Need more light, but how should I do it?

Airwalker16 said:

288s from Meiju still?

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Yes I am happy with the boards and their service, I just didnt get enough for this size tent.

Sometimes being a nightowl is nice.
just got a quote back from meijiu already.
Shipping and customs probably be around $125-150
I asked about other 561 strips they have.
Last time I was given a 6% discount off of the first prices I was given.

So I can add 8x 288s and run them up to max with my current 320s and get 8x 240s to run my 304s up to near 90% for aprox 3200w total for around $900 to my door still over $300 cheaper than 4 kits from HLG.
or
run 3x 304 boards per 320 at 78% and get 2x 240s to run the other 4 up to 87% with A type I could limit them to match the rest
a 240-C2100 will run 2x 288 boards in series at 75% so I could get 4 more of them. For a total of 4x320w + 6x240w = aprox 2700w total This would save me $120-130 total.

I dont see many options passed these two because of that 304 board input voltage.

8pcs 288 561c board 8*usd24.85 = usd198.8
8pcs 326 heatsink 8*usd10.48 = usd83.84 <--- same size heatsink as the 304s so theyll drop right in the tracks. They will attach the boards for me.
8pcs HLG-240H-C2100B 8* usd56.45 = usd451.6


we also have the FoStrp96 stripe as the attached picture,
pcb size: 1000*18*14mm, 96 pcs samsung 561c s6 leds, 8s12p, 24V, 18w, 0.72A,
it is usd12.4/pcs.

Will start pricing non-imported options now to compare. This is the last thing I need to dial in and I feel like im good to go, so this will be my major project for this coming tax return.

an issue im seeing is that these "slate" heatsinks sold by other companies are 310mm and 340mm wide.
The ones I got are 326mm and my tracks are built for those without much room. I MIGHT be able to squeeze the 340mm ones in there without making the rail bow out enough to drop the other ones as there is some room in there, but the 310s would be to small. my rails are only 1/4" and 16mm is .629"

fragileassassin said:

an issue im seeing is that these "slate" heatsinks sold by other companies are 310mm and 340mm wide.
The ones I got are 326mm and my tracks are built for those without much room. I MIGHT be able to squeeze the 340mm ones in there without making the rail bow out enough to drop the other ones as there is some room in there, but the 310s would be to small. my rails are only 1/4" and 16mm is .629"

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Yeah being 110v input really limited your driver selection. But yeah placing the 288s on inside like you showed in the one post. Using the drivers you have. Atleast that way you can still use what you already have. And going through Alibaba will save you some. Just sucks shipping n customs is so much. I have Mejein or however you spell it their complete price list for every board they have if youd like I can post it for you. He sent me a master price list

Airwalker16 said:

You most likely need more light.

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Yea, like some good old fashioned HPS

Jimdamick said:

Yea, like some good old fashioned HPS

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Naw, that would be a waste of energy.

Humple said:

Naw, that would be a waste of energy.

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I burn 1 room with 1800 watt's of HID, and 2 other rooms with a total of 3600 watts of LED.
That is actual draw and it cost's me a lot of money (2 zips pay's for it though), but if I was on a desert island, and had too choose which light to use, I'd pick HID.
Sure, you have heat problems with HID, but the quality of the bud is dramatically better.
I went with LED in those 2 rooms because of heat issues and the LED'S fit in better, but my HID room produces more and better bud.
LED = 9 - Platinum 360'S + 1 - Viperspar 400 over 15 plants
HID = 1 - 1000 watt HPS + 2 - 400 watt HPS over 12 plants
These are some of my plants, the HPS are Haze at 4 weeks into bloom and the LED is just starting their bloom cycle (more Haze)

Jimdamick said:

I burn 1 room with 1800 watt's of HID, and 2 other rooms with a total of 3600 watts of LED.
That is actual draw and it cost's me a lot of money (2 zips pay's for it though), but if I was on a desert island, and had too choose which light to use, I'd pick HID.
Sure, you have heat problems with HID, but the quality of the bud is dramatically better.
I went with LED in those 2 rooms because of heat issues and the LED'S fit in better, but my HID room produces more and better bud.
LED = 9 - Platinum 360'S + 1 - Viperspar 400 over 15 plants
HID = 1 - 1000 watt HPS + 2 - 400 watt HPS over 12 plants
These are some of my plants, the HPS are Haze at 4 weeks into bloom and the LED is just starting their bloom cycle (more Haze)View attachment 4252272 View attachment 4252273

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There are many, many former HID growers here who will tell you that the quality of their bud improved after they switched to LED. No offense, but you're running cheap Chinese blurples, which are not at all the same as running good COBs, or strips/boards with quality mid-power diodes from Samsung or Bridgelux. This is a different ball game entirely.

T

Jimdamick said:

I burn 1 room with 1800 watt's of HID, and 2 other rooms with a total of 3600 watts of LED.
That is actual draw and it cost's me a lot of money (2 zips pay's for it though), but if I was on a desert island, and had too choose which light to use, I'd pick HID.
Sure, you have heat problems with HID, but the quality of the bud is dramatically better.
I went with LED in those 2 rooms because of heat issues and the LED'S fit in better, but my HID room produces more and better bud.
LED = 9 - Platinum 360'S + 1 - Viperspar 400 over 15 plants
HID = 1 - 1000 watt HPS + 2 - 400 watt HPS over 12 plants
These are some of my plants, the HPS are Haze at 4 weeks into bloom and the LED is just starting their bloom cycle (more Haze)View attachment 4252272 View attachment 4252273

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Those lights are hardly LED. They're 15 year old technology fixtures and don't produce shit.

Jimdamick said:

I burn 1 room with 1800 watt's of HID, and 2 other rooms with a total of 3600 watts of LED.
That is actual draw and it cost's me a lot of money (2 zips pay's for it though), but if I was on a desert island, and had too choose which light to use, I'd pick HID.
Sure, you have heat problems with HID, but the quality of the bud is dramatically better.
I went with LED in those 2 rooms because of heat issues and the LED'S fit in better, but my HID room produces more and better bud.
LED = 9 - Platinum 360'S + 1 - Viperspar 400 over 15 plants

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3600 watts actual power draw from 9 - Platinum 360'S + 1 - Viperspar?
Platinum 360 specs are 93w veg and 180w bloom. 9 x 180 =1620 watts.

Actually, there's no less heat with those platinum 360's. They have about the same efficiency as HPS so the same wattage is needed for the same amount of light. Same wattage, same amount of heat. 1w= 3.42 BTU/hour.

Airwalker16 said:

T

Those lights are hardly LED. They're 15 year old technology fixtures and don't produce shit.

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Yea, they ain't cutting edge tech, but at the time they were decent.
I still have the same issues (height/temp) as before in those areas that I use the LED, and am thinking about upgrading to a more efficient system.
I spent a lot on the present system, but I know it would be better with newer lights.
For a 6'x6' area, how much do you think would it cost to light it effectively using new LED's?

Jimdamick said:

Yea, they ain't cutting edge tech, but at the time they were decent.
I still have the same issues (height/temp) as before in those areas that I use the LED, and am thinking about upgrading to a more efficient system.
I spent a lot on the present system, but I know it would be better with newer lights.
For a 6'x6' area, how much do you think would it cost to light it effectively using new LED's?

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They were decent 15 years ago.

Airwalker16 said:

They were decent 15 years ago.

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Yea, they paid for themselves, but like all things, time marches on so I might replace/upgrade.
All depends on how much, seeing as with what I have now, I'm getting decent grows but the HPS room kicks

Jimdamick said:

Yea, they ain't cutting edge tech, but at the time they were decent.
I still have the same issues (height/temp) as before in those areas that I use the LED, and am thinking about upgrading to a more efficient system.
I spent a lot on the present system, but I know it would be better with newer lights.
For a 6'x6' area, how much do you think would it cost to light it effectively using new LED's?

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Honestly, for a 6x6, you're probably looking at around $1,500 for a DIY setup. The question is do you want to save some money up front (HID), or more money over a couple of years (LED)?

I see the future in LEDs they seem to have great potential. But i only spend about $30 a month to run my 1k hps which would take me a long time to get back from an LED investment of similar wattage and capability.

I can't remember the guys name but on the LED vs HPS thread there is a dude that just posted some new light bars he got from Amare I think. They look awesome. But they are spendy.

Yea, I thought it be around there, like $1500-2000.
I spent about the same for the LED's I have now, but that was a while ago.
I grow for a living, and I try to save a buck where possible (no AN nutes for me), but the cost of energy is not really an issue.
What I need is the best light in certain situations, that's why I'm split 1/2 LED and the other half is HID.
My point is that if I grew a plant under a 400 watt HPS vs 400 watt LED, I think the HPS would win in a perfect environment.

When all said and done, I will have nearly 3kw of samsung 561C diodes in my 10x10 for right at $2000 total shipped.
I spent $1200 on the first purchase of 16 boards and im looking to spend another 800 to bring it up.

I see no reason why you couldnt do a 6x6 for 1k.

Jimdamick said:

Yea, I thought it be around there, like $1500-2000.
I spent about the same for the LED's I have now, but that was a while ago.
I grow for a living, and I try to save a buck where possible (no AN nutes for me), but the cost of energy is not really an issue.
What I need is the best light in certain situations, that's why I'm split 1/2 LED and the other half is HID.
My point is that if I grew a plant under a 400 watt HPS vs 400 watt LED, I think the HPS would win in a perfect environment.

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400 watt for watt of led against HPS...
I can GUARANTEE you LED would kill it.

Jimdamick said:

Yea, I thought it be around there, like $1500-2000.
I spent about the same for the LED's I have now, but that was a while ago.
I grow for a living, and I try to save a buck where possible (no AN nutes for me), but the cost of energy is not really an issue.
What I need is the best light in certain situations, that's why I'm split 1/2 LED and the other half is HID.
My point is that if I grew a plant under a 400 watt HPS vs 400 watt LED, I think the HPS would win in a perfect environment.

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In a perfect environment, against good LED, the HPS loses every time, man. 400w of LED will pull more weight than a 600w HPS (and the quality will be at least equal, if not better). We've seen it happen plenty of times, and for growers that have their HPS dialed in, for that matter. There's no escaping the fact that LED just puts out significantly more photons per watt than HID. Physics are physics!

Humple said:

In a perfect environment, against good LED, the HPS loses every time, man. 400w of LED will pull more weight than a 600w HPS (and the quality will be at least equal, if not better). We've seen it happen plenty of times, and for growers that have their HPS dialed in, for that matter. There's no escaping the fact that LED just puts out significantly more photons per watt than HID. Physics are physics!

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Thanks for the input, it's appreciated.

Airwalker16 said:

400 watt for watt of led against HPS...
I can GUARANTEE you LED would kill it.

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Show me a plant, if you can