Start led flower room or stay with hps? Insight on reputable led fixtures?

Should I stick with hps to flower or start an led flower room?


  • Total voters
    14

DekaBoS

Member
2 T3s or T4s. Depends on your space, really.
I am thinking somewhere around 5x5 or 6x6 area. Those lights are both showing 3k spectrum, is there any spectral read out of those tasty leds? And is 3k the correct spectrum for flowering?

I understand your views on using cobs over the regular leds for the efficiency factor, but are the cobs hitting the same spectrums as the leds such as the platinums/kind leds are in that video I posted above?

And @CobKits what do you recommend switching to for veg if I ditch the fluoros?
 

sixstring2112

Well-Known Member
you dont truly believe this do you? cobs been growing for years now.

some pr0of (for me) will be in the PAR meter result. Do you have a pic of the par lighting result under a cob?
From a long time hid grower that has switched over to cobs .par has never been better and heatload is about 40% less now ;)
20170305_173541par 1500 qb.jpg 20170317_123405-1.jpg

Thats^^^^@ day 35 under low power cob and about 750ppfd
The par meter pic is the other side of the room @ 18 inches from the fixture.im happy as hell,you need to bone up on some of the newer tech,things are changing rapidly lol.
 

a mongo frog

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

I have been looking around for led lights, I am currently using fluoros for veg and hps for flowering. I want to reduce my light bill and I am willing to invest in led fixtures to make this happen. I have been researching tirelessly and as with anything, some people LOVE this light and some people HATE the same light. I ended up here and checked out the sticky that is supposed to help people with direction on which led to buy. That post was mostly confusing, and when I skipped to the last page it has been closed due to people bitching at each other. So here I ask for some insight on the led world, I want to start a new flower room under leds and I need some guidance.

Any help on what led brands are tried and true? And also any that completely suck?

Links would be amazingly helpful!

I am open to any and all info on every aspect of growing. I am willing to learn everything I can from anyone I can. And also willing to share all the knowledge I have on any subject.

Oh and for the record, the confusion has almost brought me back to the idea of just continuing to use hps for the sake of understanding that beast.

Thanks in advance ✌
You should stay with HPS. Actually go DE if you have not already. Running 2k fixtures is very minimal electric bill.
 

Chunky Stool

Well-Known Member
Perhaps it is because for equivalent output the initial investment for HID is lower? Lots of people don't look at life cycle costs when making purchasing decisions..
I got my last rig for $70 on CraigsList. (600 watt lumatek ballast + light & reflector)
Works flawlessly.
 

CobKits

Well-Known Member
also a super cheap way to go about trying led is to swap out your tubes for some LED tubes. will bump you 20% instantly for like $7 a bulb
 

botanistprime

Active Member
Ok I browsed around the links you posted and the sites are confusing as hell. I would be using 2 1000w hps for my new room if I chose that route, what do you guys recommend for a cob replacement?
it looks like it depends on the manufacturer and what they say their ballasts footprint is. this is what tastyled recommeds. Screenshot_2017-03-19-22-08-28.png
 

DekaBoS

Member
From a long time hid grower that has switched over to cobs .par has never been better and heatload is about 40% less now ;)
View attachment 3909535 View attachment 3909536

Thats^^^^@ day 35 under low power cob and about 750ppfd
The par meter pic is the other side of the room @ 18 inches from the fixture.im happy as hell,you need to bone up on some of the newer tech,things are changing rapidly lol.
Looks like it is coming along, although I am still not convinced that cobs hit all the spectrums that led panels hit. Ok, so efficiency is better, what about hitting all the different spectrums the plant desires? Instead of just a single spectrum per cob? That seems astornomically expensive if you want to hit more than one spectrum at a time? Any spectral readout from ANY cobs? To compare to what led panels are putting out. I am not trying to argue that leds are better, but are they? And if anyone says no, back it up with proof that cobs are doing more than producing more light. We all know more light is better to an extent, but we need to be providing the correct light to for it to matter right?

also a super cheap way to go about trying led is to swap out your tubes for some LED tubes. will bump you 20% instantly for like $7 a bulb
20% instantly what my friend?

----

I am still interested in using leds as of now due to the cheaper price and spectrum balance vs hid. I don't see the point in using cobs still :joint:
 

Los Reefersaurus

Well-Known Member
I just did the switch from 2 De 600w Mh's plus a couple of t5's in veg to 22 cxb-3000K BD 90cri's I am very happy about this switch, very little growing pangs, lost a set of leaves on most plants because the cobs are brighter then i thought they would be, so a little burn but very happy with swapping the veg over. I also swapped over my flower room from DE 1000w hps's to SK600's, still suffering pain's not up to my normal numbers yet .

With all the new tech coming out and you not having any first hand knowledge I would recommend you not jump in like I did. I recommend you start by swapping over some of your veg to what ever you think is the latest and greatest, see where you are at and then consider in a pull or 2 what you want to do next. I would be having a much better year so far if I had followed this advice
 

Fevs

Well-Known Member
I just switched from 3500w of hps lighting, T5, blurple leds, cmh and normal metal halide. Electric bill £100 per week lol

To two of these http://www.budmaster.co.uk/budmaster-ii-uk-cob-x-6-led-grow-light.html

And two of these http://www.budmaster.co.uk/budmaster-ii-uk-cob-x-9-led-grow-light.html

Those electric saving of £60 a week will pay for the $4000 investment. Just either got to make your own, or pedal some extra cash together.


I'm new to cob so cannot comment on growing under cob, but even if you don't go cob, at least fuck your 1000w lamps off for 630w of cmh!
 
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