Which approach will win?

pulpoinspace

Well-Known Member
The technology is actually changing pretty slow if you’ve been around a while.
Buying Chinese knockoffs makes no sense at this point the savings aren’t worth it. And diy is still king.
 

osowhom

Well-Known Member
Seems to be two schools of thought out there at the moment.

A: You buy a budget-priced Chinese knockoff light and dispose of it in a couple years. Buy another new budget light when the old one becomes outdated.

B: You spend a high amount of money for the "best" light with the highest efficiency, etc. and hope that it doesn't get outmoded in a year or two.

In practical experience, almost any strong light source will successfully grow marijuana...doesn't matter to the plants how efficient it is. Plants just want photons. Almost any kind of light will do. The whole efficiency thing seems to be relevant only to light designers and also to very large grow ops who are burning tons of electricity. But for most of us, we might commit to 15 or 20 weeks out of each year for our gardening hobby. Is the most efficient light going to make a big difference to the small time guys? I'm not sure. In my state, electricity is fairly cheap so super efficient lights aren't a big necessity. In other areas, it might be different. But hey, I like cool lights as much as the next grower....

The pricing on the new ChilLED fixtures is kinda what motivated this thread. They're at (or near) the top of the efficiency game and their prices reflect it (pun intended). Sure, I want one...in the same way I used to want an Apache Tech light back in 2012. I want to be the kid with the cool new Stingray bike, too! (By the way, Apache Techs are still available and for the same high prices -but the technology hasn't changed.) In a way, I respect that because it means that if you commit to an Apache Tech light, today, then in 5 or 10 years of having them dialed into your system, you can always get another one when (and IF) you need. They haven't seen the need to update anything in terms of their lights -or their terrible website!;) I guess they believe in their product enough to not evolve it. But, other than them, almost every light design that was out 5 years ago has completely evolved. It used to be Cree COBs and then that switched to quantum boards and Samsung chips....If I had to guess, I'd say that boards are here to stay for awhile...but the chips and spectral options will continue to get better and better.

So, which school of thought do you subscribe to? Commit to today's best lights? Or just keep upgrading every year or two?

:)
so you had a stingray? if i may try to guess your age you dont have to answer lol but you old me too! i have been using HPS but i may take the plunge soon myself so i would like to see what you decide and how it perfoms
 

Moldy

Well-Known Member
Seems to be two schools of thought out there at the moment.

A: You buy a budget-priced Chinese knockoff light and dispose of it in a couple years. Buy another new budget light when the old one becomes outdated.

B: You spend a high amount of money for the "best" light with the highest efficiency, etc. and hope that it doesn't get outmoded in a year or two.

In practical experience, almost any strong light source will successfully grow marijuana...doesn't matter to the plants how efficient it is. Plants just want photons. Almost any kind of light will do. The whole efficiency thing seems to be relevant only to light designers and also to very large grow ops who are burning tons of electricity. But for most of us, we might commit to 15 or 20 weeks out of each year for our gardening hobby. Is the most efficient light going to make a big difference to the small time guys? I'm not sure. In my state, electricity is fairly cheap so super efficient lights aren't a big necessity. In other areas, it might be different. But hey, I like cool lights as much as the next grower....

The pricing on the new ChilLED fixtures is kinda what motivated this thread. They're at (or near) the top of the efficiency game and their prices reflect it (pun intended). Sure, I want one...in the same way I used to want an Apache Tech light back in 2012. I want to be the kid with the cool new Stingray bike, too! (By the way, Apache Techs are still available and for the same high prices -but the technology hasn't changed.) In a way, I respect that because it means that if you commit to an Apache Tech light, today, then in 5 or 10 years of having them dialed into your system, you can always get another one when (and IF) you need. They haven't seen the need to update anything in terms of their lights -or their terrible website!;) I guess they believe in their product enough to not evolve it. But, other than them, almost every light design that was out 5 years ago has completely evolved. It used to be Cree COBs and then that switched to quantum boards and Samsung chips....If I had to guess, I'd say that boards are here to stay for awhile...but the chips and spectral options will continue to get better and better.

So, which school of thought do you subscribe to? Commit to today's best lights? Or just keep upgrading every year or two?

:)
I upgraded 5-6 years ago to a AC-DE bulb and hood that I bought instead of an LED set up. Still using the same bulb except for veg,. now using a CMH 600 DE in the fall that's the beginning a 3 harvest year. I fucked up and bought a TSW-2000 Mars last year in a moment of stupidity which I'm flowering with in a tent right now and that's a little challenging for an HPS guy. So I'll upgrade to a new DE bulb in a few years and probably not try anything new unless it's one of those "gotta have" things.

The issue I have is that I'm over 70 and will be checking out in a few years and don't want to invest in a bunch of stuff that my wife or living relatives will have to sell for cheap and put undo stress on her/them. My health is not optimal.
 

DukeFluke

Well-Known Member
I would say buy a cheap one if you smoke the weed yourself.
But i think for an experienced grower that sells his harvest.
Its best to have a high quality light.
I reckon this if a quality more expensive light only gets me 100 grams more it would have paid itself only in 1 harvest.
And i have 6 harvest a year . So this is a no brainer. After all we are not growing tomatoes that sell for a dollar .
Why cheapskate and maybe risk lesser lights. Or without quality control of a reputed brand manufacturer. When these lights pays for itself in only 1 harvest.
It's only a no brainer if you've overlooked the possibility that the premise for this point is entirely bollocks.

With all due respect brother, you've made the completely blind assumption that you get 100 grams (nice round figure I must admit) per grow and then if you take that and multiply it by the harvests you get and then divide it by the square root....

Hold on a minute Einstein... Have you considered the idea that maybe... I know this is a wild one so bear with me... but maybe... the Geekbeast or Hortibloom might out yield your more expensive light?

:o:o:o:o:o

I know. It's fucked up isn't it. You'll have to take the algorithm back to the lab and completely rework it :sad:
 

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
I would say buy a cheap one if you smoke the weed yourself.
But i think for an experienced grower that sells his harvest.
Its best to have a high quality light.
I reckon this if a quality more expensive light only gets me 100 grams more it would have paid itself only in 1 harvest.
And i have 6 harvest a year . So this is a no brainer. After all we are not growing tomatoes that sell for a dollar .
Why cheapskate and maybe risk lesser lights. Or without quality control of a reputed brand manufacturer. When these lights pays for itself in only 1 harvest.
I don’t smoke and I pulled 1.3gpw out of my LED on my first run with it. It was nearly 1/3 the cost of a gavita 1700e and is actually more powerful. It already paid for itself.
 

bk78

Well-Known Member
Where I stand the quality tested reputable light with warranty would have paid for itself. In only 1 harvest and I have 6 in a year.
6 a year a little far fetched don’t you think? That would need 2 flower rooms and a large veg room

pics or it never happened.
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Good job on your first grow brother.
What is amazing about led .
Is that it allows new growers to have decent yields. As they are quite powerful and are easier to control the environment .
The right environment is even more important than light. (Requisite that you have adequate light )
2 gpw would be in the realm of your possibilities if you keep improving brother.
But what I am trying to say .
You bought a light that is 1/3 of the gavita.
But for how much do you sell your weed?
If you have obtained 2gpw.
That's 3 pounds .
Where I stand the quality tested reputable light with warranty would have paid for itself. In only 1 harvest and I have 6 in a year.
So why even take a chance with lesser lights :)
but when a new light comes out that outperforms what you now have, do you buy it? what if the new light would get you 125 grams more??
 

sf_frankie

Well-Known Member
Good job on your first grow brother.
What is amazing about led .
Is that it allows new growers to have decent yields. As they are quite powerful and are easier to control the environment .
The right environment is even more important than light. (Requisite that you have adequate light )
2 gpw would be in the realm of your possibilities if you keep improving brother.
But what I am trying to say .
You bought a light that is 1/3 of the gavita.
But for how much do you sell your weed?
If you have obtained 2gpw.
That's 3 pounds .
Where I stand the quality tested reputable light with warranty would have paid for itself. In only 1 harvest and I have 6 in a year.
So why even take a chance with lesser lights :)
Quality was not as good as I would have liked but it had nothing to do with the lights. It was due to a bunch of rookie mistakes with nutes, trying to build a grow room while growing, power outages from fires and my drinking problem lol. I have 2 lights and harvested 4.25lbs plus almost 3/4 lbs of larf and baby nugs that I used for extracts or gave away to friends. It was still high B grade and 1lb went for over 3x what I paid for a single light.

Now I have complete control of my environment and I've got my whole room automated with a raspberry pi. I've also got some experience under my belt and took care of my boozin problem so my goal is 2gpw. We'll see how it pans out. I'm about 3 weeks into my second run and its already going a lot smoother than the first one. This one is a freebie, my entire grow room build was paid for from my first harvest plus I made a profit. If I had gone with the Gavitas which were $1500 at the time, I probably wouldn't have broken even. I'd buy lights from Alibaba again in a heartbeat. The only other thing I'd consider is DIY.
 

Doug Dawson

Well-Known Member
These threads always make me laugh these days, it seems the debate is never ending. I personally think many get too caught up worrying about it. A Mars, Spider Farmer, HLG, Mijiu, Kingbrite or many others will grow you great plants if you know how to grow. So will a properly built DIY setup. Find something you like that has been proven and buy it, that's all it takes. Plenty of grow journals out there to show you that a light will perform. In my opinion a new person would be much better off focusing on growing skills instead of endless research on lights. All that research has already been done by growers, find the data and buy or build what you need. It's not about prestige, it's not about your plants doing better because they see a particular company name on your gear, I can say for certain your plants don't give a rats ass about who made your lights. They want the right intensity in the right spectrum and that is all.
 

DukeFluke

Well-Known Member
Ok let's break this down..
You've got $2k of LED money burning a deep red hole in your pocket. You can get 1 "top end" light for that money and start saving for your next one. You do a grow with it and get 1.5gpw. After your first grow you invest in another, or maybe two. Then after the second you get a fourth to fill in your space.

Some other guy who doesn't hate the Chinese, buys 4 lights for the same money straight away and does the same amount x 4. Then does the same the next run. And the next.

All four of his Chinese lights go Kaput after just one year. All of them... KAPUT...

He can replace them all at the same cost and it will still take years to catch up with the odd 100g off each light

There are more variables to this than you're letting on bud, and not everyone is just filling a 5x5 space
 
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