My DIY LED Grow Lights | 350w < $50

I have an extra tent and a lot of time on my hands these days. So I started off with 5 of these. I paid $200 for all 5 from some guy on Marketplace. They are brand new and he got them as a pallet item.


Wattage : 400W
Input Voltage : 110-120V,60HZ
Lumens : 36000LM
Material : Aluminum + PC
Color temperature :2800-3000K
Beads Type : SMD 2835
Beads Number : 528pcs
Beam Angle : 120 degrees
Waterproof Level : IP65
Weight : 6.4kg(not include package)

(4) 100w led panels (warm white)

Next I cut up old an ping pong table to make two 30"x30" MDF panels. Drilled and cut some holes and modified (extended) the wiring harness that came with them.

Pictures pretty much show it all and the end result. I will be throwing a coupe of these up in my extra 4x8 tent and growing about 100 SOG plants under them to see how they produce. I'll be using hempy buckets (2 liters) and running 12/12 from seed to harvest.

Thoughts?

Can't wait to see the effects , good luck mate

You covered the majority of the heatsink on those lights.

True that should be aluminium instead of mdf

xtsho said:

You covered the majority of the heatsink on those lights.

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They have a Lasko High Velocity Tower Fan blowing across them. They stay cool to the touch and the temps in the tents are only 5F hotter in the 880w DIY Lights tent then in the 960w Quantum Boards tent.

Skaboi6977 said:

True that should be aluminium instead of mdf

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The lights all have aluminum heatsinks on them which I didn't take off. I just slapped these puppies onto these the square MDF boards to spread the footprint out some. Best I could come up with without having to go to the hardware store again.

Only thing I would have done differently here is used L, C, or Square aluminum to mount these up. Will definitely improve thermals.

So how was the results?

I'm also curious how it works for vegging cause I'd make a few if they grow well. Do they have a full spectrum?

Those things gotta be chopped by now. I'd like to see how it turned out.

Hey buddy, if it didnt turn out well thats fine, but we are all very curious, what happen?

@kickapooh ???

These are 90 Lumen per watt. I don't get it? A 600W HPS will give 150 Lumen per watt. Or 1000W hps would be around 120lm/w. They are more efficient at making light than these LEDs. Just curious is there some advantage to these LEDs other than low upfront cost?

MidnightSun72 said:

These are 90 Lumen per watt. I don't get it? A 600W HPS will give 150 Lumen per watt. Or 1000W hps would be around 120lm/w. They are more efficient at making light than these LEDs. Just curious is there some advantage to these LEDs other than low upfront cost?

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That would be the ONLY reason I would consider using these.
Compared to current tech led's and even HID fixtures, it generates 1/3 to almost 50% less photon output for each watt of electricity.

MidnightSun72 said:

These are 90 Lumen per watt. I don't get it? A 600W HPS will give 150 Lumen per watt. Or 1000W hps would be around 120lm/w. They are more efficient at making light than these LEDs. Just curious is there some advantage to these LEDs other than low upfront cost?

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I have a pair of these. Your reasoning is spot on. I bought them to fill some gaps in the tent, but I didn't pay anywhere near the price the OP did. He paid $40 per light, I paid $15 per light. For a little more than he paid I could have got a pair of Mars Hydro TS1000s.

As a side comment, I'd never go back to HPS, I am forced to grow in a loft with not much height and HPS were a constant battle to keep cool.