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What do you guys think about Growblu?

Just saw a youtube series where a guy runs 2 of their 250 watt LEDs in a 3x3 tent and has very nice results.
http://growblu.com/120x3w-apollo-led-grow-light

Are these lights worth the money? 1k seems like a lot, but the results were impressive. Check out Oneshotgrow on youtube if you're interested in watching his videos.

After some more reading, it looks like the Pro Grow 260 is pretty dated tech...I don't think it's worth $400. I'm looking into some of the better Chinese panels instead.

BSLED Helios 210W http://www.bsled.com/led-grow-light/h160d-210w.html
Cidly Apollo 6 http://www.cidly.com/Parameter.html
Evergrow Nova S6 http://www.ledgrowlights.cn/detail.asp?id=314

Just wondering which one performs the best since they all look pretty similar in terms of specs, having 2x3 modules etc.
And to have one of these shipped to the US, I need to contact the manufacturer directly and then customize the spectrum? Can I trust them with payment/warranty issues?

Hi , bluefoodie . Lumigrow http://www.lumigrow.com
Apache http://www.apachetechinc.com
Californialightwork http://www.californialightworks.com these USA made led lights are your best Choice .

JasonM007 said:

Hi , bluefoodie . Lumigrow http://www.lumigrow.com
Apache http://www.apachetechinc.com
Californialightwork http://www.californialightworks.com these USA made led lights are your best Choice .

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Those are out of my price range right now and overkill for my 2' x 1.5' space. Just looking to get started with a budget but still quality panel. When I step up to a bigger tent A51 or Apache would be at the top of my list.
Slightly amused by your posts I must confess...you have the grammar of a Chinese LED seller while peddling the complete opposite.

bluefoodie said:

Those are out of my price range right now and overkill for my 2' x 1.5' space. Just looking to get started with a budget but still quality panel. When I step up to a bigger tent A51 or Apache would be at the top of my list.
Slightly amused by your posts I must confess...you have the grammar of a Chinese LED seller while peddling the complete opposite.

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For 2 x 1.5, it would be hard to beat the Hans Panel - bonsaihero.com These are all quality Cree and Philips LEDs

outdoorbrah said:

What do you guys think about Growblu?

Just saw a youtube series where a guy runs 2 of their 250 watt LEDs in a 3x3 tent and has very nice results.
http://growblu.com/120x3w-apollo-led-grow-light

Are these lights worth the money? 1k seems like a lot, but the results were impressive. Check out Oneshotgrow on youtube if you're interested in watching his videos.

Click to expand...

No, Growblu is just rebranded Cidly (Chinese brand) with a big markup. That 120x3w is an Apollo 8 - http://www.cidly.com/Parameter.html
For $1k you can get 2 Area51 SGS-160's and put those Growblu's to shame.

jcmjrt said:

For 2 x 1.5, it would be hard to beat the Hans Panel - bonsaihero.com These are all quality Cree and Philips LEDs

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I considered that, but guess I wasn't totally convinced that a 56W panel can match the performance of 180-200W panels. I mean I know it's more watt efficient, but 3 times more efficient?
Plus, I read that he's in the process of upgrading the specs, so if I go that way, I'll just have to be patient and wait a couple months.

Although their price maybe out of your range ,but price worth its quality . Those what you said good Chinese LED lights , their lights failed too many . Actually ,it's the problem that you want good price or good quality . What's more , the warranty , those Chinese LED lights are far from USA , and if you buy theirs , when the led lights failed , it's very complicated for you to deal with the problem . You need to repair with the replacement or you ship the light back and have them repair ,but wait almost one month or around , the led light failed again , you did the same . Maybe now their price is out of your range , Chinese ones are your range ,but in the future , you will know .

I want to add some LEDs to my existing T5HO single lamp system. I want to start with two, but am unsure what colors to get that would go from veg to bloom. Red and blue?

I would get T8led tubes to start out with. They have 2x the output of T5's. They are affordable and are in between T5 and hps as far as output. Perfect for what you are trying to do. All whites is what I would get.
There are a few brands out there that make them, nothing is actually grow specific as far as whites.

Hi all,

here's my question: I'm new to growing and I decided to start a small setup. The box will be around 4x4x6,5 (1.2M X 1.2M x 2M) but i dont want to use HPS lights or anything similar so i'm heading towards LED lightning. Did a bit of homework, and I narrowed down a few led panels for my setup, any comments or advices?



4x Hans panels: 720€

pros: since its 4 panels i have better coverage, if one gets broken, I still have 3 going on, they were reviewed by growers and got good results , and its not far from my home in case I should sent them for repair, good quality leds, only 224 w in use.
cons: small penetration, no white leds, one year warranty only, new model coming (is that true?)


Vipar B4x4: 530€ (+ postage)

pros: cheap, covers the 4X4 area for less money, 80° lens angle (more penetration), 3 years warranty, it is based in the uk in case I should send something back (less costs than USA or China)
cons: "chinese quality", not much reviews by growers, new product,...


Plant Photonics 280 AMETHYST : 900€ + postage

pros: looks like no one has anything bad to say, good lights, good lenses, good penetration, europe based..., 280w in use
cons: a bit expensive, doesnt cover the 4X4 set up, new models arent ready yet, older ones are all sold out


2x Area51 SGS160: with summer discount, its around 410€ (+ postage + vat + custom so more like 1100€ - 1200 € in total)

pros: looks good, good reviews, cheap
cons: its in the US so I'll likely have to pay around 150 200€ more for postage, custom taxes and VAT. And if something's broken, then its back to the US, meaning huge postage cost and long wait.


Hydrogrowled 189X pro: 900€ (+ postage + customs+ vat) so more like 1100€-1200€ in total

OR

SOL 6 : 690€ (+ postage + customs+ vat) so more like 900€ - 950€ in total
pros: good reviews and users experience so far, modular, top of the gear in this price range so it seems
cons: same as for Area51, far away from my place and huge custom, VAT and postage costs



Wich one would you choose for a similar set up? Why?
For the same price, would you chose the Hydrogrowled SOL 6 or the Plant Photonics ?
For the same price, would you chose the Hydrogrowled 189X or the 2x Area51 160's ?
For the same price, would you chose the Plant Photonics or the 4x Hans panels +1x Hans mother plant panel ?


Not really wishing to look into Apollo's or other cheap brands for many reasons; quality, warranty, postage costs, sturdyness, fixability, etc etc. unless you guys have something special to talk about?
Any remarks or recommendations? Thanx in advance

I prefer to buy from local regions and I like top quality regardless of price. So if I were you, I'd go with either hans or plantphotonics, with Vipar coming in 3rd. There's quite a few happy vipar customers out there. Area51 makes good lights (I have one and love it), but it seems like taxes and import fees will be costly so that would be ruled out for me. Under no circumstance would I buy from hydrogrowled. Hope this helps.

It does help a lot, thanx for your answer!

Glad you're enjoying the A51 lamp. How do you think it compares to the Apache for heat output?

I just got a spectroradiometer, I'll be posting spectrum charts for the SGS, a 400w HPS, a 400w MH, a bunch of CFLs, an all NW UFO, an all WW UFO, and a "450w" 8 band from a competitor, and anything else anyone requests to see, providing I have it or can get it.

puffenuff said:

I prefer to buy from local regions and I like top quality regardless of price. So if I were you, I'd go with either hans or plantphotonics, with Vipar coming in 3rd. There's quite a few happy vipar customers out there. Area51 makes good lights (I have one and love it), but it seems like taxes and import fees will be costly so that would be ruled out for me. Under no circumstance would I buy from hydrogrowled. Hope this helps.

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@Vlad if you're in Europe and want to buy locally, I totally suggest the Hans. A51 will get you free shipping, but some taxes could occur. No matter if you get 1 light, or 10 lights, the customs form will always say it was a $99usd purchase, so you may or may not have to pay taxes on that amount.

Eraserhead said:

Glad you're enjoying the A51 lamp. How do you think it compares to the Apache for heat output?

I just got a spectroradiometer, I'll be posting spectrum charts for the SGS, a 400w HPS, a 400w MH, a bunch of CFLs, an all NW UFO, an all WW UFO, and a "450w" 8 band from a competitor, and anything else anyone requests to see, providing I have it or can get it.



@Vlad if you're in Europe and want to buy locally, I totally suggest the Hans. A51 will get you free shipping, but some taxes could occur. No matter if you get 1 light, or 10 lights, the customs form will always say it was a $99usd purchase, so you may or may not have to pay taxes on that amount.

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Hey EH, yeah I'm loving the way my two violator kush have vegged directly under the SGS-160, can't wait to see how it flowers these ladies. As far as the heat output compared to the AT120, they are pretty similar. Neither is warm to the touch. Although the Apache does seem to push out more heat out the vents, not sure if it's because it's actually getting hotter than the SGS or if it's just the way the fans are setup. The two lights compliment each other very well. The SGS is definitely quieter though and I like that. Stop by my thread sometime to check out the girls.

Looking forward to the spectrum charts!

@Vlad, actually, if Area51 can work with you on the invoice to potentially make taxes less hefty, then they would absolutely be up there near the top of the list.

I figured they'd be similar in heat output, they both draw about the same wattage. The lamps have different kinds of cooling, they have bigger heatsinks and smaller fans, whereas the SGS has smaller heatsinks and bigger fans, though the fans only use 2.5w between the 2, and that includes the ac/dc conversion.

I'm kind of excited to see what Apache has for their new model, it'll give me motivation to up my game if I have to. I'm just curious what the PPF on the SGS would be with 14° or 50° lenses, rather the 80° they use currently... I might have to get some compatible lenses and find out.... I only tested 60°, 80°, and 90°, and the 80's had the best coverage to penetration ratio of the 3.

I'm ecstatic about having the spectroradiometer finally. I tried to buy one about 3-4 months ago, and it was on backorder for so long, and after waiting for more than 2 months, I asked for my money back, then had to use that $4k for something else. Then after juggling some funds 2 weeks ago, I had enough to buy one again, and this time I opted for a nicer one, almost $5k. It measures 300nm to 1150nm. There's more features than I even know what to do with. I'm glad it came with tutorial videos, otherwise I'd never figure it out. And, they sent me a free alien head bottle opener, and a t-shirt, though it's just a large, and I take a 3x, but still pretty cool.

puffenuff said:

Hey EH, yeah I'm loving the way my two violator kush have vegged directly under the SGS-160, can't wait to see how it flowers these ladies. As far as the heat output compared to the AT120, they are pretty similar. Neither is warm to the touch. Although the Apache does seem to push out more heat out the vents, not sure if it's because it's actually getting hotter than the SGS or if it's just the way the fans are setup. The two lights compliment each other very well. The SGS is definitely quieter though and I like that. Stop by my thread sometime to check out the girls.

Looking forward to the spectrum charts!

@Vlad, actually, if Area51 can work with you on the invoice to potentially make taxes less hefty, then they would absolutely be up there near the top of the list.

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Hans panel is definitely a good choice and if you can get a break on shipping/taxes with A51, that would be a great choice as well.

Thanx again for the advices ya all. So I was calculating how much I can spend, then contacted Area51 who gave me a good quote for 2 units, wich made the choice more difficult... so I was about to order the Hans panels anyway when i suddenly decided to check again some other sites I've visited and guess what? the new Plant Photonics gear is available... choice isnt gonna be easier. Or maybe it will be now? Have to call my credit card company.

Two Area 51 SGS-160 lights in a 4x4 area with a 4x5 gallon aeroponic bucket system SCRoG

What would be an expected yield for this setup? 2 week veg period, 8 week flower

Would 2xArea 51 SGS-160 be better than 1xLumigrow 325?


Thanks guys

vladimiroslav said:

Thanx again for the advices ya all. So I was calculating how much I can spend, then contacted Area51 who gave me a good quote for 2 units, wich made the choice more difficult... so I was about to order the Hans panels anyway when i suddenly decided to check again some other sites I've visited and guess what? the new Plant Photonics gear is available... choice isnt gonna be easier. Or maybe it will be now? Have to call my credit card company.

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For the price on two panels and their coverage area, it's unbeatable. The new plant photonic panels are the best around in Europe hands down, but pricing may not overcome efficiency/yield differences from Hans. most in here will never keep their panels over 5+ years......so think about that

oddlifter said:

Two Area 51 SGS-160 lights in a 4x4 area with a 4x5 gallon aeroponic bucket system SCRoG

What would be an expected yield for this setup? 2 week veg period, 8 week flower

Would 2xArea 51 SGS-160 be better than 1xLumigrow 325?


Thanks guys

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Once you've given it a couple of runs.....you should hit easily 1+gpw on those area 51 cree panels. The lumigrow won't even come near the coverage compared to two 150w high quality led fixtures.

2 SGS's all day.

lumigrow pro325 1419umol@12"... 622umol@18"... 324umol@24"
SGS does 1156umol@12"... 762umol@18"... 527umol@24" and 326umol@36"
So unless you are hanging at 12"...which no one with good panels does...just one SGS is superior. You can hang the SGS a foot higher and get the same amount of light and probably a much better spread. Not to mention you can buy 2 SGS and kill it for the price of 1 lumigrow.