Question about lighting cycles

[maximusluminous]

I agree led can be more efficient. And the spectrums available now are much better. But your numbers argued are quite inflated for me. I pay .11 on average for electric and horty 600’s cost $65 shipped and last a good 10 months before i see any degradation.

Also i got 2 new solis tech balasts for only $210 shipped so im going on 6 years and i still couldnt pay for a top of the line led with the money spent.

And i might need a heater in winter during lights on with them in my cold room so they would actually be less efficient then.


Best tool for the cost and the job is a better way to look at this.

Also no one talks about diode failure. There is a lot of it put there.


Just some counter points i think are important.

I pay like .13 for electricity so more than you pay

You can not get the horti's at any local shop in my area for under $100, reg price is $130 I do believe but I do know they can be found for $65 ish on amazon which is less than local shops in my area have to pay for them, no kidding! And I learned years ago that 2x per year changes give me a better yearly yield, meters show a huge fall off after 4-6 months of usage depending on how much vegging is done under them & I change em soon after that! a 1000 HID costs me basically $50 per month to run on 12/12, 640 watts of LED basically costs me $35 per mo on 12/12.

 

[MIMedGrower]

I pay like .13 for electricity so more than you pay

You can not get the horti's at any local shop in my area for under $100, reg price is $130 I do believe but I do know they can be found for $65 ish on amazon which is less than local shops in my area have to pay for them, no kidding! And I learned years ago that 2x per year changes give me a better yearly yield, meters show a huge fall off after 4-6 months of usage depending on how much vegging is done under them & I change em soon after that! a 1000 HID costs me basically $50 per month to run on 12/12, 640 watts of LED basically costs me $35 per mo on 12/12.

Point was needs can be different.

Plantlightinghydroponics has the best price on hortilux and can be trusted.

And i only run the bulbs 12/12. So our estimates match.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I agree led can be more efficient. And the spectrums available now are much better. But your numbers argued are quite inflated for me. I pay .11 on average for electric and horty 600’s cost $65 shipped and last a good 10 months before i see any degradation.

Also i got 2 new solis tech balasts for only $210 shipped so im going on 6 years and i still couldnt pay for a top of the line led with the money spent.

And i might need a heater in winter during lights on with them in my cold room so they would actually be less efficient then.


Best tool for the cost and the job is a better way to look at this.

Also no one talks about diode failure. There is a lot of it put there.


Just some counter points i think are important.

Diodes are replaceable ... but only if you have a source for a replacement diode. For the Samsung chip, you could probably find it. However, this usually requires some knowledge and some skills to replace. I "could do it." Would I? Probably not. I would more than likely look at the time it would be down if I did it ... and simply order a replacement panel.

I also agree that what is "best" for one person might not be "best" for another. I have LED lighting in my basement and it seems to be a fight to keep temperatures up without a heater. I've been running a 200w desktop heater and 24hr light to keep it warm. I will have to upgrade the heater to change to 18/6 light schedule.

Valid points MiMedGrower ...

 

[MIMedGrower]

Diodes are replaceable ... but only if you have a source for a replacement diode. For the Samsung chip, you could probably find it. However, this usually requires some knowledge and some skills to replace. I "could do it." Would I? Probably not. I would more than likely look at the time it would be down if I did it ... and simply order a replacement panel.

I also agree that what is "best" for one person might not be "best" for another. I have LED lighting in my basement and it seems to be a fight to keep temperatures up without a heater. I've been running a 200w desktop heater and 24hr light to keep it warm. I will have to upgrade the heater to change to 18/6 light schedule.

Valid points MiMedGrower ...

I may run led in the summer and hid in winter at some point. I would build or buy a strip light from the info i see now. I was set on cobs but led is improving too fast to decide.

 

[maximusluminous]

Diodes are replaceable ... but only if you have a source for a replacement diode. For the Samsung chip, you could probably find it. However, this usually requires some knowledge and some skills to replace. I "could do it." Would I? Probably not. I would more than likely look at the time it would be down if I did it ... and simply order a replacement panel.

I also agree that what is "best" for one person might not be "best" for another. I have LED lighting in my basement and it seems to be a fight to keep temperatures up without a heater. I've been running a 200w desktop heater and 24hr light to keep it warm. I will have to upgrade the heater to change to 18/6 light schedule.

Valid points MiMedGrower ...

If you have to run a heater to keep temps up (which I do not doubt) then didn't you really need to run it after lights out anyway regardless of what light you use? How was your lights off time not too cold for plants to do their best in? I keep my night time real close to 70 & plants sure like that a lot more than say the 58 degrees that any basement I had got down to unless it was heated. My led's have no problem raising the ambient temps 12-13 degrees & if starting at 70 degrees that puts me in the sweet spot for LED's & after a while I need exhaust or it starts getting too hot & humid in there.

And I agree not everything is great for everyone but what about the saying "whats good for the goose is good for the gander", have I been lied too? lol

 

[maximusluminous]

I may run led in the summer and hid in winter at some point. I would build or buy a strip light from the info i see now. I was set on cobs but led is improving too fast to decide.

You know cobs are just regular led's packed tightly together right? terrible heat dispersion, having a bunch of leds in a 1" circle is in no way better than say the same amount of LED's spread out over a 5-6" circle or down a strip, heat kills LED's efficiency & cobs are really LED's & get hotter than spread out LED's & have less light spread since they are packed in a small spot. + you can mix spectrums with LED builds in the same board or strip but you can't with cobs. Cobs are way outdated now days!

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

If you have to run a heater to keep temps up (which I do not doubt) then didn't you really need to run it after lights out anyway regardless of what light you use? How was your lights off time not too cold for plants to do their best in? I keep my night time real close to 70 & plants sure like that a lot more than say the 58 degrees that any basement I had got down to unless it was heated. My led's have no problem raising the ambient temps 12-13 degrees & if starting at 70 degrees that puts me in the sweet spot for LED's & after a while I need exhaust or it starts getting too hot & humid in there.

And I agree not everything is great for everyone but what about the saying "whats good for the goose is good for the gander", have I been lied too? lol

My basement is heated. It's a finished basement. My plants are in the utility area, and that part is not heated and that is why it's a bit cold.

I'm running a small portion of my lighting right now for seedlings. Otherwise I probably would not need the heat on 24/7. It would only need to be on during lights out time. 58-60 is pretty normal winter temperature for my basement. Summer is better temp-wise with low temps staying 68-70.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

You know cobs are just regular led's packed tightly together right? terrible heat dispersion, having a bunch of leds in a 1" circle is in no way better than say the same amount of LED's spread out over a 5-6" circle or down a strip, heat kills LED's efficiency & cobs are really LED's & get hotter than spread out LED's & have less light spread since they are packed in a small spot. + you can mix spectrums with LED builds in the same board or strip but you can't with cobs. Cobs are way outdated now days!

But you can mix cobs ... which I have done. My plants seem to love my cobs so far.

 

[maximusluminous]

But you can mix cobs ... which I have done. My plants seem to love my cobs so far.

sure, but what 660nm cobs are there? You can mix color temps but not specific NM & 660Nm is very important! and a 660nm cob would not do so good, the colors need mixed better than what a cob could do

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

sure, but what 660nm cobs are there? You can mix color temps but not specific NM & 660Nm is very important!

You can get 660nm cobs right here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/323746059552

I haven't bought any yet. My cob light has a mix of 390nm-720nm burple style cobs and some 2700k and 6500k mixed to bring out white light.

 

[MIMedGrower]

You know cobs are just regular led's packed tightly together right? terrible heat dispersion, having a bunch of leds in a 1" circle is in no way better than say the same amount of LED's spread out over a 5-6" circle or down a strip, heat kills LED's efficiency & cobs are really LED's & get hotter than spread out LED's & have less light spread since they are packed in a small spot. + you can mix spectrums with LED builds in the same board or strip but you can't with cobs. Cobs are way outdated now days!

For efficiency they lose out to the newest stuff but the cob grows i have seen are much more suited to the way i like to grow bushes. More power and penetration each and can spread them out for coverage. I dont like the framed too small fixtures.

I think pucks may be the compromise?

 

[maximusluminous]

But you can mix cobs ... which I have done. My plants seem to love my cobs so far.

I have watched side by side grows with 3000k LED's only & the other with the same 3000k LED's but with 16 of the 3000k LED's swapped with 16 660nm reds & the side with the red wins hands down every time, more even canopy, longer lower branches that turn into colas. You have to run about 5-10% 660nm with whites to see the best results!

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

For efficiency they lose out to the newest stuff but the cob grows i have seen are much more suited to the way i like to grow bushes. More power and penetration each and can spread them out for coverage. I dont like the framed too small fixtures.

I think pucks may be the compromise?

They are easy to work with. You can put them in a frame or hang them individually. It all depends on how you decide to build your light. My cobs are 50w from the wall. Using active cooling, I can put up to 3 cobs on each of the heat-sinks I bought. Without a fan, you would be limited to 1.

 

[maximusluminous]

You can get 660nm cobs right here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/323746059552

I haven't bought any yet. My cob light has a mix of 390nm-720nm burple style cobs and some 2700k and 6500k mixed to bring out white light.

Ok I had no idea you were using that old of tech.. stick with what you are doing, but understand that stuff is seriously junk compared to other LED options there are now days, just telling you the facts, if you think you are doing great with cobs like that then you have seen nothing! Strip builds can hit 2.70 umols/j those blurple cobs are prolly 1.80 umols/j which is terrible & not very efficient at all but better than HPS in efficiency. The best of the best LED's (Samsung LM301B diodes) are worlds better man!

 

[MIMedGrower]

I have watched side by side grows with 3000k LED's only & the other with the same 3000k LED's but with 16 of the 3000k LED's swapped with 16 660nm reds & the side with the red wins hands down every time, more even canopy, longer lower branches that turn into colas. You have to run about 5-10% 660nm with whites to see the best results!

Lol. Or just use good ol hps. :-)

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Ok I had no idea you were using that old of tech.. stick with what you are doing, but understand that stuff is seriously junk compared to other LED options there are now days, just telling you the facts, if you think you are doing great with cobs like that then you have seen nothing! Strip builds can hit 2.70 umols/j those blurple cobs are prolly 1.80 umols/j which is terrible & not very efficient at all but better than HPS in efficiency. The best of the best LED's (Samsung Lm316c diodes) are worlds better man!

I have quantum board lighting too. I will be using that once I get through early seedling stage. If I wanted to ... I could turn on 1900w of LEDs in my 5 x 5. Cob light gets turned off once my plants are big enough to up the light intensity. I'll be using 1100 watts of panel style lighting then.

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

Lol. Or just use good ol hps. :-)

You could add blue, and deep blue LEDs to your grow area and run them right along side your HPS if you wanted to balance your spectrum a bit.

 

[maximusluminous]

I have quantum board lighting too. I will be using that once I get through early seedling stage. If I wanted to ... I could turn on 1900w of LEDs in my 5 x 5. Cob light gets turned off once my plants are big enough to up the light intensity. I'll be using 1100 watts of panel style lighting then.

I have HLG quantum boards & in a 5x5 there is no way I could give them anything over 800 watts without frying the plants even with the led's 4' above the plants & even 800 is way pushing it.. with co2 that would be a different story, plants under normal co2 conditions can not process more than 1100 PPFD & anything over that just hurts the plants

 

[maximusluminous]

Lol. Or just use good ol hps. :-)

and get less product at more cost to run.. no thanks been there for 20 years & I have learned better now!

 

[MIGrampaUSA]

I have HLG quantum boards & in a 5x5 there is no way I could give them anything over 800 watts without frying the plants even with the led's 4' above the plants & even 800 is way pushing it.. with co2 that would be a different story, plants under normal co2 conditions can not process more than 1100 PPFD & anything over that just hurts the plants

Dimmers my friend. That's how you keep from frying those plants. I agree that I have more lighting than I need, but dimmers make your argument .... not really something to argue about. lol.