anotherdaymusic
Well-Known Member
LEDs make bud more crystalized than hps hands down, and an led for veg is pretty ultimate...wicked node spacing and more bushy than a halide all day. there is no comparison lol.
I will be starting my grow after the new year, and yes, I will be documenting the grow on a daily basis. On your point of being vague, I really would love to give out all the details of my findings but I hope you can understand that this would not be in my best interests at the moment, I have done so much research and put so much work into this project that it would be suicide in the way of competition. You are correct that I am going down the route of veg and flower models, that being said, the flower model will still veg very well but now I am NOT going to be competing against other Led companies, I am competing against HID, so I need to get everything perfect and not just give out false promises. Please be patient with me, I believe I am doing this the right way![]()
Glad u mentioned that, actually there will be no glues used. all nuts and bolts and user replaceable parts. Hope this alleviates at least one of your concerns ?Please explain
You said "Finally there really is no need to call led's "tosser", there has been sufficient bad mouthing on these forums and has been proven to be non-constructive time and time again, but keep watching"
When the bulbs in your fixture lose let's say 30% intensity, and/or die, (both are inevitable) unless you are designing it so that the end user can quickly and easily replace bulbs, and power supplies, to me it's a tosser. Am I missing something?
I am not trying to be an ass, simply stating the unspoken truth as it relates to any LED that does not offer these features.
havent seen any updates recently i know its the holidays and all but i was wondering if theres any news on the led?
One problem with a 'one light fits all' design approach is Sats/Indicas are grown in different parts of the world: Sats close to the equator, Indicas the opposite. They are genetically predisposed to different grow cycles and use different percentages of spectrums.
However, a good general ratio of R/G/B/: G is a constant ~ 10% (helps R/B absorption) with R/B alternating percentages between grow and flower @ ~ 60/40. During mid-flower to finish you also want deep blue (~410- 420) + far red ~( 630- 660) @ ~ 20% to enhance tric production.
Not accounting for these grow cycle variables is why LEDs fall short of their promise. A separate light for Indicas and Sats, perhaps? Unfortunately not. Many, if not most seeds, are hybrids. Offering 3 different lights can be daunting for a small start up.
Unless you can figure out how to compensate for all these variables (several clearly marked toggle switches) I'm afraid you won't be pushing the envelop much. You might be able to configure a 2-3 way toggle switch that runs the appropriate percentage of R/B bulbs, with say up for Veg and down for Flower, but you will probably need 2 separate o/o toggles for this, plus one more for the mid flower adding of deep blues/far reds. I don't think this is overly complicated, BUT, it adds parts and labor= higher cost
As I mentioned, I would be willing to do an A/B versus my HO T 5 using aquarium bulbs
Wishing you the best!
I thought you were making the light yourself... are you getting them from the same manufacturer than FERO? Are they going to be similar frame? Because his lights are fairly cheap. I think I will look into getting 100 of them and start my own LED company as well. I always wonder why RIU would let you advertise like this while banning other companies for trying to sell their light by making grow journals. I respected the fact that you were making them yourself and all but now I realise you will be just like any other companies importing cheap lights from china to make a quick buck. I don't see your company being any different than the others. That said more competition is good for the consummer. I hope it works out for you and I hope that the spectrums you chose will make your light stand alone. Anyway, I look forward to see it in action.
Great idea you have there !T5 outputs are normally 70 - 104 Lm/watt and as you know shine in all directions hence the need for reflectors so like all traditional light sources they loose efficiency through reflection, but I do like the T5's though. Another advantage of course is the lifespan of the led's (properly cooled of course). If I am to go forward with the 275watt veg model it will easily cover a 4ft x 4ft area (the flowering model 275watt 3ft x3ft). Prices are not finalised yet (I'm hoping for $550-$600) but over the lifespan they will work out cheaper especially with the electricity used. Many thanks for your thoughts and I will let you know when all is ready for lift off. Cheers
P.S. Sorry, I Promise you I'm not having a go but just worked out electrical costs on 18hrs day @ 15cents Kwh for 10 years
The Veg led fixture 2600 dollars, T5- 4200 dollars plus replacement bulbs and 16 square ft as opposed to 8 for the T5's. However, just like anything in life, we should all do what works out best for ourselves when it comes to gardening.
Very interesting read....I have been trying to research led lights myself and I have found 1 company that seems to know what is going on. I am doing market research on wether or not I can grow in a state where it is legal. The reason I am thinking about led is 3 reasons heat, power consumption,and the amount of wiring IE circuit breakers to grow in a 1500 sq foot foot print. There is going to be alot of wiring and I can put more led lights on a circuit than I can with typical lighting. I am an outdoor grower used to making a 3 1/2 pound average on my plants. Going indoors is going to be a learning curve but I can manage. What is holding me back with led's is the cost of a 500 watt led is $1300. I know the power savings alone will pay for themselves let alone the cost of cooling the building down. It would be nice if it the light would be the only 1 I need to veg and flower. If I did my math right I would need 40 lights and with typical lighting my power bill will be a monster. For this to work I need to make 5oz's per plant wich can be done if you do not crowd the plants together. Hopefully in the next 2 years led's will become the norm and the prices will go down. If I can find a led that would benifit me I would buy them right now but, I also want a proven system as well as everyone else. Sounds like you are on the right track with your heat sink and fans to make it a unit that will last.
Theres not much in savings with power cost when talking about the light. 500 watts is 500 watts,like cfl's. Now, saving on cooling makes sense,which can add up fast, as diffrent lights give off diffrent heat.
If you want anything near 3.5 lb's, id stay clear of led's for now and defintly load up on some 1000 hp's or dual 600w. Leds just dont have the power with light penetration to give you that much weight yet.I think most led user and makers will at least be honest about that. Most will agree they work wonders for veg, or small time flowering,but not if you want donkey dick colas.
Nice thread you got going here max.....couple of ??'s
So you're going with Eshine to make your lights (looked at your protype pic)/4g plantbar...??
are you adding the gimmicky Uv leds???
Like the white leds---not too many i hope(filler spectrum/trace) and would only use 6000-6500k
And for gods sake use a current reg. PS....
We all wish for top bin leds/in your panel....but at this price, it's probably not gonna happen($4.5-5.00 per led). lol you already know this...
I am excited to see what you come up with....and I wish you much success..
Lots of speculations, but as I said earlier on in the thread, I do not wish to push too much on RIU. Let's just see what happens with the first grow which WILL happen soon. Then comes the proof. I can't say much more ?
Did you read any of the links I placed in this thread ? 6000-6500K ????? Current Reg ?????? Why the negativity ?? I only want to do something good! You sound as if you have been ripped off by an led company and are unhappy about this. I will do my part and invoke real competition to bring down prices and give a far superior product. I will (like I have repeated many times) be using top quality diodes and heatsinks and cases and fans. Top bin leds are a lot less expensive in bulk. 6000k ,170lm/watt. I'm not going to be using them anyway.