I know its alot of money but i have taken the guy at his word that these lights are the very best quality on offer, only time will tell if the extra cash was worth it. He is realy into LED growing and has done alot of research. I know all the companys say this but after speaking to him he gained my trust.
Led Users Unite!
- Thread starter project fuoro
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I know its alot of money but i have taken the guy at his word that these lights are the very best quality on offer, only time will tell if the extra cash was worth it. He is realy into LED growing and has done alot of research. I know all the companys say this but after speaking to him he gained my trust.
SWUSAZ
Active Member
OK I checked amp draw on start up I read 1.2 amps so around 200w after the unit was temp stable the draw went to an 5 minute average of 1.52 amps about 170w equivalent.
Remember line voltage for me was variable between 114.68 -- 119.74 which effects consumption draw for the drivers in the units.
Remember line voltage for me was variable between 114.68 -- 119.74 which effects consumption draw for the drivers in the units.
bajafox
Well-Known Member
That is great advice, I will definitely do that when I have the funds (hopefully before the summer heat)
I'm looking forward to doing an LED grow for a cycle and I'm hoping I won't have to switch back to HPS in the winter
TshirtNinja
Well-Known Member
hey guys i found a deal on ebay for a 300w unit just thought id throw it out for you guys to get a good deal on a 300w unit.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190494267115&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190494267115&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
What brand is that I wonder, and why is that person selling it back?
I would be careful about buying random LEDs--the quality between the lights has been tremendous. I bought a 28w LED from Sunshine Systems for about $150, and its been working *way* better then the '300w' random light I bought shipped to me from China (I think that one was from Ledstores.net). The Sunshine light has proven itself to be on a number of occasions. 28w of LED for $150 is a little pricey, but that puts it right on par with the more expensive LED lights.
LED lights are not all the same...hence our frustration as growers, because it's hard to get a sense for what really works.
After my experience, I would only buy again from Sunshine Systems. Maybe it's the direction of the light in their light bulbs? I don't know what it is, but whatever they're doing is definitely working.
LED lights are not all the same...hence our frustration as growers, because it's hard to get a sense for what really works.
After my experience, I would only buy again from Sunshine Systems. Maybe it's the direction of the light in their light bulbs? I don't know what it is, but whatever they're doing is definitely working.
Michael Sparks
Active Member
Sunshine Systems is deffinatly doing something right! i have some of the grow panel 45's I want to pick up some of the Grow Spot's anyone tried them yet ?
PrezDickie
Well-Known Member
got a grow spot the red bloom boost kind looks promising but haven't used yet...
Cereall
Well-Known Member
Hello all
Has anyone hooked their lights up to an ammeter to actually see what they draw?
real curious about the 240w blackstars and how much they actually draw
Along with all other brands, My lights are rated at 260w but pull a bit less than this actually, just curious if this is normal or a way of false advertising lol
not quite sure what to think right now
Has anyone hooked their lights up to an ammeter to actually see what they draw?
real curious about the 240w blackstars and how much they actually draw
Along with all other brands, My lights are rated at 260w but pull a bit less than this actually, just curious if this is normal or a way of false advertising lol
not quite sure what to think right now
How much less do they pull? If its less than a 5w difference I would say they might have rounded up so no one would complain the unit takes more power than they said. If its more than 5w then I would bug them about it.
Cereall
Well-Known Member
mine pulled about 167W
1.37 amps @122v
I did bug them and was just informed, LEDs are not meant to run at full wattage because this will greatly decrease their lifespan and ability to remain within they targeted wavelength
anyone else ever run an ammeter of their leds?
1.37 amps @122v
I did bug them and was just informed, LEDs are not meant to run at full wattage because this will greatly decrease their lifespan and ability to remain within they targeted wavelength
anyone else ever run an ammeter of their leds?
Bad Karma
Well-Known Member
I haven't personally done it to my ProSource LED's, but I have seen it done online with the same model as mine.
180 Advertised Watts, 165 Actual Watts (according to internet photos & testimonials).
dunit
Active Member
The whole LED wattage thing is pretty confusing. Seems like most manufacturers just use the total of the max rating of the individual LED's in their panel. For example my 357 Magnum is 119x3W led's, Pro-Source 180 is 180x1Watt LED's. The Stealth Grow 602 claims an actual draw of 350 watts and is a combo of 2 and 3W LED's and the total max ratings are 602.
On the other hand GLH use different ratings. Their Spectra 300 claims an actual power draw of 360 watts so their max rating must be close to 700??
One thing is for sure. The actual wattage will be no where near the Max wattage or it better not be. If you drive LED's anywhere near their max wattage they produce a huge amount of heat and their efficiency at producing light is dramatically reduced. There's a real tech guy, ledgrow.eu I think, who builds his own system. He cut the drive amperage in half and only lost 30% light and reduced led temp by 15C which is huge for spectrum shift. 30% light reduction is a lot but if he doubles the number of LED's he'll draw the same power and produce 40% more light......and that's worth noting.
dunit
Active Member
IMO that's a decent light but not great and certainly not for the money. Equivalent to $320USD give or take. It's 36x3 watt LED's so 108W panel. Cost wise it's got to be one of the most expensive lights on here for the wattage and it doesn't have IR or UV although the warm whites may provide a very small amount of both depending on their design.
dunit
Active Member
I'm the Magnum lone wolf on here so far I think....lol. Hopefully soon there will be four wolves, running around rollitup, looking for hookers and weed!!!!!
Anyway, check out the link to my grow journal in my signature. I'm on day 25 in flower. So far things are going really well and for being 25 days into flower there are a ton of budsites and bud development is a good size. I have lots of pics on my link and gonna try to get some white lighting (other than the harsh light of a flash) to take pics with so as to have light that our eyes are more accustomed to.
dunit
Active Member
One other thing to remember is that LED's consume different power for different wavelengths. Their draw might be rated at 350mA but the forward Voltage is different for the different wavelengths so the consumption is different. No wonder its so easy to confuse the consumers and don't think there's not a bunch of manufacturers out there taking advantage of that.
I thought people got charged by the watt? Whats this about voltage?
LED lights draw x amount of watts from your wall per hour, and as far as I know all companies charge people by the kilowatt hour. And an LED light should run at a constant stable wattage.
What is there to confuse customers on except the total wattage of power going into the LED lights themselves or to power the LED lights and the fans combined? It seems most LED companies don't make it apparent up front how many watts the lights use and how many watts the total draw is. I bet they only tell people the total draw without specifically saying its the total or even the wattage of the LED lights
LED lights draw x amount of watts from your wall per hour, and as far as I know all companies charge people by the kilowatt hour. And an LED light should run at a constant stable wattage.
What is there to confuse customers on except the total wattage of power going into the LED lights themselves or to power the LED lights and the fans combined? It seems most LED companies don't make it apparent up front how many watts the lights use and how many watts the total draw is. I bet they only tell people the total draw without specifically saying its the total or even the wattage of the LED lights
TshirtNinja
Well-Known Member
If they were to go down in price I would run wolf pack with you because honestly even after all the brand-name calling we all had the other day your grow is superb. I just know that for what I personally need to grow and smoke myself up that my blackstars will carry me through. Your lights are awesome I personally just can't warrant the purchase but honestly fellas if your looking around still check out his journal its a nice show of his unit if you know what i mean lol.
I emailed the guy in regard to this and thought i would post his response for info purposes, i havent got the knowledge on LED's like some of you guys have so here is what he said,
UV is generally included for several reasons. On the practical side they are included for the reason that the 2 blue absorbtion peaks where photosynthesis is most efficient occur at 453nm and 430nm, and normal blue and royal blue leds put out 465-485nm and 450-465nm. This means that although its possible to hit the hit the first peak (just), you cant hit the second peak with (most) royal blues. Because of this alot of lights use UV. UV lights are actually a bit short wave (390nm) to hit the second peak, but the peak does extend back down below 400nm, althought at a reduced efficiancy.
Another reason given for UV is it repels/kills insects and kills mould/fungus. UV actually atracts bugs as they see by it! Its like a big 'come here' sign which is why bug zappers use it to attract bugs! Not something you want on your plants! Anything strong enough in UV to kill fungus/insects would kill the plant - and you!
Instead of UV, I use very short wave blue leds, and I am now using 2 different wavelength bins of Royal Blue, instead of blue and royal blue.
Far red 740nm is claimed to encourage flowering. My lights do have a small
amount of this from the warm white leds, but they also have alot off
660nm far red. 660nm changes a specific chemical which is associated
with flowering and absorbs at 660nm to a different form which absorbs
720nm light. This form then either decomposes back to the 660nm form
naturally when the plant is in darkness, or when it is hit by 720nm
light. There is no diffinative study which shows 720nm light has any
reall effect on flowering, but lots that show 660nm does.
Possibly the best thing I can do is post some output and wavelength specs for my leds. These show I aint joking when I say my lights are the best. Basically all marketing and product placement is niches. I make the best lights, and use the best leds available because that is my niche. If I could make a better light possibly using better/more expensive leds I would do do, and would simply charge a bit more. These are the sort of lights you would have if your best mate or brother was a very good engineer and superb craftsman with lots of money and decided to make them for you as a birthday present!
Here is some info on the led's used in my main 280 watt light
Actual best
absorbtion
wavelength / My Leds / Lumens or Rradiometric Power
439 nm / 430 - 440nm / 870 - 1030mw
453 nm / 445 - 450 / 870 - 1030mw
642nm / 620 - 630 (standard red - very efficient) / 107 - 113.65 lm
662nm / 650 - 670nm / 550 - 710mw
Warm White Cree XP-R / not applicable / 160 lm
dunit
Active Member
You are absolutely right on all fronts! We are charged by the kilowatt/hour and wattage is all that really matters. Also, LED manufacturers generally use the largest number for advertising Wattage which is the cumulative Max rating of the individual LED's. The thing to remember is that LED's are never run at their max wattage so their actual draw is much lower than the max rating.
The only reason I mentioned voltage is that, for example all 1W LED's run at 350mAmps draw but the different spectrums run on different forward Voltage (2.1, 2.4, 2.9). Volts times amps equals watts so they draw different wattage.