Tell Me What Led Brands Are Actually Any Good...

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Homesteader

Homesteader

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I would look into building a DIY with Cree 3590 at 3500k, that seems to be the sweet spot most are using but @sixstring is a big help there.
IMO if you are looking into pre-made units you NEED to make sure the company is telling you what type of emitters they use and not just TOP BIN bullshit. Top bin of shit is still shit just the best shit in the pile.

Look for these emitters but again the way to go is COB to start with for your money.
Osram Oslon SSL emitters in 450, 660, 730nm
Cree XPG-3 emitters 4000k
Cree XT-E Royal Blue 450nm
Cree XP-E Far Red 730 nm
Cree XP-E HE Photo Red 660m

IMO a mixture of white whether cob or white emitters and 450nm + 660nm is best with far red 730nm and UV-A+B being an add on.
 
sixstring

sixstring

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Hmmmm Marshydro not any good? I beg to differ.....
yeah mars panels grow just fine,the problem is they fail at around 12 months.this one had lost 30% of the diodes by 14 months but they started popping around 11 months.they are shit lights.
Led overlap 009
Mk led 033
Mk led 039
 
Northern LED

Northern LED

75
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the lights I have are well designed and each panel is like a plug and play unit quick and easy to replace- they will ship a new unit overnight-http://www.budmaster.co.uk/budmaster-god-with-osram-ssl80-diodes.html
 
Homesteader

Homesteader

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Here is a decent Osram light for the money but again I would start with just COBs. This is only in 660nm so it would be an add on for flower IMO.




I just found a PCB company out of France that may make reflowing these osrams (and cree) much more economical for the DIYer.
 
sixstring

sixstring

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sixstring I would be interested in your assessment of these units
idk which one you went with but man o man im not liking the 5 dollars per watt prices.the god1 is 250.00 for 45w yikes.they seem well built but again theres too many other options for more power and reliability.but those look much better than any mars panel.
 
sixstring

sixstring

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this thing would kick the living shit out of 3 of those 45w panels just as an example.timber is a good company and they stand behind everything.i have seen them go above and beyond for guys .
 
Northern LED

Northern LED

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I didn't pay for mine , an investor bought them for a 50% share of the crop...seemed ok by me- they certainly do the job I have 2x the 9 panel and 3 x the 8 panel versions - seedlings love them
 
B

BobbyBoy

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Just build your own using Citizen or Vero COBS (not cree, they are overpriced), you will get much better price and overall efficiency.
 
hillbil

hillbil

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Timber, Northern Grow Lights, Johnson, Tasty, Amare and more are cob based and will outdo other light sources. Google DIY cob grow light or YouTube for growmou5.

Warranty returns suck on many of the blurple lights that are foreign based like Vapor or Mars.
 
B

Blazza

4
3
So now I'm really confused. I bought a BOSSLED II 600w grow light. It's not dual spectrum though, which I really think I'd like to be using instead. I was looking at MARS grow lights, but apparently they are not very good. Heard VIVASPECTRA lights were good. Then I heard they're not. I'd really rather not buy these lights to find out if they work or not, I would prefer just buying one once and not have to worry for 50,000 hours or whatever. I'm sure this thread has been posted by many others before, but any input would be much appreciated. I know they are good for veg, but I'd like to see pics of other grows, particularly right before harvest, and info on which light it is. Thanks in advance!
I have the HLG Quatum boards there the best lights I've ever owned and great customer service even called and they helped me with other questions like plants need more food where they grow so fast under the boards. Can't wait there having a sale October 1!
 
Icemud

Icemud

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its good to have a warranty,but if the light dies half way through flower and its gone for 3 weeks you will be fucked.so just have a backup plan down the road.im guessing the light will be fine for the first run of veg and flower.gl

Budmasters are build modular so each module has its own driver, LED's, PCB, fans etc.... so even if 1 of the modules failed, the rest would operate independent of the failed one. Its actually quite a nice design because it allows for quick swap outs of components. Also, all the budmaster panels have the same dimension compoenents, so you can actually make your own spectrum, for instance the GOD panels all use SMD Osram SSL chips, but say you wanted to do a blurple panel mixed with full spectrum cobs. With budmaster all you have to do is swap the driver, lens and whole pcb/chip fan component, put the new one in and screw a few screws. Takes like 5 minutes to do. I did this with my budmasters for a mixed spectrum and for mixed light distribution. Since the SSL's emit in a much tighter beam they are great for penetration, and cobs are more even dispersion of light, they are great for widespread coverage. By mixing the 2 together I get best of both worlds.

I highly recommend Budmaster products.
I also really liked Advanced LED XTE panels which use Cree and Osram SSL chips.

If you are a DIY guy, the best route currently is to make a DIY COB light, or a DIY quantum board light as currently they are sold as kits by a few vendors, use premium parts, and you can build them to your personal needs and specs. This currently is the best route to go without paying for a complete design of PCBS and assembly in manufacturing.

Any LED's that use TOP BIN LEDs from companies like Cree, Osram, Citizen, Bridgelux (only white or blue) are great. But don't take the companies word for it, make them show you order slips highlighting they actually are purchasing and using Top BIN leds. Most cheap forign companies from China will use buzzwords like cree, osram and top bin to draw attention, but actually are using crappy chips like epistar, epiled and others.
IMG 20160102 222813
 
CBDfutute4

CBDfutute4

591
63
I have a galaxy 300. Like identical to a mars 300

Realistically they are 130/140 watts. They do work for a 1.5x2ft space I suppose

They can flower 1 plant each.

But how long will they last? How much less heat & more efficient are they really over a hps or even worse....a cmh

I have not been doing this long but it's easily seen that they are not that cool. It's produces a decent amount of heat. It's not really efficient, it says 300 but it's more like a 135.

The whole point of leds (well the basic) is your moving to a much more light efficient n heat efficient light.

One that gives 80-100% of a hps for half the ele bill n heat.

The China leds are most likely not more efficienct than a 400/600 hps.

Once it boils down to money spent on the light, ele bills, heat issues & yield. The hps is cheaper and better in the long run.

Account for some of the leds breaking, or the whole light. Shipping back n forth, etc.

Yes a mars or galaxy 600 will churn out some good nug, but less n less quality than a hps would over the course of a year.


A led isn't really worth it until you begin to use the quality units.
Those run tons cooler, eat 50% less ele, n produce good quality and lots lbs per watt.

But let the China led guys come in n defend
 
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