Wanted PAR meter on the cheap

[Dixi Normous]

Cant justify $1000 on an apogee PAR meter .. am wonder is there a decent meter that will tell me if some LED (SF-4000) are doing what there suppose to ? TIA

 

[TripsRabbit]

Arduino Core

Explore the full range of official Arduino products including Boards, Modules, Shields and Kits, for all ability levels and use cases.

store.arduino.cc

 

[TripsRabbit]

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[Dixi Normous]

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Thats ingenious .. THANKS for the link mate !!

 

[Grownsince95]

just ordered this cheap one...taking a chance because I cant afford an apogee either lol

 

[JWM2]

You don’t need a PAR meter to do what you’re asking. A cheap $30-35 lux meter will suffice. Here’s a little chart you can use to check light intensity.

 

[Grownsince95]

You don’t need a PAR meter to do what you’re asking. A cheap $30-35 lux meter will suffice. Here’s a little chart you can use to check light intensity.

lux is a measure of visible light to humans. PAR is light useable by plants. a 100w incandescent bulb will give you 25,000 lux 12 inches away no prob, doesn't mean its a great for spectrum for growing plants. Also, lux meters can't do blurple lights, par meters can.

That being said, if you know your light's spectrum and trust the manufacturer lux is a good approximation. But unless your fixture is throwing out a lot of "white" light, lux meters will be waaaaaay off.

 

[Grownsince95]

Cant justify $1000 on an apogee PAR meter .. am wonder is there a decent meter that will tell me if some LED (SF-4000) are doing what there suppose to ? TIA

when mine arrives I'm going to do a thorough check on my SF lights, will def let you know!

 

[Dixi Normous]

NOICE ... lets us know what you think of it if you get a chance pls TIA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JRPQ4L6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Dixi Normous]

when mine arrives I'm going to do a thorough check on my SF lights, will def let you know!

Look forward to it .. SF4000 ?

 

[Dixi Normous]

lux is a measure of visible light to humans. PAR is light useable by plants. a 100w incandescent bulb will give you 25,000 lux 12 inches away no prob, doesn't mean its a great for spectrum for growing plants. Also, lux meters can't do blurple lights, par meters can.

That being said, if you know your light's spectrum and trust the manufacturer lux is a good approximation. But unless your fixture is throwing out a lot of "white" light, lux meters will be waaaaaay off.

THANKS .. good to know

 

[Madmax]

Follow what JWM2 put up and youre good..got my cheap lux meter coming .if you do purchase one make sure it measures to 100,000.

 

[Flexnerb]

Cant justify $1000 on an apogee PAR meter .. am wonder is there a decent meter that will tell me if some LED (SF-4000) are doing what there suppose to ? TIA

Loaf it off amazon...

Buy it, use it, then send it back....lol

 

[Milson]

PAR is only really necessary if you are comparing lights/doing science. If you are just gardening with one light with one spectrum, you can use a lux meter and just watch your plants. PAR to lux is a conversion with a multiplier....point being for one spectrum there is no operative difference. The measurement's value is in comparing intensities between spectra.

So for instance, I am comfortable with my lights now so I can use my light meter and set my lights to get a lux measurement of say 45k at canopy level for flower and I know my plants react fine to that. If they don't, then I turn them down. whether I am measuring in lux or PAR at that point is basically irrelevant. I can check the new lux reading and see how my plants like that. Etc. This does mean i would need to recalibrate for new lights, but I mean again I am not doing science I just watch the plants anyway since they are more accurate to their needs than my meter and the internet....

So long as the lux meter is not trash (goes up above 60k, reasonably precise....i recommend a separate meter and not using your phone unless you know your phone is good for it), it should be fine.

 

[Flexnerb]

You arent hoing to find any par meter under 500 thats worth a damn...that link i posted very cool stuff....cct of 100,000 kelvin...wtf? Its range gor cct is 1,000 to 100,000K...fucking crazy i didnt see a cri in the spec charts...but i think thats just for leds. You might want to look into an LED specific..

This isnt what your looking for...this is gor die hard farmers. Gives you an idea though

Cant justify $1000 on an apogee PAR meter .. am wonder is there a decent meter that will tell me if some LED (SF-4000) are doing what there suppose to ? TIA

 

[skaterdude]

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I looked at the spec sheet for the sensor in that build. It uses the "original" SQ-225 sensor that cuts off on the red and blue ends, so it's not going to give you an accurate reading if you're using LEDs. Check out the Spectral Error table on the spec sheet. The SQ-500 series (which is about double the price) does far better than the SQ-100/200 series (the one for $200).

https://www.apogeeinstruments.com/content/SQ-100-200-300-spec-sheet.pdf

 

[Grownsince95]

So my little cheapo PAR meter came and it seems to work just fine.
❤❤