Why The Hate For Cheap Leds?

[h4ppyf4rmer]

Heh. Today is my first day of week 6.
Did you run the 3000K for veg as well?

no, I did my vegging in another tent using my other LED that I used through the full grow cycle the last time.
so my current run is: 4.5 weeks from clone under my p600 PlatinumLED light on the veg setting(very expensive light for just vegging) and 35 days under my COBs

 

[OldManRiver]

Yeah, but it's not unheard of at all to pull 1.5-2g/w with a CXB3590 though

As I said in an earlier response to this thread, I don't want or need big yields. I grow strictly for personal use. 400 watts at .6 gr every four months gives me more than I need.

I could get this instead, , and get about the same yield, but I'd pay four times as much. That makes no sense to me. My goal is just to grow 1/4 lb of weed or so every couple months. I don't need to set records in yield, or yield per watt, and I don't sell. So more weed than I need is a waste.

 

[MW7945]

Efficiency pays for itself. And the quality of the bud would be better. I get you don't need a lot, but those lights will pay for themselves. I'm just using a 600w and 300w vipar pulling a little over 400w, and it seems fine, but could definitely be better.

Again, that's why there's multiple realms of the market. Some people are fine with cheap lights that will "do the job", and others want the CXB's, Vero's, and Citizen chips. To each their own.

 

[OldManRiver]

Efficiency pays for itself. And the quality of the bud would be better. I get you don't need a lot, but those lights will pay for themselves. I'm just using a 600w and 300w vipar pulling a little over 400w, and it seems fine, but could definitely be better.

Again, that's why there's multiple realms of the market. Some people are fine with cheap lights that will "do the job", and others want the CXB's, Vero's, and Citizen chips. To each their own.

The key question for me will be bud quality. I'm running my own test. I'll grow a crop with the cheaper lights, and see what I can obtain. I don't care what the buds look like per se; I don't need dickage. ;-) If I can't get the THC, I'll be changing my tune in a New York minute. But the reviews for the lights I got on Amazon give me confidence that the quality will be there. If I can get from .5 to .75 g/watt for a four month harvest, I'll be good. Again, as I say, if the quality is there. I'm not a rookie, I'm gonna see what I can get out of these cheap guys.

But I must say that if I was made of money, this would be in my closet.

In my case, efficiency doesn't necessarily pay for itself. I pay 7 cents a kwh. I can't step down much from the 350 watts I'm drawing now. Additional dope will just be given away to family and friends; there is no financial return to increased yield. The only thing that will motivate me to step up is bud quality. And I need to see that inferiority for myself.

 

[Schkronis]

The key question for me will be bud quality. I'm running my own test. I'll grow a crop with the cheaper lights, and see what I can obtain. I don't care what the buds look like per se; I don't need dickage. ;-) If I can't get the THC, I'll be changing my tune in a New York minute. But the reviews for the lights I got on Amazon give me confidence that the quality will be there. If I can get from .5 to .75 g/watt for a four month harvest, I'll be good. Again, as I say, if the quality is there. I'm not a rookie, I'm gonna see what I can get out of these cheap guys.

But I must say that if I was made of money, this would be in my closet.

In my case, efficiency doesn't necessarily pay for itself. I pay 7 cents a kwh. I can't step down much from the 350 watts I'm drawing now. Additional dope will just be given away to family and friends; there is no financial return to increased yield. The only thing that will motivate me to step up is bud quality. And I need to see that inferiority for myself.

I have 3 Mars reflector 144 (awesome vegging light) and after 1 grow I switched back to Mogul base 600W and then moved on to Hanse panel (XML2) and then and into Cobs - with a big smile I'm reading all these debates on the forum now.
Looks like you already set your mind on it. A lot of us started there (good reviews, cheap price, ect.) some of us been there a bit early with our saltwater sps tanks and all the mh/blurple/cob debate. Just go for it man - we all been there...

P.S. it doesn't cost much at all to make a good 4.5 - 5 star rating and good reviews. Few grands will get ya product reviewed and 5 stared very impressive, especially if you know folks in Asia :)

p.p.s Timber's Citizen 200W will blow that blurple 250W crap out of the water.

p.p.p.s Cool thread title when you have a few pics of your harvest with that light to throw at us, skeptikz ;)

 

[MW7945]

Again, everyone has their own needs. If shitty lights work for you, great. They're working for me now. I just want something that works better.

 

[fatawa]

My current configuration is 6 rows of 3 COBs which are currently not all at the same height };-)

price?footprint?

 

[MW7945]

Assuming it's CXB3590, They can be had for about $30 a piece. + 6 drivers at around $50 a piece.

 

[fatawa]

I don't care what the buds look like per se; I don't need dickage. ;-)

ha

 

[h4ppyf4rmer]

price?footprint?

I think my whole build came in at around $1400 for 920 real watts, each COB is chewing up 50 watts.
18 - Vero29SE 3000K CRI90 COBs @21.50 each
18 - 140mm pin heat sinks @19.50 each
6 - 1x4 RapidLED frames with 18 heat sink mounts and hangers @45 each
3 - HLG-380H-C1400B drivers @80 each

my coverage is around 3' x 8' at 14" on center for the COBs
if I added another 6 COBs I believe I would get a full 4 x 8 coverage but I really don't need that much.
I believe (contrary to popular belief) that there is a point of diminishing returns by adding more lights.

 

[CallmeTex]

if I added another 6 COBs I believe I would get a full 4 x 8 coverage but I really don't need that much.
I believe (contrary to popular belief) that there is a point of diminishing returns by adding more lights.

I bet you will be impressed it you add another 6 cobs in the future, that is if you want to fill the entire 4x8.

That's something a lot of people don't really understand with building cob lighting. It's an investment in equipment. You don't have to buy all the lighting right off. I'm guessing that if I'm not dead or in prison in 10 years, I'll still be using these same fixtures. Probably in veg, and have something crazy efficient to flower with.

There is nothing wrong with the cheaper panels, they're just 10 year old tech.

 

[MW7945]

There is nothing wrong with the cheaper panels, they're just 10 year old tech.

Preeecisely. IMO a Vero/CXB/Citizen will pay for themselves just as quickly as a cheap LED. And from there they'll give you 2-3x the results.

 

[OldManRiver]

Preeecisely. IMO a Vero/CXB/Citizen will pay for themselves just as quickly as a cheap LED. And from there they'll give you 2-3x the results.

They only pay for themselves if you need the extra yield and are selling it. That doesn't describe everyone.

 

[MW7945]

They only pay for themselves if you need the extra yield and are selling it. That doesn't describe everyone.

Less power consumption for a higher yield. Not sure how that isn't paying for itself regardless?

 

[sixstring]

They only pay for themselves if you need the extra yield and are selling it. That doesn't describe everyone.

has nothing to do with selling really.unless you like giving more money to your power company at which point you should just use a 1000w hps and if you only grow a small amount place your plant to the edge of the light and let the rest hit the floor.

 

[OldManRiver]

Less power consumption for a higher yield. Not sure how that isn't paying for itself regardless?

It isn't less power consumption. Its about the same power consumption for more yield. If you don't need the yield, there isn't much savings.

For example, I'm running two Higrows, for a wall usage of about 375 watts. Let's say I get .5 gr per watt for the grow. That will be about 180 grs, or about 6 ounces. We smoke about an ounce a month. Over the four month cycle, we produce more than we consume. I don't sell, so the excess is simply free weed; no actual savings.

If I get the timber grow lights 300 Watt COB setup, I'm out $579 bucks. Yeah, I'll get more yield, but again, the excess doesn't really do me any good; I don't sell. I'll spend $300 more than I'm out now. My electric rate is $.07/kwh, so the electric savings is minimal. I'll save about 75 watts/hour over the grow, or about 11 bucks over the crop.

I get that COBs are better. But they are pretty expensive to get that better. I'm gonna see what the higrows will do. The reviews by the actual users on Amazon remain more positive than the reviews by the non-users here, and my past results were quite successful as far as they went. I remain cautious about what the budding will be like, but we'll get that knowledge soon.

 

[MW7945]

There's some numbers you're not correctly grasping.. but I won't change your mind either way.

 

[sixstring]

It isn't less power consumption. Its about the same power consumption for more yield. If you don't need the yield, there isn't much savings.

For example, I'm running two Higrows, for a wall usage of about 375 watts. Let's say I get .5 gr per watt for the grow. That will be about 180 grs, or about 6 ounces. We smoke about an ounce a month. Over the four month cycle, we produce more than we consume. I don't sell, so the excess is simply free weed; no actual savings.

If I get the timber grow lights 300 Watt COB setup, I'm out $579 bucks. Yeah, I'll get more yield, but again, the excess doesn't really do me any good; I don't sell. I'll spend $300 more than I'm out now. My electric rate is $.07/kwh, so the electric savings is minimal. I'll save about 75 watts/hour over the grow, or about 11 bucks over the crop.

I get that COBs are better. But they are pretty expensive to get that better. I'm gonna see what the higrows will do. The reviews by the actual users on Amazon remain more positive than the reviews by the non-users here, and my past results were quite successful as far as they went. I remain cautious about what the budding will be like, but we'll get that knowledge soon.

probabaly you could use 200w of cobs and yield 1.5 grams per watt and save on power and still yield more.are you saying if ya havest 10 oz ya cant just skip a cycle for even more savings?

 

[MW7945]

probabaly you could use 200w of cobs and yield 1.5 grams per watt and save on power and still yield more.are you saying if ya havest 10 oz ya cant just skip a cycle for even more savings?

This is exactly what I was going to say. No way you'd have to spend $579 to get the same and/or better yields.

 

[OldManRiver]

probabaly you could use 200w of cobs and yield 1.5 grams per watt and save on power and still yield more.are you saying if ya havest 10 oz ya cant just skip a cycle for even more savings?

But I LIKE growing pot. Its one of my favorite hobbies. I just don't need to grow mountains.

Really, at the end of the day, its angels dancing on the head of a pin. I'm trying to reconcile the reviews of over 50 users on Amazon, with actual experience with the lights, with the opinions here, which, to be blunt, seem largely experience free as reagrds to the current crop of available lights. I think the only resolution is to complete my grow, and get actual experience. I may be a timber lights customer in 4 months.