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

Any suggestions for a small LED panel for keeping one or two mothers alive and well? At least until I know enough to build my own.

Second question, suggested reading for someone wanting to build their own panels in the future?

PetFlora said:

Not sure where you get the idea I am a huge NW fan (maybe a year ago, but damn, this is on fast moving target.) , though with some NWs you could probably do a pretty decent grow. For sure more NW in veg, but 1:6 in flower. Can any of you who 'liked' this show me where I said otherwise? Maybe you were all liking the first paragraph.

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We get that from a number of you post such as:

• All that mmj needs is NW and WW that have 80+ CRI + high PPFD
  
  

  • Found here: https://www.rollitup.org/led-other-lighting/633512-how-si-spectrum.html#post8816486

  ​

Over 5 years ago when I started testing with LEDs, my first thought was white only LEDs. They worked and grew well but I couldn't get anywhere near the 20 or 30% power savings that all of the panel sellers were claiming at the time. I've been trying for that 50% mark ever since and have hit it a few times. The issue arises when you try to apply those attempts to different strains or a standardized "mass market" shaped panel. When you make a DIY panel and multiple small panels like the Hans panel or Astir panels, you can greatly increase your yield with lower wattage. Then you run into coverage area, weight, wire, and higher price per watt issues. Over the past few years as diodes have become more powerful, efficient, cheaper and more available we have seen hundreds of new companies pop up offering the same or slight variations on the same panels over and over. The first panels where missing accessory pigments and no one could figure out why they weren't budding properly. There are some very smart people on these forums that are getting on the right track. Stay tuned for some amazing things in the near future.

bicit said:

Any suggestions for a small LED panel for keeping one or two mothers alive and well? At least until I know enough to build my own.

Second question, suggested reading for someone wanting to build their own panels in the future?

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Bicit 10 to 30 watt Ebay spot lights in the 5000 to 12000K range will work fine for keeping moms alive. They'll grow very slow with just this color and wattage so if you want better growth add some WW or NWs. Something like 1x20 watt WW and 2x10 CW isn't too expensive and will be fine for 2 moms in the 1 foot range. Anything taller and you need to up the watts or add side lighting. You could use just SMD strip lights, but it depends on your space.

Books I've read that one can find easily on the interwebs or on Amazon are (click for linkage )
LED Lighting: A Primer to Lighting the Future
Light-Emitting Diodes by E. Fred Schubert
Practical Lighting Design with LEDs
Power Supplies for LED Driving
Nitride Phosphors and Solid-State Lighting

Anyone got a copy of this ?
Introduction to LED Lighting: Basics, Designing, Simulation, Experimentation and Case Studies

Banefoul said:

working on getting lights for a greenhouse 30 foot x 70 foot.
I'm thinking that 2/5ths 440nm, 2/5th 680nm and 1/5th UV lights will definitely do very well for growing plants. i was told this was older type of led http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/477820378/390nm_410nm_415nm_440nm_460nm_480nm.html

what sort of LED would you say i should look into?

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Talk to Lumigrow. They'll answer all your questions about big greenhouse jobs. Alibaba isn't the answer here.

Hey Pet, I'm cheaping out on my veg setup and picking up some LED bulbs(the flower setup is real).. but found some sorta confusing info on diff wattage bulbs and their lumens. What do you think about these?

First is just a normal bulb, second is a flood type..

10 watts - 830 lumens - $11
http://www.amazon.com/Lighting-EVER-Incandescent-Replacement-Performance/dp/B0073COMUW/ref=sr_1_1

17 watts - 1075 lumens - $27
http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-Conserv-Energy-Dimmable-BR40/dp/B009B0TETS/ref=sr_1_1


seems the cheaper bulbs will be much better, what do you think?

multipass said:

Hey Pet, I'm cheaping out on my veg setup and picking up some LED bulbs(the flower setup is real).. but found some sorta confusing info on diff wattage bulbs and their lumens. What do you think about these?

First is just a normal bulb, second is a flood type..

10 watts - 830 lumens - $11
http://www.amazon.com/Lighting-EVER-Incandescent-Replacement-Performance/dp/B0073COMUW/ref=sr_1_1

17 watts - 1075 lumens - $27
http://www.amazon.com/Feit-Electric-Conserv-Energy-Dimmable-BR40/dp/B009B0TETS/ref=sr_1_1


seems the cheaper bulbs will be much better, what do you think?

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I would probably go with either Feit. Keep in mind the globe severely restricts the output

Just wanted to have a little chat about panels with Zener diodes for you first time buyers out there. So for those who don't know what a Zener diode is you can read the Wiki entry HERE or just know that LED panel makers use Zeners to protect LEDs and LED circuits. Well how's that a bad thing you ask? First they're diodes that don't give off light and also draw power, so you're paying extra to run these diodes with no increase in bud production. Not cool. Well you say "I'll pay extra every month to protect my investment", well here's another way of looking at it. LEDs have revolutionized sign making and with sign making they're not worried about things like high CRI and true color reproduction like growers are, they just want the brightest diodes possible. And the one thing that sign makers love are Zener diodes. They're great for using in designing a LED circuit and of course protecting the sign so they don't have to fix it as often. Now most of these companies who make grow lights on Alibaba are in the sign business too. So when you buy a panel from these Chinese companies, there is a very good chance you're buying low CRI signage-grade LEDs, which is something you want to avoid since their inefficiency will equal higher electrical bills and lower bud production, which I believe we're not big fans of around here . Also sometimes panel makers may not have access to drivers that they need to properly run their circuit or don't have enough diodes to complete their run of panels. It's much cheaper just to add some Zeners in order to fudge the circuit to get it to work with the drivers. Again this is a sign of poor quality and panels like this should be avoided.

So unless you really know what you're doing, you may want to avoid panels with Zeners. And if you don't believe me go ask Area51, Apache, Vipar, or even effin' Blackstar what Zeners they use . But that's just my $.02. Happy Growing Everyone!

[EDIT] I just wanted to add something I forgot; Zeners are also used to keep current flowing through a circuit so if a diode fails the current will still flow through the circuit which is a positive that should be noted. Having said that soldering a wire (not exactly UL approved), a proper resistor or a replacement LED will fix your circuit too.

smokkin said:

Criteria....Stealth:Small space: Low maintenance: Low running costs.
The plant must not smell enough to arousing any questions off neighbours. About 20-30 metres from proposed plants (the back of the shed) to their back door.
The temp here goes from average 3 jan to 27 july so never that warm.
Ill not be heating it, unless some1 has a low low energy way of heating. otherwise it will be seasonal growing.
For the light i was thinking apollo 4 but that is open for debate.
Not decided on what to grow in yet.
Still researching!
Lookin for any1's 2 cents worth.
How much space is really needed, including the light from floor to cealing or Should i get a small tent.
I was thinking of an auto flowering for a start and have some plant outdoors for cuttings when the auto is cooked.
I am not trying to grow for nothing im trying to grow without been noticed. i would love to see what i could achieve but here aint the place for that.
So let rip and thanks in advance. I'll keep researching and post what i find for any1 in the same boat. i dont expect mericals

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+ 1 for Northern Lights and a tent for smell. Soil is not very obvious but coco would be nice too. Cidly Apollo? And what's the measurement of your space?

Good Luck!

48x24x63 tent for flowering what would be a good light for me?

Franjan are the little dashes between the rings of diodes the Zennars? If so are they always visible or can they be hidden from view so one is unkowingly purchasing a zennar'ed out unit?

I'm starting to wonder if the only way of getting a quality LED light is making your own. All the major LED companies like Lighthouse Hydro and blah and blah and blah get bad mouthed on quality all the time. The lights that people say are good are way overpriced. I think maybe the LED's aren't ready for mainstream yet still in the gimmick rip everyone off stage it is seeming to me. Or am I wrong?

If a 300w LED that really is only like 180w costs the same as 2 1000w HPS LED's are not competitive... your paying all the money your gonna save on electricity up front which you may not get back if the light doesn't out last its cost. Am I trippin?

Kyanite393 said:

Franjan are the little dashes between the rings of diodes the Zennars? If so are they always visible or can they be hidden from view so one is unkowingly purchasing a zennar'ed out unit?

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Yes those are them, people tend to confuse them with resistors which are a no no too. I think if a company wanted to they could hide them but that would increase production costs which defeats the purpose using them in most cases. Remember when you see panels like that UFO the wiring is etched on the aluminum so it's easier to have them wired close to the diodes.

the only way of getting a quality LED light is making your own.

Or pay a good amount of money ,to have it build for ya !

But trust me ..

-For a space of 4x4 ,won't have to be more than 300 W at max operation
(and that's only during flowering ) ...

-With average yields,around or even over the 10oz mark ...

-And with more than 15-20 years of (continuous use ) service life ....

-With really great oz( or gr) / Kwh efficiencies ...

-Can operate fine, even if powered by solar panel / port . yaught wind power generator / port. diesel power generator ..(~ 400 W ... )

Not any of snake-oil ,here .....

But .....

Ain't gonna be cheap ...

check out Prosource Illuminator Jumbo.. that is one that I have wanted to try... a little pricey at around $400 to $500. each light covers about 3'x3' area.. better having multiple UFO LEDs than one large LED panel. its all about making a big level canopy for LED and hitting that canopy evenly with LED lighting.

So is the general consensus that the best light to build after would be heliospectra.

Corso312 said:

So is the general consensus that the best light to build after would be heliospectra.

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I'm pretty sure it's been stated before but the Heliospectra L4A is a unit used for research, not your ideal growing fixture.

Corso312 said:

So is the general consensus that the best light to build after would be heliospectra.

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If you are a "researcher" type of "grower " ,yes ,might this be true ...

If you're more of a "stoner" type of grower ..
Nah.....Probably that would be the most unappropriate led fixture , for ya ..
...

BeastGrow said:

check out Prosource Illuminator Jumbo.. that is one that I have wanted to try... a little pricey at around $400 to $500. each light covers about 3'x3' area.. better having multiple UFO LEDs than one large LED panel. its all about making a big level canopy for LED and hitting that canopy evenly with LED lighting.

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The Illuminators work well (I have six of them), but I think that there's better technology, and better deals to be had these days.
I purchased mine just over 3 years ago, when the LED light market place was a much different place then it is now.
They'll cover a 3x3 space for veg and a 2x2 space for flower.