question about heat please help might miss a good deal

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grenadeshower

New Member
So I run a 400 watt 4ft 8 bulb t5 in flower but its a little hot for my space. I can get a good deal on a black dog xlu750 platinum and was wondering if this led would run cooler than the 400 watt t5? Thanks for any help.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
grenadeshower said:
So I run a 400 watt 4ft 8 bulb t5 in flower but its a little hot for my space. I can get a good deal on a black dog xlu750 platinum and was wondering if this led would run cooler than the 400 watt t5? Thanks for any help.
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What diodes does BlackDog use? (A reference to the info please.).

Many of these expensive lights are just epi-whatever diodes like a MarsHydro, but soild for 5x more. If that's true about the light you're considering, it will run as hot the t5 (which should run at 40-50w/sq ft,which isn't bad.).

There may be a reason like that why someone's passing off their Blackdog.
 
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grenadeshower

New Member
az2000 said:
What diodes does BlackDog use? (A reference to the info please.).

Many of these expensive lights are just epi-whatever diodes like a MarsHydro, but soild for 5x more. If that's true about the light you're considering, it will run as hot the t5 (which should run at 40-50w/sq ft,which isn't bad.).

There may be a reason like that why someone's passing off their Blackdog.
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I was under the impression that blackdog was a top shelf led brand.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
grenadeshower said:
I was under the impression that blackdog was a top shelf led brand.
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The power of marketing? It looks like a rebranded TopLED/MarsHydro. What brand/bin diodes do they use? The last time I looked at their site there was no mention of it. With the price they charge, and the amount of hype on their website, you know they'd mention it if it was something to brag about, right?

There are a lot of scammy lights like that. They sell epi-whatever diodes, but talk around it with a lot of double-talk hype. Often you'll find people using these lights, showing great results. But, what they don't reveal (maybe because they don't think it's important) is that they're running 50+ w/sq ft. That's probably more than you run T5HO.

How much is the light you're looking at?

What space do you grow in? How tall are your plants (from the soil)?

When I ran T5HO I contemplated removing the ballasts to outside the tent. "Remote." I don't know if the line voltages and wire lengths would allow that. I could never understand the issues involved in running 6-10' of wire like that to the top of the tent. That might be something you could explore.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
PicklesRus said:
it's hard to say unless someone has pulled one apart and checked the internal components
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I bet it's as easy as noticing that they don't say what they use. As hype-oriented as BlackDog (Lush, Kind, HydroGrowLED, et al) are, you know they would mention the pedigree of their diodes if there was something worth mentioning.

California Light Works is another. They pushed some fake PAR numbers ("adjusted" in the fine print). Lots of hype to justify the high price. Never said what diodes they used. Their new model, they now say they use entirely Osram diodes. Still no bins or part numbers. But, obviously, it's a selling point they didn't have before. Once they had it, they began hyping that.

There are so many LED lights available which are transparent in what you're getting (the spectrum, the parts). Low-hype, high-content. I don't understand why people are attracted to the old "come on" brands.
 
alesh

alesh

Well-Known Member
grenadeshower said:
I was under the impression that blackdog was a top shelf led brand.
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Nope, it isn't. They only act that way.
It's rebranded cheap chinese import. You can get similar performing light at a fraction of the cost. I wouldn't recommend them either, though.

e: The BDL website has some good read :) I especially recommend the 'The Efficiency Myth' section.
 
testiclees

testiclees

Well-Known Member
alesh said:
Nope, it isn't. They only act that way.
It's rebranded cheap chinese import. You can get similar performing light at a fraction of the cost. I wouldn't recommend them either, though.

e: The BDL website has some good read :) I especially recommend the 'The Efficiency Myth' section.
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They sell the " most poweful led available" so does platinum led. Slimy A holes will make any claim. At least Mars doesnt make preposterous boasts.
 
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PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
Correction, black dog led are tested in that video. They give off an "impressive amount of light" compared to other fixtures, but are the most wasteful in electricity from all tested. Wasted electricity means heat. Why don't you see if there's a par map and compare that to the amount of energy the light actually uses.

But I have a feeling that the "good deal" is still pretty expensive, so maybe you should let everyone here help you figure out if you have a better option and tell us what the "good deal" is specifically.


grenadeshower said:
I was under the impression that blackdog was a top shelf led brand.
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az2000

Well-Known Member
grenadeshower said:
400$.... 8 square ft. SOG in coco perpetual 28" of space from pot top to 2 inch buffer zone from t5 light.
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So, you're running 50w/sq ft. You can do 30w/sq ft with LED lightbulbs and it will be significantly cooler. (I used to run T5HO at 40, maybe 50 in late flower).

I doubt the epi-whatever Blackdog light will run cooler. Also, without knowing more about the specific "deal" you're contemplating, I bet it will eat into your limited vertical space. Those 5w reflector models need some distance. They're too focused/intense. If you were contemplating an epi-whatever 3w (mounted on white backboard) it might not hurt to try it. You could sell it on Craigslist if it didn't work out. I use a Blackstar 135w (85w actual) UFO and the leaves can almost touch the glass. It works well in short spaces.

Anything you use, you need to pay attention to the distance required between the plant and light. Not very many things will recreate your 2" distance with T5HO.

Do you have any DIY skills? You could make some low-power COBs. If you don't have that much skill, you could hang some LED lightbulbs.

If you don't want to spend $500 on a COB fixture, there are SMD5630 strip LEDs that I've been wanting to experiment with. If I were you, I would experiment with those or GE BrightStik 10w LED bulbs in reflectors. Replace one T5HO fixture with some of that to see how it compares.
 
PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
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