My Frustrating Journey to Find the Right LED Grow Light...

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PurpleBuz

Well-Known Member
PSUAGRO. said:
****** calculated ppf/w............... some people are gonna be surprised what reflectors/lenses/diffusers are gonna do to the #s in real time.
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absolutely, light losses along the whole path from les to canopy need to be accounted for in estimated PPF calculations.

That's why led mfg need to test their lights in an integrating sphere, otherwise its just a guessstimate.
 
Stephenj37826

Stephenj37826

Well-Known Member
Purpsmagurps said:
well given you pack about 87k lumens in a 600W hid I would hardly call worth it spending a grand on 2 t3s that only pack 64k lumens at 408W, you only shave off 250 wats tops. run your lights in off peak and watch your bills go down!
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What about reflector loss? Almost all HID reflectors that are non air cooled lose 20%+ from luminarie loss. Also lumens are only relevant when comparing two light sources with identical spectral output..... if you need further explanation I don't mind helping any way that I can .
 
RickyBobby26

RickyBobby26

Well-Known Member
LordRalh3 said:
because diy leds are super simple , can be as simple as order great parts, gently screw down parts, push wires in. hang

cxb3590 3500s at driven @ 2100 changed my whole life lol
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OK, I'll give it a look. Maybe I could build my own.

Are there detailed instructions somewhere on this web site?
 
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LordRalh3

Well-Known Member
please ignore him about "blurple" check out the growmou5 and greengene videos and the "cutter all in one kit" threads here it really is super easy, and cobs are all you need
 
Growmau5

Growmau5

Well-Known Member
@RickyBobby26 have you received any useful information on making a purchasing decision? or are you still frustrated. perhaps if you have narrowed down your choices even further, we could discuss which way you are leaning. going back to your OP:

Space: almost a 4x4
Budget: under $1500
yield: comparable to a 600w, so 448 -600 grams per cycle
wall dissipation: under 600w
established LED company
 
OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
Growmau5 said:
@RickyBobby26 have you received any useful information on making a purchasing decision? or are you still frustrated. perhaps if you have narrowed down your choices even further, we could discuss which way you are leaning. going back to your OP:

Space: almost a 4x4
Budget: under $1500
yield: comparable to a 600w, so 448 -600 grams per cycle
wall dissipation: under 600w
established LED company
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Right!! Jeeez

Anyone that's used something like a lumigrow, heliospectra, Apache, or actually have some of the lights built by the sellers here hanging in their 3x3 that can input something constructive to this?
 
R

roachfinder

Well-Known Member
I am on first led grow. I purchased a king Plus. Led grow lights. Its 190 watts of actual energy and hits all the major nm of light. So far its great
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
Purpsmagurps said:
The umol on my 350w is over 1200 at 18 inches.
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Yes, but how far out from the center? The only lights I've seen that allow for adjusting the angle of the light bars to even out distribution is Illumitex. That's the biggest advancement in grow lights lately. Aside from that feature I don't know how their lights perform, just mentioning the great feature.
 
BOBBY_G

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
Right!! Jeeez

Anyone that's used something like a lumigrow, heliospectra, Apache, or actually have some of the lights built by the sellers here hanging in their 3x3 that can input something constructive to this?
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i always see used cali lightworks solarstorm 880s on ebay and craigslist for $600-$1000

the 2014 ones with 176 5W diodes pull 630W and would handily put down a 600HPS
the 2015 ones with 288 3W osrams pull about 670W but are about 20% brighter and a better, whiter, spectrum. id put that up against at least a SE 1000 HPS.

the 2013 "400" and "800" are early inefficeint models and are kind of dogs. they pull 630W but are 25% less efficient than the 2014s. still ive seen the "800s" for as little as $450. so worth it at that price prob.

they stand behind their products so its little risk to buy used but they are heavy and a bitch to ship. but $1-$1.50 a watt for a quality product is a good entry level led. ive had great results with these. might be a bit much for a 3x3 tho. the solarstorm 440s pull half the wattage of the models above and would rock a 3x3
 
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OneHitDone

OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
BOBBY_G said:
i always see used cali lightworks solarstorm 880s on ebay and craigslist for $600-$1000

the 2014 ones with 176 5W diodes pull 630W and would handily put down a 600HPS
the 2015 ones with 288 3W osrams pull about 670W but are about 20% brighter and a better, whiter, spectrum. id put that up against at least a SE 1000 HPS.

the 2013 "400" and "800" are early inefficeint models and are kind of dogs. they pull 630W but are 25% less efficient than the 2014s. still ive seen the "800s" for as little as $450. so worth it at that price prob.

they stand behind their products so its little risk to buy used but they are heavy and a bitch to ship. but $1-$1.50 a watt for a quality product is a good entry level led. ive had great results with these. might be a bit much for a 3x3 tho. the solarstorm 440s pull half the wattage of the models above and would rock a 3x3
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He didn't ask for a POS led that draws the same wattage as his 600hps

So, aside from @Rahz who is always on point no one has a legit suggestion for something the OP can click - buy - hang?
 
BOBBY_G

BOBBY_G

Well-Known Member
OneHitDone said:
He didn't ask for a POS led that draws the same wattage as his 600hps
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thats your opinion. the 670w osram models easily replace a 1000
i gave him the lower wattage option as well to replace 500ish W of HID. their fixtures meet all my criteria for quality.
-good build quality
-made in america (they mill their own heatsinks and fab all the cases onsite)
-stand behind their products
-continual product improvement
-RESULTS

ive tried several blurple companies before settling on them for the last few years. not sure they are top top tier/cutting edge like fluence but certainly they are a far cry from rebranded chinese crap
 
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dandyrandy

dandyrandy

Well-Known Member
I actually used 5 300w 180 @ the wall 3w burple for a couple years. They worked well but had heat issues. Since building the coolhood cob lights growth is much better. 700 @the wall in 11 sq ft. Around 57% efficiency. No heat issues 100 cfm of air for cooling. I have a build and updated grow pics somewhere on this site. I can't grow so don't use me for an example.
 
tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
RickyBobby26 said:
This post is very long, and it eventually asks "which should I buy", and it's not my intention to make anyone mad. So feel free to quit reading now if you're put off by such posts. Otherwise, I need and appreciate your help.

I seriously need an LED grow light to replace my 600-watt HPS in a 3'8" x 3'8" x 8' grow closet. I don't have the tech skills to build my own. But I have the money to buy a good light. I can spend up to $1500 (the less the better). But there seems to be no web sites dedicated to comprehensive, independent, unbiased reviews of LED grow lights.

I've been looking, researching, and reading for months. The only thing I'm sure of is that most companies exaggerate their claims, and I can't tell the difference between those that do, and those that don't.

I'm not interested in startup companies - only proven companies with many satisfied customers. And I’m not necessarily looking to increase my 600-watt HPS yields - just to replicate them with less consumed power and significantly less generated heat (my yields are very good).

I spoke to a Black Dog LED rep yesterday who wanted to sell me a Phytomax 600 for $1600. He said it would replace my 600-watt HPS, but would consume about as much power and generate about as much heat as said 600-watt HPS. Oh yeah? Then WHAT’S THE FUCKING POINT? Yet one web site that claimed to "independently review LED grow lights" rated the Black Dog Phytomax as the #1 LED grow light for 2016.

I’ve googled “Best LED Grow Lights”, and a thousand variants, and I get no consistent results. Most every so-called “review site” gives a very different “Top 5” or “Top 10” list. Very different. I found one web site that had a “Best LED Grow Lights” article for 2015, and another for 2016, and the two lists had almost no grow lights in common. That much variance from one year to the next from the SAME reviewers? No fucking way.

This smacks of “Good Reviews for Hire” that are little more than (un)veiled advertisements. The idiots kinda give it away when they conclude their “unbiased” review with something to the effect of “Let the XXX LED grow light improve your growing TODAY!”, and provide a direct sales link.

What I’d like is to find a “Consumer-Reports-like” web site that gives independent, accurate, unbiased (i.e. unpaid) reviews of modern LED grow lights.

Or get some recommendations here. Rollitup happens to be the most active LED commenting site I've found. So I'd appreciate ANY suggestions based upon the criteria listed in my post.

Thanks, or apologies, whichever is appropriate for your response.
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Timber Vero 480 watt fixture is an option for you to consider. I use them and they work great. This is their most powerful and hardest-driven fixture....Here is a link for you:
http://timbergrowlights.com/vero-480w-cob-led-grow-light/
 
tstick

tstick

Well-Known Member
BobCajun said:
Actually the preassembled single COBs look fairly reasonable. You just have to get a driver separately.
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I think they also sell a pre-assembled single COB kit option with the driver(s) included, too -if you want a Meanwell driver, that is. I believe they are pretty much ready to plug-n-play -just depends on how you want to mount them. And I'm fairly sure that Dan (RainDan) could set you up with a good deal on however many you might need.

I'm not a DIY guy so I just bought the CXB400R light. I'm super happy with it.
 
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