IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

I ordered my a51 lights about three weeks ago. They still have not even shipped yet. Does Area 51 always take this long to ship their product? Originally they said the wait time would be untill about March 14th. After that I emailed them and they said they would ship out orders between the 15th and the 20th and then send me an email with tracking info. Here we are on the 20th and still nothing. Just wondering if that's how they always are.

Iamlegend2121 said:

I ordered my a51 lights about three weeks ago. They still have not even shipped yet. Does Area 51 always take this long to ship their product? Originally they said the wait time would be untill about March 14th. After that I emailed them and they said they would ship out orders between the 15th and the 20th and then send me an email with tracking info. Here we are on the 20th and still nothing. Just wondering if that's how they always are.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've heard of instances in delayed shipments .............their phasing out the current line up for new fixtures, so it's probably hectic.

You'll eventually get them, just a little patience grower.

be safe

Iamlegend2121 said:

I ordered my a51 lights about three weeks ago. They still have not even shipped yet. Does Area 51 always take this long to ship their product? Originally they said the wait time would be untill about March 14th. After that I emailed them and they said they would ship out orders between the 15th and the 20th and then send me an email with tracking info. Here we are on the 20th and still nothing. Just wondering if that's how they always are.

Click to expand...

they will b worth the wait!

JimmyIndica said:

Hey can u let me know what temp rise from those are. What type setup? tent ? open space?. Thanks man I b following ya with this!

Click to expand...

Ya for sure, i had them plugged in for an hour or so and they ran cooler in that time than my CFL's. Pro mix bx medium in a LxWxH 1.5' x 2.5 x 4.5 sealed box with good negative pressure

DAY 44. 2 weeks left. ripen and flush ! Buds are. very dense and oil production off the charts. Gummy Bears is a Lemon skunk pheno. I have a sativa dom strawberry banana and another that is indica dom. The honey bananas looks to be 50/50 and smells like sweet bananas! the yield from the honey bananas would tempt me to run again despite the herm problems, but I don't think so! yield should be around 500 g for 740 watts when its done plus or minus little! Not bad for 1st run. I should get close to 600g on next run!

LED + CoCo = Candied buds! There isn't too many times in this business that you surpass expectations, But this growstyle went beyond what I expected! Lollipopin/defoliating should be common practice! How long are we away from LED in a commercial environment? Its just $ holdin back?

Am UK based here, there are't any good suppliers of LED grow lights here.
I'm in the market to purchase a new LED grow light, which means I will have to either import
from china or the US.

I've been talking with Mars Hydro and was almost considering there current Sun Series light,
but give or take a month that current Sun Series model will be discontuined for a new slightly
curved body versions. Which I will consider once released.

I've also be seriously considering the XTE Series via Advanced LED lights, but for some reason I
feel the prices of each model seem over priced for what they are. Basically I would go for either
the DS XTE 200 or 300 models and with shipping back to the UK is comes to a shocking total price.

Can anyone recommend me other options regarding lights I can get shipped back into the UK.
Ideally am keen to get cree chips, but I know no that many lights using them yet.

Grownorthern.com
Bonsaihero.com

gingerb said:

Am UK based here, there are't any good suppliers of LED grow lights here.
I'm in the market to purchase a new LED grow light, which means I will have to either import
from china or the US.

I've been talking with Mars Hydro and was almost considering there current Sun Series light,
but give or take a month that current Sun Series model will be discontuined for a new slightly
curved body versions. Which I will consider once released.

I've also be seriously considering the XTE Series via Advanced LED lights, but for some reason I
feel the prices of each model seem over priced for what they are. Basically I would go for either
the DS XTE 200 or 300 models and with shipping back to the UK is comes to a shocking total price.

Can anyone recommend me other options regarding lights I can get shipped back into the UK.
Ideally am keen to get cree chips, but I know no that many lights using them yet.

Click to expand...

The eu boutique series.....Lol

Plant photonics
Valoya
Heliospectra
Fiona

nogod_ said:

Grownorthern.com
Bonsaihero.com

Click to expand...

Hans Panel looks interesting from Bonsaihero.
Those 90w Grownorthern LED's I've heard have had some problems with the cooling.

I like to supplement my XGS190 with some warm light leds off the shelf, but I'm tired of dealing with the stripped off bulb covers of the Crees from Home Depot. Can anyone recommend any soft white spotlight LEDs for supplemental side coverage?

Bluefish76 said:

I like to supplement my XGS190 with some warm light leds off the shelf, but I'm tired of dealing with the stripped off bulb covers of the Crees from Home Depot. Can anyone recommend any soft white spotlight LEDs for supplemental side coverage?

Click to expand...

@az2000 uses the cree flood/spot? bulbs from HD in his setup with good results

Bluefish76 said:

I like to supplement my XGS190 with some warm light leds off the shelf, but I'm tired of dealing with the stripped off bulb covers of the Crees from Home Depot. Can anyone recommend any soft white spotlight LEDs for supplemental side coverage?

Click to expand...

PSUAGRO. said:

@az2000 uses the cree flood/spot? bulbs from HD in his setup with good results

Click to expand...

The PAR38 might be a little too focused for side lighting. I think SMD5730 strips mounted on thin sheets of aluminum (make your own "panels") would be ideal because the diodes would be pointed where they're intended. Low voltage. 10% better lumens/watts than the XBDs used in the Cree "lightbulbs." (Not sure what's used in the PAR38. Could be XTE.).

The could also be mounted to 4" diameter PVC pipe to create an "omni" light that could be inserted amongst plants. Use PVC bushings/adapters to step it down to a 1" pipe for easier handling.

Its not really true side lighting- I use 2 reflectors on each side of the panel pointed at a roughly 60-75° down-angle starting in mid-flower. I want to mimic the autumn sun light as much as possible.

Also, I was thinking more the PAR30 since its warm white light. The PAR38 is cool white.

Bluefish76 said:

Also, I was thinking more the PAR30 since its warm white light. The PAR38 is cool white.

Click to expand...

The Cree PAR38 sold at Home Depot is 3000k. That's pretty warm. You'd have to choose between spot or flood. Spot seems to be optimal coverage/intensity around 16-20" distance. Flood is more like 8-12".

I'm not familiar with the PAR30 you mentioned. Maybe you mean 9.5w BR30. I've got some and I don't care for them much. I would use the 9.5w "lightbulb" in a reflector before I used it. That seems more intense. I think the BR30 is only good for the tightest spaces. Kind of expensive for what it is.

I wanna try the par38 spot 3000k at 16inches, but I just aint got the time or room to do it. I mean like 4 of em!

JimmyIndica said:

I wanna try the par38 spot 3000k at 16inches, but I just aint got the time or room to do it. I mean like 4 of em!

Click to expand...

I know how you feel. I want to try SMD5730 strips. I think they'd be better because they all face the same direction. It's not a reflector design trying to recreate a legacy design. Also low voltage which is safer.

But, I'm producing too much weed in pursuit of these ideas. I have to cut back or start looking at making hash.

I have been thinkin for the last month-wanting to build poor mans spyder/illumitex with the f3 , but I am in the doghouse with the ol'lady most the time as is! If I go getting into the diy. So prebuilt panels are the only option for me! Plus the stuff I would have to learn? I m a carpenter-not electric. Basic electric knowledge here!

az2000 said:

I know how you feel. I want to try SMD5730 strips. I think they'd be better because they all face the same direction. It's not a reflector design trying to recreate a legacy design. Also low voltage which is safer.

But, I'm producing too much weed in pursuit of these ideas. I have to cut back or start looking at making hash.

Click to expand...

Do you mean something like this?


http://m.ebay.com/itm/1-100M-110V-2...e-Light-Plug-/261588501410?varId=560462393338

Bluefish76 said:

Do you mean something like this?

http://m.ebay.com/itm/1-100M-110V-2...e-Light-Plug-/261588501410?varId=560462393338

Click to expand...

Since I haven't bought any yet, I'm uncertain about a couple things. I also think I've seen better deals on Amazon and Aliexpress. For example, this one.

One thing I'm a little confused about is the waterproof rating. I think I've seen these in heavy plastic tubing. The one you linked to may be that variety. I think I've seen a less heavy coating, like this one. And then there is the non-waterproof like I linked to above.

It's hard to tell because the photos aren't that clear. I'm concerned about the protective cover because it will absorb light. But, I'm afraid to do non-protected because I don't want them to get messed up. I don't think they would. People remove the protective globe from Cree lightbulbs.

I planned to start with unprotected. It's cheap enough for $10. If it becomes damaged during use it wouldn't be hard to replace with something more protective. But, I'm still unclear on what the choices are. It seems like I've seen one that had a protective coating that wasn't a sleeve. Then the thin sleeve. And then the heavy "rope" casing?

Something that stood out to me about what you linked to is that it asks for voltage. It sounds like it comes with a cheap power supply. I would find one that's just the 5m coil. I would buy the MeanWell power supply which looks like a longer-term investment. I think it would be better for powering small parallel strips. The power supply which comes with the one you linked to would power the entire strip. It would seal the waterproof casing.

I was going to go with the non-waterproof version and simply solder leads to the lengths I cut off. For example, maybe 10 8" lengths affixed to a thin aluminum sheet to make a panel. Solder leads to each piece. Then join those into one lead that would connect to a 12v power wire. (Maybe just a bare wire that runs through the tent. The lead from the panel could be an alligator clip that could be clipped onto the bare wire.).