Is A Mars II 400 Worth a Crap?

DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
Had a change of heart recently in regards to leds. Going to try a newer one out to see how well it performs. I've ordered a Mars II 400 from Mars Hydro. I'm not sure what to expect with this type of light because yes, its one of those "blurple" "disco lights".
I see almost everybody bashing Mars lights, are they really that bad? I mean, they come with a 2 year warranty...? I know they are far from top of the line and probably more upper level low-end lights but I have seen some better reviews on the Mars II leds. I imagine the Epistar™ 5watt single Chips are Chinese but are they worth a damn? What can I expect from my new purchase? Waste of money or good entry level led?
 
Fastslappy

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
I grew some kickass bud with 3 mars2 400's & 3 900's but the heat & no real saving in power were a disappointment
that & you have to deal with stress issues in nute uptake but I'm still smoking the LSD & Critical
I've moved on to Cree cobs selling off the mars2
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
I've wondered about different nutrient absorption rates with the leds as well. You speak of dealing with stress issues...? Would you elaborate a bit more?
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
Fastslappy said:
but the heat & no real saving in power were a disappointment
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Not really after power savings or heat savings, for that matter. If I get any it will be a bonus but not a big issue. I needed to buy a new light and when you consider buying a ballast, reflector and bulb(s) you end spending the same amount of money, so I figured I'd give an led a try.
 
Fastslappy

Fastslappy

Well-Known Member
actually you'll like the mars i did ,
& then look at the Cree cob's
if your handy at DIY they are a easy build
way easier than a PC build
 
DirtyMcCurdy

DirtyMcCurdy

Well-Known Member
Fastslappy said:
actually you'll like the mars i did ,
& then look at the Cree cob's
if your handy at DIY they are a easy build
way easier than a PC build
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I hope its worth the $$$ I spent on it anyways. I am too new to get into DIY cobs just yet. I really haven't even looked that far yet. In time...
 
Danielson999

Danielson999

Well-Known Member
DirtyMcCurdy said:
I hope its worth the $$$ I spent on it anyways. I am too new to get into DIY cobs just yet. I really haven't even looked that far yet. In time...
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How much is the Mars worth? There are also commercial, budget-minded cob systems pre-built for you. Personally, I would consider it since the technology offers some benefits.
 
Z

Zulunature

Well-Known Member
Don't do it... you'll be more than likely very sorry... a lot of us are... Another crappy Mars Hydro light died yesterday on me, converting it to cree cobs.

The problem with Mars Hydro lights is they simply do NOT I repeat DO NOT honor warranty. I've already had a 700 go as well as a 1600 lost a row in the last few days so it'll be getting converted too...

Do a DIY it's a bit of a learning curve but well worth the effort, and you'll save so much on electricity it'll pay for itself compared to the crappy Mars Hydro...

PS. I've also found that a number of the lenses have simply melted away on the Mars Hydro 5W crappy epistartups... so much for quality
 
GreenSanta

GreenSanta

Well-Known Member
they are worth a crap, maybe yours will have heatsinks decent enough to convert to COBs down the road, I recently bought a cheap light from china (not a MARS) and the thing did not even have a heatsink ... regardless, dont cheap out on lights, its not worth it. If I were you I would try to get my money back. IMO, any prebuilt COB LED fixture (pacific light concept, area 51, timber light ....) that are 1\2 or 1\3 of the total power of a MARS will still outperform the MARS.
 
Z

Zulunature

Well-Known Member
GreenSanta said:
they are worth a crap, maybe yours will have heatsinks decent enough to convert to COBs down the road, I recently bought a cheap light from china (not a MARS) and the thing did not even have a heatsink ... regardless, dont cheap out on lights, its not worth it. If I were you I would try to get my money back. IMO, any prebuilt COB LED fixture (pacific light concept, area 51, timber light ....) that are 1\2 or 1\3 of the total power of a MARS will still outperform the MARS.
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It's a good idea to do the calculations or get assistance to ensure you can make the changes safely and to ensure a suitable Tj.
The Mars 2 400W light has been modded by Growmau he has a great video on the hack and is an inspiration to many of us.


My upgrade will only use 4 cobs CXB3070 BB 3500K which will actually reduce the heat output by a massive amount.

Don't know about other lights as I was unfortunate enough to put my lot in with Mars Hydro... lots of watts and heat watts.
Anyway his light will work when it comes just giving him a heads up that if/when it fails he can do a fairly simple upgrade that will actually make the light far more useful.
 
medicalMonster

medicalMonster

Well-Known Member
They are good as supplemental lighting the mars UFOS. I use them with my air cooled hps1000w (LED cant replace that lollll)

The top of the line LED will yield you the same as an HID if not more. But your paying alot. If your commercial look on youtube of a commercial house making 2.1 or more gpw on led.

Right now if your doing this at home HPS shits on LED all day long. Your going to go nuts reading everything. And everyone is a scientist when it comes to cree chips this and that and diodes etc.

Your talking 2-3k per LED. Otherwise your comparing chinese assembled vs american assembled cobs and cree. All robot made.; All the same. mars, roleadro, king, Apachee. area 51, etc. Here let me find you this link to a guy who grows led right.

Oh and DIY is good but dont grow with it or think of using it. Its more a hobby. Let professionals do the real work Please.
 
medicalMonster

medicalMonster

Well-Known Member

only about 2.5k USD per panel. vs a 500 dollar panel.

I understand the US likes to have a "bigger" looking gun, but just buy like.. 5 mars for the price of an american assembled. Yield a bit more
 
GreenSanta

GreenSanta

Well-Known Member
medicalMonster said:
They are good as supplemental lighting the mars UFOS. I use them with my air cooled hps1000w (LED cant replace that lollll)

The top of the line LED will yield you the same as an HID if not more. But your paying alot. If your commercial look on youtube of a commercial house making 2.1 or more gpw on led.

Right now if your doing this at home HPS shits on LED all day long. Your going to go nuts reading everything. And everyone is a scientist when it comes to cree chips this and that and diodes etc.

Your talking 2-3k per LED. Otherwise your comparing chinese assembled vs american assembled cobs and cree. All robot made.; All the same. mars, roleadro, king, Apachee. area 51, etc. Here let me find you this link to a guy who grows led right.

Oh and DIY is good but dont grow with it or think of using it. Its more a hobby. Let professionals do the real work Please.
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medicalMonster, LEDs are cheaper than you think. I am actually throwing all my ballasts in the garbage (I ll keep a 600watts MH for vegging in case it gets cold) and I would never ever buy another hps bulb. LEDs are not as expensive as you make it sound. I have 3+ years old 600 watts fixtures, still running 100%.! Plus LEDs give more overall resin and terpenes, from my experience.

and if you are doing this at home, LED shits all over hps all day long I think is what you meant to say. I can see how on a large scale op the upfront cost would be hard to swallow, but still well worth it. I run my setup year round without changing a thing, no AC units.
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
medicalMonster said:
They are good as supplemental lighting the mars UFOS. I use them with my air cooled hps1000w (LED cant replace that lollll)

The top of the line LED will yield you the same as an HID if not more. But your paying alot. If your commercial look on youtube of a commercial house making 2.1 or more gpw on led.

Right now if your doing this at home HPS shits on LED all day long. Your going to go nuts reading everything. And everyone is a scientist when it comes to cree chips this and that and diodes etc.

Your talking 2-3k per LED. Otherwise your comparing chinese assembled vs american assembled cobs and cree. All robot made.; All the same. mars, roleadro, king, Apachee. area 51, etc. Here let me find you this link to a guy who grows led right.

Oh and DIY is good but dont grow with it or think of using it. Its more a hobby. Let professionals do the real work Please.
Click to expand...
COBs are actually already being used by commercial companies.
The same cobs inside the companies that sell Cree CXB fixtures, the same COBs people use in their DIY panels.

The biggest benefit from LEDs in commercial applications is not the lifespan or the reduced electricity cost.
It's the fact that commercial companies can replace 20000 watts of HID lighting with 20000 Watts of LED lighting and have an increase in harvest = more profit.
It allows you to harvest more from the same amount of area.
50% increase in MJ harvest is far more profitable than 50% reduction in electricity costs.

Though increase in harvest is less important for people who only grow for themselves/don't sell their stuff
 
kmog33

kmog33

Well-Known Member
GreenSanta said:
First 4 pics are my first round under COBs, the other pics are from the 3+years old LEDs
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It's funny the one sunder the kessils, which are running osram and cree, seems to be doing the best in those pics from the looks of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
HockeyBeard

HockeyBeard

Well-Known Member
medicalMonster said:

only about 2.5k USD per panel. vs a 500 dollar panel.

I understand the US likes to have a "bigger" looking gun, but just buy like.. 5 mars for the price of an american assembled. Yield a bit more
Click to expand...

Here's the problem with that mentality - You're only looking at one run. When you factor in the savings from wattage, efficiency, and reliability, the ROI on COB Lighting is about a year, tops.
 
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