Flowering with Cree bulbs

PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
Do the math. Unless you are doing a small closet grow (< 2 x3), the A51 is a bargain when you factor in all aspects, including warranty. But you can DIY an inexpensive grow/clone set up, and save the bucks for a superior flowering panel. Still, no one is a bigger fan of what cap has done than I

RedCarpetMatches said:
Just read the entire thread and now my gears r churning. Thnx for inspiration CM! Since those Crees send out a lot of side lighting I'm wondering about a vertical set up. Now I might not get those Area 51s. Hmmmm
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RedCarpetMatches

RedCarpetMatches

Well-Known Member
PetFlora said:
Do the math. Unless you are doing a small closet grow (< 2 x3), the A51 is a bargain when you factor in all aspects, including warranty. But you can DIY an inexpensive glow/clone set up, and save the bucks for a superior flowering panel. Still, no one is a bigger fan of what cap has done than I
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Well I went out and bought 4 5000k A19 Crees and absolutely hate the side reflection. Feels almost as bad as CFLs. I think ideal uses would be reflectors and/or hung vertically inbetween plants so no light is wasted. I would love to supplement the Area 51s with these bulbs. Huge potential there. +1 on the reptile bulbs CM.
 
Spiko

Spiko

Member
I just bought a 6 pack of the 2700k and i think I'll get a 6 pack of the 5000k as well. Awesome way to fill in some spectrum gaps of my chinese panel and also maybe get some of the lower growth.
 
P

psilocybindude

Well-Known Member
Awesome yield captain and thanks for putting this up here for all to see, just curious captain about how close do you keep your bulbs to your plants? Ive been keeping mine with in a few inches and haven't noticed any ill effects.

I just bought 8 of these 2700k cree a19s to supplement my hps, i tried to cover a 2x5 foot closet with a 400 watt hps by using a rotating scrog crate system and needless to say i ended up with some very dark corners, i added them at about 3 1/2 weeks flowering and I'm hoping to see a noticeable increase in yield over my previous grow, if so I'm considering replacing my hps with all cree bulbs or just adding 12 more bulbs for a total of 190 watts of cree and 400 watts of hps.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Sorry for being a complete idiot, but has anyone removed the glass domes from these things?
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Sweet! Thank you for that. I assume everyone should do this? Any reason NOT to?

Also, very curious to see the spectrum of these things. Any link to that by chance?
 
Bumping Spheda

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Rrog said:
I assume everyone should do this? Any reason NOT to?
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Voids the ten year warranty, possibility of damage to LED and/or phosphor upon disassembly.

Rrog said:
Also, very curious to see the spectrum of these things. Any link to that by chance?
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http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?356710-Cree-A19-9-5w-60w-800lm-2700K-for-13-97&p=4172285&viewfull=1#post4172285

You can also go to Cree's website and look up the documentation on the XT-E HVW (High Voltage White).
 
Bumping Spheda

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
With the silicon layer being an economical light diffuser (not specialty or meant to be highly efficient) my guess is it absorbs ~10% of the light. Really rough estimate, hardly any basis. Diffusers don't tend to be the most efficient, though. So, yeah, I'd say they limited the radiometric output in an attempt to make the glass slightly shatterproof, acquire a slightly more uniform light spread, and make the bulb look more appealing to consumers (hide the ugly, Yellow LED's).
 
FranJan

FranJan

Well-Known Member
Bumping Spheda said:
Voids the ten year warranty.....
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Actually removing the bulb does not necessarily void your warranty since the bulbs have a tendency to get hot and the adhesive then breaks down. Basically people who've mounted them upside down have had the globes slip off. CREE knows about it and says all you have to do is bring it into any Home Depot for a replacement. I'll be exchanging one I fried recently, (shorted it against my ghetto reflector), pretty soon. So just hold on to your globes and if you ever mess one up just crack a globe and take it back, though of course you do need to mind the diodes when removing the globe.
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
Clear glass is said to absorb 10% of the light. That silicone cover wouldn't surprise me if it were a LOT more than a 10% light drop.

So with all that's been said, seems we should be removing the globes, or at least considering the benefit if we did,
 
Bumping Spheda

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
bondoman said:
It looks like the changed up the bulbs. That page and teardowns on youtube show what look like XT-E LEDs, but mine are half as many LEDs and are square. Do you know which ones they are? Also the circuit board is different.

It looks like it might be these?
http://www.cree.com/LED-Components-and-Modules/Products/XLamp/Discrete-Directional/XLamp-XBE

or possibly the G version. I wonder how these compare to the older version.
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http://www.designingwithleds.com/cree-led-65w-equivalent-br30-flood-light-tear-down-and-review/
 
Rrog

Rrog

Well-Known Member
I'd like to tell my buddy to remove the bulbs in his BR30s. Could this be a crazy bad safety hazard?

Just an observation, but these seems like these could benefit from a bulb removal / reflector added. Looking at the pics of the LED array inside, if we're trying to get a direct shot from the LED, only 25% of the LEDs would be facing the plant. THe rest may not be directly facing any leaf.

I'm considering panel only, these "bulbs" only, or a combo. I'm thinking that with the LED orientation on the bulb being a lot less efficient per Watt, you'd still benefit from main panels.
 
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