Which LED?

blimey

blimey

Active Member
I'm thinking about getting a led for my younger generation and I have a few questions.

It only needs to cover like 24"x6"
What wattage should I get?

What brand should I get?
I've heard of lighthouse hydro and blackstar. How are those?

Thanks in advance I know it's a lame question.
 
loudpac

loudpac

Active Member
- I use and love the 357 magnum's, IMO you cant go wrong with them...
from what I've seen those other brand have had succesful grows as well.
 
blimey

blimey

Active Member
Those look pretty awesome. I'm just looking for something for 4 plants under 5 weeks though.
 
B

BlazedMonkey

Well-Known Member
Magnums look promising. GrowLedHydro is suppose to have really good panels with a 5 year warrenty. Pro grow (one im using) has a nice one that comes with 3 year warrenty. Blackstars are the best as far as price per watt but heard one or two people having Customer service issues.

I would stick to one of those. Kessils are quality too but i dont like the whole concentrated light thing.
 
D

DemontauruS

Active Member
I use the magnums and swear by them. Managed a 3x8 space with two of them and pounded out some massive white widows with them, but only three big ones at a time can really get soaked by two magnums. Theyre sweet, but if you were running a budget Id go with CFL's because unless you pay for strong 3W and above LED's, youre gettin bunk, and they charge a chunk for the magnums and the like. If you can afford them though, they pull their weight with quality spectrum light and plant response.
 
Endur0xX

Endur0xX

Well-Known Member
the advance 100W would fit the space you describe if you can have it 24 inches above canope, it's about 4-5 inches wide
 
imlovnit24/7

imlovnit24/7

Active Member
Not to butt in, but i've been reading up on LED's and I can't figure which brand and watteage to get for my little Rubbermaid Cabinet. Its 36"T x 36"W x 16"D(4sqft) Any advice anyone can give???

I've looked at the BlackStars 150 and 240 but 1 seems too small and the other too big...
 
Adam & Cola

Adam & Cola

Well-Known Member
imlovnit24/7 said:
Not to butt in, but i've been reading up on LED's and I can't figure which brand and watteage to get for my little Rubbermaid Cabinet. Its 36"T x 36"W x 16"D(4sqft) Any advice anyone can give???

I've looked at the BlackStars 150 and 240 but 1 seems too small and the other too big...
Click to expand...
I just received a Blackstar 240W from gotham today. I was surprised. it's footprint is really small (roughly 15.5" long 8.25" Wide and 2.25" tall) in comparison my 2ft 4 bulb T5 is 22.5 " Long 13.75" Wide and 2.75 tall. So the 240W Blackstar would easily fit in that rubber maid.

The only problem you would have is you would need to make a different hanging system for the light from what they provide with the light. You could easily drill four holes in the top of the lid and hang it from small bungee cords though so it would be really simple to do. I should have taken pictures of it before I threw it in my closet. I'll do that tomorrow when the light is off. But here it is.

IMG_7987.jpg
 
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fossil22

Member
I would suggest doing a little more research on LEDs before you pull the trigger on another light. Blackstars are junk, the light panels you buy from Ebay are junk, Advanced uses a generic lens which is better, but is still behind in technology and uses a standard spectrum, I also think that packing the lights so close together creates heat which speeds up deterioration.. Check out Apache, Haight, or Hydro-Grow for an actual LED light that works well and will actually last. LEDs are getting bad raps because of all the junk and poor designs that are out there right now, but LEDs ARE the future. Plasmas provide an adjustable spectrum, but uses more elec and are too expensive and dont last as long, old school HPS uses too much electricity not to mention you have to vent for heat control, replace bulbs and you still only have a limited spectrum. Im using a Hydro-Grow Penatrator Pro (a little more expensive than the Advanced) and its working better than my 600W HPS ever did and I never have to turn on the A/C as the light runs at no more than 90 degrees, not to mention it only uses around 200w total with a Par output that equals if not surpasses my 600W HPS. They use an advanced spectrum, an optcial grade PMMA Acrylic lens, and run the diodes at far less than rated for longer life and less emission deterioration and the light is of modular design, so if anything goes wrong, they can just send you a replacement part and your light is never fully down, which would be a huge problem for most of us. Oh, did I mention the advanced spectrum provided me with a lightning fast Veg, AND is flowering better than my HPS did with no switch?? Honestly, who wants to replace a light with a bunch of other lights?? Get a GOOD LED and dont waste your money on multiple lights, it kind of defeats the purpose of going LED..
 
Endur0xX

Endur0xX

Well-Known Member
I think that blackstar will give result, how dont know how long the light will last though. I was disappointed with how it looks inside the light with my blackstar, you can tell they were built extremely fast. The fact that there is no heat to LEDs is not true, you can certainly touch the lights but in terms of having them in a small grow cab with no vents is not doable in my opinion. I would tend to disagree on what fossil22 says about having multiple lights being no good. Because it's a real jungle out there, I have been buying lower watted lights from different brands and I think it allows you to have a better coverage... and find out which brand seem to be the best. my opinion... good luck
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
Endur0xX said:
I think that blackstar will give result, how dont know how long the light will last though. I was disappointed with how it looks inside the light with my blackstar, you can tell they were built extremely fast. The fact that there is no heat to LEDs is not true, you can certainly touch the lights but in terms of having them in a small grow cab with no vents is not doable in my opinion. I would tend to disagree on what fossil22 says about having multiple lights being no good. Because it's a real jungle out there, I have been buying lower watted lights from different brands and I think it allows you to have a better coverage... and find out which brand seem to be the best. my opinion... good luck
Click to expand...
I disagree with most of fossil's post...
 
F

fossil22

Member
My point was just to do a bit more research, I have grown with multiple lights, HPS/MH, CFLs, etc.. If you need multiple lights, wouldnt you just be better off with a light meant for the size of your grow? I mean if you have to supplement, then the main light isnt doing its job or your asking too much of it, no matter what light source your using. The benefits of LEDs are what? Less electricity.. Less heat.. Longer Life, over all lower cost of operation, and a better spectrum allowing the plant to use most of the light provided instead of having to have a high wattage HPS or equivalent which the plant only uses around 20% or less of the light/energy being used. Switching to LEDs has many benefits, I just hate to see people waste their hard earned money, or use lighting improperly and then complain.

If you disagree with most of this research, please educate. Im sure The University of Washington, NASA, and the other independent testing labs would love to hear it.
 
puffenuff

puffenuff

Well-Known Member
fossil22 said:
My point was just to do a bit more research, I have grown with multiple lights, HPS/MH, CFLs, etc.. If you need multiple lights, wouldnt you just be better off with a light meant for the size of your grow? I mean if you have to supplement, then the main light isnt doing its job or your asking too much of it, no matter what light source your using. The benefits of LEDs are what? Less electricity.. Less heat.. Longer Life, over all lower cost of operation, and a better spectrum allowing the plant to use most of the light provided instead of having to have a high wattage HPS or equivalent which the plant only uses around 20% or less of the light/energy being used. Switching to LEDs has many benefits, I just hate to see people waste their hard earned money, or use lighting improperly and then complain.

If you disagree with most of this research, please educate. Im sure The University of Washington, NASA, and the other independent testing labs would love to hear it.
Click to expand...
I don't disagree with these statements, only parts of your previous post. Mainly the parts where you talk about poorly of blackstar and advanced; you said blackstars are junk...there's a lot of blackstar users on this forum and I'm sure they'd beg to differ...and why are you hating on advanced? They are pretty damn near identical to the penetrators from hgl, same led manufacturers, very close spectrums, and both have unique lenses over their leds...so why are you so quick to write off advanced as not a good light? and I also disagree with your points about multiple lights. I forget the exact terminology, but when you use two smaller lights as opposed to one larger, you get extra footprint, extra intensity in the sweet zone where the light overlaps, and can create the third light effect.
 
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