Watts = Weight?

Yes I would say that is true, power cost is negligible at current rates. The electric consumption for my whole system (ventilation, circulation, veg, flower, AC and dehumidifier) is 800 kWh/mnth or about $120/mnth. When I finish upgrading the COBs it should put down as much light as 5000W worth of HID (veg and flower combined). There is no way I could handle the heat load of 5000W without a network of giant air tubes and blowers, but if I could, I estimate the electrical load would be at least 3000kWh/mnth or $500/mnth. Still not a big deal but there are places where electric rates are 3-4X higher.
 
OneHitDone said:
I was hoping to find someone that has run say a 600hps and a 1000hps in the same space with the same strain, etc. that had seen it with their own direct experiences
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I used to run 600W HPS X4 flip flop. Even in a basement, the heat was out of control unless I cranked the AC in the summer or shut down some of the lights during the hottest parts of the day. The yield and quality was adequate but sucked compared to DIY LED, summer or winter. Same cutting same nutes etc.

Some good friends have gardens with daisy chained 1000W Hortilux HPS w cooled hoods and some use 600W Hortilux HPS w cooled hoods. Using the same cuttings, soil grown with liquid nutes, their yields were only slightly better than mine. I have seen them get as high as .9 gpw with high yielders (ISS) but it took 10+ weeks to finish (sloppily) and the quality was not even remotely close to the dank cuttings grown under LED.

Granted the 1000W DE should be an improvement over my generic 600s. Can't say that I have tried that yet but I doubt I would be willing to sacrifice the space or take on all that heat to test it.

OneHitDone said:
Next question would be, if the photosynthesis is sufficient to grow huge plants at lower wattage pre-flower - what is it about the higher power that directly influences flower size and weight?
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They say big roots = big fruits. So if you veg sufficiently in a large enough container, don't under fertilize and dont over fertilize, flower with 750-1000 PPFD average, sufficient airflow without letting CO2 levels droop too much, you should be able to accurately explore the genetic potential of most varieties. If you allow the canopy temps to rise to 86F in the first 5-6 weeks of flowering and run a large yielding variety, you should be able to grow some monster sized buds. May be able to push them even further with skilled force feeding via hydroponics but that is beyond my experience.

I would add that bigger is not always better. Large buds tend to shade their own insides and are more susceptible to white mold deep inside the buds. It also seems that the larger yeilders can be susceptible to dreading/taking forever to finish, which can lead to a mixture of over mature, mature and immature trichomes . That is what I am referring to as a sloppy finish and I suspect interferes with potency. What I am really chasing is maximizing yield while maintaining top quality
IMG_0051a AOG2 drying.JPG
 
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bicit said:
Now days photon density is the metric to use. The only real effective way to compare different lighting technology. Generally speaking, the higher the photon density, the higher the yield.

The guru's around here seem to think 750-1000PPFD is the sweet spot for quality and quantity. I think beta test team on ICmag determined 1500PPFD to be the point of diminishing returns. Could be mistaken on both.

The point is, photons are what drives photosynthesis, not watts.
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What this guy said ^^
 
a mars 2 1600 (780 watts) will only just outperform a 600 watter,as it should,considering it uses more power.you can grow top quality bud with leds,and get good yeilds,but you can also do that with hids.mrtight on youtube has gone back to using hids for flowering,coz he gets better results.but he still uses leds for veg growth.i also think leds are way overpriced,and they can bleach plants far too easy.so you have to be extra careful,if growing in a tent.
 
I was disappointed that Mr Tight did not test any quality LED grow lamps. He only tested lamps with generic LEDs (mystery bins) and questionable cooling. Plenty of growers visit that channel and will remain unaware of what LED is capable of.
 
vitamin_green_inc said:
Hmm, no, actually none of his journals are even from this year? I was specifically asking about growing a tree and getting a lb
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So doing it with lower output/less efficient panels doesn't prove the point even more???

Seeing someone who has been around the block with all lighting types and been successful with them all and still tinkering here and there.
Of course that would be silly to want to be exposed to...what was I thinking.
 
Greengenes707 said:
So doing it with lower output/less efficient panels doesn't prove the point even more???

Seeing someone who has been around the block with all lighting types and been successful with them all and still tinkering here and there.
Of course that would be silly to want to be exposed to...what was I thinking.
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What? What are you going on about man? In the first part of the thread I was talking about growing a single tree per light and @thedawg said that's because you haven't seen my latest experiment but he doesn't have a journal up with 1 plant and 1 light? And "all" of them is the wrong answer completely as pertaining to my original post, as he has several different grow journals up, and again, none of them feature 1 plant 1 light grow
 
ttystikk said:
As a long time tree grower, I'm absolutely sure I can grow pounders with LED and I am even now formulating a plan to prove it.

What's more, I believe the technology has matured to the point where I can get more yield with LED than with HID. Again, a personal belief/hypothesis I plan to test.
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This is more along the lines of what I was looking for, a specific tree grow
 
vitamin_green_inc said:
What? What are you going on about man? In the first part of the thread I was talking about growing a single tree per light and @thedawg said that's because you haven't seen my latest experiment but he doesn't have a journal up with 1 plant and 1 light? And "all" of them is the wrong answer completely as pertaining to my original post, as he has several different grow journals up, and again, none of them feature 1 plant 1 light grow
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Stay Tuned For My Next Journal. I Will be Putting My A-135(250 Watts) Up Against My SGS-160(160 Watts). I Will Partition My 2x4 Tent So 1 Plant Per Light In My Homemade Waterfarms With Attached Screen :hump:
 
The Dawg said:
That My Son Is A Ganja Tree Of Life .Did You Do A Vertical Light Also??:hump:
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Hey Dawg! Thanks! That's lit from the other side with 860W CDM lamps and an HPS thouie, all hung bare and vertical. This shot is taken from the back, effectively 'beneath' the canopy.

And yes, this is the rack I'm planning to light with as much as 5kW of COB LED. After all, you'll never know what she'll do if you never stomp the gas pedal and hang on!
 
ttystikk said:
Hey Dawg! Thanks! That's lit from the other side with 860W CDM lamps and an HPS thouie, all hung bare and vertical. This shot is taken from the back, effectively 'beneath' the canopy.

And yes, this is the rack I'm planning to light with as much as 5kW of COB LED. After all, you'll never know what she'll do if you never stomp the gas pedal and hang on!
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That is a very interesting approach and makes a lot of sense.
Do you have any pics or journals of finished plants in that configuration?
 
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