Grower’s Choice ROI 720E: Holy F***.

I’ve been wanting a new light for my 4x4 for a while now, especially since adding CO2 (tank) to the tent. I’ve spent about a month deliberating, as there are some excellent fixtures out there. In just the past two years, horticultural LED technology has made some pretty immense strides. So the other day, I headed down to the hydro store, having decided that among all the contenders (of which the ROI was one), I decided I wanted the Gavita 1700e. I loaded it onto the cart, grabbed the two additional several hundred dollar add-ons needed to be able to dim the light, and strolled my happy ass to the checkout area.

I guess there was still a part of me that wasn’t entirely decided, because as I was checking out, I started talking to the guy at the register about my choice. After talking to him for a minute, I decided to just flat out ask... “is the Gavita really worth it? I mean, there are some great options out there.” He looked at me, and as frankly and bluntly as possible, said “No. Not at all.”

Long story short, I ended up walking out the door with $700 saved and the GC ROI 720E. I’m going to summarize my review in two pictures.

1) 4 Feet above the “canopy”, where the PAR sensor was moved all around the floor of the tent, from the corners to the center.



2) My PAR log... at 4 feet. 4.... feet....



I mean, there’s not much else to say. Oh, except for maybe:



I think I’m in love.

Another China bot Bostoning a inferior product to hit the noob market of idiots. BRILLIANT

DocofRock said:

is the Gavita really worth it? I mean, there are some great options out there.” He looked at me, and as frankly and bluntly as possible, said “No. Not at all.”

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Im no expert on led, but Gavita has over 3000 diodes on a 600 watt fixture. Im not sure if that means anything or not, Sure sounds awesome though. Possibly over 80 red diodes also. But a 1400.00 price tag is not very awesome.

a mongo frog said:

Im no expert on led, but Gavita has over 3000 diodes on a 600 watt fixture. Im not sure if that means anything or not, Sure sounds awesome though. Possibly over 80 red diodes also. But a 1400.00 price tag is not very awesome.

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What up bro hows it been.
I noticed you sayin you are rockin led’s now in a different thread. If so which ones?
I’m replacing half of my DE’s with gavita 1930e’s to see what up. Mainly because they’ll be hella easy to swap out. $1150 each through agron will be here this week.
Yeah I know they aren’t as efficient as their 1700’s but what the hell right?

If I can hit 4lbs with the 1930’s like i do with the DE’s at 1150w(biggest yielding strains but never pull less than 3)I’ll be one happy mother fucker and will replace the other half in no time.

Aeroknow said:

What up bro hows it been.
I noticed you sayin you are rockin led’s now in a different thread. If so which ones?
I’m replacing half of my DE’s with gavita 1930e’s to see what up. Mainly because they’ll be hella easy to swap out. $1150 each through agron will be here this week.
Yeah I know they aren’t as efficient as their 1700’s but what the hell right?

If I can hit 4lbs with the 1930’s like i do with the DE’s at 1150w(biggest yielding strains but never pull less than 3)I’ll be one happy mother fucker and will replace the other half in no time.

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Im still rocking DE's. Ive sampled Quantam boards (1200 watts worth) And cobs (750 watts worth), but still ended up staying with DE's. Im going to sample the Samsung strip lighting though soon and flower under 2 fixtures just not sure which ones to buy. I love all the reds they are putting in the LEDs now. Makes super sense and i want to try them. The ones i bought before were only whites. Im using the cobs now to veg clones on a 4x8 table, I bought some blue chips and a few drivers and added them to my cob bars.
Im super excited about LED just not sure what to buy right now!

Just picked up 2 GC 680's and was thinking of adding a Gavita 1700 for the 3rd one. Local hydro shop owner says they're truly unbelievable and that he's never going back to HPS. There's apparently a new one coming out soon (forgot the brand) but it's red (not california lightworks) and it boasts 1750W + some UV pontoons for extra frosties and he's giddy about those

lightroast said:

Local hydro shop owner says they're truly unbelievable

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The Gavita 1700 or the GC 680?

a mongo frog said:

The Gavita 1700 or the GC 680?

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His claim is that Gavita is worth the stretch. I opted for the GC 680s due to budget, but of the 3 in play, at least 1 of mine will be a Gavita w/ pontoons. Cheers

It's stripped down feature wise (no sunset feature) but the Chilled leds are more efficient watt for watt than the Gavitas at a greatly reduced cost, or at least were as of mid/late last year. Especially if you get the DIY models which are stupid easy for anyone to build even if you have no DIY experience. Plus if you are cash strapped you can buy their less efficient models (which still beat out the gavitas in umols watt for warr) and upgrade them for approx 100-200 bucks a light at you're convenience when you have the cash. I think their base models of all types are around 2.7-2.8 and when upgraded are approx 3.2-3.3 which is a nice future proofing feature. The light bars on the chilled are modular and can be bought individually if needed. I'm currently buying Quantums for my veg room but my flower is probably gonna be mostly Chilled as its currently the most efficient I know of though open to input if there are better lights.

Nice! Those little bars could be a cool addition to my 680s!

RandomAsshole1 said:

It's stripped down feature wise (no sunset feature) but the Chilled leds are more efficient watt for watt than the Gavitas at a greatly reduced cost, or at least were as of mid/late last year. Especially if you get the DIY models which are stupid easy for anyone to build even if you have no DIY experience. Plus if you are cash strapped you can buy their less efficient models (which still beat out the gavitas in umols watt for warr) and upgrade them for approx 100-200 bucks a light at you're convenience when you have the cash. I think their base models of all types are around 2.7-2.8 and when upgraded are approx 3.2-3.3 which is a nice future proofing feature. The light bars on the chilled are modular and can be bought individually if needed. I'm currently buying Quantums for my veg room but my flower is probably gonna be mostly Chilled as its currently the most efficient I know of though open to input if there are better lights.

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lightroast said:

Nice! Those little bars could be a cool addition to my 680s!

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The bars I was talking about fit only into the Chilled lights though they do have stand alone bars that work by themselves. I just like the ability to future proof efficiency wise to extend any tools lifespan.

gbis59ll said:

Another China bot Bostoning a inferior product to hit the noob market of idiots. BRILLIANT

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Actually, I’m a commercial cultivator who has hand-built over 200 custom fixtures who has an intricate understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically as it relates to horticulture. If you’d like to have a discussion about photoreceptors and the specific wavelengths that are the most efficient at activating those receptors, PAR vs yield photon flux as a concept and how it relates to LED lighting, the data regarding R:FR ratios, UVA, or the wavelengths of UVB responsible for activating UVR8 and its impact on cannabis, or really just about growing high-quality cannabis in general, I’d be happy to help you, as would my partner and mechanical engineer, @TevinJonson.

If you have anything to validate your statement that’s based on factual data, or examples of how this particular light is inferior (and, perhaps expound on specifically what this light is inferior TO), I’d love to hear your coherent argument and review the accompanying literature that supports your opinion. Otherwise, I’d prefer to keep my threads free of mouth-drooling trolls.

Regarding the Gavita 1700e, if you want to pay twice the price for the same functionality (you need the LED adapter AND a controller at a cost of several hundred dollars just to be able to dim), less PPF, fewer diodes and inferior monocolor deep red diodes, and equal efficiency, it is certainly your prerogative.

I was going to get it a while back when it first came out but there was a guy on here complaining that both his ROI 720s had mediocre par readings.

They were putting out less light than the ROI 680s at the same distance from canopy. thought maybe one was a defect but for both... i passed up on it

DocofRock said:

Actually, I’m a commercial cultivator who has hand-built over 200 custom fixtures who has an intricate understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically as it relates to horticulture. If you’d like to have a discussion about photoreceptors and the specific wavelengths that are the most efficient at activating those receptors, PAR vs yield photon flux as a concept and how it relates to LED lighting, the data regarding R:FR ratios, UVA, or the wavelengths of UVB responsible for activating UVR8 and its impact on cannabis, or really just about growing high-quality cannabis in general, I’d be happy to help you, as would my partner and mechanical engineer, @TevinJonson.

If you have anything to validate your statement that’s based on factual data, or examples of how this particular light is inferior (and, perhaps expound on specifically what this light is inferior TO), I’d love to hear your coherent argument and review the accompanying literature that supports your opinion. Otherwise, I’d prefer to keep my threads free of mouth-drooling trolls.

Regarding the Gavita 1700e, if you want to pay twice the price for the same functionality (you need the LED adapter AND a controller at a cost of several hundred dollars just to be able to dim), less PPF, fewer diodes and inferior monocolor deep red diodes, and equal efficiency, it is certainly your prerogative.

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So you are here to hawk your wares? Your first post reads like you stumbled on a great deal.

redi jedi said:

So you are here to hawk your wares?

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Whats that mean? Do you mean like he/she is selling under ware that they made? Like maybe 200 units of briefs?

DocofRock said:

To be fair, I’m able to purchase cultivation equipment at steep discounts due to being a licensed commercial cultivator, and I also pay no taxes.

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You grow in a 4x4 tent.

DocofRock said:

Actually, I’m a commercial cultivator who has hand-built over 200 custom fixtures who has an intricate understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum, specifically as it relates to horticulture.

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Bullshit.

Then why not just build your own rig instead of buying one? And how did you build 200+ fixtures in a 2 year period of time? Were you building lights before you started growing? And why were you so confused on Gavita vs ROI if you have all of this vast knowledge that you claim? And as mentioned in my previous post, how is it that you're a commercial grower in a 4x4 tent? You'd probably be blown away by my 6x9 "warehouse" grow.

DocofRock said:

I’ve been wanting a new light for my 4x4 for a while now, especially since adding CO2 (tank) to the tent. I’ve spent about a month deliberating, as there are some excellent fixtures out there. In just the past two years, horticultural LED technology has made some pretty immense strides. So the other day, I headed down to the hydro store, having decided that among all the contenders (of which the ROI was one), I decided I wanted the Gavita 1700e. I loaded it onto the cart, grabbed the two additional several hundred dollar add-ons needed to be able to dim the light, and strolled my happy ass to the checkout area.

I guess there was still a part of me that wasn’t entirely decided, because as I was checking out, I started talking to the guy at the register about my choice. After talking to him for a minute, I decided to just flat out ask... “is the Gavita really worth it? I mean, there are some great options out there.” He looked at me, and as frankly and bluntly as possible, said “No. Not at all.”

Long story short, I ended up walking out the door with $700 saved and the GC ROI 720E. I’m going to summarize my review in two pictures.

1) 4 Feet above the “canopy”, where the PAR sensor was moved all around the floor of the tent, from the corners to the center.

View attachment 4806287

2) My PAR log... at 4 feet. 4.... feet....

View attachment 4806290

I mean, there’s not much else to say. Oh, except for maybe:

View attachment 4806305

I think I’m in love.

Click to expand...

1700 e gets the intensity to outside edges 5x5 alot better than ROI 720 With less wattage and with that comes a higher price.
But both those fixtures are overkill for a 4x4
What is 700$ when your trying to grow quality/quantity?

Savage.

Sweep the leg Johnny