So many grow lights to choose from now!

MustangStudFarm

MustangStudFarm

Well-Known Member
I'm in a position to where I am expanding my indoor grow. The last time that I expanded, I bought 4x Gavita 1000w for my 8' tall room. However, my expansion is going to include tents that are not as tall and I don't expect that Gavitas are a perfect match for this setup. I started looking into CMH and double ended HPS. I was looking into LED at one point, but they are still expensive and underpowered(prove me wrong please). Anyways, I guess that I want to know which one is on top of the food chain right now. If I have to run Gavitas in my tents and just improve airflow, I'll strongly consider it. Thanks!!!
 
NeWcS

NeWcS

Well-Known Member
MustangStudFarm said:
I was looking into LED at one point, but they are still expensive and underpowered(prove me wrong please).
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I don't wanna say thats NOT true anymore but the gap is closing fast. There are some powerful LEDs with great penetration. A lot of good boards out there for under a dollar a watt(true watts, not led watts.)

Go to the indoor>led forum and take a look. Lots of things have changed since you last looked I'm sure.
good luck.
 
2klude

2klude

Well-Known Member
How were you able to run 1k DE Gavitas with 8' ceilings? I assume plants on the floor? Would love to hear details on that setup.
 
2klude

2klude

Well-Known Member
Why not looking into the Gavita 650/7e DE's. Think it would be perfect for a tent and is on par if not slightly better than a SE 1k bulb.
 
KlompenOG

KlompenOG

Active Member
LEDs have been the obvious winner for years now if you really look at overall features and capabilities. Plus, LED is undeniably the present/future and HID is clearly the past. It really seems nuts to dump the money into fancy premade lights though when there is so much DIY gear out there that is just as good.
 
NeWcS

NeWcS

Well-Known Member
KlompenOG said:
LEDs have been the obvious winner for years now if you really look at overall features and capabilities. Plus, LED is undeniably the present/future and HID is clearly the past. It really seems nuts to dump the money into fancy premade lights though when there is so much DIY gear out there that is just as good.
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I don't think a lot of people are comfortable with electronics esp. at some of those voltages/amperage.
 
KlompenOG

KlompenOG

Active Member
NeWcS said:
I don't think a lot of people are comfortable with electronics esp. at some of those voltages/amperage.
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Oh no doubt there are dangerous currents involved. My Mean Well HLG-185H-54A can deliver at least 3.85A at 54VDC. No joke, that'd kill an elephant. That said..... the DIY stuff for LEDs is ultra simple as far as electronics goes; compared to an Arduino project or a battery management system its really pretty beginner stuff for the most part(I am not saying it doesn't require lots of esoteric knowledge though. I'm still really learning the lingo and the models/brands and its incredible how much there is to learn). Generally there are people on forums like this that are really helpful and will look over your wiring plans before you ever energize them. Series, parallel, driver types, how to tune them, and so much more may seem daunting but if you can pass 6th grade math classes you should be able to handle any of the numbers you're likely to need.
 
KlompenOG

KlompenOG

Active Member
I should also add that running things on GFCI circuits with lots of overhead and grounding on all your equipment; your risk level drops enormously. Its funny that I think some of the most daunting things with DIY is figuring out little things like what wire to use, how far back to strip it, how to connect/disconnect molex connectors and wagos and whatnot. There's tons of YouTube videos out there about wiring up your own "quantum" style lights.

I will say that I have a lot of respect for HLG, but they're web documentation and included info could be a lot better. My QB96 V2 for example doesn't even have a marking by the connector that shows the wire gauge range/type(which apparently is 22-18AWG solid copper). Marking the little things like that would be nice. Still figured it out obviously lol...
 
NukaKola

NukaKola

Well-Known Member
KlompenOG said:
Oh no doubt there are dangerous currents involved. My Mean Well HLG-185H-54A can deliver at least 3.85A at 54VDC. No joke, that'd kill an elephant. That said..... the DIY stuff for LEDs is ultra simple as far as electronics goes; compared to an Arduino project or a battery management system its really pretty beginner stuff for the most part(I am not saying it doesn't require lots of esoteric knowledge though. I'm still really learning the lingo and the models/brands and its incredible how much there is to learn). Generally there are people on forums like this that are really helpful and will look over your wiring plans before you ever energize them. Series, parallel, driver types, how to tune them, and so much more may seem daunting but if you can pass 6th grade math classes you should be able to handle any of the numbers you're likely to need.
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That likely wouldn’t kill a human. Fortunately our skin has a high resistance and under normal conditions it would merely give you a slight shock. If your hands were wet or that was delivered directly to your heart then it could definitely do some damage. It’s higher voltage AC that is especially dangerous.
 
Rurumo

Rurumo

Well-Known Member
ÒÒlegilizeitÒÒ said:
Why it's that? Every metric shows modern led are better "bang for your buck"
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No, that's simply not true. The only metric that matters is a person's budget, and the fact is, an HPS is VASTLY cheaper to start with than a "modern LED". I think all these new QB LEDs are awesome but you can absolutely grow equally good cannabis under a 1,000 watt HPS, no question.
 
jimihendrix1

jimihendrix1

Well-Known Member
1000w Hortilux HPS bulb is about $60.
Adequate Ballast $200
Dominator XXL Hood $225

If one wants to compare LED vs HID Single Ended, one must use 42.5w Sq/Ft of LED to equal a 1000w Hortilux HPS which is 62.5w sq/ft.

LED is about 1/3 more efficient than HID, BUT one must use the very best LED Diodes available. Samsung 301b-h series, and Osram Red, and far Red.

So it takes about 600w-650w of the best LED to equal a 1000w HID/Hortilux.

My Gavita 1700e is 1700 umol, and 635w.
1000w Hortilux HPS is 1600umol.

Gavita says the 1700e is a direct replacement for a 1000w HID SE in a 4 x 4 area.
Is not my opinion. Is Gavitas specs, and research.
Gavita is $1300. Can buy almost 3 1000w HID SE.
 
NeWcS

NeWcS

Well-Known Member
Rurumo said:
No, that's simply not true. The only metric that matters is a person's budget, and the fact is, an HPS is VASTLY cheaper to start with than a "modern LED". I think all these new QB LEDs are awesome but you can absolutely grow equally good cannabis under a 1,000 watt HPS, no question.
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But with HID you'll need to factor cooling into the mix. Not as big of a factor with most boards/drivers.
 
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