lm301h vs lm281b

Is there a big difference between these 2 chips? Most lights have a big price difference, the 301 being much more expensive. Are we talking about a tiny difference in performance or a big one?

I've been spending way too much time trying to find a light. Many good deals on lm281b but without any knowledge about this, I tend to go for the "good stuff" (lm301h). Should I stop caring and go for the 281?

thanks

The lm281b has a luminous efficacy of 165lm/watt whereas the lm301b is 223lm/watt. The 301b is a more efficient diode.

I have a 110w quantum with 281s and another with 301s. The 301b board at the same power puts out more par. The 281 board puts out 785umol/s at 12" whereas the 301b board sits a smidge over 960umol/s.

Both boards were from the same company, one being a bit older than the other. The 281 board was $67 and the 301 board $85 so the difference in price was miniscule.

It just depends on the price really. Par is par, and both are good diodes. At the moment here, I can pick up 450w quantum boards with sosen drivers (same chassis as SF4000 basically) with 281s for around $280 whereas the same design with 301b boards and meanwell drivers go for about $450.

I don't know how accurate manufacturers claims are, but most 281 boards are between 2.4-2.7umol/J whereas their 301b boards quote 2.9-3.1umol/J.

VincenzioVonHook said:

It just depends on the price really. Par is par, and both are good diodes. At the moment here, I can pick up 450w quantum boards with sosen drivers (same chassis as SF4000 basically) with 281s for around $280 whereas the same design with 301b boards and meanwell drivers go for about $450.

I don't know how accurate manufacturers claims are, but most 281 boards are between 2.4-2.7umol/J whereas their 301b boards quote 2.9-3.1umol/J.

Click to expand...

Thanks for answering. Would you say that in your exemple, going for the 450$ would be worth the extra 170$ Vs the 281 or the results would be almost identical? I’m too much of a newb to understand how these numbers work (umol/J) and how they affect quality of the plant + yield size.

the light I want to buy is a Chinese 650w for my 4x4 tent: 373$us for the 281s and 458$us for the 301s. Is it a no-brainer to go for the 301?

Honestly most ppl pay for 281b

281(s) were meant only for shop replacement lighting strips (fluorescent lighting), nothing more, so trying to compare them to a lighting diode that was made for horticulture is kind of silly!!! Anyway, the cheapest bank for your buck are still the 288 boards (LM301B/H), as you can still get those boards with a heatsink for under $35 shipped (B(s) $34, H(s) $3 if you know where to look, and 8 of them with (2) x 320 drivers will light up a 5 x 5 beautifully using just 496 watts of power (running each board at max efficiency)! And I don't care what lighting you have, whether it's 1K DE, or the most ridiculously over priced led setup, what I just told you will grow you killer bud in 5 x 5 just as well as those other lights, but really, most times those older 288 boards will grow you more bud using way less power than whatever else is out there right now!!!