What led is best value for small grow

Chronikool

Well-Known Member
Oh right...i have no experience with autos. But i guess you want more red (warm white) to get fatter buds? Im assuming that they still respond like that?

I have (dont use anymore because i moved to organics) some hydro nutes that worked well in soil...'Budzilla' was the name of them.
 

mrrippey

Well-Known Member
It does seem ridiculously cheap for Philips LEDs 90w? It wasnt an equivalent to a incandescent?
The one I saw was 19.5 watts equivalent to 120 watts incandescent and 1300 lumens, 5000k temp so that's a veg light. That was about $35. The flower light was alittle less, something like 75 watt equivalent and 1100 lumens at 2700k temp, a flowering light.

rippey
 

Scroga

Well-Known Member
Gday yall got one of those cheap par38 type led bulbs off ebay on the way..i have a 1mx1m tent used for vegging mothers..they are under cfls currently but I find them gutless...hope this performs better...
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Gday yall got one of those cheap par38 type led bulbs off ebay on the way..i have a 1mx1m tent used for vegging mothers..they are under cfls currently but I find them gutless...hope this performs better...
cool, can you post a link of the led. There are so many different par38 type leds out there. I went digging through my light draw and i found this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1pcs-168-LED-PAR38-BLUE-RED-HYDROPONIC-GROW-LAMP-LIGHT-/360598330878?pt=AU_Seed_Starting_Hydroponics&hash=item53f555ddfe&_uhb=1 so i decided to throw that in to. I was also looking at ebay today and found this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170873378322?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_5227wt_1139. It looks alright. Its a tri band led running red, orange and blue. Looks like it has a pretty good colour ratio as well. I'm not abandoning the flood light idea, but they might be better off being used as side lighting or maybe on the ground shining up. Let me know what you think
 

Scroga

Well-Known Member
Sorry I'm not sure how to.post links...it was 5 bucks(bid)
Can't be too flash...? Your one looks better might get one...
 

Highocaine

Well-Known Member
It's hard for me to imagine 40-50W of LED getting out of control in your cabinet, jimjim.
Amen. I've got a rubbermaid tub cab with 40W between two drivers, it's the same temp in there as in my room. The drivers are warm to the touch, but the LED heatsink is cool aluminum.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
I call shens. Dude doesn't know what he's talking about. So long as the Blue's aren't too intense so as to bleach your plants they should be fine touching the leaves. Imo, get them as close as you want, the plants should love the bonus light.

This is just me, and I know it's more expensive, but I'd look at these:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/30W-Cree-XPE-Emitter-Aquarium-Tank-Red-Blue-High-Power-Plant-Grow-Light-24-26V-/251205700358?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a7d06cb06&_uhb=1#ht_3305wt_1186
30W, shouldn't be too hard to cool, much better efficiency, much more intense light.
 

Scroga

Well-Known Member
I asked this seller about his led. He said that the minimum distance from light to plant is 2 foot. http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/170873378322?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649#ht_5227wt_1139I was wondering why it can't be placed any closer than 2 feet. It's only 16w, does anyone think anything would happen if it was placed closer?
Think I read somewhere something about the colours not mixing properly,something about the angle of the light emitted? When its too close...
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
I have decided to go 2 ways with lighting my cabinet. I have the par38 16w tri-band light on the way, i already have a 10w par38, so that will make 2, then i will also add a 50w warm white led. This is what it should look like. SETUP.jpgI can make the 50w led cheap. The heatsink is $5, 50w led chip $12.89 and the led driver $11.29. Total $29.39. That equates to 1.7w/$. That should give me a total of around 75w.
 

jimjim2609

Well-Known Member
Yeah, thats the one for $5. They got this stoner. I thought i was getting it cheap cause it was on sale. I think the wanted $8-9 usually. Cheeky bastards. I dont know if i can just screw it to the roof of the cab or i might have to hang it, all depends on how hot it gets. How bright is a 50w led? Do you think with the other 2 lights it is going to be enough light for 2-3 small plants?
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
Hey, no worries, at least you have an easy way to mount the LED now. I was actually wondering if it was even worth the $2, myself. In case it runs hot you can easily remove it and perhaps install it on a CPU cooler. Zero hassle.

I have a 50W Warm White hanging in my tent. It's relatively bright. With those two other lights you should be able to sustain 2-3 small plants, imo, just be careful to train them and keep a relatively even canopy. You could even mainline a single plant, or if you don't want to veg for that long you can run a SoG and have maybe 4-6 midgets. By using little spot lights like you're doing, though, you should be able to easily split the sockets and add bulbs as needed or as time permits.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
I say leave it naked for now, you'll get better coverage and you won't lose any efficiency from the glass or reflections. You should be able to just move the light closer to the canopy if you want to trade coverage for penetration. Imo, wait and see if lens/collimator combo is necessary.
 

Bumping Spheda

Well-Known Member
That's a really cool little heat sink you found. I'd try a 20W on it, though, I think a 50W might overheat. Maybe a 30W could work, but I'd wanna try the 20W'er first just to get an idea of what the thing's capable of. Also, you'd wanna ask what that fan is rated at in terms of Volts and mA so you can locate a suitable power supply. I'm guessing it's rated for 12VDC x ~90mA. Check the specs on a 20-30W LED driver, the motor would burn up within minutes, probably less.

And for giggles, run an eBay search for "Arctic Cooling Alpine." That company makes some really nice stuff that tends to go for very reasonable prices. They also rate their CPU coolers for how many Watts they can dissipate which makes things really easy for us. The little Alpine 64 can cool 70W and should be $15-$20 shipped. Better safe than sorry, imho.

And hey, if you save old chargers, wall warts, cordless phone power supplies, things of this nature I'd check your stash and see if you have anything in the 12VDC x <100mA range. That, or take a walk down the electronics section inside a second hand shop, maybe hit a few garage sales for random goodies. If you can't locate a PSU that suits your needs for free you should at least be able to find one for a dollar or two at one of these other locations. If push comes to shove you can find one on eBay, but you'll pay a premium.
 
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