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

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Tazbud

Well-Known Member
FranJan said:
Taz be aware that if they're made with cheap parts they will run hot. And I mean hot hot hot. So you're probably gonna have to move those drivers, which looks doable. Get the right gauge wire if you do.
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Ah well, I see a hint... was thinking these (100w floodlights) had a separate driver 'box' but they don't do they, one piece seems like the norm once they get bigger. I thought it was a cunning plan, run them with some e27 reds, mix it all up either side of the HPS till I could swap that out for a decent panel..

I'm still keen to try them in my grow (as it's coming into winter and i'll soon need the radiator for heat), what gives if the get tooo hot??

I'll see if I can keep the heat down (short of drilling holes in the driver cover) but they might end up lighting the back yard lol .. not overly fazed.. I'm outa my depth and meet the postie all excited like ;-)


IMG_0242.jpg
 
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Tazbud

Well-Known Member
OK... so should I expect to just be able to replace/lengthen the 3 core into/out from the driver to move the driver... Leaving an empty driver box (before I go further) (anyone..)??

.. hmm, might just wire a plug into one.. 'as is' and see what sort of heat we are talking about for now..




IMG_0243.jpg

Sorry, I should start a floodlight thread but this might help newbies as well..:-)
 
tags420

tags420

Well-Known Member
RB1956 said:
A WATT IS A WATT, Apparently u have a lot to learn.. I have a attitude because people like you think you know all.. I know I don't but I do know a watt is a watt don't care what you say.. Yeah about apache tech they don't build and get everything from the USA.. They may have a different design or something but 99% of the parts if not 100% still come from CHINA.. But 1099 for 156w are you completely stupid?? Hows that not a 3-4x markup.. LMAO.. And for the dude with the board you showed, STILL DOESNT SAY CREE DOES IT!!!!!!!! NUFF SAID.. So ya ill buy from Bsled or cidly or whoever and get 3-4x as much light as you and 3-4x the medicine.. But im the dumb 1 nah I think that's the peeps who actually spend that amount of money just plain crazy but some people have money to burn I guess because that's what your doing..
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So you don't even grow with LEDs yet?? Just do what ever you want and see what happens.
If watts are all the same, then just use (10)100w incandescent bulbs and you should be able to pull 2lb's. Watts are watts as far as you power bill goes but not on what those watts can do...you really have a hard time with that. Watts are not the output of the light. Non of the good grow quality chips from cree say "cree" on them. Not every cree chips are the best out there either so check what is actually getting you all excited.
Apache parts and other outsourced american, taiwan, korea, and sweden, not all china. and yes it makes difference. Apache doesn't even use cree chips. No one knows or can figure out what they are and apache likes it that way, even I'm out of the loop on that detail. And yet Apache still has the best umol/watt output which is the whole entire goal of using electricity(watts)...and they are over 3 years old just wait for the new chips. Also, technically almost anyone could go out, acquire the best components, and make a actual custom(not just your own selected chips in a chinese template) unit that is better than any on the market. Lots of people in here do. But making that into a company that has value and makes quality products that perform at the top level is a whole different ball game.

Show us if you ever step up and do something with LED's. I'm over dealing with this BS and want to get this thread back to helping those who actually are going to get into LED's and need help or want to bounce thoughts.
 
PSUAGRO.

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Tazbud said:
OK... so should I expect to just be able to replace/lengthen the 3 core into/out from the driver to move the driver... Leaving an empty driver box (before I go further) (anyone..)??

.. hmm, might just wire a plug into one.. 'as is' and see what sort of heat we are talking about for now..




View attachment 2679723

Sorry, I should start a floodlight thread but this might help newbies as well..:-)
Click to expand...
Yes make it remote........use a heavy shielded gauge .........moving heat away from leds, is definitely worth it=== longevity/lm-per watt increases
 
T

Tazbud

Well-Known Member
Cool. Ive had one hanging for a few hours, I can still put a hand on the heatsink but not for long.



IMG_0244.jpg

Oddly the heat is most intense behind the led yet driver end is cold.. so i must admit, I'm not really grasping how it could reduce the heat a great deal moving the driver (not grasp, not 'don't agree' :-) )

Any opinions on how much red 660/630nm (if just red) i'd be best adding to balance with a 600hps? (with two of these) (sorry I like experimenting but have no meters or much of a clue still with lighting... iv'e read lots but its just not coming together lol)
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
RB1956 said:
A WATT IS A WATT, Apparently u have a lot to learn.. I have a attitude because people like you think you know all.. I know I don't but I do know a watt is a watt don't care what you say.. Yeah about apache tech they don't build and get everything from the USA.. They may have a different design or something but 99% of the parts if not 100% still come from CHINA.. But 1099 for 156w are you completely stupid?? Hows that not a 3-4x markup.. LMAO.. And for the dude with the board you showed, STILL DOESNT SAY CREE DOES IT!!!!!!!! NUFF SAID.. So ya ill buy from Bsled or cidly or whoever and get 3-4x as much light as you and 3-4x the medicine.. But im the dumb 1 nah I think that's the peeps who actually spend that amount of money just plain crazy but some people have money to burn I guess because that's what your doing..
Click to expand...

You are correct, 1 watt is 1 watt. And water is water, and cars are cars.

Any other bits of wisdom you'd care to share?

While 1 watt going into a light is 1 watt, how much energy it outputs is completely different across different lights/diodes/technologies. If your light is 40% efficient, and you put in 1000W, you get out 400W of light energy, if your light is 90% efficient and you put in 1000W, guess what? 900W of energy comes out! The diodes efficiency in different panels makes a huge difference.

Maybe next time, before you make yourself look like a completely uneducated idiot, you should get mommy or daddy to proof-read your comments.
 
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SnotBoogie

Well-Known Member
Heatsink not being the same temperature all over is a good indicator of high thermal resistance in your heatsink material. Makes sense i guess - skimping on low grade Alu is probably one of the easier corners to cut. I haven't been following the discussion so no comment on remoting the driver.

edit: I cant "Like" Beef's squashing of the beef, sadface :<
 
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Tazbud

Well-Known Member
Lol, it might be a surprise but that is gold to newbies like me- forced to learn!!! maybe RB will buy my rejects :lol: I have all sorts of WATTS!
 
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Hydratd

New Member
Specification:

  • LED: 38 pcs
  • Color: Red +Blue
  • Input Voltage: AC110V
  • Power: 1.9W
  • Weight: 34g
  • Diameter: 5cm
  • Height: 6cm
  • Wavelength: Red: 660nm, Blue: 460nm
  • Are those specs good for the a LED light?
 
Dankfactory

Dankfactory

Well-Known Member
Tazbud said:
Cool. Ive had one hanging for a few hours, I can still put a hand on the heatsink but not for long.



View attachment 2680144

Oddly the heat is most intense behind the led yet driver end is cold.. so i must admit, I'm not really grasping how it could reduce the heat a great deal moving the driver (not grasp, not 'don't agree' :-) )

Any opinions on how much red 660/630nm (if just red) i'd be best adding to balance with a 600hps? (with two of these) (sorry I like experimenting but have no meters or much of a clue still with lighting... iv'e read lots but its just not coming together lol)
Click to expand...
If you can't comfortably hold the fixture, its too hot, and your diodes will inevitably meet an early doom. The fins on that particular sink don't look to be operating as efficiently as they could be. A good rule of thumb is more fins, better efficiency. However you can't just cram a bunch of fins or pins together either as this will actually inhibit convection. There's a happy medium that's needed. That fixture doesn't appear to fall within that medium.
 
Beefbisquit

Beefbisquit

Well-Known Member
Hydratd said:
Specification:

  • LED: 38 pcs
  • Color: Red +Blue
  • Input Voltage: AC110V
  • Power: 1.9W
  • Weight: 34g
  • Diameter: 5cm
  • Height: 6cm
  • Wavelength: Red: 660nm, Blue: 460nm
  • Are those specs good for the a LED light?
Click to expand...
Red/blue LED combo lights will grow bud, but not as well as White/red lights.
 
RockyMountain High

RockyMountain High

New Member
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! oh i mean, you LED debaters :)

I've spent the month combing through the debates, complaints, questions, and yes even the intelligent answers (some dumb one's too!)

I have noticed two things: Many people here are on a budget (aka cheaper lighting / low cost) and/or similar to low investment cost, are growing in small spaces (tents, closets, etc.) Hence, the questions and answers reflect these two factors in most of the scenarios posted here.

I have a budget around $3-4k for lighting (not trying to half-ass it). The spaces i will employ are larger than many discussed here. I am growing two rooms (both veg to flower due to limited time the space will be available 6-7 months = 2 cycles) Room specs: Garage: 11ftx23ftx8ft high & Room: 10ftx10ftx7.5ft high. I have been looking at Hans panels because the man knows his stuff and built them for the good green bless, yet after calc's I realized its near impossible to cover my grows with his lights for anything affordable. Next thought, BSLed panels or maybe a couple A51 panels with supplemental 400W led panels (Bysen?). I also have a single 1Kw HPS with hood and vent that i may integrate into the larger garage. The plan is for both rooms to veg a month and flower 2 months. Thus LEDs make the most sense. I've also consider HIDHut's Satellite with 6 400W or 150W comet LEDS.

The rooms will be organic coco or soil. I'm planning on a SOG or ScrOG setup. The initial goal is for 50 plants between the two rooms. Seems reasonable. Still, with all the space, I'm considering possibly trying for 75 to maximize space usage.

Looking for all possible input / advice / comment on lighting selections. Not too worried about the elec bill with mostly LED's running. Main goal is to find the best ratio of quantity (to cover the plants) and quality (not too CHINA, not too USA MARKED UP) Clearly, Hans is great for closets, not so much for big rooms. I've seen Kushington's stuff but i dont have $15K for lights. Yet. I'm open to hybrid HPS and LED if anyone has comments on the right ratios of LED panels to HPS in regards to output, spectrum, etc..

Any one have suggestions on where to get better wholesale prices or companies that are more likely to haggle?

All thoughts and comments appreciated. But bottom line: need help figuring out a lighting config for the two rooms.

Thanks and happy tokin'!
 
tags420

tags420

Well-Known Member
^^^let's think about this for a minute.
That is a large scale setup and has a big enough potential for you that you should only be comparing led's to 600-1000w hps because anything that performs lower than those isn't going to be worth it. Also a lot of the LED cost savings come well after your time frame(1yr+).
3k-4k will barley cut it doing all 1000 hps, which are cheap and have the best coverage potential using less units.
You are looking at 353sqft of grow space. If you were to use 1000w hps with a planned coverage of 5x5 you would need 14 lights to cover that space...let's say $200/hps setup = 2800$...and if you are not half assing it, then definitely more for quality ballasts/bulbs/hoods and go for a 4x4 coverage(needs 20 lights). And then a large monthly bill which would definitely make it top end/over budget.

And with led's it's definitely out of your range. Even going pretty cheap but not crap like you say...for an example pretend you find a decent unit for $300 and it covers a 3x3 as well as a 600w-1000w hps...that's 39 units and $11,700. Even if you only did half of that, it would still be out of your range. Not to mention a panel that meets those standards probably doesn't exist. But if you were to buy that many you would get a price break for sure. If you want to do LED's and get the most out of your space then you're going to need a bigger budget no matter what company you pick.

Whatever you choose, take advantage of that space and time...not everyone gets an opportunity to blow up spaces like those. Even if going top dollar led's it should be worth it after harvest from that space potential.
 
dolamic

dolamic

Well-Known Member
RockyMountain High said:
GOOD MORNING VIETNAM! oh i mean, you LED debaters :)

I've spent the month combing through the debates, complaints, questions, and yes even the intelligent answers (some dumb one's too!)

I have noticed two things: Many people here are on a budget (aka cheaper lighting / low cost) and/or similar to low investment cost, are growing in small spaces (tents, closets, etc.) Hence, the questions and answers reflect these two factors in most of the scenarios posted here.

I have a budget around $3-4k for lighting (not trying to half-ass it). The spaces i will employ are larger than many discussed here. I am growing two rooms (both veg to flower due to limited time the space will be available 6-7 months = 2 cycles) Room specs: Garage: 11ftx23ftx8ft high & Room: 10ftx10ftx7.5ft high. I have been looking at Hans panels because the man knows his stuff and built them for the good green bless, yet after calc's I realized its near impossible to cover my grows with his lights for anything affordable. Next thought, BSLed panels or maybe a couple A51 panels with supplemental 400W led panels (Bysen?). I also have a single 1Kw HPS with hood and vent that i may integrate into the larger garage. The plan is for both rooms to veg a month and flower 2 months. Thus LEDs make the most sense. I've also consider HIDHut's Satellite with 6 400W or 150W comet LEDS.

The rooms will be organic coco or soil. I'm planning on a SOG or ScrOG setup. The initial goal is for 50 plants between the two rooms. Seems reasonable. Still, with all the space, I'm considering possibly trying for 75 to maximize space usage.

Looking for all possible input / advice / comment on lighting selections. Not too worried about the elec bill with mostly LED's running. Main goal is to find the best ratio of quantity (to cover the plants) and quality (not too CHINA, not too USA MARKED UP) Clearly, Hans is great for closets, not so much for big rooms. I've seen Kushington's stuff but i dont have $15K for lights. Yet. I'm open to hybrid HPS and LED if anyone has comments on the right ratios of LED panels to HPS in regards to output, spectrum, etc..

Any one have suggestions on where to get better wholesale prices or companies that are more likely to haggle?

All thoughts and comments appreciated. But bottom line: need help figuring out a lighting config for the two rooms.

Thanks and happy tokin'!
Click to expand...
As a former radio DJ I salute you for bringing this into the topic...

Lt. Steven Hauk: Furthermore, you are to stick to playing normal modes of music, not weird stuff. Those who we'd find acceptable here would include Lawrence Welk, Jim Nabors, Mantovani...
Adrian Cronauer: ...Percy Faith...
Lt. Steven Hauk: Percy Faith... good!... Andy Williams, Perry Como, and certain ballads by Mr. Frank Sinatra.
Adrian Cronauer: Would Bob Dylan be outta line?

Man, I thought I was the only one who knew about that movie.

Greners.com is good, growershouse.com is another one.

(Cleaned up drunken post)

Cheers!
 
J

jcmjrt

Well-Known Member
Tags seems to have covered it fairly well. The only thing that I can add is that light movers are great things. They leverage the utility/coverage of a light quite a bit and aren't nearly as expensive as another light AND don't add heat to a room. You might try a combo of HPS, MH (mostly HPS but a little MH really adds to the spectrum) and in one area a large panel or two of LED to see how you like it and keep 'em on movers...you can put multiple fixtures on a decent mover set-up. You might ONLY have 14 - 20 or so lights but get a better crop than if you had 39 since you'll be using the light effectively and keeping the heat under control. Too much heat leads to fluffy buds and how many people want that? Good luck. :)
 
S

SnotBoogie

Well-Known Member
Looks like utter trash...

Also apparently a "UV light"..... so if you want to give your plants cancer i guess this would be good!

(its not UV)
 
sadface

sadface

Active Member
SnotBoogie said:
Looks like utter trash...

Also apparently a "UV light"..... so if you want to give your plants cancer i guess this would be good!

(its not UV)
Click to expand...
Thanks! this is why I post here instead of buying things willy nilly!

So I am very close to pulling the trigger with the Cidly LED straight from China. Until i found this on Amazon where I just got a 100$ GC for, it is same price as the 180w apollo 4 from Cidly (same price only if you include the 60$ shipping fee from China).

http://www.amazon.com/TaoTronics-TT-GL14-Plant-Light-Flowering/dp/B008MU049W/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Any thoughts?
 
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