Recommendations for LED?

OneToyStory

Well-Known Member
Room is 11X7 with 6'6" ceiling. Just about ready to purchase the Kind 1000 K5 but slightly concerned about ceiling height. I've tried researching Kind LED here on RIU but I'm sure you can imagine the how many posts contain the words "kind" and "led". Any recommendations welcomed.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Kind LED is overpriced. You're basically getting epi-whatever diodes at Cree/Osram prices. Area-51, Tasty, Johnson, GrowGreenLED, Amare, Pacific. Those are good lights without Kind's hype. (More light per watt, full disclosure of what you're buying, the diodes used, etc. Last I looked, Kind doesn't disclose that info -- because it's not a selling point, they're epi-whatever diodes.).
 

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
I read a review from a guy claiming he bought the 750xl and was very impressed with the results, and then upgraded to the 1000 and was surprised and disappointed that the results weren't much better than the 750.
 

OneToyStory

Well-Known Member
Hmmm.. The next option would be Black Dog 1000 but your talking about almost 1k more for their set up. I've wasted my time monkeying around with T-12/ CFL. My mind is set on led's at this point but I need to move quickly on this purchase- and just when I think I've read it "all"... There's more info and even more decisions to make.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
The next option would be Black Dog 1000 but your talking about almost 1k more for their set up.
BlackDogs are overpriced, rebranded epi-whatever too. You seem to be making the mistake that price = quality. Or, that popularity = safe choice.

I agree with you, LED is a huge learning curve. What makes it worse is the predatory companies like Kind, Blackdog, Growblu, Lush, HydroGrowLED, Name-Ripoff Platinum.

There is *a lot* of flim-flam in the LED market. People typically run 40-60w/sq ft with these lights. At that point, you might as well buy a Sun Systems LEC 315 (CMH) and run at 35w/sq ft.

Why are you choosing LED? I understand you're tired of CFL. But, unless your electricity costs a lot, or you battle heat, T5HO is a better choice for short spaces, CMH for tall. Otherwise, you have to pay a premium for efficient, fully-disclosed LED (the brands I mentioned).

Sometimes people get on the LED bandwagon for reasons that aren't clear. Maybe because it's sexy new-tech? And then they get frustrated with all the bamboozling which exists.

Don't rush into it.
 

OneToyStory

Well-Known Member
Electrical costs and the little people living in the house have steered me towards led (Trying to minimize risk, speed my current process of slow, and heat would eventually be an issue as all walls are concrete). It's hard to read between the hype of advertising. I've tried to educate myself but lighting, especially led, is complicating to those of us lacking in basic fundamentals of lighting. So when you see these videos of company reps throwing out graph readings of PAR's and lumens and and using a bunch of meter readings to bost their claims, it's easy to get caught up in advertising bullshit. I need a safe, energy efficient grow area - nothing "designer".
 

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
Electrical costs and the little people living in the house have steered me towards led (Trying to minimize risk, speed my current process of slow, and heat would eventually be an issue as all walls are concrete). It's hard to read between the hype of advertising. I've tried to educate myself but lighting, especially led, is complicating to those of us lacking in basic fundamentals of lighting. So when you see these videos of company reps throwing out graph readings of PAR's and lumens and and using a bunch of meter readings to bost their claims, it's easy to get caught up in advertising bullshit. I need a safe, energy efficient grow area - nothing "designer".
I would personally try one of the lights that az2000 posted. The Area 51 are nice because they are small, tastyled makes bars which is a good configuration and there are other good ones - I think you get more par for less $ if you buy any of those brands
 

OneToyStory

Well-Known Member
I would personally try one of the lights that az2000 posted. The Area 51 are nice because they are small, tastyled makes bars which is a good configuration and there are other good ones - I think you get more par for less $ if you buy any of those brands
Area 51 is sold out of all lighting.
 

questiondj42

Well-Known Member
I'm liking the look of Jimmy's results. My interactions here with him and with Dan at DLP Lamps has been excellent. The warranty on the panels looks good too. The form factor they're built to is more suited to my needs than the TastyLED. I just received the panels today, and they look great. The construction on them is solid, and the materials are good. The fans run very quiet, and the light runs cool. I was considering the HeavenBright mothership and the OpticLED 500W panel, but settled on multiple Timbers for flexibility.
 
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