Led Users Unite!

TevinJonson

TevinJonson

Well-Known Member
Hey im planing on using a hlg 480 24a for my led lights but have found a cheaper mean well ndr 480 24 power supply does anyone have experience using these or is there any potential issues with these power supplies besides not waterproof compared to the hlg 480
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
TevinJonson said:
Hey im planing on using a hlg 480 24a for my led lights but have found a cheaper mean well ndr 480 24 power supply does anyone have experience using these or is there any potential issues with these power supplies besides not waterproof compared to the hlg 480
Click to expand...
It depends, what LED do you have? The NDR is a power supply, not an LED driver, no dimming function.
 
D

Dodgey99

Well-Known Member
Dodgey99 said:
I have to say, for all the Mars Hydro bashing, I've just flowered a 4x4 tent on them and I'm impressed.

I normally grow NFT, 5 plants to a 4x4ft tent, 400w MH veg, 600w HPS flower.

Depending on the strain, I get between 11 and 14 ounces. That's proper dry - self use dry - not "nearly dry" to sell. Mostly around 12 ounces. So we are looking at 0.5 to 0.6 gm per watt (my 600 HPS on digital ballast pulls 640w from the wall). I reitterate, dry - I see buds that get sold (someone else I know) and our idea of dry and cured are different, through different motivation.

The latest crop, I vegged with 400W MH, but then switched to LED for all of the flowering phase. I picked up two Mars Reflector "blurple" 144 LED units - the long ones with three panels in each . One is the older 3w led version, and the other the newer 5w led version. I paid around £100 GBP each. Together they pull 540 watts from the wall in full-on mode (veg & bloom both on).

Flowering was markedly different. The buds started with many more white hairs than I'm used to. Very neat. When the buds actually started getting bigger they were much much denser than I'm used to. Very dense structure, more compact and less airy than I'm used to (Purple bud, growing from cuttings used under HPS previously). Almost "knuckle like" in their density. Strikingly different. Also no signs at all of heat stress or bleaching. I kept the lights about 1ft above the canopy.

Because the two rectangular lights fill the space so well in a 4x4 tent I got very even bud sizes across the canopy, rather than the giants being focussed nearer the middle.

I also didn't notice any difference at all betweem the side with 3w leds, and the side with 5w leds. Which wasn't a big surprise as they pull a very similar current from the wall.

I weighed it up tonight. Again, properly twig-snapping dry. Done slowly over 2 weeks. They stink before they've been near the curing jars. 9 Oz. So thats 0.46 gm / watt.

Not bad at all. Not far behind my HPS average (0.51 and 0.60 at best) with a very easy to harvest crop (neat compact dense buds), and all running around 2 degrees C lower than my HPS.

I bought a third light for less than £100 too, so I might try flowering with all three next time.

Are they worth the money at full price? Definitely not. Lower yield for a LOT of money of you bought two at RRP you'd be short of £420, whereas an £80 HPS setup would yield more. But as an experiment, I was impressed. If I lived somewhere where the heat was a problem it would be an attractive option, and based on my simple experiment, I can confirm they are not "shit" / "junk" :-)
Click to expand...
A little update to my old post.

For giggles, and curiosity, after my previous LED grow (the one above), I did the same again, (veg on 400w MH, flower on mars Hydro LED) but I used three of the Mars 144LED lights for all of the flowering instead of two. All three pull 810w from the wall. Remember- I got these lights cheap.

I pulled 14oz dry. 0.48g/w

Then, in the same weather (so same temp), with the same cuttings from the same plant, everything the same I just harvested again, but I went back to my 600W HPS (680w at the wall verified)- to see what the difference would be again.

I pulled 12oz dry. 0.49g/w.

So so close.

HPS Buds stretched WAY more, and I ran the 1st stretch week with the 400w MH to limit it. "Hairier" buds. Taller and thinner.

The LED canopy is much lower, and much more even, so much less admin with plant training.

The 600w HPS runs much hotter . The LED can be much closer.

HPS still win when you factor in the cost of the LED lights, but I'll only run the HPS now in the winter when its extra heat is welcome.
 
D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
Dodgey you really should be doing much better as far as your yield goes that don't have anything to do with your lights. Without seeing your grow it's hard to say, but easy things to try are 1) Longer veg time, 2) Bigger pots, 3)More plant numbers.
 
D

Dodgey99

Well-Known Member
I'm aware of that, but I grow very specialised (and low yield) plants for personal preference, not to sell. I've grown high yield plants before and got 15-16oz, but that's not my goal.
 
D

Dodgey99

Well-Known Member
20oz minimum, in a 1.2m x 1.2m grow room under 600w?

That's 0.9gm per watt. Optimum stuff. I've often read 1g/w is full on with Co2. And also, and not just from the source below, that 0.5gm per watt is considered "good".

www.growweedeasy.com

How to Produce 1 Gram/Watt of Cannabis with Grow Lights | Grow Weed Easy

Learn how to achieve the elusive "1 gram per watt" yield with your grow lights by following this tutorial!
www.growweedeasy.com www.growweedeasy.com

I've grown for capacity in a 1.2x1.2 tent before and I consider 15 oz as very good. 20oz if off the chart

Anyhow - the point was about comparing HPS to LED which is often asked about, and I did it under identical conditions with identical plants, not in joined tents, which to be honest, is very rare.
 
D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
My first round with 600 watts LED I got 28oz and mistakes were made. 20 should be pretty easy with either HPS or LED. That’s with no co2 or environmental control other than fans.

I actually just switched to LEDs so running same strains same tents. LED beats HPS hands down. Watt to watt no Comparison
 
Last edited:
D

Dodgey99

Well-Known Member
... in 1.2m x 1.2m squ tents? You are getting 28oz? under 600w?

Well, fair play to you. I'd been doing this on and off since 20 years ago, NFT, and I do know what I'm doing - and trust me, I keep is simple. 28oz is nuts. That physical amount of bud, in a 1.2 x 1.2m tent (basically over x2 what I produce) would mean a very dense/crowded canopy. Mine is crowded as it is. Do you not get air circ problems? Are you growing super yeild strains? (I grow very specific strains for my partner's Lupus pain mitigation, always very much Indica based).

Attached are typical canopy and bud shots - though they are old ones when I was growing a different strain. I tend to get a much more level canopy now.IMG_4230 (Large).jpegIMG_4238 (Large).jpeg
 
Horselover fat

Horselover fat

Well-Known Member
^ I just had a pound in 2x4 so it's possible :) someone claimed 1200g per 4x4 and I believe them. Now that I saw a pound in 2x4 i think the extra 150g would fit in there... if one had better skills than me.
 
D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
To be honest it doesn't really feel that crowded in the tent with the 4 plants and I don't defoliate like some do. Obviously the pic you're showing has some issues as you know but I can't help but wonder if the NFT is not allowing you to have the root mass you need for better yields. I am going to assume that you're from the UK because of your language so I know what you can purchase there is different than here in the states, but if you ever want to change things up a little I would recommend trying a round with Drain to Waste using pro-mix (peat moss) for the medium using the hydro nutrients you are using now. Would cost you like $40 to give it a try. You might also try topping the plants and scrogging them a little more before you let them be. Get another week of veg in and your yields go up. I have 8 strains at the moment to choose from and they all yield above 20oz but none of them are big bud etc.
 
D

DaFreak

Well-Known Member
DWC is cheap, but a pot with medium and hydro nutes gets the same yield and I think if you want to just do a cycle to see it's the best choice. Plus you never know somebody's environment, if they have to invest in chillers and pumps all of the sudden DWC isn't cheap anymore.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top