LED Grow from Cuttings to Finish
- Thread starter maxpesh
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maxpesh
Active Member
Well guys I said right from the start of this thread that it was going to be nothing but the truth, I got my end result and weigh in of my last crop and I couldn't believe it so I had to start my next lot to be sure that my results were going to be consistent, I am now 4 weeks into flowering and everything is the same as the first lot. Led's are a complete waste of time and money and the only good results that we see from them are from people who have been supplied them for free to promote the companies who sell them and I believe all the results are falsified, I have been a pro grower for years and I feel like a mug for falling for all the hype. So it's back to my trusty Philips greenpower where I know that I regularly get 0.7 - 0.9 g/w and the weed is great. So I'm sorry to burst anyone bubble but SAVE YOUR MONEY and don't bother buying Led's.
maxpesh
Active Member
260 grams from 2 x 500watt that consume 280 watts each so 560 watts of total shite. I know the reasons why led's don't work but the explanation is gonna be a bit long winded, but before I get into that, have read of this article as it does explain ONE of the reasons why LED's are all hype http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/684.full Then just remember that plants have EVOLVED over 4 billion years with the Sun. HPS is a lot more efficient than we are led to believe. The only part of the spectrum that is wasted with HPS is the heat and nothing else and to be honest, there is quite a bit of heat put out by the led drivers themselves. Anyway 0.46 Grams/watt from led is no good to me....... $1100 and $130 delivery to Spain ? What a waste of good money. I'm not gonna be an Led hater as everyone has to make their own decisions and I respect peoples choices in life, I'm just saying that I have been growing for a long time and had no problems in the past, I thought maybe I had missed something but it turns out that I done everything correct. So peace to all and I wish everyone all luck with this led thing.
BlackMesa
Active Member
260 grams from 2 x 500watt that consume 280 watts each so 560 watts of total shite. I know the reasons why led's don't work but the explanation is gonna be a bit long winded, but before I get into that, have read of this article as it does explain ONE of the reasons why LED's are all hype http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/684.full Then just remember that plants have EVOLVED over 4 billion years with the Sun. HPS is a lot more efficient than we are led to believe. The only part of the spectrum that is wasted with HPS is the heat and nothing else and to be honest, there is quite a bit of heat put out by the led drivers themselves. Anyway 0.46 Grams/watt from led is no good to me....... $1100 and $130 delivery to Spain ? What a waste of good money. I'm not gonna be an Led hater as everyone has to make their own decisions and I respect peoples choices in life, I'm just saying that I have been growing for a long time and had no problems in the past, I thought maybe I had missed something but it turns out that I done everything correct. So peace to all and I wish everyone all luck with this led thing.
For one you didn't do bad at all... Are you seriously going to claim it a fail grow because you didn't hit 1 GPW? There is so much more to LED growing then what you think, Your panels are bright and have decent wattage but they are not all that much bigger in size then the 240w versions, If you would have went with 4 - 240's for greater coverage I would suspect you would have had a far greater yield (8-12oz depending on grow skill).
But you did decent, I think your just a HID master and expected to get max results without trial, error and experimentation the first time.
maxpesh
Active Member
I thank you for your words of encouragement, but I could have easily achieved that with only 400watts of HPS I had 2 of these blackstar lights in a 5ft x 4ft area and I think that is adequate, like I said, I'm truly sorry to burst anyone's bubble but my feeding schedule was spot on and plants were all healthy with no over or under watering, all the ph was perfect every time, the temp were at a constant 25C, the light were at 9 to 12 inches from the canopy. Yes the smoke is good but I don't think any better than my past grows . My whole point is that I would rather replace my hps bulb every 6 months and get more grams per watt, it's simple arithmetic. How many bulbs could I buy for the cost of these LED's. It's all about efficiency and the amount of produce for electricity used, we live and learn everyday and at least I have now learned not to listen or take notice of all the hype
puffenuff
Well-Known Member
To everyone reading max's latest comment evaluating leds based on HIS journal please note that not everyone getting good results are in the bed with led companies because that is just blatantly false. This is also the reason journals in general shouldn't be used as the sole metric of led evaluation because not everyone has the same grow conditions, skills, or outcomes. LEDs are not all hype and im sorry that this guy is disappointed, but to make some of the generalizations made here based off one grow by one guy using one particular led light and expanding his conclusion to leds in general isn't good advice, but the honesty is definitely appreciated. Goodluck on future grows max.
BlackMesa
Active Member
I thank you for your words of encouragement, but I could have easily achieved that with only 400watts of HPS I had 2 of these blackstar lights in a 5ft x 4ft area and I think that is adequate, like I said, I'm truly sorry to burst anyone's bubble but my feeding schedule was spot on and plants were all healthy with no over or under watering, all the ph was perfect every time, the temp were at a constant 25C, the light were at 9 to 12 inches from the canopy. Yes the smoke is good but I don't think any better than my past grows . My whole point is that I would rather replace my hps bulb every 6 months and get more grams per watt, it's simple arithmetic. How many bulbs could I buy for the cost of these LED's. It's all about efficiency and the amount of produce for electricity used, we live and learn everyday and at least I have now learned not to listen or take notice of all the hype
Fair enough, I just wanted to point out that your grow was decent and you have the ability to improve further if you put the time in. I think your planters are pretty small and it seems you were going for more plants vs fewer larger plants. It's a tricky combination but if you ever did make another attempt try to double your pot size and reduce your plant count by a third. I know if you experimented you could double your results.
BTW, how warm do the 500's make your area? I have a pair of 240's and the temp is may 4 degrees higher with them on.
Nordic division
Active Member
Awsome grow and plants looks really good and healthy!keep up the good work!
maxpesh
Active Member
All the advise has been taken on board and I seriously do wish everyone all the luck in the world, my room is well extracted and my temps are always in the range of 25 - 28 centigrade.I use 7 litre pots to force root mass to get big buds so that's why I plant more "smaller" plants. This article explains that theory better than I could http://www.bigbudsmag.com/grow/how/article/grow-great-marijuana-nugs-forcing-your-plants-july-2011 Hope this helps
maxpesh
Active Member
I hope you don't think I am being a dick. Just read this and you'll see more clearly where I'm coming from http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/684.full
maxpesh
Active Member
Here's the latest news, ,,,,,,,,I thought that led's were really good for veg until I arrived home tonight and realized that half of the fucking lights had gone out, yeah !!! LED is the way forward,,,,,,,,,,,,, NOT . A bunch of lying cunts, anyone who has anything good to say about them is talking shit. Go on, give me all your bullshit as to why I am wrong !!!!! Chinese crap as always!!!
maxpesh
Active Member
I said at the beginning that I was going to be honest about my grow, gotham sells a lot of products and I don't have a problem with the business, I ONLY had a problem with the led bloom lights, and I think that I was justified getting a bit pissed off at having spent money on something that did not give me the results that I was hoping for. I still say that Led veg lights are the BEST LIGHTS FOR VEGGING and I only bought it 4- 5 months ago, so I hope that Gotham do not have YOUR attitude towards warranty's !
longranger
Active Member
Maxpesh I like this journal. I have done several LED grows and think your results were pretty good. Some tweaks in your grow or more units of lower wattage may have slightly increased yield but this is pretty typical of what most good or so called premium panels can do. I have used Generic 1w diode based panels, Blackstars, HH pro grow and Kessil. In spite of high price and reported QC problems kessil had by far the best performance per watt. Yes over 1G per watt, however they are too damm expensive.
The X factors for me are heat and quality of the bud. In most grow circumstances HID will require a lot more ventilation and AC during warm months. Those costs add up so for a small home grower the costs in $ per gram of product are similar in my environment. Second the heat of HID just plain scares me. Finally the quality of the bud has been superior from my LED grows. That is using strains I know under the different light sources and outdoor.
Last comment. At present the LEDs do not represent a realistic alternative for warehouse size grows. They are optimal for small to medium grows at home for personal use. All this IMHO. Regardless no reason for haters or people to be schills for one manufacturer. This is confusing enough with the other variables we have to consider.
The X factors for me are heat and quality of the bud. In most grow circumstances HID will require a lot more ventilation and AC during warm months. Those costs add up so for a small home grower the costs in $ per gram of product are similar in my environment. Second the heat of HID just plain scares me. Finally the quality of the bud has been superior from my LED grows. That is using strains I know under the different light sources and outdoor.
Last comment. At present the LEDs do not represent a realistic alternative for warehouse size grows. They are optimal for small to medium grows at home for personal use. All this IMHO. Regardless no reason for haters or people to be schills for one manufacturer. This is confusing enough with the other variables we have to consider.
maxpesh
Active Member
AT LAST,,,,someone who is talking sense. I take on board all of your advise and I WILL do another grow journal, yes , I may have lost my head a little but I was soooo frustrated as I have been growing for many years and I just got so excited by the prospect of having something wonderful and new that would do amazing. But I am a big enough person to admit that I can still learn, but at the moment I cannot afford to waste any more time experimenting on this, only because I need to stick with what I know works. However I am sort of 50/50 with my opinions because of the simple fact that LED veg lights are f**king amazing at the vegging stage and I know why they are ???? Anyway thanks for the common sense and I wonder if anyone bothered to read the link that I posted here, I hope some manufacturer of led lights bothers to have a look, but remember the key word is STRONG WHITE LIGHT, it's a bit long winded but very educational, here is the link again http://pcp.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/4/684.full Cheers
maxpesh
Active Member
Stuff it, I'm gonna give it another try, but instead of weekly updates, I'm gonna do a full grow with photographs and then post it all at once, but only if my end results are good. I do have one question as to led grows if anyone could be so kind to give me an answer it would be much appreciated. We all know that due to the reduced heat, the plants don't need watering as much therefore over the period of a grow this would surely mean that they have also consumed less nutrients, would anyone suggest upping the PPM ?
Jman305
Active Member
they look like they're gonna fill in niiiiice and fine. That LED has some penetration it looks like, making bud sites all the way down like that.21 days of 12/12. I hate this bit coz they seem to slow down a bit , oh well another 5 weeks to go ;-(
View attachment 1655345View attachment 1655346View attachment 1655347
Dunno whether they actually do slow down or is it just me looking at them every day ? Would like some feedback as to whether you guys think they're on target or not
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