Starting with LED's - are ebay ones ok?

I am looking at setting up a 4X4 room with LED's, my local hydro shop wants $750 for a 300w. I see 135 ufo's (blackstar etc) for $179. Just wondering if I am wasting my money buying budget, or if these are as good.
thanks

Mmmm..... don't go that budget, it's prob what you don't want either.
Have a look at area51, I think they are coming up with a new line, they should have a discounted current line?email them actually and ask for a deal (that's what I would do eheh)

Good luck

I would recommend only using LED's as supplemental to HPS and MH. If ballast noise and heat are issues, go digital. Digital ballasts are awesome...as long as they aren't from China! Seriously, they are not good quality.

do a search on here for blackstars..and check out youtube .. i think there are some grow journals on there too using them..as far as buying them off ebay instead of a grow shop..personally i would buy it from ebay or amazon..although the grow shop will be more likely to have the newest and most advanced models available....As more and more LED's hit the market the prices keep going down....just because the price is cheaper doesnt really mean it isnt the same product..... a $1 bottle of coca cola brand soda from the dollar general is the same as the $2 coca cola in the grocery store ..just my opinion.

You get what you pay for.

My local place also wants $700 for a freaking LED but it has all blue then blue red mix then all red to finish flower and it's super bright!!! I'm at a loss tho as I wanted that from the jump but the price tag scares me ONLY because I don't want to drop that much change on something that can't surpass my 600watt hps/mh setup. I don't know the name but I want to go LED always have just want a good one that a real grower uses and can say "yes" it gives you what a 1000 watt hps does or almost but not quite or whatever it does but I would love real info not sales pitches. Heat is a huge issue aallll year round so LED is just smarter if just for that one reason alone. Looking into this black star but would love to know of others. Nothing over $1k cause I don't care how good a light is after a thousand I'm out. But again would love to hear what's worked for you guys! Thanks for any opinions from those who use what they recommend. Please no comments of other comments or adds read elsewhere. Ive read all the sales pitches ever written I think! Sorry not trying to take over your thread just want to know where I should dump my money!

mamakush said:

You get what you pay for.

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What do you rock with for lighting??? What do you get out of it ect...

id go to amazon, im also thinking of switching from my t5's to an led for my veg tent but will still use my 1000w for flower

ebay ones are fine as long as they are not generic chinese ones.

when looking for ones on ebay look for manufactures like cree, osram, philips, etc..

make sure they give the specific bin number (like a serial number), google it and it will tell you the (nm) nanometer spectrum of light it emits


make sure you get a good driver like MEANWELL

^^ Dude these guys are asking if those thin, heatsink only panels are any good..

Their not going to know what a bin is, etc.

No offense guys. Im just speculating since these panels are...less than quality.

-Area 51
-Hydroponics Hut
-Yes, even Blackstar
-Astir
-Magnum's

thats just shit off my head. Look at journals, look at results of lights- not descriptions. LED manufacturers are notorious for blowing their specs out of proportion..

Ie. Watt's drawn are most commonly a sum of the # of diodes instead of actual draw, vague nm readings, generic led's, etc. God the list goes on and on. Do dilligance in your research, you can never do enough- the tech is just now even touching its full potential, so we are all always still learning about LED's, as we speak. lol

scotch 089- thanks much, i do not know much about them, and have never even heard of "bin"- i think i will start this small grow off with hps/mh and after a few crops, and when i am more knowledgeable move to led in the summer when heat is more of a concern

I bought a 180 watt led ( Chinese ) with red blue and orange lights and I use it with a 200 watt cfl. Vegging at the moment and it works ok. Definately not setting the world on fire but still ok. It cost me around 180 bucks and I think it will only ever be good for supplemental lighting. Whoever said you get what you pay for is spot on. Good luck!

If its not setting the world on fire...do you think it is Chinese...?!

SpectatorFernFirm said:

What do you rock with for lighting??? What do you get out of it ect...

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I have a few black dog panels. I use one older and one universal platinum in flower for a total of 1460 watts over a 4 x 7 area. They're not cheap, but I've been using them for a couple of years and I've definitely got my moneys worth and then some. The girls love them, that's for sure.

Scotch089 said:

^^ Dude these guys are asking if those thin, heatsink only panels are any good..

Their not going to know what a bin is, etc.

No offense guys. Im just speculating since these panels are...less than quality.

-Area 51
-Hydroponics Hut
-Yes, even Blackstar
-Astir
-Magnum's

thats just shit off my head. Look at journals, look at results of lights- not descriptions. LED manufacturers are notorious for blowing their specs out of proportion..

Ie. Watt's drawn are most commonly a sum of the # of diodes instead of actual draw, vague nm readings, generic led's, etc. God the list goes on and on. Do dilligance in your research, you can never do enough- the tech is just now even touching its full potential, so we are all always still learning about LED's, as we speak. lol

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..agreed..up to a point...i can gaurantee that some of the bigger names you mentioned are buying lights in bulk off of site like ali baba...example : http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=blackstar+led

the reason the grow shops lights are %200 + more than buying them wholesale is..they need to make there money too !.... as far as the wattage goes i totally agree...so far i have only bought 1w diodes because i cant see dumping $400 into a 240w LED thats advertising 3 watt diodes when they are n reality 1w or 2w's ...i also agree that LED technology is still in its early stages and in 2 years the lights we are using now will be like going from 4 bulb 4' flourescent tube grow lights to the 1000w HPS...if any of you grew back in the late 80s and early 90s you know what im talking about lol !!

nug hunter, stoked to see your grow

Haha good call mate

Dude, since your on the west coast you should check out Valley Indoor Hydroponics on of Chilliwack(maybe Abbotsford). I'm all the out in SK but that's who I deal with and they are awesome and they have everything you could possibly want.

I see VIH sells Stealth Grow led's, the guy at my local hydro store does not sell led's, but said the only ones he has ever seen work are Stealth grow