LED Lights on Amazon CHEAP?

I have noticed that Amazon.ca has some very good prices LED lights. Basic 300 watt system for like $140ish canadian. Seems like they're all on for half price type thing.

I have never used them, mainly because of prices, but for $150 Im temped to give them a try. Even if its just for a new veg light.

Anyone try them and what were the results.

I currently use a 400 watt HID system. Wonder if i could use 2 of the 300 watt systems in my grow area which is about 5X3 type thing. I only grow like 5 plants. Its all personal use.

Hi Carl,

I bought 2 of the 300watt Galaxyhydro 9-band full spectrum dimmable LED from Amazon first week of October. This seed is unknown, also first indoor grow with a couple hiccups but looking good for LED only from seed first week of Oct.

The thing about those lights is they aren't very good in flower. They can do well in veg, but your 400 watt hid will still perform better than 2 of those 300 watt leds. Their actual draw is about 150-175 watts so they end up being less wattage in a red/blue(blurple) spectrum only.

My point is, you already own a better light and 2 of those 300 watt leds would be a down grade. Trust me, I have 2 cheap led lights sitting in my closet unused as we speak...

I was thinking of getting one for the veg. I use a couple large CFLs for the first 2-3 weeks then I put on the HID lighting.

Thought I could save a step by using LEDs for the entire veg then flip over to HPS for flower.

carl.burnette said:

I have noticed that Amazon.ca has some very good prices LED lights. Basic 300 watt system for like $140ish canadian.

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Not all LEDs are the same efficiency/quality of light. The good stuff uses Cree/Osram/Phillips diodes. What you're looking at is probably epi-whatever unknown diodes made without much care for specs, datasheets, etc. If I were going to buy such a light, I would get Vipar (eBay) or MarsHydro. Vipar is recommended as the best of the worst. MarsHydro has a public support forum which (although a paid-for sponsor deal) is better than dealing with an anonymous seller privately through emails to resolve a problem.

At those prices there's not much to lose. But, people often are disappointed by lights like this. Then they bash LEDs. That's why I would stick with the two names above. Less risk of surprises. The common complaint about these cheap Chinese lights is that the warranties are unuseable. It's a gimmick. They give you a 3-year warranty. But, when you have to use it they typically require you to send the unit to China (not the US re-shipper who you thought you bought it from). HydroJoy is notorious for this. They know you're not going to do that. So, they offer you a 10% refund and you keep the light.

I think Vipar(eBay) and MarsHydro aren't like that. I think you get better support.

But, honestly, why are you considering LED? Those inexpensive LEDs aren't better than T5HO. They produce as much heat, and as little light. Generally, T5HO is preferrable in a shorter grow. CMH for a taller grow. If you need LED for a reason (heat management, energy costs) you have to step up to one of the few brands using better diodes. (And, price doesn't dictate that. Brands like Kind, HydroGrowLED, Blackdog, GrowBlu are little more than epi-whatever lights rebranded and sold at enormous markup.).

Home Depot sells Cree A19 and PAR38 lightbulbs which are relatively efficient. 10 year warranties. Consumer commodity stuff (easily replaced). I've been using them and like them a lot. (<<link) That's an easy way to scale into LED. They're always good as sidelighting for flower.

az2000 said:

Not all LEDs are the same efficiency/quality of light. The good stuff uses Cree/Osram/Phillips diodes. What you're looking at is probably epi-whatever unknown diodes made without much care for specs, datasheets, etc. If I were going to buy such a light, I would get Vipar (eBay) or MarsHydro. Vipar is recommended as the best of the worst. MarsHydro has a public support forum which (although a paid-for sponsor deal) is better than dealing with an anonymous seller privately through emails to resolve a problem.

At those prices there's not much to lose. But, people often are disappointed by lights like this. Then they bash LEDs. That's why I would stick with the two names above. Less risk of surprises. The common complaint about these cheap Chinese lights is that the warranties are unuseable. It's a gimmick. They give you a 3-year warranty. But, when you have to use it they typically require you to send the unit to China (not the US re-shipper who you thought you bought it from). HydroJoy is notorious for this. They know you're not going to do that. So, they offer you a 10% refund and you keep the light.

I think Vipar(eBay) and MarsHydro aren't like that. I think you get better support.

But, honestly, why are you considering LED? Those inexpensive LEDs aren't better than T5HO. They produce as much heat, and as little light. Generally, T5HO is preferrable in a shorter grow. CMH for a taller grow. If you need LED for a reason (heat management, energy costs) you have to step up to one of the few brands using better diodes. (And, price doesn't dictate that. Brands like Kind, HydroGrowLED, Blackdog, GrowBlu are little more than epi-whatever lights rebranded and sold at enormous markup.).

Home Depot sells Cree A19 and PAR38 lightbulbs which are relatively efficient. 10 year warranties. Consumer commodity stuff (easily replaced). I've been using them and like them a lot. (<<link) That's an easy way to scale into LED. They're always good as sidelighting for flower.

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You hit the nail on the head. If the OP is looking for a new veg light I would go with T5's over cheap leds.

This was grown under T5's

These were vegged under cheap LED's, they veg well but as Gary said above, stay away from them for flowering, I did a whole thread/couple of grows on them and posted results, then went and bought some real flowering lights. For flowering LED's I'd only consider the COB-based lights. I like the cheaper LED's for veg/clones/seedlings, in veg they maintain a nice tight node structure, then when I switch spectrum to CMH for flowering they explode.

carl.burnette said:

I was thinking of getting one for the veg. I use a couple large CFLs for the first 2-3 weeks then I put on the HID lighting.

Thought I could save a step by using LEDs for the entire veg then flip over to HPS for flower.

Click to expand...

I had a 400w hps and couldn't stand the noise, it was far too loud for my environment so I ordered a Marshydro 600w, for a great deal but it is still in the mail. Will be a major upgrade for me coming from 2x 23W CFLs and 2x 42w Cfls

I use a 300 watt Galaxyhydro for veg and another with a 600 watt HPS as a supplemental. I flowered with both LEDs in my closet last grow and i ended up with about a QP from 300 actual watts.(The Galaxyhydro units run 150-160 actual watts each) It ended up being about 0.45 grams per watt, but thats all on me. If you are growing for personal use I would highly recommend adding this light to your current setup, not replacing. I have noticed clones under LEDs are a bit frostier and more potent, but HPS yield is killer. Logical step for me was use both.

Urbz said:

I use a 300 watt Galaxyhydro for veg and another with a 600 watt HPS as a supplemental. I flowered with both LEDs in my closet last grow and i ended up with about a QP from 300 actual watts.(The Galaxyhydro units run 150-160 actual watts each) It ended up being about 0.45 grams per watt, but thats all on me. If you are growing for personal use I would highly recommend adding this light to your current setup, not replacing. I have noticed clones under LEDs are a bit frostier and more potent, but HPS yield is killer. Logical step for me was use both.

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It was logical because you already paid the piper, its not logical to buy a new cheap led for veg or flower. They will not match a T5 for veg or a HID for flower.

OP, if you already have a 400w HID, 2 cheapo 300w LEDs would be a downgrade

Whats peoples verdicts on these COB`s from Amazon?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Galaxyhydro-Greenhouse-Hydroponics-Vegetable-Flower/dp/B00RZAKMGA

Gary Goodson said:

It was logical because you already paid the piper, its not logical to buy a new cheap led for veg or flower. They will not match a T5 for veg or a HID for flower.

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I'll have to go pick up a T5 HO fixture and check it out. Do a head to head to head, 150 watts all around.

Urbz said:

I'll have to go pick up a T5 HO fixture and check it out. Do a head to head to head, 150 watts all around.

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I have a 15,000 lumen 6,500K 6 bulb x 2ft coming for the next 7 that are 3 inches now. I will compare to the one LED I am using now.

I just reread OP's original post, why not use the HID for veg? My 600 watt HPS, set on 50%, out vegged my two 300 watt LEDs. I would not personally replace an HID with cheap LEDs, but getting one to throw in with your HID during flower is not a bad idea. I only use a cheap LED for veg right now because it's all I have at the moment.

R1b3n4 said:

Whats peoples verdicts on these COB`s from Amazon?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Galaxyhydro-Greenhouse-Hydroponics-Vegetable-Flower/dp/B00RZAKMGA

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That's not a COB light, it uses 3w diodes, much like any of the $150 panels, those are typical Chinese knock off's with ridiculous claims that are unlikely to deliver. The COBs I was referring to are the high efficiency COBs like Vero 29's or Cree CXA or CXB are the one's that are getting 1+ gpw and as high as 1.5. Most of them to date have been DIY but there are several commercial panels that are now becoming available off the shelf. Area51 makes a 90W (Actual output) Vero based panel that can be daisy chained so they're modular to fit whatever space you have. There are a few others making larger panels like Pacific Light Concepts and Go Green.

You could try them as side lighting maybe. I wouldn't put a crop under pure cheap LEDs though. The cheap ones are only about as efficient as CFLs. They'll last longer, unless they're ones that burn out quickly because they're cheap. I have read that Epistar LEDs only last about half as long as Cree and put out about 1/3 less light. Cheap LEDs also frequently have cheap power supplies that don't regulate the power well enough and that also may be the reason for early burnouts.

If you already use cfls you could definitely look into some daylight led bulbs from the store. They put out a great amount of light for how cheap they are. For $150 you could get ten 15 watters easily if you shop right. Removing the plastic globe leaves you with a strong downward facing led light that screws into a standard light socket.

Imo the reason those red/blue lights are showing up cheap is because the sellers know they are outdated now and need to move them fast.