Rootsruler running the ViparSpectra XS1500Pro light in a 2x2

[RootsRuler]

Look what showed up at my door!!! Buhahahaha!!

Got her in the house and opened the box to find the light ViparSpectra had graciously sent me that I had won in a raffle.

Double Boxed for added protection. Already liking what I'm seeing.

Inner box was well packaged for the trip.

Upon first inspection I noticed the LED panels were covered with what looks like a protective coating. Love it!!

Ballast/Driver looks pretty sturdy. Kudos for using the water tight connection on the power cable to the panel.

Daisy Chain switch to activate multiple panel setups. There is a RJ-12(?) input and output to daisy chain multiple panels next to the driver.

Acessories that came with the light:

Metal Hangers, Rope Ratchets and RJ-12 cable for multi panel installs. The rope ratchets had metal gears instead of the cheap plastic ones. Nice touch ViparSpectra.

I setup the 2 x 2 tent I received in the mail to run the light and hung the it. I had some plants indoors that I'm going to use as mothers but will not be used in this diary. I placed them there so you get an idea of what it looks like with plants in the tent. The plants I'm going to use are outside so I sprayed them down with some insecticide and have them in quarantine for a few days to make sure no unwanted hitchhikers come with them. Once they're in the tent I'm going to go ahead and start flowering them as they've already started to flower outside so I won't be able to go from veg to finish but from the looks of it this light is much more powerful than I thought it would be so veg is no problem for this light. We'll see how it does in flower once I get the girls out of quarantine but I don't see any issues. Still waiting for the fan to show up but lung room is keeping temp and humidity within a decent range for now.

 

[MDK]

Setting up a little clone space for myself I damn near bought this light today. Ended up grabbing a spider farmer 1000 quantum board style with the 301b diodes for 80...man i really do wanna try a viparspectra light tho

 

[RootsRuler]

Setting up a little clone space for myself I damn near bought this light today. Ended up grabbing a spider farmer 1000 quantum board style with the 301b diodes for 80...man i really do wanna try a viparspectra light tho

Looks like ViparSpectra is stepping up their game. The light looks to be well built. The only initial complaint that I could make is on the dimmer switch as I like a rotary switch and this one is stepped 5%-25%-50%-75%-100% so I needed to set it to the closest I could to the ppfd I'm looking for and raise or lower it to hit my mark. Not a big deal but maybe ViparSpectra could replace the stepped switch with a rotary one. It may have something to do with the design of the driver but, honestly, I'm just nitpicking.

 

[Observationist]

Looks like ViparSpectra is stepping up their game. The light looks to be well built. The only initial complaint that I could make is on the dimmer switch as I like a rotary switch and this one is stepped 5%-25%-50%-75%-100% so I needed to set it to the closest I could to the ppfd I'm looking for and raise or lower it to hit my mark. Not a big deal but maybe ViparSpectra could replace the stepped switch with a rotary one. It may have something to do with the design if the driver but, honestly, I'm just nitpicking.

That was really my only "problem" with it too.

Otherwise...it seems pretty solid, have you seen the blue plug on the driver?

You can tune the voltage too, but they recommend don't, probably warranty /safety related.

 

[RootsRuler]

That was really my only "problem" with it too.

Otherwise...it seems pretty solid, have you seen the blue plug on the driver?

You can tune the voltage too, but they recommend don't, probably warranty /safety related.

Yeah! I saw that and was wondering what it was but I'm going to leave it alone and see how it does on the standard factory setting.

 

[Observationist]

Yeah! I saw that and was wondering what it was but I'm going to leave it alone and see how it does on the standard factory setting.

I turned my down, factory was a half turn right.

 

[MDK]

I turned my down, factory was a half turn right.

Why would you do this just curious? Finer tuning or less power consumption?

 

[Observationist]

Why would you do this just curious? Finer tuning or less power consumption?

For now, want to see it at its bare minimum and work it up, and it's there if I need the extra power/intensity.

also, those 281b diodes run more efficiently or so on lower current.

 

[Observationist]

Why would you do this just curious? Finer tuning or less power consumption?

I'm checking it over with a PPFD app, turning it back up a little. PPFD was low . Like 30-50ppfd at 25% around 2 1/2 feet with the voltage all the way down.

 

[ViparSpectra]

Woohoo! Thanks for showing the XS1500 PRO review nicely and glad you like it! It is a perfect setup! Look forward to seeing how the plants bloom under the XS1500 PRO after they come out of the quarantine zone!

Also, thanks for the suggestions on the dimmer! We will keep it as an improvement point in the future. Happy growing!

 

[RootsRuler]

Woohoo! Thanks for showing the XS1500 PRO review nicely and glad you like it! It is a perfect setup! Look forward to seeing how the plants bloom under the XS1500 PRO after they come out of the quarantine zone!

Also, thanks for the suggestions on the dimmer! We will keep it as an improvement point in the future. Happy growing!

I have no doubt that "bountiful" will be a word that I'll be using often in this diary!!!

Preliminary observation.....this light runs cool for the light it puts out. I can see why they've included daisy chaining in the build. The instruction manual that came with the light has PPFD readings for single and multi panel installations but I can see this panel working well in both small and large tent configurations. I may need a small heater to keep temp up or raise the light and have to go to a higher setting to keep the plants warmer. I took the 6" air circulator I had in the 5 x 5 and used it as a temporary fan to remove humidity and, what I thought was going to be a problem in such a confined space, heat. Humidity rose but heat did not. Lung room temp is 69* currently. Tent temp is 70*. I may cancel the 4" fan order I have and just leave the circulator. Gives me an excuse to order the ACI 6" oscillating air circulator for the 5 x 5!

Impressive!

 

[ViparSpectra]

The upgraded heatsink can dissipate heat quickly and nicely. It is a great idea to add a heater to keep the temp and an air circulator. As the weather warms up, I think the tent temperature will also rise.

 

[SSgrower]

That was really my only "problem" with it too.

Otherwise...it seems pretty solid, have you seen the blue plug on the driver?

You can tune the voltage too, but they recommend don't, probably warranty /safety related.

Overclocking a PC & a led driver are not the same I'd bet. I'd also get the 4" inline fan for "Negative Pressure" to help with vpd or Vapor Pressure Deficit. The environment as a whole should be "Controlled" including the "lung" room.0.8 to 0.9 kPa is ideal and we should all shoot for this in our grow spaces. SSgrower

 

[Observationist]

Overclocking a PC & a led driver are not the same I'd bet. SSgrower

Oh I agree.

As I've done that too lol

 

[RootsRuler]

Overclocking a PC & a led driver are not the same I'd bet. I'd also get the 4" inline fan for "Negative Pressure" to help with vpd or Vapor Pressure Deficit. The environment as a whole should be "Controlled" including the "lung" room.0.8 to 0.9 kPa is ideal and we should all shoot for this in our grow spaces. SSgrower

One thing I do is play with VPD when I want to "push" the girls a little. I would agree in general that .8 - .9 is a good average spot to sit at but within the stages of growth ideal VPD can vary as low as .50 at seedling to 1.5 in late flower.

 

[RootsRuler]

The girls are out of quarantine and have been placed in their new home!! I turned up the lux so now the tent stays at around 75* - 76*. The humidifier I have is too big for the tent so I may just not use it although I would like to keep it around 60% for now so I need to try and figure out how to do that without having to manually turn it on and off when it goes out of range.

 

[ViparSpectra]

Welcome to new home, lol~ What strains are they?

 

[RootsRuler]

Welcome to new home, lol~ What strains are they?

I decided something more compact so the Florida Strawberry. Indica dominant.

 

[Zen_Seeker]

Overclocking a PC & a led driver are not the same I'd bet. I'd also get the 4" inline fan for "Negative Pressure" to help with vpd or Vapor Pressure Deficit. The environment as a whole should be "Controlled" including the "lung" room.0.8 to 0.9 kPa is ideal and we should all shoot for this in our grow spaces. SSgrower

I went 6” booster for intake and 6” in-line for exhaust fan. Rarely need to turn up intake and it was $10 more.

 

[RootsRuler]

I went 6” booster for intake and 6” in-line for exhaust fan. Rarely need to turn up intake and it was $10 more.

I have a 6" air circulator fan to move air out of the tent. It was supposed to be temporary but it seems to be working fine. The light seems to dissipate heat pretty efficiently.