IF you are new to LED and want help choosing what to buy, POST HERE!

I agree with this completely. Its not neccesary to upgrade a year old LED light really, do you upgrade TVs every year? I also agree with the blog idea. I think it would be nice if instead of upgrading the old panel, getting just tla nice discount on the newest light, maybe like 30-45% off new panel of whatever you wanted. It would still make money for the company, especially when a lot of your price is based on how much you are trying to pay yourself, especially in the led world.

az2000 said:

I think that's the most reasonable answer. I can see how there would be a difference of opinion about when a model is due for an upgrade. For the average China-import consumer, being able to upgrade after 4-5 advancements in A51's design would be a huge positive (as well as being able to replace failed modules in the interim). For the more passionate, leading-edge type, they might be disappointed that every past model isn't perfectly tracking the current model.

I recently suggested to Jeff that he implement a blog on his site to communicate more about what's happening, receive reader feedback which could guide future blog posts. After he stopped posting here, it seems like there's a lot less awareness of what's going on. Forums are a huge and sometimes addictive drag on time. I don't fault him for not posting here. But, it would be nice if there was more communication. A blog would be a good way to share thoughts, reply to community concerns (like this upgrade topic) without getting bogged down in a huge conversation.

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He had a blog and deleted it. Ppl kept posting and getting the posts taken off. Yea Fran there CC, only reason I could think of is 700 is the max rating and he didnt wanna chance it. But do I? Eh. Maybefind a 650ma for 54V. Apparently the xpe2 isn't cos effective in there sense. He explained it to me before. Not worth it

^^^Yeah when I saw EH was using XPs instead of XP2s I knew instantly it was because a 10 to 12% increase in output for the cost of those new versions was ridiculous. I remember reading that critique of them somewhere when they were first released. Didn't the XP-E2 get another revision recently? I gotta check that.

Scotch089 said:

He had a blog and deleted it. Ppl kept posting and getting the posts taken off.

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His response to my suggestion said they used to have a forum but didn't get much participation. He said he would consider a blog. Hopefully that will happen because, even if he disabled reader comments, a one-way source of information would be good. He provided a lot of insight into his directions and such when he posted here. If a commentless blog could recreate that it would be a net positive.

His posts here didn't betray the kind of person who would delete unfavorable comments. But, I can see how forums can be a huge drag on time. Quibbling over minutae, mostly egos that need satisfying. I think a less pooh-flinging modality (blogs) serve a valuable purpose too. Just basically recognizing forums have a lot of pooh and some people have better things to do -- while still having an audience interested in what they have to say.

Hopefully it will get better.

Abiqua said:

http://rollitup.org/t/diy-leds-how-to-power-them.801554/
http://rollitup.org/t/diy-led-cree-cxa3070.789575/

Which driver? the 1.4A version?

Yes, you could run 3 on a 1.4 amp version.

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Went through those threads, thanks everyone for your time and input, there is a lot of useful information in there.

So got a few 5000k cxa3070s and the meanwell-plc-60-1400s for a veg space but there doesn't seem to be any 2700k 3070s in stock anywhere I could find.
I don't mind using the 3590s for flower but don't really need the dimming on the HLG-185H.
Is it known when the plc-100 and plc-150 are going to be released; or more 3070s? Any other economical options to run the 3590s around 1050ma?

Thanks again.

So im kind of overwhelmed at this point ive been researching led light and it seems the more I dig the more stuff I find to take into consideration. Im also concerned sense the technology is ever changing that my research isnt exactly helping my decision.
Some of the brands im considering are apache, black dog, area 51, California works.
Our flowering tent is 5x9 which we would like to eventually flower 4 plants at a time in. We arent sure if we should buy smaller units and have one over each plant or go for the larger versions and only buy two. I personally think 4 smaller units would be better for one I could buy one at a time as needed and if one ever quit I have some back ups.

I would love some input on this but I would like to stick with one of these brand and not some Chinese knock off.

skorch said:

Our flowering tent is 5x9 which we would like to eventually flower 4 plants at a time in. We arent sure if we should buy smaller units and have one over each plant or go for the larger versions and only buy two. I personally think 4 smaller units would be better for one I could buy one at a time as needed and if one ever quit I have some back ups.

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If you grow only 4 plants in that space Im betting they're gonna be pretty big. In that case I'd go with 8 x A51, that makes 2 per plants that you can angle differently, and independently from the other lights in the same room wich are used for the other plants. If it was more of a sog or scrog setup I'd go with the AT600 I think, it gave awesome results comparable to a 1000w HPS as showed here by GG. But you'll need 2 and thats a bit more $.

I wouldnt choose Blackdog or CLW, but Onyx (Rapidled) seems to be a contender, for cheaper but less coverage...

what do you think about this remote control dimmable light ?http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_productshow/?30-King-Par-LED-Grow-light-30.html and their Grow LED bar http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_productshow/?32-LED-Grow-Bar-Light-32.html .Need advice .Thanks .

I'm kinda new to growing,I'm on my 2nd grow and its what I guess you would call a micro grow.Ive been using cfls.I'm using 2 55 watt and 2 68 watt bulbs to flower but my next plan is to make a cabinet using a sterilite 2 shelf cabinet which measures 35 3/4 tall 25 3/4 wide and 19 deep and was weighing options for light.was thinking 400 watt hid but heat is gonna be a factor.so I'm thinking led.what size led should I use for something that size and maybe later on for something a little larger.money is tight so I'm looking to spend as little as I can and still get good results.I've looked at an Apollo horticulture GL100led 300 watt grow light from amazon or the GL80led 240 watt model.any advice would be great on these lights or any others that would be a good choice.

GCMDH said:

what do you think about this remote control dimmable light ?http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_productshow/?30-King-Par-LED-Grow-light-30.html and their Grow LED bar http://www.ecosunlite.com/e_productshow/?32-LED-Grow-Bar-Light-32.html .Need advice .Thanks .

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It's an interesting light but there's not a lot of ironclad info and flowering is gonna be hit or (probably) miss. Looks like you might have to be the first monkey in space on this one. IMHO look elsewhere but if you do go for it at least you'll end up with some nice heatsinks for a DIY project with better LEDs.

part time grower326 said:

I'm kinda new to growing,I'm on my 2nd grow and its what I guess you would call a micro grow.Ive been using cfls.I'm using 2 55 watt and 2 68 watt bulbs to flower but my next plan is to make a cabinet using a sterilite 2 shelf cabinet which measures 35 3/4 tall 25 3/4 wide and 19 deep and was weighing options for light.was thinking 400 watt hid but heat is gonna be a factor.so I'm thinking led.what size led should I use for something that size and maybe later on for something a little larger.money is tight so I'm looking to spend as little as I can and still get good results.I've looked at an Apollo horticulture GL100led 300 watt grow light from amazon or the GL80led 240 watt model.any advice would be great on these lights or any others that would be a good choice.

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Budget panels tend to give off quite a bit of heat, especially after some time has passed. If heat's an issue you'd want something with better efficiency, (less heat). If you're building your own cabinet something tells me you probably wouldn't have too much trouble with a DIY LED project. If you go with a COB setup, besides the fact that you'll have the best group of COB enthusiasts on the planet at your disposal here, (well as long as you're not a BIG dickhead ), who will help you with your project, you'll save a ton of money and get an efficient light to grow light that will last. And they're pretty damn easy to make. Otherwise it's CREE spotlights from Home Depot or maybe a little VIPAR NOVA series light IMHO. I can't recommend the panels you are talking about, maybe others can, but I don't think they are the best way to solve your heat problem. Good Luck.

I'm interested in the COB technology , Is Apollo the manufacturer thus far?

I am interester in creating 2 COB.strips to put along each side of the 300w led I currently have or along side a 400w hps for a combined light style. My idea is roughly 2 strips with 10 10w cob chips, 5 red 3 blue and 2 white. My main question is can a single100w driver work for each strip or should each color have a seperate power supply for the different current reqiirements. If someone could point me in the right direction maybe some good builds to to take a look at it would be very much appreciated! Thanks

Does anyone know the difference between the old and new Cree bulbs, specifically the 9w ones? I heard some people like the older ones better, but I forget where I read that and now can't find the info.
I have one of each version I believe. One has a more rubbery glass dome, which came in cardboard that opened like a book.. the other came in a single sheet of cardboard, if that makes sense.

Any suggestions? I would like to exchange the "lesser" of the two and then buy more, just not sure which I should get.

One Home Depot near me carries one kind, and another carries the other kind.

Thanks!

Corso312 said:

I'm interested in the COB technology , Is Apollo the manufacturer thus far?

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I don't think Apollo makes a real COB panel. Yet. They do make multi chip array panels and they are definitely not the same though they do look similar. Talk to Supra in one of his threads or PM him. He might be able to make you a panel. I know he did for at least one person and they are very happy with it.

bobbuck said:

I am interester in creating 2 COB.strips to put along each side of the 300w led I currently have or along side a 400w hps for a combined light style. My idea is roughly 2 strips with 10 10w cob chips, 5 red 3 blue and 2 white. My main question is can a single100w driver work for each strip or should each color have a seperate power supply for the different current reqiirements. If someone could point me in the right direction maybe some good builds to to take a look at it would be very much appreciated! Thanks

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OK from what you're saying you're talking about multi-chip arrays, basically the predecessors to COBs. Good for vegging, hit or miss with flowering. Colored/monochromatic COBs are very rare as of now, if they do even exist at all. The seller may say COB when they sell them to you but they usually aren't. Post a link to them and I'll show you some differences.
A single 100 watt driver might work but there is more info needed like the max amperage that each array can handle and the max forward voltage of the arrays. Then you need to know if the driver can supply the arrays with an amperage they can all handle and supply all the arrays with the minimum voltage it needs, i.e. the total max voltage of all 10 arrays. In reality it's probably a bad idea to run one driver cause if that driver goes out you lose all your lights.

Have you checked out the DIY LED thread by Supra yet?

subb said:

Does anyone know the difference between the old and new Cree bulbs, specifically the 9w ones? I heard some people like the older ones better, but I forget where I read that and now can't find the info.
I have one of each version I believe. One has a more rubbery glass dome, which came in cardboard that opened like a book.. the other came in a single sheet of cardboard, if that makes sense.

Any suggestions? I would like to exchange the "lesser" of the two and then buy more, just not sure which I should get.

One Home Depot near me carries one kind, and another carries the other kind.

Thanks!

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Yeah there is lots of different CREE bulbs now. I have older ones based on XT diodes and the newer ones use XBD or whatever design that gives the bulb more omni directional light. The spotlights seem to be the best usage of the tech IMHO but you'd be better served going into captainmorgan's Flowering With Cree Bulbs thread and asking around there. The originals were very intense but the newer ones are more efficient I believe, so you're probably better off with the new ones but I'm not all up on CREE bulb tech as I once was.

FranJan said:

Yeah there is lots of different CREE bulbs now. I have older ones based on XT diodes and the newer ones use XBD or whatever design that gives the bulb more omni directional light. The spotlights seem to be the best usage of the tech IMHO but you'd be better served going into captainmorgan's Flowering With Cree Bulbs thread and asking around there. The originals were very intense but the newer ones are more efficient I believe, so you're probably better off with the new ones but I'm not all up on CREE bulb tech as I once was.

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Nice, do you know by any chance which are the new ones, what to look for?
I did ask in that thread as well the other day, waiting for a response so I figured I would post here as well

Height is an issue, though so unfortunately I can't use those floodlights in veg, gotta go with the 9w mounted horizontally

subb said:

Nice, do you know by any chance which are the new ones, what to look for?
I did ask in that thread as well the other day, waiting for a response so I figured I would post here as well

Height is an issue, though so unfortunately I can't use those floodlights in veg, gotta go with the 9w mounted horizontally

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The below link is what you want for flowering, the 2700K or Soft White 100 watt replacement bulb. I like 3 of these to 1 5000K or Daylight white. Some say you don't need a 5000K, I've seen some recommend a 5 x 2700K to 1 x 5000K when it comes to flowering. The 5000Ks veg better but I would go 1 to 1 in veg with these. And if height is an issue leave the bulb on or you'll burn some leaves and budsites if the plant gets crazy. And having an exposed CREE bulb is a bit dangerous. Not fun when you get shocked by them. And I know that one too. Ow!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-100W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-A21-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-BA21-16027OMF-12DE26-1U100/205054835?N=5yc1vZbol

FranJan said:

The below link is what you want for flowering, the 2700K or Soft White 100 watt replacement bulb. I like 3 of these to 1 5000K or Daylight white. Some say you don't need a 5000K, I've seen some recommend a 5 x 2700K to 1 x 5000K when it comes to flowering. The 5000Ks veg better but I would go 1 to 1 in veg with these. And if height is an issue leave the bulb on or you'll burn some leaves and budsites if the plant gets crazy. And having an exposed CREE bulb is a bit dangerous. Not fun when you get shocked by them. And I know that one too. Ow!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Cree-100W-Equivalent-Soft-White-2700K-A21-Dimmable-LED-Light-Bulb-BA21-16027OMF-12DE26-1U100/205054835?N=5yc1vZbol

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Talking with Captain he suggested the 1-2 9.5w in addition to my RW-75, mostly because of the diminishing returns after about 30w per sq foot. I had originally planned on getting 2-4 of the floodlights for additional flowering lights but will probably stick with 2-4 9.5w at least for now and see how it goes. Maybe I will do 2 of those 18 watters instead, though. I will have to do some tests and see when my yield starts to level out with the addition of more and more lights.

Also the height issue is only for veg, flowering chamber has much more height. Is there a difference in heat with the glass domes off vs on? I think in my veg chamber the closest the plants will get to the bulbs is probably about 4-6" - I am setting up a perpetual scrog, so the canopy in veg won't be going above the screen. Captain said you could put those bulbs right in the canopy, but I assume he meant with the glass on.. not sure if having the glass off would change that or not?

And yes, definitely aware of the electrical shock issue, if I were to go that route I would be careful, plus the way my lights would be hung it would be pretty hard to accidentally touch one of them, but definitely will keep that in mind! I used to work in construction and am pretty used to those shocks, still not the funnest thing, though!