively cheap back in 2012 compared to buying smoke. I also bought one of the lights you posted a picture of but it was white in color not led color. I found the heat in my stealth area hard to control with the small amount of air flow I use. Approximately 100cfm. 4" blower. I need quiet for total stealth in my state. Now I use a coolhood design that cools the fins on my cobs by pulling air over them. Silence is golden for me.
 
whytewidow

whytewidow

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
I would honestly say don't buy anything that only lists "equivalent watts"
Watts from the wall is all you want to know.

Have seen some giving praise to these as "good for cheap" but may need more info

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQTDYK2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2DFI8RPP7OFTH&psc=1
Click to expand...
I wouldnt buy that. If people insist on blurples of any kind. The exiled 5w chips is what you want. Not the 3w chips. Although I would not buy Amy of them. Just my personal opinion. But if I absolutely had too. Id make sure it had 5w chips.
 
Tetrahidrocannabinol

Tetrahidrocannabinol

Member
OneHitDone said:
I would honestly say don't buy anything that only lists "equivalent watts"
Watts from the wall is all you want to know.

Have seen some giving praise to these as "good for cheap" but may need more info

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQTDYK2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A2DFI8RPP7OFTH&psc=1
Click to expand...
What do you mean by “watts from the wall”? I’m sorry but i dont know that concept.

I have seen some vendors that offer certified cob leds that use 200w but they have the same efficiency as a 600w hps.
 
nederwierie

nederwierie

Active Member
Blurple lights are Vintage in this time 2019 .
We use modern Cobleds , Quantumboards , and Ledstrips with the LM301B or a little older the LM561C chips.
Have a look in the Quantumboards topics to see how they work.

With 200 Watts @ the wall it means what the driver and led take from the AC side.
For now itś impossible to use only 200 Watts from wall and have a performance of an 600 W HPS ,
thats more like 300 Watt modern Cob/Quantum or Ledstrip.

Check out the Quantums and study them , this is what you´re looking for , stay away form the Vintage Burple lights .
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
20190505_161319s.jpg 960W running my whole room

I'm going to keep on repeating this, COBs are not safe to use in flammable tents. The light beam close to the COB is so intense it sets things on fire.

For a 4x4 like yours, I'd at a minimum use 480W, preferably 600 or 640 if you go for 2x320W drivers. (the 600 is more efficient and can dim to 0%)
 
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Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
View attachment 4328427 960W running my whole room

I'm going to keep on repeating this, COBs are not safe to use in flammable tents. The light beam close to the COB is so intense it sets things on fire.

For a 4x4 like yours, I'd at a minimum use 480W, preferably 600 or 640 if you go for 2x320W drivers. (the 600 is more efficient and can dim to 0%)
Click to expand...
That's a bit of a stretch.... A cob at maybe 100+watts MIGHT be dangerous but I still just don't see that happening.
 
whytewidow

whytewidow

Well-Known Member
660w of lm561c diodes replaces 1khps SE all day. And the efficiency difference between 561c and 301b is so minimal the price difference unless you get a deal on the 301bs its null n void to the plants.
 
whytewidow

whytewidow

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
View attachment 4328427 960W running my whole room

I'm going to keep on repeating this, COBs are not safe to use in flammable tents. The light beam close to the COB is so intense it sets things on fire.

For a 4x4 like yours, I'd at a minimum use 480W, preferably 600 or 640 if you go for 2x320W drivers. (the 600 is more efficient and can dim to 0%)
Click to expand...

I prefer to use strips and QBs in tents. Cobs in an open room. Cobs arent unsafe but do run very hot. And it makes me uncomfortable to run any cob at full tilt in a closed area. I have two older cxa3050s ina tent but on active sinks and only running at roughly 32% of the total output it can handle. It can push almost 100w at full blast I run them at 32.5w each. On active sinks they stay very cool.
 
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