Thoughts on this LED

az2000

Well-Known Member
Some people prefer this "high profile" type of setup as it's closer to HPS which they're more familiar with.
I was thinking about the same thing yesterday. I was thinking perhaps some of his rationale is merely design choice. A light suitable for commercial greenhouses (high-bay lights). Wouldn't mean anyone's "wrong." Just different goals. I.e., we can have weak diffused light (going to the extreme of 9w lights placed every 6" around a plant). Or, strong concentrated light (going to the extreme easily-maintained high-bay lights at few intervals).

But, there's still all that stuff I described in my previous post which goes far beyond "all roads lead to Rome." He's asserting the COB(blers) are even further off the mark than you guys say the epi-whatever people are.

That's pretty strong language that really should be cleared up. I see it boiling down to the three choices I enumerated above. Which is unfortunate because he seems like a nice guy. None of those options reflect well on him. Perhaps there's a fourth option I'm not thinking of?
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
So you're denigrating all COBs because of predatory companies like HydroGrowLED? This gets back to how I'm puzzled. The people you dispute here would agree 100% with you about the predatory brands. That's why it seems like you're so much like them -- but then assert that they're way off target, hugely inefficient, etc.



I believe I've read the resident experts say the COBs they're using are relatively new and have not yet found their way into commercial applications. It sounds like the hobby/DIY crowd are the leading edge of the curve, to be followed by early commercial applications which they expect soon. (I should let them address you themselves. I may have misunderstood what I read.).



That's the crux of the dispute. The COB(blers) here have done an impressive amount of research and have presented COBs as the most energy efficient. How do we test this very vast difference in conclusions? Greengenes compared datasheets. It sounds like the only other option is a PAR grid?



Your "101" page says "Standard self contained diodes are the leading LEDs in the Industry and have performances that are double that of C.O.B. LEDs." The implication is that you have double the performance.

It sounds like you're saying your "101" page isn't as clear as it could be. Some of your rhetoric concerns predatory brands like HydroGrowLED. Some concerns LED developments (not that you have 200lm/w).

BTW: I find it somewhat ironic that you're relying upon Cree press releases while placing datasheets outside the boundaries of intelligent discussion. :wink:
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Agreed or not?
I don't believe you addressed anything I said in the post you replied to. All I can do is repeat that your claims about your light are in sharp contrast to what the DIY/expert group here claims for their creations.

It will be interesting to see those PAR values for both.

It does seem like you're drifting between topics. On the one hand there's the light you sell which you don't seem to say is double the performance of a COB. You seem to say the double performance is "speaking to market where it's at, market ignorance." Obviously, that could also be a convenient way to simply make it sound like your light is double the performance of a COB. This appears to be the case when you spend time educating the market on things like all fourty-eight IP ratings, LM 79 & 80, etc.

It's hard to understand because the guys here would agree with you about the importance of efficiency, market standards, educating buyers to avoid predatory brands. But, your claims seem to be more along the lines of the predatory brands.

Seems like we're just waiting for PAR values now.
 

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
Thos is a joke. You are the one that can't see anything put in front of you. You have shown nothing to show superior performance.
But it's ok...I have one of your lights on the way. I will know everything(that I already tested multiple times) in a week or so.
And @Spectrum KIng LED... Don't ever be little me again. I'm in the industry on many levels and just because I haven't started my own company doesn't mean I am someone to talk down to...check yourself son.
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
The PAR grid would be nice. You said you were expecting results from a lab soon.

I can't speak for the COB(blers) here. All I've said is that there appears to be a huge gulf between what you say and they say, and I'm curious how to resolve that. That's why I pointed you to this thread.

It still remains puzzling to me. Some of my confusion is reduced once I realized your "101" page isn't about your light, but generalities. I'm not sure a visitor would understand that page any differently than I did, therefore coming away with erroneous views about COBs (i.e., believing people aren't producing the same efficiency with COBs, and probably nowhere near the same efficiency.). Do you believe that would be an unfortunate outcome?
 
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FranJan

Well-Known Member
It's a flippin' LED lumenaire for illuminating warehouses that they couldn't sell to the warehouse owners and now they want to see if the stoners will take them off their hands :). Someone put a seed into a pot and lets see what it can do. No discussion necessary. Sheeze :roll:

And that array is not a very good design for growing MMJ in my experience, lotsa cooling issues and the spectral and radiometric inconsistencies that come with that, wasted electricity, basically your efficacy goes to shit once it starts to heat up and those traits are probably some of the many reasons why CoBs supplanted non-integrated multi chip arrays like that. It's a modern day Klieg IMHO. But, as always, please feel free to prove me wrong. And that would be "prove" as in showing us some MMJ growing over a period of time please.
P_20150119_233058 - Copy.jpg
 

az2000

Well-Known Member
Wouldn't the addition of the following text (bolded) be more accurate?

Standard self contained diodes are the leading LEDs in the Industry and have performances that are up to twice that of C.O.B. LEDs. Every LED that claims to be 10, 20, 50 or even 100 watt is a C.O.B.​

That leaves room for some COBs performing close to or even better than individual LEDs without having to admit it? More of a justifiable marketing "spin" than absolute statement about all COBs?

Wouldn't it bother you if one of the COB(blers) published under the guise of educating consumers: "COBs have performances that are twice that of individual LEDs?" Let's say you challenged that assertion because you've verified your choice of individual LEDs is as good or better than the COBs under discussion. The COB enthusiast replies "I was talking generalities. Most people who will read that are faced with buying epi-whatever junk. I'm speaking to their perspective. I stand by my statement because that is true."

Isn't that lying by omission?

If that piece of "education" were expressed more realistically the "myth" language would probably have to go too, since it sounds like DIY COBs here are performing as well or better than your individual LEDs (based upon datasheets. A standard PAR grid would confirm that.).
 

getsoutalive

Well-Known Member
I think it quite obvious that COBs are not the highest efficiency products that CREE makes. They work wonderfully for DIY because they allow an individual to build a fixture that can easily rival HID without soldering hundreds of chips. A mass manufacturer does not have this limitation and if you ran 100 CREE XP-L chips at 3-4w/ea, that would likely outperform 8x3070 @1.4. However they will cost the DIY'er more and take orders of magnitude more time and patience to build.

I believe that is what @Spectrum KIng LED is clumsily trying to say.

I also believe that he is laughable in his assertion that there are multiple sets of data sheets and that there are no COBs that can do over 100lm/w. How could you honestly believe that they would keep two sets of books on one family of products? We are not talking about Capone here. I think the work being done on this board stands on its own, there is nothing more to prove.

I am also not a fan of High-Bay fixtures. Keep the COBs spread out and close to the canopy and penetration will be just fine. How can you talk about penetration when you advocate 3' above canopy height just to hit leaf one. The Inverse Square Law will crush your intensity at the tops, let alone deep inside.

I love the passive and waterproof design elements, but the price and High Bay design are killers, IMO.
 

getsoutalive

Well-Known Member
It is not the heatsink that I am objecting to when I say that I do not like the High Bay design. I am talking more about the 400+w "point source" high up above the canopy, rather than a set of COBS spread evenly and only maybe 8 -10 inches from the tops. If max efficiency is what you are after, then you must respect the ISL and that means ditching the HID old school method of thinking. Get the light source as close as possible. Not terribly practical in a commercial setting perhaps, but for the users here, it can make a huge difference.
 

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
So because I said your a joke for not listening to facts, I am not listen??...well you would have to present actual data and info to be listened to...which you haven't.

What he is saying is theory...that if a cob was made with all xte dies it would be better. And that is true.
But that is not the case...yet by under driving cobs they will have superior efficiency an cost less...that's the part he won't realize/admit.
He is talking about the principals behind it...not what is actually available for real life use...private or commercial.

The fact is that the cob as a whole package are the most efficient setup.

And just so you know...when top performing cobs hit the scene I hated them and the data at nominal current showed them as lesser performers. It wasn't till exploring and learning how good they are at lower currents that they show their major advantages....output and cost both being superior
 
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Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
Have you tested a CXA3070 3K AB in the lab...have you tested a vero29 in the lab...at what current????
If so what were the results??
If not...how can you make the claims you do?
 

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
How do I know your fixture and your claims are anywhere near real? You have any data to prove your argument? Or the real numbers from the VERO chips you ran?
If I ran veros I would show you everything. I have par charts of my lights(cxa3070 AB and AD). All in my thread(s)...you know the years of documenting my grows on here. And can make more anytime with a spectroradiometer or with hand meter(s). stop thinking I can't do anything and more you can.

To make it fair...you will have to test your boards without any kind of reflector...or give me a day to get some readings with the new 90* I have...which you use too, so could make things equal...but no lens/reflectors is the best test of chips. Then we can more to unit as a whole.

Also one reading wont show anything...we need as many points as possible over the whole footprint to show who is actually putting out more light on the canopy. It can all be done...so if you want to do this lets make it fair. But it really doesn't matter what you do...I have the light coming and will post everything...just like I always do....you know...actual info/data.

You said you had 3rd party testing(which I am...your not) ...and now you are saying you just test on your work bench? What's the deal?? A integrated sphere is the only thing that can actually test true output....do you have one. If not what are you using?

I'm not here to bring you down...just put the correct info out there. I never came into this thread till you started spouting false info about cob oerformce. And lets be real...you use mid bin XB-D's...at leat steap it up to XT-E's or XM-L's.
So far you have not shown me anything to prove that cxa's data sheets are off...just that your chips allegedly over perform the data sheet...and that somehow you didn't record what you saying under perfoms the data sheet...the data sheets form the same company.


And how do I know they are real...I check my shit with a spectroradiometer against everything I have access to...and I can access almost anything...and if not just sack up and buy it if I really need it.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
I am talking more about the 400+w "point source" high up above the canopy, rather than a set of COBS spread evenly and only maybe 8 -10 inches from the tops.
That's why I think a PAR grid chart would be informative. Compare 400w of single-point high-bay to a similarly powered set of COBs that are spread out for low-bay.
 

Greengenes707

Well-Known Member
Please show me where and how I twisted your words? All I have done is analyze the data given, and compare it with what I already have from the manufacture...and would gladly compare your own vs your own but that was not supplied.

My test are just field test...as are yours, which is my point. And is why the data sheets and characterizations tools supplied by the manufacturer are better to base performance of the LED model. And then back them up with field test. Which has been shown by some in the DIY community testing flux numbers of different bins of the same models. Ya, it's not a lab test but it still further supporting the precision and consistency of their product...which you use too, so I really am wondering where the scepticism is coming from.

I do not question your LM80's and other certs. But all they tell you it is electrically safe...and will perform at "___%" of maximum for "X" amount of time till 80% at what ever the life is. Well that maximum is based on itself(efficacy). I'm saying your xb-d's don't perform at the level that other chips can...not just cobs.

But forget about all that for a minute and first show me where and how I twisted your words.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
So you took my shit way out of context.
You said that a lot to me too. Your "101" page says

"Standard self contained diodes are the leading LEDs in the Industry and have performances that are double that of C.O.B. LEDs."​

When I pointed out that guys here believe they're getting equal or better performance from COBs, you say we're taking your 101 page out of context. That it's a "101" generalization about LEDs, not your product specifically -- even though the headline on that page says "WHAT SETS US APART."

The bottom line is that, if you're using XB-D diodes, I sincerely doubt you're getting more (let alone anything approaching "double") luminance of the best COBs. Datasheets may be merely theoretical, but they're comparable. Are you saying the XB-D datasheet lies less than CXA datasheet?

It's that context which has some of us concerned the consumers you come in contact with will come away less informed.

IMO, this could be resolved pretty quickly with a PAR grid chart. Comparing reflector to non-reflector shouldn't matter. The sum of measurable umoles for either should be comparable. I.e., reflected light from your light will be less intense than if it was unreflected. While unreflected COBs (consuming the same watts) will suffer from more diffuse light traveling further (inverse square law).

The design choice of more concentrated narrow beam from a greater distance should be just as much a performance criteria as diffused light from more and nearer sources. If you get more umoles cast on a smaller footprint (or reduced umules because of your high-bay height compromise) that should be directly comparable to GG's compromises to have light sources closer and casting wider angles.

You keep saying you've demonstrated things on video, but that always seems to be one off-hand measurement which seems to be "outcome oriented" (worst case to best case comparison). For example, your "What's Different About Our Light?" you have an unreflected LED at 24" compared to your reflected LED at 24", claiming a *huge* difference in power. A single reading obscuring footprint, obscuring how the unreflected LED is intended to be at 8-10" from the canopy. Obscuring how, by definition, an unreflected array of LEDs mounted in 1.5 sq ft will cover more space than a COB-like concentration of LEDs in a 4" space and bounded by a reflector.

This is the stuff which makes us skeptical (and concerned for consumers will be more or less informed after coming in contact with you). If you have LM79 data showing performance, post it. If your waiting for that, then GG is correct: you haven't posted anything that can be considered demonstrative of your claims. To me, almost everything you've posted is contradictory. COBs are bad because you can't "cram" a bunch of power into a small space -- and then you proceed to cram far more power into a smaller space. Individual diodes are supposed to *double* performance of COBs, and then you use XB-D diodes which are certainly far from that performance, and probably less than the best COBs. Datasheets aren't honest -- then you use press releases from Cree's PR department to prove a point.

Whenever we point these things out, your response is that we're twisting your words.

Let's just stick to observable measurements. Why don't you and GG agree upon the criteria to make a PAR grid of your respective lights? What would be fair to each (the sweet spot of intensity and useable coverage?) *and* comparable through extrapolation (the sum of umoles? averaging umoles?).

Independent lab info may be useful. But, it won't be easily comparable to the DIY fixtures, will it? Maybe someone would be willing to send a DIY fixture for independent testing. But, seems like two PAR grid charts would be much closer to the context under discussion?
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
I thought you were trying to say we were saving on production costs and labor by using cobs.. How could we be saving on production costs if we're using double the diodes to do half the job?

Why go the LED route at all if you're not going to get a significant boost in efficiency over HPS? You've gotta pay significantly more to boost your efficiency just a tiny bit more. The diminishing returns is very hard.

HPS is the cheapest startup cost to get killer buds efficiently.

Why don't you use twice as many diodes in your design? Can't find a large enough mcpcb on alibaba, or are you ALSO trying to reduce your production costs? (we all do that. nobody likes throwing away money)

cost wise cause you are using double the diodes to do half the job....
 

rory420420

Well-Known Member
"Let me rephrase" "taken outta context" "our data suggests"...
All politician lingo...
Shit or get off the pot.nut up or shut up.take the apples, put em beside the fucking oranges..
I've read this whole thread of back tracking and hiding from certain issues and "slight of hand " conversation ..proof of superiority?
Tbh,I wouldn't buy the damn lights at this point if they came with a free year of electricity payed up front...
Too much bullshit,not enough concrete.
And,you're pretty douchey.
 

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
I'm not here to defend or put down either side. I looked at this design a year ago and eventually had one made to my specs (blended spectrum, just like us cob guys, I also have a few cob fixtures). Both lights I had made in China. I really like the COB lights, but the first time I put two 3' plants under this light, it fried the plants (at around 24" from the leds). The 4 COB fixtures have never fried a plant on me (even with plants touching the glass). I never got test result from that run and now it has been just sitting waiting for plants to finish and space to open up.
When I first received the light I took some lux measurements at 24" and thought the center was to intense compared to the edges. So I took off the reflector. Rechecked some measurements and lost light in the center and the edges. I then modified a square sunsystems hps hood and rechecked. This softened the center and raised the edge #s. My light hits 494 watts on the killawatt meter.
I had a little bit of time to play with are new Hydrofarms PAR meter we just got in. Keep in mind this is probably the cheapest meter out there and worse, it doesn't have a remote sensor.
Here are a few of my readings I took:
Center #'s
2530 @ 12"
1320 @ 18"
854 @ 24"
420 @ 36"
260 @ 48"

Side #'s @ 24"
6" off center 854
12" off center 670
18" off center 595
24" off center 220
30" off center 82
corner @ 24"
4' line 99
5' line 20

light at 18" side #s
12" off center 760
18" off center 390
24" off center 130

light at 18" corner #'s
2' square line 605
3' square line 195
4' square line 55
I also checked a MH 400 or 600 ( now sure, will check when I go to work) at 25" it read 260, same as my light at 4'. At 4' it only hit 95.
 
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