Led Users Unite!

Hey everyone. I'm not sure if this has been posted in this thread yet, and I'm sorry if it has. Please forgive me for not wanting to check 325+ posts.

I found this 300 watt LED light panel that should be a good light source for a small grow op. They say it rivals a 600 watt HPS/MH bulb. It's pretty expensive. The lowest "New" price I've seen is $900. I've heard of someone buying one on craigslist for about $250 "Used". It allegedly covers a 50 square foot area for plants in Veg state, and 25 square feet for Flowering state.

Here's a couple links:

http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=9

http://www.ehydroponics.com/?action=product&id=1710&cid=15

The first link provides more information than the second link but has a higher price as it is the Official Companies' Website

The second link provides less info but offers the same item at a lower price.

If you decide on this light for your grow, I highly recommend shopping around for the lowest price possible.

Good Luck!

Ganjactivist said:

Hey everyone. I'm not sure if this has been posted in this thread yet, and I'm sorry if it has. Please forgive me for not wanting to check 325+ posts.

I found this 300 watt LED light panel that should be a good light source for a small grow op. They say it rivals a 600 watt HPS/MH bulb. It's pretty expensive. The lowest "New" price I've seen is $900. I've heard of someone buying one on craigslist for about $250 "Used". It allegedly covers a 50 square foot area for plants in Veg state, and 25 square feet for Flowering state.

Here's a couple links:

http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=9

http://www.ehydroponics.com/?action=product&id=1710&cid=15

The first link provides more information than the second link but has a higher price as it is the Official Companies' Website

The second link provides less info but offers the same item at a lower price.

If you decide on this light for your grow, I highly recommend shopping around for the lowest price possible.

Good Luck!

Click to expand...

If we believe the unit actually runs on 300w and isn't simply made of 100 3w LEDs (which is how a lot of companies total the w rating instead of telling you what it actually draws which is often more about half - 2/3rds what they say), there is still no way in hell it will flower cannabis at more than half the sq. foot they say. 25sq ft for flower would be a 5x5 area for a 300w light and I would only go 3x3 at most with that. Also I'm not sure I believe that the light must be kept over 18 in away at all times as many companies make apparently stronger lights and they warn no closer than 8-12 in (but usually say 2ft for veg). The claim its as good as twice its wattage in HID won't be a blatant lie if the unit actually runs on 300w, although its still pretty suspicious/misleading I think that LED could achieve 200% more than HID watt for watt when it should be more like 30-50% watt for watt (which would make a 300w LED only about as good as 400-500w HID (which is way more realistic to me for any 300w LED).

If I were you I wouldn't ever buy any LED light ever that you couldn't find impressive completed grow journals of it growing cannabis. I certainly have never seen any completed journals concerning "GroPanel Pro" lights, although I've certainly seen plenty on how their (older models at least) were crap. The LED company I have seen the most impressive completed cannabis grow journals with is growledhydro.com Spectra LEDs, there used to be a ton of them over at 420 mag but I think a bunch of them got banned for talking about their bad experiences with certain LED companies (who were also sponsors). But you can look up at least Irishboy and his great grows on this site.

Ganjactivist said:

Hey everyone. I'm not sure if this has been posted in this thread yet, and I'm sorry if it has. Please forgive me for not wanting to check 325+ posts.

I found this 300 watt LED light panel that should be a good light source for a small grow op. They say it rivals a 600 watt HPS/MH bulb. It's pretty expensive. The lowest "New" price I've seen is $900. I've heard of someone buying one on craigslist for about $250 "Used". It allegedly covers a 50 square foot area for plants in Veg state, and 25 square feet for Flowering state.

Here's a couple links:

http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=9

http://www.ehydroponics.com/?action=product&id=1710&cid=15

The first link provides more information than the second link but has a higher price as it is the Official Companies' Website

The second link provides less info but offers the same item at a lower price.

If you decide on this light for your grow, I highly recommend shopping around for the lowest price possible.

Good Luck!

Click to expand...

you could get the egl300 for 850 but like ganja said you don't know if it's really 300w or just enough diodes to rate as 300w worth of equipment

oh wait just checked the site it says it draws 150w

so maybe go with another panel?

I'm using a Sunshine Systems 90w UFO plus 4 23-26w CFLs for a total of <200w lighting on a 30" diameter bag lady garden, just finishing up week 5 on 12/12. Yes you can flower with this unit (plus CFL for heat and edge lighting) though it remains to be seen how much yield/potency this will produce. My journal is in my sig, feel free stop by and say hi and leave comments (no haters please).

jdizzle22 said:

If I were you I wouldn't ever buy any LED light ever that you couldn't find impressive completed grow journals of it growing cannabis. I certainly have never seen any completed journals concerning "GroPanel Pro" lights, although I've certainly seen plenty on how their (older models at least) were crap. The LED company I have seen the most impressive completed cannabis grow journals with is growledhydro.com Spectra LEDs, there used to be a ton of them over at 420 mag but I think a bunch of them got banned for talking about their bad experiences with certain LED companies (who were also sponsors). But you can look up at least Irishboy and his great grows on this site.

Click to expand...

Second this!

All the talk in the world won't make up for real life results. Google is your friend. Irishboy has certainly posted decent results with GLH. LedBudGuy has posted the best results I have been able to find with countless hours of research and he's running ISIS panels. Theres a guy Supergravy who's running a side by side with GLH and Blackstar. I'm on my second run with Magnums and it's going gangbusters so far but can't find anyone else that has run a journal with them yet. Not gonna put myself in the same category as Irish or LBG but it's a journal

Pretty much all of us have been banned from 420 so are on different forums now but google should get you where you're going.

VERY IMPORTANT. Don't confuse GLH with HGL. GLH aka Spectra series are a good, proven product. HGL aka Penetrator series are not. Google "Cammie LED scammer" to get a feel for the brains behind HGL

Just got my Blackstar 240w 2011 flowering model. will keep you posted.
not 100% sure if i am posting this correctly - new to forum

hairyanglerfish said:

Just got my Blackstar 240w 2011 flowering model. will keep you posted.
not 100% sure if i am posting this correctly - new to forum

Click to expand...

I think the only part you didn't quite get correctly was your blackstar being 240w
(The name is right but in reality it only runs about 130-140w)

Welcome hairyanglerfish, and nice name... (seems familiar somehow). You should do pretty well with that light, although I would probably act as if it were a 200-250w HID at best (as far as how much it can grow in a space appropriate for it)

jdizzle22 said:

I think the only part you didn't quite get correctly was your blackstar being 240w
(The name is right but in reality it only runs about 130-140w)

Welcome hairyanglerfish, and nice name... (seems familiar somehow). You should do pretty well with that light, although I would probably act as if it were a 200-250w HID at best (as far as how much it can grow in a space appropriate for it)

Click to expand...

led's are twice as efficient in PAR...........so i figured

240watt blackstar (actual draw is half) = 240watt hps
357 magnum (actual draw is half) = 350watt hps
90watt led (actual draw is half) = 90watt hps
and so forth

kush groove said:

led's are twice as efficient in PAR...........so i figured

240watt blackstar (actual draw is half) = 240watt hps
357 magnum (actual draw is half) = 350watt hps
90watt led (actual draw is half) = 90watt hps
and so forth

Click to expand...

That sounds about right based on my experience so far. I was figuring that each of my Magnums is equivalent to a 400MH/HPS so pretty much on the money with that comparison. My current grow should really give me a good idea at the end when it weighs in and I can compare it to my old HPS numbers.

I must say that I don't ever remember 400's growing buds like this with two weeks left to go but then I never had two over a 4x4

View attachment 1554383

I havent posted much since getting my Blackstar 240 watt flowering light.

I have a perpetual grow, the blackstar is in the flowering area along w/ a 150 watt and a 400 watt HPS....I did a side by side comparison between the 3 lights, mind you all 3 are right next to each other so there is light bleeding from all 3 light into most of the closet. I took 3 clones from the same mother plant and lebeled them to stay under each respective light. All clones were cut, rooted and vegged in the same time frame and conditions. Heres what I noticed through the first batch of finished clones.

The yield from the Blackstar was very slightly less at harvest than the 400 HPS....the difference was real small, only a couple grams at harvest. The blackstar seemed to promote flowering a little quicker than the HPS, so Im a little surprised that the weight was slightly less. Have to figure in some small variation
The blackstar did have 1 advantage from the HPS and that was in trichome coverage. The plant under the blackstar was noticeably more frosty


All in all im pretty happy with the blackstar, it does what I hoped it would. I flower in in 3 gallon bags, I can fit 2 plants under the blackstar and they get good light, any more and it would be useless. The only drawback is the footprint being smaller than the 400 watt HPS. To me thats off set by the lack of heat from the LED, I dont want more fans, duct-work and all that. . I think that the best use of LED's is in conjunction with HID lighting. It world well on its own, but is better in conjunction with HID. All my lights are right next to each other. The plants that do the best are the plants right between the LED and my 400 HPS. Those 2 plants get some decent light from both the blackstar and the 400 HPS. They are the highest yielding and best quality in my flowering closet.

Just my 2 cents and what Ive seen in my grow so far with the blackstar.

I has also noticed DISTINCT differences in trich coverage with mine as well. I mixed my 1000W MH (7000K) and 395W (actual draw) of the blackstars and what a difference. I actually like the results more than when I mixed the LED's with my 1000W HPS. I finish with 2 weeks of just LED light alone.

I love it. I know I mix lighting sources and most people think that is beat, but I love it. I get awesome coverage, awesome weight, and top notch quality.

Im glad to see someone else having great results from blackstars. There is probably a decent amount of light bleeding going on if the lights are right next to one another, but thats not such a bad thing in the end. Again, we're trying to grow here, not perform lab experiments. If it grew, and it grew well, then you sir have a great light source and I applaud you.

Keep it going....

kush groove said:

led's are twice as efficient in PAR...........so i figured

240watt blackstar (actual draw is half) = 240watt hps
357 magnum (actual draw is half) = 350watt hps
90watt led (actual draw is half) = 90watt hps
and so forth

Click to expand...

True until you start combining a number of panels and then you get closer to a third of the wattage. The reason is there is allot of unusable wasted light pouring on the edges that becomes usable when doubled/ tripled up. By using more than one panel you can combine/fill in the unusable areas between panels. If you have 1 panel it's about half the wattage for equal area. 2-3 panels gets the user closer to a third the wattage and in my case where I have 3 panels with 5 Kessils aimed to pour in from the sides I am easily using 535w to do what I used to use (3) 600w HPS for. No less yield. If you do nothing to recover the wasted light then you will not get the full use of your LED. The only use I found for Kessil was as recovery for the wasted light at these edges. My veg shelves only use140w spread out which is a fourth of my previous 600w HPS. When I get back up to using 2400w but with LED I am certain I will have 5x the productivity.

And that's how I got my start with my LED obsession. Used with HPS until I consistently favored the results of the LED. The more panels you get, the more the footprint will increase. With 1 panel there is allot of light going unused/ wasted at the edges. With a second panel you can use the previously wasted light of the two panels combined to be usable in the center which increases the usable area of the 2 panels by 10% each. With a third panel the center panel increases it's coverage by 20% and each side panel by 10% If you clam shell your LED over the canopy (like a hood) as such / \ there's allot less wasted area and it tightens up your footprint.
S

jdizzle22 said:

If I were you I wouldn't ever buy any LED light ever that you couldn't find impressive completed grow journals of it growing cannabis. I certainly have never seen any completed journals concerning "GroPanel Pro" lights, although I've certainly seen plenty on how their (older models at least) were crap.

Click to expand...

With that mind set there would be no "impressive completed grow journals" for the luxury of your reference. Some people have to be the daring ones, and from what I've seen the spectra are no better than any of the other "good LED". The first round of all these lights ALL sucked ass except the stealth grow because they were trying to copy stealth with the improperly aimed LED. Some times companies that have early failures emerge with the strongest technology because they are forced to trouble shoot their products. Also there is allot more info regarding good LED grows that even companies that sucked ass can reconfigure their models to work better, not to mention the extent of info on LED grow has drastically improved the learning curve of it's users. Skepticism isn't caution.

CFLs in cali but yes in the winter months temps are on the low side. 3000k for flower 6500k for veg.

660nm420 said:

And that's how I got my start with my LED obsession. Used with HPS until I consistently favored the results of the LED. The more panels you get, the more the footprint will increase. With 1 panel there is allot of light going unused/ wasted at the edges. With a second panel you can use the previously wasted light of the two panels combined to be usable in the center which increases the usable area of the 2 panels by 10% each. With a third panel the center panel increases it's coverage by 20% and each side panel by 10% If you clam shell your LED over the canopy (like a hood) as such / \ there's allot less wasted area and it tightens up your footprint.
S

Click to expand...

Or do 1 or 2 panels on a light mover!

Yeah I understand that people buying panels that aren't proven definitely helps advance things, I guess I would really only suggest it for people who have little money to spend and can't afford to gamble with more than $200-300. A lot of the LED companies are using more similar specs now, switching to 3w 12 spectrum 60-90 degree lens, so the risks are definitely becoming less as the products become almost identical.

jdizzle22 said:

Or do 1 or 2 panels on a light mover!

Yeah I understand that people buying panels that aren't proven definitely helps advance things, I guess I would really only suggest it for people who have little money to spend and can't afford to gamble with more than $200-300. A lot of the LED companies are using more similar specs now, switching to 3w 12 spectrum 60-90 degree lens, so the risks are definitely becoming less as the products become almost identical.

Click to expand...

A light mover, or a plant mover. Maybe not an option for professional growers with rooms full of plants but for the personal grower like me it's a good solution. I'm using a turntable that I built mainly to make it easier to access all the plants without straining my back, but turning them also allows light to reach places it otherwise wouldn't.

I'd prefer to see more powerful spots placed strategically above, around and below the canopy than consume a lot of wattage trying to brute-force light penetration through the top. Right now the only spots that look good to me are too expensive to use as extensively in the flower area as I'd like, hopefully that will change.

Al Dente said:

I'm using a Sunshine Systems 90w UFO plus 4 23-26w CFLs for a total of <200w lighting on a 30" diameter bag lady garden, just finishing up week 5 on 12/12. Yes you can flower with this unit (plus CFL for heat and edge lighting) though it remains to be seen how much yield/potency this will produce. My journal is in my sig, feel free stop by and say hi and leave comments (no haters please).

Click to expand...

I'm with you on this. It's not how many watts you use, but about placing the light properly. Most panel users have light on the edges going unused. Some spots on the side do allot to make use of otherwise wasted light on the edges. So are you using t5s or straight up CFLs? If they're t5s just be sure to use the 3000k (red) bulbs. Or you could use these.
All from the Home Depot with the proper Kelvins for growing.
6500k(blue) for veg

100 Watt Fluorex Replacement Bulb
Model # 92100B
Internet # 100405566
$16.97 /EA-Each

NOTE Most hydroshops sell 125w 6500K bulbs for about $60

Lights of America 65 Watt Fluorex Compact Fluorescent Replacement Bulb
Model # 9166B
Internet # 100186835
$14.98 /EA-Each

3000K (red) for flower

Lithonia Lighting 65 Watt Fluorescent Mogul Base LOA Replacement Lamp
Model # CF65QT41MOG M6
Internet # 100679054
$18.96 /EA-Each

I assure you that these CFLs at 3000k will even benefit HID users with added bloom power.

I use NSA stainless steel shelves in my veg area and I have Kessil spotlights coming up and from the sides and a bunch of lower wattage bulbs to fill in the areas that are not being "penetrated" but no light movers for me since I'm in major earthquake country. I've just heard horror stories of squished plants and broken lights after a good shaker. Cant wait to pick up some of those grow spots though.

so i been doing a lot of reading and these 12 spectrum panels are bull unles you trying to grow algae and bacteria go read up on wikipedia then follow every source and read thats what i been doing these past several days andof almostevery spectrum i see in these many spetrum panels half only work on bacteria and algae and a couple of the wavelengths are actually emited by other side plasmids so trying to put those in the panel makes zero sense as the plant totally rejects that light anything mo than 290 420 460 630 660 740 looks like its pretty much wasted I made a chart of every plasmid and what wavelengths is absorbed or emitted and crossed of copies or too close to matter stuff and when it gets down to it for land plants those 6 are al you need for a full crop all those other spectrums are almostentirely wasted light carotene is already hit by 460 near one of its peaks so trying to add 50 whatever aint worth it and most other chlorophylls are in algae or bacteria so no sense trying to target those unles you want that stuff growing