churchhaze
Well-Known Member
I'd rather use vero 10 than any MCPCB just because of how hard it is to solder to.
LED lighting requirements for microgreens and aromatic herbs
- Thread starter Metacanna
- Start date
PSUAGRO.
Well-Known Member
why don't you move the led module closer?.............it is a low wattage source
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
Just following manufacturers recommendation
They call for a shelf height of 50cm as you can see in the below document.
I thought if multi-color led's are placed "too close" you won't get proper spectrum blending?
As you can see these are used heavily in tissue culture and rooting, not actually growing things.
https://www.goldbio.com/documents/1759/Philips+Greenpower+Production+Module+Application+Guide.pdf
CellarDweller
Well-Known Member
COBs and Intematix Remote Phosphor in front of Royal Blue LEDs are now my preference.......this is just Day 17 from sowing 
I use the Intematix for germination on top of a radiator and then move them beneath these 6 COBs (soon to be 8......then 18!!!) where they get uniform 1100 umol/m2/s for 16 hours a day. The COBs are the CXA3070s with an even mix of 3000K and 5000K. Next order (the next 10) will be a mix of the 2700K and 5000K CXA3070s. All will be driven at 1400mA using individual drivers. The fans on the coolers are kept running using a Phobya PSU connected to a splitter.
The "most excellent construction" you see is a true engineering marvel of a v-type clothes rail, opened out, placed on two chairs and supported by two plastic mop handles, all tied together with cable ties. Then the Cooler/Cob/Drivers attached to the clothes rail with more cable ties and some diamond reflective foil "shaped" around the whole lot using bulldog clips.
All this I learned from these fine gentlemen on this forum. The COBs and the Arctic Coolers pull a total of 300W from the wall, so the cost here in Germany is a "massive" €1.20 per day. It will be a lot less (40% less) when I move them to lights-on during the night when the power is cheaper.
Here in Europe each COB works out to be around €35 with individual Arctic Cooler and Driver included in the price. Not bad considering the things will last for more years than I will keep them!
Just put another order in with Jerry over at Kingbrite (for the next 10 COBs) and bought my MacGyver style grow tent (standard portable clothing rail with cloth cover that I will attach diamond reflective foil to on the inside).
I use the Intematix for germination on top of a radiator and then move them beneath these 6 COBs (soon to be 8......then 18!!!) where they get uniform 1100 umol/m2/s for 16 hours a day. The COBs are the CXA3070s with an even mix of 3000K and 5000K. Next order (the next 10) will be a mix of the 2700K and 5000K CXA3070s. All will be driven at 1400mA using individual drivers. The fans on the coolers are kept running using a Phobya PSU connected to a splitter.
The "most excellent construction" you see is a true engineering marvel of a v-type clothes rail, opened out, placed on two chairs and supported by two plastic mop handles, all tied together with cable ties. Then the Cooler/Cob/Drivers attached to the clothes rail with more cable ties and some diamond reflective foil "shaped" around the whole lot using bulldog clips.
All this I learned from these fine gentlemen on this forum. The COBs and the Arctic Coolers pull a total of 300W from the wall, so the cost here in Germany is a "massive" €1.20 per day. It will be a lot less (40% less) when I move them to lights-on during the night when the power is cheaper.
Here in Europe each COB works out to be around €35 with individual Arctic Cooler and Driver included in the price. Not bad considering the things will last for more years than I will keep them!
Just put another order in with Jerry over at Kingbrite (for the next 10 COBs) and bought my MacGyver style grow tent (standard portable clothing rail with cloth cover that I will attach diamond reflective foil to on the inside).
PSUAGRO.
Well-Known Member
It wouldn't hurt to try..........you have nothing to lose, except stretch
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
I sold that module a long time ago. If it won't do what the manufacturer says it will do (replace 2 fluorescent tube lamps) then it is outa here lol
CellarDweller
Well-Known Member
New home
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CellarDweller
Well-Known Member
New home
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OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
What do you guys think of this "cob" for growing seedlings?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Reflector-Cup-150w-LED-High-Bay-Light-Industrial-Factory-Exhibition-Warehouse-/190950302301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7586625d
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Reflector-Cup-150w-LED-High-Bay-Light-Industrial-Factory-Exhibition-Warehouse-/190950302301?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7586625d
CellarDweller
Well-Known Member
I am sure it will give you two good spots of high intensity light to bleach the plants and a wide enough area of "stretch"
Seriously though.... Take a look at remote phosphor panels with royal blue led behind them. I have one tiny panel to test and it provides fantastic light for my chilli seedlings. (in fact for all my seedlings). I think for micro greens etc is perfect.....This is a tiny unit and I have ordered panels to make a much larger system to give a great blend of light across many shelves. By the way that stretch on the edge nearest us occurred yesterday.... Been a heavy weekend and I took my eye off the little fellas
OneHitDone
Well-Known Member
Ok guys, I am in a pinch and need to grab a light to cover another 20"x20" or so area in my veg box. I plan to get another inda-gro 100 later when funds loosen up.
Right now on one side I have a hydrofarm mini sunburst 100W metal halide and it is doing a damn good job.
So I will grab another 100W metal halide unless someone has a suggestion for something that can outperform it for the $100 price tag that it carries
Looks like standard 100W metal halides push around 8500 lumens
Right now on one side I have a hydrofarm mini sunburst 100W metal halide and it is doing a damn good job.
So I will grab another 100W metal halide unless someone has a suggestion for something that can outperform it for the $100 price tag that it carries
Looks like standard 100W metal halides push around 8500 lumens
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Microgreen Cultivator
Member
Hey Bicit,@AquariusPanta - At 4 inches I get a spread of 14.2 inches. With the bulk of the light in the center 5 inches and the outer 9.2 inches receiving less than 50% of the light intensity. Under these conditions the center plants would get bleached and the outer plants would stretch, not a great situation. It's rather funny since the framework for this discussion is pretty similar to the HID vs COB array discussion. What do you want a 3'x3' grow space, a single 600w lamp or twelve 50w cobs?
@Metacanna - at one foot a vero 10 would actually cover about 41 inches, or 3.5ft with an inner circle of 14.2 inches. The spread is pretty insane with a 120* beam angle. However you're spot on about the coverage, the bulk of the power will be in the center of the light pattern at any hanging height. To answer your second question would depend on the type of heatsink used. The vero 10 I'm testing is running at 200-300ma is only a few degrees above ambient with no fans or air movement of any sort.The driver cost $1.50 and I haven't tested the actual output yet
http://www.fasttech.com/products/1506/10001927/1173705
Im curious to know what these $1.50 drivers are, also were you running the vero 10's with out any sort of passive/active cooling and still achieving around ambient temps?
SSGrower
Well-Known Member
Looks exactly like my Roleadro that was sold as a 400W but is actually <200W but the color of light is different in the picture on yours but that can be just a tweak of the camera white balance. Don't think I'd recommend unless you are prepared to replace the led array.
Psyphish
Well-Known Member
The white-ish red/pink Roleadro (PopularGrow on eBay) lights are complete crap, mine died after a month and put out more heat than light, definitely not worth the price, even a PL-L fixture would make more sense. I bought the Roleadro as a 400w light, but two 80w Hans panels put out so much more light that it's ridiculous.
bicit
Well-Known Member
I do believe it was just an el cheapo like this one. I don't have my notes on it anymore I'm afraid.
https://www.fasttech.com/products/1612/10008079/1714801-6-10-1w-85-277v-high-power-constant-current-led
No it was warm to the touch, well over ambient. It was adequate for the task at hand. The owner of the light is happy growing wheat grass with it
PicklesRus
Well-Known Member
If you're still looking check out bridgelux EB Series stripsDear all,
I'm about to start an aquaponic project indoors, for those unfamiliar with, it is a mix of hydroponic and aquaculture. I will be growing microgreens and aromatic herbs mainly, the light requirements for these plants are not comparable with cannabis, so I'm hoping to find something cheaper to buy and run instead of HPS or expensive LEDs. I'm also trying to avoid CLF or T5 because of the heat, poor efficiency and need to replace lamps frequently.
I will be growing on a rack of 3fx1f shelves, 3/4f apart. This is the main reason why I'm concerned about the heat of T5. Plus, it won't be possible to hang a single powerful focus of light on each shelf, instead I will need to disperse the light.
It will be something like this:
I ended on ebay looking for cheap LEDs, I know there's some controversy in this forum about them suitability for growing, but let's be pragmatic instead of discarding it that easily.
I found this for 6$ each:
It has mixed blue and red light (nm not specified), 80lum/per watt. This one in particular has 7w, so 560l in total.
I'm planning to distribute 500l per sq ft, so my thinking is 3 of these per shelf (3 sq ft) would do the job.
Upfront cost would be 18$, consumption 21w, 1680 lumens.
Comparing to a 21w T5 , I would end with the same lumens but the upfront cost would be higher since I would have to buy the ballast and shipping costs are also much higher, plus it would be necessary to replace it frequently. Also, generates more heat.
I must say that I plan to distribute 500l/sq ft considering my previous experiences but feel free to contradict me.
Other option is this:
5pcs 15W 36SMD 5050 Red+Blue Grow LED Light for 15$
Voltage: DC12V
LED: red and blue:9 blue,27red
LED Wavelength Red: 660nm; Blue:445nm
Lum/ per watts is not specified
Any idea what does 36SMD 5050 mean?
Consumption is 15W, I still don't know if it per strip or per 5pcs.
This would be the perfect scenario as it is easier to install and assure light is spread uniformly over the shelf.
I would like to know, from anyone who tried these cheap LEDs if it suitable to grow smaller plants in general, herbs, small vegetables etc. I'm sure this wouldn't work for cannabis at all but that is not the point.
Any advice, tips?
Thanks for your time.
Or Samsung H Series strips. I made this fixture in a few hours
SSGrower
Well-Known Member
Please check the amp rating on those push in connectors. Ran into this when I upgraded to a meanwell hlg-320, ones like the orange one on the floor were only good for 6 amp.
Can you buy Samsung H Series anywhere else then digikey? They are so expensive.
Mabye sample size from samsung directly?
PicklesRus
Well-Known Member
Good catch, thank you for the heads up. What happened when you ran more than 6a through them?
Arrow electronics has them, but I think when I double checked the part numbers the new high efficiency ones are only available in really big quantities.Can you buy Samsung H Series anywhere else then digikey? They are so expensive.
Mabye sample size from samsung directly?
I think the eb strips are a good value . However. I did some more price digging, and found out vero 13 gen 7 is even cheaper upfront cost for the same amount of lumen output and If i remember right higher lm/w effiency - even when including passive star or pin heatsinks. I think if I was going to buy again I'd get the those vero 13 gen 7 simply for cost savings and to try something else.