Led Users Unite!
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Cereall
Well-Known Member
4 ProGrow 260w 1520$ and you might get an even better deal since you are buying 4
I am using a 5x5 tent with that setup and its perfection in my opinion
or go with the 4 blackstars, I like the idea of more small LEDs as opposed to less, higher wattage models
hi, there, i'm apologize for my retardation, as i truly know nothing. but how many actual watts does a blackstar 240 use, and about how much would it cost per month to run 16 of them, and would that amount raise any red flags? many thanks, as i no longer have any brain cells.
kush groove
Active Member
With a grow that size your gonna be noticed no matter what you decide to use for lighting...
surgedup
Active Member
Hey guys I found out some great new lights man seem to be one of the best if not thee best out there now. The lights are called apache tech I guess a guy who use to wor for sunshine systems left the company and developed these lights they seem pretty amazing and no bullshitting at all http://www.apachetechinc.com/ check them out !!
kush groove
Active Member
If your worrying about being noticed your biggest problem would probably be informants....but your electricity bill will defininitely be taking a toll with that much lighting......the lighting schedule and the power draw is what will casue a red flag in my opinion....seems like a pretty large grow your planning on getting in to..
and as far as .10 per kwh i am in cali, and i wish it was that much......i pay .31 per kwh
660nm420
Active Member
I would cut them some slack but I've had better customer service from other more reliable companies and they have been nothing but a huge headache. I was REALLY hoping they would get one out promptly on Saturday when I first contacted them but they wont do anything about it until Monday and so I had to go out and dump some cash on a backup light which is ironic since the, "no back up bulb reliability" is supposed to be a pro aspect of LED. After posting last night I checked the light and it starts out purple then turns red. To me this means that any of there full cycle lights are prone to this defect and you have to make sure to check on ALL of them frequently to be sure you are not wasting wattage in a veg cycle with a light that the blue turns out after a few minutes. I'm curious about how much wattage was wasted on an 18 hour cycle @35-40 w. My main beef is that this goes against the purpose of LED and energy savings and at this point I don't care about how well they work, I care about if they work. I'm pretty sure after all this I'm going back to panels. I seriously don't think I 'd be dealing with this headache. I have never had these problems with the panels like this, if a light goes out it's just one of the many but when half of the "dense matrix LED goes out" well have you ever heard the saying "I saw red?" I spent $1200 dollars with them to and have had nothing but poor customer service so I feel for the schmuck who only buys one and doesn't have the time or $ to deal with what I have had to deal with. I am throwing every dollar I make into LED this year and I have serious concerns with spending any more money with this company especially since they deleted my unfavorable comments from their facebook. I consider a companies facebook profile the place to review my concerns and I just don't know if I can fall behind or trust a company that censors unfavorable reviews. If this is a widespread problem Dicon fiberoptics may do away with the Kessil line and I don't know how that could influence the process of returning a product. At the very least it could be a stressful thing to deal with especially if you are in a critical phase of flowering and the red fails.
ledbudguy
New Member
Rule one when growing... NEVER TELL ANYONE!!!! ZERO EXCEPTIONS!!!!
The rule of thumb out here in BC where we pay around .15 per kw is to stay under 3000w and you are fine. My personal grow I have 1020w (5 isis1 170w panels), the actual draw is around 600w which adds F/A to my power bill. Based on my last grow I expect to pull down around 2lbs this go around. If you were to multiply my proven grow out by say 4 you would be at a total draw of 2400 watts, which is nothing, and producing 8 - 10 pounds. The big benefit is the no heat factor with leds, that fleer that flys over weekly can and will fuck you in the ass!
ledbudguy
New Member
660nm420
Active Member
Man I hope so because my Kessils are already sketchy at best and I am really wishing I would have bought 4 blackstar panels instead. I may be returning all of them and buying Blackstar. URGH!! I bought 3 purple full cycles and just ordered 2 magentas to be delivered monday and already 1 in 3 that I have receive is malfunctioning. I did everything to have these lights when I needed them and now who knows. My light starts out purple then turns solid red and I am in a veg phase so, I don't know anymore. I had to pick up supplemental lighting to keep my ladies happy and I was so pumped up about Kessil and now well just sheer disappointment with all their hype since precision and reliability is everything.
660nm420
Active Member
660nm420
Active Member
If my Kessil wasn't malfunctioning on week one, I'd say go Kessil but at this point I really am beginning to wish I went Blackstar.
ledbudguy
New Member
The 357 magnums will kick the shit out of the "crapstars" as will stealthgrow and a few others, I'd bet my left nut on it! Crapstar doesn't even have a heat sink man, and if you know anything about LEDs the heat sink is one of the most important components. The quality of light coming off of a crapstar when compared to a 357 magnum or stealth grow unit (both cadillac units) is not even comparable to the heat distorted light coming off of the crapstar unit. PERIOD! You pay for what you get man, end of story! Out of curiosity kush groove, what does branding have to do with growing under LED? Does branding increase yield?
660nm420
Active Member
Ok so I have been testing an all Kessil test grow and on week one, one of my 3 purple full cycles start malfunctioning and starts purple then turns all red. So I'm vegging on an 18/ 6 and who knows how many cycles my Kessil is emitting only red light. URGH!! So I attempt to contact the company in every way including facebook and they only respond by deleting my comments. I think this hurts the cred because LED consumers have a right to know that by my calculations they have a 1 in 3 chance that they will get a defective light. Timing precision and reliability is everything and Kessil well, my ladies are not at all happy. So you say avoid Blackstar but that ISIS rocks?? I can see why so many people have misconceptions about LED grow.I'm pretty much in agreement on this one although I wouldn't go with Kessil. Just no coverage area. Each one covers 5 sq ft and each of your rooms is approx 120 sq ft so you'd need over 20 a room. $8+ grand. Ouch. Plus I've never seen a Kessil grow yet so there is no difinitive proof they aren't just a hi-tech cool purple flashlight
Spectra is tried and true although they haven't matched the ISIS numbers for grams per watt yet and as though LedBudGuy figures he's about to trump his previous ISIS grow that could really open the gap.
My first grow with the Magnums won't be completed for a month and made by GrowPerfect, the ISIS people, so will be interesting to see how they stack up.
I think just based on what is proven I wouldn't risk my money and would try to cook a deal for a bulk order to get 18 ISIS panels so a 3x3 setup in each room.
Just my $.02
by your calculations... have you recieved the other 2 lights and do they work? i think if defective kessils were that common we would have heard about it by now, you probably just lucked out. I wouldn't go kessil because I don't think they are very appropriate for SCROG or SOG
660nm420
Active Member
Avoid Kessil!! I was all hyped about them and pumped them up and dumped $1200 and one is already malfunctioning on week 1.
I was talking to the guy who is making my led lights and this is what he said about Kessil, i found it interesting especially now people are finding that there lights are changing colours.
As far as the Kessil goes if you go their web site, look at the 'History' page (http://www.kessil.com/about/product_history.php) and then go to the dicon lighting page you will se that the wonderful Kessil is in fact an RGB fiber spotlight! It is not even 35 watts, the 35 watt RGB chip in it is not using the green and the blue level is turned right down low so it is really only about 15 - 20 watts! So you are paying $299 for a 20 watt (max) RGB spotlight! It is the slickest con I have seen yet. Thats how they can have veg and bloom versions with the same led, they just turn the blue level higher or lower! Slick website though!
As far as the Kessil goes if you go their web site, look at the 'History' page (http://www.kessil.com/about/product_history.php) and then go to the dicon lighting page you will se that the wonderful Kessil is in fact an RGB fiber spotlight! It is not even 35 watts, the 35 watt RGB chip in it is not using the green and the blue level is turned right down low so it is really only about 15 - 20 watts! So you are paying $299 for a 20 watt (max) RGB spotlight! It is the slickest con I have seen yet. Thats how they can have veg and bloom versions with the same led, they just turn the blue level higher or lower! Slick website though!