Led Users Unite!

bassclef

bassclef

Active Member
kobold said:
hi, i am new to the game. i have constant backpain from two slipped discs, really wears me down; i need this.. i have four seedlings (from bag) atm two each in one gal pots outdoors (f or m, who knows at this stage, will transplant), wanna move them indoors in three weeks, under these lights: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LED-120W-120-Watts-Triband-7-1-1-Plant-Lamp-Grow-Light-/170525211713?pt=AU_Seed_Starting_Hydroponics&hash=item27b4183c41

plus three of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251179643813?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

165w in total. will this pull me through?

soil is all organic w/ compost, horse, sheep and worm manure, w/ garlic growing too. i want to keep them compact, a ton of research in front of me... hey!
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I would skip the 15w lights and get another bridgelux lamp. Advanced LED has nice lights, probably a more efficient implementation than the Chinese eBay cheapos.
 
K

kobold

Member
well, damn, those are already in the mail. if i end up w/ two females (eg statistically) will they have enough light to flower with these lights? what is the best attack vector? sog?

edit: thinking of hanging the 120w above and the 15w panels sideways.
 
Matchbox

Matchbox

Well-Known Member
Hey guys!

Thanks for being so accommodating :)

I stopped in again a few months ago with some new 270 or something watts (forgotten how many watts already lol) Grow Northern LED's 3w Diodes adjustable optics etc, if you remember you know the deal, Grow Northern being an EXTREMELY good UK based company, from my dealings with them anyway.

Here's what they've come out with so far at week 3.5 of flower, very happy with these lights, so far the nugs feel dense as, and are filling out daily! No signs of bleaching or anything even at a good 5-6" from the tops.

View attachment 2463776View attachment 2463777View attachment 2463778View attachment 2463779View attachment 2463780

That's all for now.

Stay Frosty!
 
D

Downinit

Active Member
sgt john said:
I have a 240w Black Star, had 2 untill one gave out on me..
Getting rid of the broken one, and the so called good one..
It will keep a plant alive, and thats about it..

UFO's worthless
BlackStar's low end
Kessil h350, not happy with them..
SolarFlare has worked best so far..

Was just looking at the Black Dog lights today, a little pricey, but they have the 5watt leds also like the SolarFlares.
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I use the BS240 with great results!! I also heard the kessil I pretty nice as well. Maybe it's ur technics??
 
D

Downinit

Active Member
Perro Negro said:
Hey sgt, they can seem pricey at first but if you look at the cost per watt they are actually very affordable. This does bring up a question I have wanted to ask the LED community regarding what is considered expensive or even cheap.

I always see people write this or that light is expensive but I don't know what this is being based on. We could look at cost per sq foot of coverage but that is very dependent on manufacturers claims. We could use PAR or other light measurement but again that is dependent on manufacturers claims and is not easy for an individual grower to test for confirmation. This is why I believe the best starting point for comparing LED grow lighting cost should be cost per watt ($/watt).

I am curious if anyone has a thought on what should be considered "expensive" or "cheap" when discussing LED grow lights specifically?

To be completely clear I will grab the last three from sgt john's post as an example.

Kessil h350 - I have read this pulls 73 watts but the manufacturer claims 84w so we will use that. Retail: $375 so 375/84 = $4.46/watt
SolarFlare 200w - 165 watts actual draw from their site Retail: $450 so 450/165 = $2.72/watt
Black Dog LED BD360-U - 340 watts actual draw and is rated for about the same footprint as the SolarFlare Retail: $999 so 999/340 = $2.94

Any thoughts on this and especially other ways to accurately and fairly measure cost of LED lighting?
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I think when u look at it in $/watt the price seems worth it.. Well worth it. But most of us grow for personal consumption and just can't justify spending $900 on lights.. I do love LED's and my buds have never been frostier!! But for "me" $400-$500 at most and with that I'd need a 5 yr warranty. Lol!! Are the prices of LED's coming dOwn anytime soon? My 2 cents..
 
Perro Negro

Perro Negro

Member
Downinit said:
I think when u look at it in $/watt the price seems worth it.. Well worth it. But most of us grow for personal consumption and just can't justify spending $900 on lights.. I do love LED's and my buds have never been frostier!! But for "me" $400-$500 at most and with that I'd need a 5 yr warranty. Lol!! Are the prices of LED's coming dOwn anytime soon? My 2 cents..
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The ladies do love a good LED spectrum that is for sure. LED prices will start to come down in residential type lighting but it will take a bit for that to trickle down to us growers, IMHO.
 
mamakush

mamakush

Active Member
JC3000 said:
I am currently 29 days into my first crop with a Blackdog XL. I am using it for both veg and flowering.The veg was great, (short growth nodes) bushy. I will let you know how the budding goes.PS my power bill was less than last Dec when i wasnt growing. I know i must have used less power somewhere else in the house but to run the bigdog 24 hrs for 21 days and not making my bill sky high is impressive
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I've been growing with black dog lights for almost 2 years now, and I'm very happy with the results. Ditto on the power bill, it's surprising a unit as big as the platinum makes such a small blip.
 
sgt john

sgt john

Well-Known Member
Downinit said:
I use the BS240 with great results!! I also heard the kessil I pretty nice as well. Maybe it's ur technics??
Click to expand...
I'm currently using the Kessil in the solocup comp, in another thread..
Im sure my techniques could use help, and could be I just don't have enough patience, but please share..

Not saying the lights are no good, just not all lights are created equal..
The Kessils, I expected more than what I'm currently getting with the Solo Cup Comp, its down right disappointing, I could have got the Black Dog 360U for around the same price, and with better results I'm sure..

Kessil should be asking $100 for the lights, not $350.. And I'm no better at paying for the lights without prior testing..

We gotta get more side by side grows out so people can really see what they will get..
 
sgt john

sgt john

Well-Known Member
Perro, thanks for the reply, I would say no more than a $1000...
I liked the 360U, I was looking at on the site..

The cost per a watt looks good, this is what people need to see before buying LEDs..
I sure wasted alot of money with some of the cheap ones, if I only knew..

I think most people look at the cost of start-up using MH/HPS compared to LED, and go from there, like myself, I didn't know what kind of other issues I would be running into, like heat, or big electric bills...
 
sgt john

sgt john

Well-Known Member
kobold said:
hi, i am new to the game. i have constant backpain from two slipped discs, really wears me down; i need this.. i have four seedlings (from bag) atm two each in one gal pots outdoors (f or m, who knows at this stage, will transplant), wanna move them indoors in three weeks, under these lights: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LED-120W-120-Watts-Triband-7-1-1-Plant-Lamp-Grow-Light-/170525211713?pt=AU_Seed_Starting_Hydroponics&hash=item27b4183c41

plus three of these: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251179643813?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

165w in total. will this pull me through?

soil is all organic w/ compost, horse, sheep and worm manure, w/ garlic growing too. i want to keep them compact, a ton of research in front of me... hey!
Click to expand...
I agree with basscief, I would stay away from those, had one, tossed it later, save your money..
 
HiloReign

HiloReign

Well-Known Member
SpliffAndMyLady said:
Howdy LED users! I've been looking into getting a veg light and these lights look perfect. Any opinions on this light or tips, I don't know much about grow lights, thanks here's a link

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=281027473575&index=19&nav=SEARCH&nid=69807761621
Click to expand...
Hello Spliff, although I wouldn't recommend vegging with that blue heavy light, I do believe it can be done. I'd go with something more balanced, yet still blue heavy. Do you have a price range? There aren't many quality LEDs that operate at the lower wattages, unless you make them yourself or something of the sort.
 
C

ClosetChronic420

Member
I am pretty new to growing, on my 3rd grow. Have been growing only a 2 or 3 plants at once under very cheap CFL's. Just bought a BlackStar 240 LED, got it set up almost a month into veg cycle. So far my plants have seemed to be absolutely loving the new light. I just put them in flowering schedule, will post some pictures once they start budding.
 
D

David the Gnome

Member
Yes i agree, dont need alot of blue. IMO a Red and blue combo is best, also a full full spectum helps to round it out. Multiple lower watt units spead over the right area is the best way to do a big grow, however for a smaller set up those high watts might be great, just seems like over kill.
 
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