IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

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420dj

Member
I think you guys should read the title, maybe you were boffins beforehand but otherwise remember that learning curve.. with all the scattered info on here i'm struggling to keep up as it is. I thought this was a newby type thread? ; )
LOL

Ya it can be a little overwhelming here at times with what I will call the (HEAVYS) theres a lot of smart people on here and they can kinda get blindsided to the fact that some are not at their level.

All good though, try to follow along and people here will try their best to answer any questions the simplest way they know how.:bigjoint:
 

Tazbud

Well-Known Member
Haha, I didn't mean to stop the conversation. I agree, lots of smart people and don't get me wrong i've learnt so much and some from these very people ;-)
 

monoxide child

New Member
ever heard ov apache leds ? ive been looking into leds and you are right they are xpensive and tech is evolving fast i was looking for multi spectrum 1k w apaches are about 1k bux friend of mine uses led and he does nice with them bout 40 grams a plant
 

djwimbo

Well-Known Member
ever heard ov apache leds ? ive been looking into leds and you are right they are xpensive and tech is evolving fast i was looking for multi spectrum 1k w apaches are about 1k bux friend of mine uses led and he does nice with them bout 40 grams a plant
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/630619-apache-tech-led-grow-8x12.html

Not my grow, but worth reading if you're interested in Apache Tech.

I considered purchasing their product/s, but it wasn't quite what I needed. Watch the videos in that thread, IIRC there's a coupon code for one of their lights well below retail price... as well as info on upcoming products.

Edit: 40g/plant? how big are the plants? I'm pretty sure tags is netting more than that per plant.
 

RainerRocks

Active Member
Makers CONTROLLER - Sunrise / Sunset controller for MakersDRIVER. Finally for sale and taking orders.

http://www.ledgroupbuy.com/makers-controller-sunrise-sunset-controller-for-makersdriver/

This is going to be my next purchase for my set-up ..I already have the makers driver/dimmer. Still working on making my enclosure for my 2 heatsinks (30 Led's) which are working...not enough time in the day when working 6 days a week.

MakersCONTROLLER Manual
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JDHSDuaie34Gr5YWWN-NthDjnIHOR_SVzJQug2i-3cs/pub
 

Stegon

New Member
Hi all,

Been having an absolute nightmare trying to cut through all the BS and sales patter I have heard when looking for LED grow lights. I am growing 2 plants in 20l dwc pots pumping 30l o2 per min. My space is 1.2m x 1.2m x 2m. I am growing dutch passions think different which I have grown before but using 600w hps. That was in the winter and I still had massive trouble trying to keep the heat down we are now approaching summer so really need to be looking at LEDs. What led light would work well for this space ?(1.2mx1.2mx2m) with 2 x20l oxy pots. I have around $600 to spend and want something from veg through to flower... I dont mind using multiple pannels just want something that will give me a good yeild for this space...... Any help would be greatly appreciated and have now proplems doing A full grow journal once I have selected my light source ..... I am already to go bar having the right lights Thankyou. If there is nothing in this price range I could hold off for a few weeks and get a more expensive ones if that is the only sensible option ? Any advice welcome
 

sadface

Active Member
So I have been doing research on LED and what I feel that I have found was that almost all LED grow lights come from China and you can actually go right to the manufacturers and purchase panel at a fraction of retail from a hydro store. The problem is weeding through the fake suppliers or sub par suppliers. Through a lot of research I have found and believe that below 2 companies are legit and they also accept pay-pal so if something goes array I feel confident I can get my money back.

The problem I have now is I do not know enough about the led technology to see which one meets my needs. I have a 2.6ftx2.6ftx5ft tent so don't need a big light. Should you get 2 panels, one for veg and one for flower? or just one that has 2 modes?

Actually of the blue sea models below the only difference I see if the lens type on the 3 series and they don't really tell you the difference. Sorry for my ignorance!

http://www.bluesea-led.com/led-grow-light/844-led-grow-light-e154d-140w
- 140 watt E-grow

http://www.bluesea-led.com/led-grow-light/834-led-grow-light-sp110d-140w - 140 watt X3 series

http://www.bluesea-led.com/led-grow-light/850-led-grow-light-sp148-140w - 140 watt ufo series

http://led-star.en.alibaba.com/product/923717173-215855536/Promotion_2013_Newest_Adjustable_Hydro_LED_Grow_Lights_full_spectrum_for_flowering_3w_leds.html - 192w Led star

http://led-star.en.alibaba.com/product/923843446-214869829/Factory_Wholesale_2013_led_grow_lights_150w_integrated_led_grow_light_with_lens_and_reflector_for_greenhouse_plant.html - 150w rubine lens 2x led star
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
I can't speak for bluesea but you won't be saving any money in the long run with LED-Star. They're a signage company that use cheap low CRI diodes. I know cause I used to deal with them and they will tell you whatever to make a sale. I've gotten a few panels from them, nothing to write home about. And the warranty is a joke. I had a driver problem and what they charged me to ship the driver was more than just buying one on Ebay. You'll pay more in electricity with LED Star too, I notice that they're still using Zeners in their design. You can do better I bet Sadface. Cidly and Byson come to my mind. Good Luck.
 

sadface

Active Member
I can't speak for bluesea but you won't be saving any money in the long run with LED-Star. They're a signage company that use cheap low CRI diodes. I know cause I used to deal with them and they will tell you whatever to make a sale. I've gotten a few panels from them, nothing to write home about. And the warranty is a joke. I had a driver problem and what they charged me to ship the driver was more than just buying one on Ebay. You'll pay more in electricity with LED Star too, I notice that they're still using Zeners in their design. You can do better I bet Sadface. Cidly and Byson come to my mind. Good Luck.
Thanks for the reply, I am looking into Cidly now it looks like Bysen has a minimum of 5 lights per order which I cant afford lol
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
what prices are the bysen
Replace a 600 hps in a 1.2³ for 600.00? If heats an issue you should think efficiency so look into bonsaihero.com (Han's panel). 2 of them go for 500 and that would be a nice start, then you could add some smaller lights for flowering if needed. People and companies are coming out with new panels all the time, including VIPAR and Bonsaihero.com soon and they both seem to be a good deal IMO, so you may want to wait a bit and see what's around. So remember if heats an issue, and you can't vent it, you may want to look into panels that are a bit more efficient than the Chinese panels that can get hot with their mystery diodes and mostly borderline cooling.

And if you really want a Bysen, and don't want to buy 5, tell them you want to buy a sample panel. That usually works but I've never dealt with Bysen.
 

tags420

Well-Known Member
ever heard ov apache leds ? ive been looking into leds and you are right they are xpensive and tech is evolving fast i was looking for multi spectrum 1k w apaches are about 1k bux friend of mine uses led and he does nice with them bout 40 grams a plant
https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/630619-apache-tech-led-grow-8x12.html
Not my grow, but worth reading if you're interested in Apache Tech.
I considered purchasing their product/s, but it wasn't quite what I needed. Watch the videos in that thread, IIRC there's a coupon code for one of their lights well below retail price... as well as info on upcoming products.
Edit: 40g/plant? how big are the plants? I'm pretty sure tags is netting more than that per plant.
Thanks for the support djwimbo. I had really good success with my smaller grows with my first apaches. I did a short veg, 16 plant SOG, that was really good, 1oz+/plant with 2 AT120. And then I helped with the quest for the best grow which did about 3.5oz each. It is easier to think of it as each AT can yield 8oz if you do things right. Using multiple units definitely makes a difference.
My current run is a struggle and not the best example but the next run is about to get flipped and I have finally worked out all the bugs and problems with my rooms so it should be a record AT yield for me.

EDIT: Code RBK331 will drop the price to $750 on the apache site
 

Snores

Member
Bysen reps gave me a price to ship a single unit, just messaged them on Alibaba. Found the X2 range a tad pricy compared to what I could get from Cidly.
 
Hi gang, i've been looking to upgrade my cabinet grow to LEDs for a while now and doing some research this sub forum has been reccomeneded a few times. Currently i'm using cfl lights, 9 42w bulbs (6-3 2700k & 65000k depending on whether i'm flowering or vegging) in a chamber of about 26*18*28. Currently the CFLs have their independently cooled chamber seperated by a thin sheet of acrylic. If i were to upgrade to an LED light i would combine the two chambers so my grow area would go up to 26*18*36. I have been growing for a while now and have had some luck with my current setup but would love to up my yeilds without using too much power or generating too much heat. I tend to grow two plants at a time, organically and have rarely grown a strain twice in a row.

Anyways like i mentioned i've been doing a ton of research on LED lights. I was strongly considering ordering directly from a manufacturer but it seems like even with the best of intentions on all sides dealing with companies in china is a huge gong show. A few things have come up as possible options but some of them seem heavily sponsored so i'm a bit leery. I'm currently leaning towards, Advanced LED (100/200w), BlackStar (180/240) Flowering, a Bonsaihero LED panel and maybe this place http://qled.ca/led-grow-lights/ if only because it was vigorously recomended by one on the local medicinal grow dudes.

Anyways thanks alot dudes and i appreciate any feedback you guys have!
 

FranJan

Well-Known Member
Hi gang, i've been looking to upgrade my cabinet grow to LEDs for a while now and doing some research this sub forum has been reccomeneded a few times. Currently i'm using cfl lights, 9 42w bulbs (6-3 2700k & 65000k depending on whether i'm flowering or vegging) in a chamber of about 26*18*28. Currently the CFLs have their independently cooled chamber seperated by a thin sheet of acrylic. If i were to upgrade to an LED light i would combine the two chambers so my grow area would go up to 26*18*36. I have been growing for a while now and have had some luck with my current setup but would love to up my yeilds without using too much power or generating too much heat. I tend to grow two plants at a time, organically and have rarely grown a strain twice in a row.

Anyways like i mentioned i've been doing a ton of research on LED lights. I was strongly considering ordering directly from a manufacturer but it seems like even with the best of intentions on all sides dealing with companies in china is a huge gong show. A few things have come up as possible options but some of them seem heavily sponsored so i'm a bit leery. I'm currently leaning towards, Advanced LED (100/200w), BlackStar (180/240) Flowering, a Bonsaihero LED panel and maybe this place http://qled.ca/led-grow-lights/ if only because it was vigorously recomended by one on the local medicinal grow dudes.

Anyways thanks alot dudes and i appreciate any feedback you guys have!
= Nope/Later+1

That's from QLED's website and it makes me think if you're pulling that out of your ass to convince me to buy something, what else will you say. Maybe they work. And maybe they don't. So do you want to take a chance or grow weed :)? I guess if you really trust that guy's opinion/knowledge then go for it, but from what I can tell, they're probably shipped in straight from China, though their warranty doesn't seem too bad, if they live up to it. If you're in Canada then you might want to look into VIPAR, which work very well for the price, though they've got new models coming out soon and don't seem to be taking orders yet.

Adv. and BS will grow weed, though not as efficiently as a BHero. You might want to think about doing a more transition type change into LED. Start off with a smaller LED panel and use CFLs, then buy a better panel later and replace the CFLs with the original LED panel you bought. Good Luck!
 

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
I'm currently leaning towards said:
http://qled.ca/led-grow-lights/[/URL] if only because it was vigorously recomended by one on the local medicinal grow dudes.

Anyways thanks alot dudes and i appreciate any feedback you guys have!

Of the ones listed, bonsaihero would be my goto and Blackstar would be if you like fixing equipment...maybe a slightly unfair characterization but there are quite a few folks who have come on here asking questions so they can repair their BS. Another quality fixture to look at would be area 51.

And as Franjan indicated, if it's a little on the expensive side go for one panel and keep some CFL. Fluorescent light is cheap, cool compared to most and provides a nice general spectrum. LED is all up front cost and you get it back in the long run...really probably only medium run unless you are in a place with very cheap electric.
 
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