Lighting question

Does anyone have a link to a recent study on a HPS/CMH/Induction/LED/Plasma grow? In my search I have found conflicting evidence of each ones success rate. It would be nice to see it with someone who doesn't benefit from the sales of said device ala consumer reports. Thank you for your help.

they all have ups and downs.

Leds, made by the right company, are about the best thing available today. There have been alot of advances since they came on the scene and everyones about got it figured out. That being said theyre CRAZY expensive. I dont use them but have seen good results with them and if i had the money/endorsement id run them. Less heat, more PAR, better lumen maintenance, less electricity. But damn are they expensive. I bought a small, cheap led panel a few years back that i still have for small veg or clones. It works well for size and wattage but i wouldnt even start flowering something with it. I thinks its a 50w panel.

I run CMH for my veg. Nice, little less heat than a standard hps. Helps em grow more bushy. Better color spectrum, if you get the right one.

mh i dont use but theyre good. Better par than hps but slightly less lumens and lumen maintenance, little more UV

Hps i use for flower. Tried and true. Works good, everyone uses them, good ballasts will last forever, etc.

Induction is the only i havent worked with in some fashion or another. Theyre nice, less heat, better PAR than hid but not as much penetration. The light seems to be spread out too widely for really good flower.

In the end all these different types of lights are made to make up for the short comings of the last.

Your goal should be to mix them because that will bring the best results.

Basically the hps has the most penetrating abilities (MH and CMH are right behind). Pair that with anything with a good PAR and youre improving more alot more than if you were to add another hps.

Nothing about plasma? They seem to do the best and produce the least heat but, even most manufacturers suggest adding HPS for a larger yield. The thing is, it seems that most people with LED's are using them for small or medium grows and the larger ones they are adding supplemental lighting. So, nobody has done a side by side with these lights?

Plasma is about the same as mh but even better par. They also have the gavitas that are not plasma that ive heard good things about. But whatever is more efficient/better par/less heat will most likely have less penetrating power. Few can match the raw power of a 1000w hps.

And one of the main reasons people havent used them on large grows is that they are expensive and not many quality ones are out yet. People are skeptical.. Alot of times if they malfunction a large portion of the lights go out. Harder to fix. If you blow a bulb of fry a capacitor/igniter you go to home depot and grab one or go to a hydro store or htg and itll be there in 2 days.

farmerjohn420, one of subcools friends is gettin a whole bunch of lush led lights to test out. I dont think hell do a side by side test but i know he plans to run as many as he can get.

The different lighting styles depends on the grower you are.

Are you going for strictly profit? Than hps, cheap magnetic ballasts, bare bulb or open reflectors.

Are you going for personal head stash? If you have the money, LED. If you want the big yeild but shorter growth, MH.

Are you trying to grow the best shit ever? Combo. Even a simple half mh half hps flower room will yield a considerable different crop than an all mh or an all hps.

In the end it doesnt matter what light you use. A good grower can use whatever they have to grow the best. As long as its got a half way decent par and lumen output everything else is a breeze for me.

budbro18 said:

Plasma is about the same as mh but even better par. They also have the gavitas that are not plasma that ive heard good things about. But whatever is more efficient/better par/less heat will most likely have less penetrating power. Few can match the raw power of a 1000w hps.

And one of the main reasons people havent used them on large grows is that they are expensive and not many quality ones are out yet. People are skeptical.. Alot of times if they malfunction a large portion of the lights go out. Harder to fix. If you blow a bulb of fry a capacitor/igniter you go to home depot and grab one or go to a hydro store or htg and itll be there in 2 days.

farmerjohn420, one of subcools friends is gettin a whole bunch of lush led lights to test out. I dont think hell do a side by side test but i know he plans to run as many as he can get.

The different lighting styles depends on the grower you are.

Are you going for strictly profit? Than hps, cheap magnetic ballasts, bare bulb or open reflectors.

Are you going for personal head stash? If you have the money, LED. If you want the big yeild but shorter growth, MH.

Are you trying to grow the best shit ever? Combo. Even a simple half mh half hps flower room will yield a considerable different crop than an all mh or an all hps.

In the end it doesnt matter what light you use. A good grower can use whatever they have to grow the best. As long as its got a half way decent par and lumen output everything else is a breeze for me.

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I agree and that's why I love CFL's (even though I am now using 600 HPS/MH)! I got great yields of dense buds with CFL's, yet on here everyone says they suck. The reason I am asking, it is between plasma, LED, or induction for my next light purchase and just don't want to waste money.

Well, out of these three, which would you choose?

G2 PARmaxx Parabolic 800w LED Grow Light for 1,200.00

Product Specifications:
Dimensions: 24.5" x 24.5" x 4"
Weight: 35lbs
Actual Power Consumption:
PAR: 1588 @ 12 inches / 822 @ 24 inches
LUX: 57375 @ 12 inches / 28336 @ 24 inches
Core Coverage: 6' x 6' @ 3.33 feet
Total Coverage: 13' x 13' @ 3.33 feet
or

The Red Rocket Plasma Grow LIght for 1,000.00
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rocket-Plasma-System-120V-240V-hydroponics-grow-light-high-tech-ships-free-/360725510369?pt=US_Hydroponics&hash=item53fcea78e1

or

The Inda-Grow Pro-420-PAR for 795.00

• Covers 48"x48" Areas
• Low Temperature, Light Weight
• Perfect for Small Tents and Mother Plants
• Universal Driver 120-277v 50/60hz
• Spectrally Stable Phosphor Blend for Repeatable Results
• Wide Spectrum High Intensity Lamp provides Clones through Flowering Light Spectrums
• Maintains 90% Intensity Output at 70,000 Hours
• 100,000 Rated Life (Hours)
• Total Consumed Watts: 420
• Watts/Region: (V) 45.8, (C) 25.3, (F) 44.5

These three are the ones I have been looking at.

Check out lush lighting. Ive heard nothing but good from them and theyre in your price range.

http://www.lushledlighting.com/Dominator-BuyNow.html

Im sure if you talk to them and are willing to do a side by side or a journal about it you could get a slight discount.

Also, farmer john has a discount code and the discounted money goes to a charity for i think autism.

Led are not the best thing going, I have yet to see a led out perform a hps / mh within the same time frame. Yes, led will produce, but with more training and a longer veg time. In a few years the price will drop and the technology will be better so buying a $1000 led today just to have it old technology in 3 years is silly. Id like to see a round, stackable, led column for vert scrog growing, stack em like leggos as you go, that bitch would be bad as hell

Jbone77 said:

Led are not the best thing going, I have yet to see a led out perform a hps / mh within the same time frame. Yes, led will produce, but with more training and a longer veg time. In a few years the price will drop and the technology will be better so buying a $1000 led today just to have it old technology in 3 years is silly. Id like to see a round, stackable, led column for vert scrog growing, stack em like leggos as you go, that bitch would be bad as hell

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It's not stackable but, I did see one company that have a vertical LED grow light. It is the only one I have seen.

loquacious said:

It's not stackable but, I did see one compant have a vertical LED grow light. It is the only one I have seen.

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Iv seen some vertical types that I didnt think much of, im talkin a stackable type with a hollow center, you could vent it out with a simple inline fan and run a solid led tube to the top of your tent if you wanted, id buy that and think that would compete with a hps with the same veg time

Jbone77 said:

Iv seen some vertical types that I didnt think much of, im talkin a stackable type with a hollow center, you could vent it out with a simple inline fan and run a solid led tube to the top of your tent if you wanted, id buy that and think that would compete with a hps with the same veg time

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Well, get to the drawing board quick, dammnit!

Id start a company and have to fire myself for failing a piss test, fuckin insurance companies

Jbone77 said:

Id start a company and have to fire myself for failing a piss test, fuckin insurance companies

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Lmfao! They get you every time!

Go to the LED section and read around. Anything posted about LED's so far has been just about all horseshit. LUSH is a Chinese rebrand for waaaay too much money. There are big grows going. I won't argue that they aren't expensive, but the good ones are worth it. No HGL, No Advanced. No Blackstar

LED Brands
Apache Tech
Area 51
Hans
DIY - Picograv
California Lightworks?

High Powered COB LED's are becoming as efficienct 130+ lu/w, but the radiometric efficiency and PAR ratings of all LED's are usually greater than HID lighting per watt. Add in no bulb changes [same with Indag's too though] and generally less heating requirements and factoring all costs together, LED's aren't as expensive as some think.

The Indagro's with pontoons are awesome but $1500, it would be tough.