forgedgreens
Well-Known Member
What kind of led unit you using. I wanna switch out my hps for leds. Gotta cut down electric cost. And your harvest looks like a passing grade from the pic
Led harvest
- Thread starter ripley7711
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jarvild
Well-Known Member
DIY Samsung gen3 strip's.
NanoGadget
Well-Known Member
This plant produced just under six ounces under a single HLG QB 288 @ 135 watts with almost no training. It never fails to make me laugh when luddite trolls continue to assert that LEDs suck. Seriously, how long are people willing to make themselves look ignorant.
forgedgreens
Well-Known Member
What was the cost to build one of those leds you built? How much area they cover? I'm tryna cover 4x2 area. Some dude from Hawaii sells them on Ebay already built, I'm considering ordering one off him or what yall think the built DIY strips versus the company product sold ones???
coreywebster
Well-Known Member
Link them if you can. Then we can see.
Its around a dollar a watt to build although I think you can do it cheaper these days and about 1.5 dollar per watt ish for pre made fixtures unless they are Chinese.
You want around 30w per square foot.
As an example https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/products/260w-qb-v2-led-kit
Though that's a board kit not a strip build, same tech.
Check out http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/
I think the prices have come down since then but he gives you the part numbers which you can google and get a current prices.
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
How are those numbers slaughtering hps? Pretty much the same right? You did an ounce or so over a quarter pound. I don't understand.
NanoGadget
Well-Known Member
Who said anything about slaughtering anything?
NanoGadget
Well-Known Member
Also, I'm not sure how just under 6 ounces is an ounce or so over a qp. Are you rounding off the extra .85 of an oz?
a mongo frog
Well-Known Member
Im sorry maybe i misunderstood post #44. It seemed to me you were saying how sick and tired you are about people not excepting LED and that some people think hps is better then LED and those people are ignorant fools. I thought thats what you were saying.
NanoGadget
Well-Known Member
There are many instances where HPS is preferable to LED. They tend to perform better in colder climates, they tend to perform better in humid climates, and they are certainly a more affordable option in terms of intial cost. That being said, they are in no way a superior technology to current gen high efficiency LED. Samsung strips and HLG Quantum Boards are significantly (and undeniably) more efficient than HPS, the diodes have a significantly longer life than HID bulbs, and can be more effective in grows with limited available height or the need for extremely even light distribution such as SOG and SCROG.
I grew with HPS on and off for over 20 years, I'm not some newbie hater. I think HID grows great pot. And this isn't directed at you, I'm just tired of people refusing to accept that LED horticultural technology has reached a point of being able to equal, and in many cases exceed the capabilities of HID.
There are pros and cons to all lighting types and people should use what works best for their particular needs. That is not an excuse to pick a side and talk ignorant bullshit to those who don't do things your way. If people were more interested in cooperative information exchange and less interested in being a petulant fanboy of whatever they happen to use, this forum might actually serve it's intended purpose.
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
man.. now thats a goal I can get behind!
jarvild
Well-Known Member
My first build cost $235 to make and the rest around $250 after the tariffs went into effect.
jarvild
Well-Known Member
Digi-Key
I grow in a 2x4 with 4 QB132 boards from HLG. It's a great setup for a small space because the spread is perfect and there are no heat issues. You can wire it to have the driver outside the tent if you need to further control the heat. I'd run all 4 boards in series off an HLG-320H-C2100. At full power this will deliver about 37.5 watts/sf which is more than enough to flower. 30 watts/sf for quality LED is the benchmark. During veg I dial the driver down to 175-225 watts at the wall (about 20-25 watts/sf) and crank it all the way up during flower (330 watts at the wall). You'll hardly notice the electricity cost. $125 for the boards and $85 for the driver (plus shipping). A few bucks more for misc parts and you're up and running. $250 max. Takes only a few minutes to assemble and there are lots of videos on youtube showing you how to do it. If you end up doing it I'd be happy to walk you through it.
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I just went down to the garden and here's what those QB132s can do. The plant on the left is a strawberry cough. The right is a northern lights. Feminized seeds planted on 11/18 and flipped 1/5, so that gives 2 weeks for germination/seedling, and 5 weeks veg (or 7 weeks veg, depending on how you count it). It's now day 3 of flower. Plants are both in 7 gallons of soil in a fabric pot using FF nutes at half strength. Plants were topped once at the 4th node. The scrog net is 2.5"x2.5" set 8" above the soil. The cough looks like a bit of a mess right now because I've been tucking. The amount of vegetation on that thing is ridiculous. I'm defoliating handfuls of leaves almost every day. I can't keep it under control. I may just have to let them go up and see how it turns out. The northern lights has been a pleasure. It naturally grows in a beautiful wide, compact shape. I think there's at least one bud site in every hole. I can't wait to see how much these yield.
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jarvild
Well-Known Member
Watts/sf seems to be not a very good metric for led's IMO. If I figure my 4x6 flower area and divide that by the total wattage at 520 wall watts that only gives me 21.6 w/sf.
raratt
Well-Known Member
Agreed, with the higher efficiency of LED's in producing lumens/watt I would think someone with a more mathematically inclined mind would be able to establish a chart of equivalent wattage that is realistic, not the "advertised" equivalent.
meangreengrowinmachine
Well-Known Member
the info is out there... I would suggest you start with Growmau5s beginner guides. It really is a very different measurement then was used with HPS and the old school of watts and lumens etc. I cant say that I am an expert by any means but Growmau5 IS and is great at breaking it down and then bringing you into the depths of the info. I think a lot of his stuff got removed from You tube but I think the basics videos series is still there.
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