Boss's light test. LEDvsHIDvs Maybe Bad boy.

[true grit]

Boss- Ive checked pics here and there, but went back and read it all just now-wow bro, GREAT thread!! I'm very excited to see ya do something similar on the second run. I agree with LEDgirl in that im sure there is a learning curve the first run....but even so great job with all of them. I have to say the BadBoy is very impressive, would be interesting to see how it does with teh flower spectrum bulbs in all of flower! Overall I have to say, looks like the HID and T5s took it in flower, you can see the density already and if its an 8wk strain thats gonna be some hella stacking this last week of flush for the leds. Also looks like the BadBoy is gonna yield a good bit more....is this from the training/screen of more light to the budsites? Great job again bro!!

LEDgirl- is there a comparable LED to a 600? Maybe that would be a more realistic test for growers. I too would never touch a 400w, don't dig 600s but do use them for their efficiency (heat and lumen flux) in my test tent.... never get the same yield or nugs as i do under 1ks with the same plant tho. Just curious cuz maybe Boss could do a 600w hid vs. bad boy vs. a comparable LED? Sounds like a more realistic grow scenario for a 4x4 or so which is the minimum someone such as myself would utilize it in....


Lost- think it just depends on your level of growing to be honest. If you are in a place where electricity consumption is an issue, you need to be stealth, and if so probably won't be using much more than a closet for personal- this to me sounds like a great investment for the peace of mind. I personally am too cheap to invest in digi ballasts, let alone ballasts over $200, so these are well out of my price range. Again imo sure they would be great for someone working a good 3x3.... out the box though most people growing in closets can barely afford floros...at least that was my case. Again if you go big, these to me are way outta the question. The way my plants get light it would cost me about $20k in leds to match it. At that point no electrical savings can make up for that cost. We can talk 5-6 years down the road but this is the mmj business... some killer vert LEDs with mad penetration and less than $600-$800...i would be all over it just to not run ac all day. LOL. Problem is in vert, i dont see using less than 4' centers.....

The results have been very impressive to me to say the least for LEDs, ive had very little faith in led grow panels, but after seeing the buds in some of these grows (nice job Bossman!!!) i would definitely suggest them to a person growing their own meds who has expendable income. I wouldn't say its only good for veg, but bet it did rock for it (boss- did the 400w have a mh or hps?). Problem is my t5s only cost $150-200. I think as the technology advances and prices become more reasonable, people will most definitely consider these more. Ive had some friends inquire, but when they saw prices they opted for mag and digis. They look at cheap ones, but then again with LEDgirl side by sides, i tell them to either save up do it right or just go hid.

 

[MediMary]

ok
Ledgirl would you be so kind as to do the math for us(and show ur work) = )

a 345watt led costs $1,150.00
http://www.hydrogrowled.com/345W-Penetrator-LED-Grow-Light-P46C7.aspx


a 600watt hps(bulb ballast reflector costs $229.00)



the 600 watt will need an ac to cool the room, the growers on here go between 4k btu or 5k btu per thousand watt, so 3k btu should be sufficient.

How long in years before the led pays for itself compared to the HID?
taking into consideration the ac requirements the hid requires.

 

[true grit]

Our 345W is our 600W HID comparable light for flowering. For veg it will smash a 600W. It also supports a full 3x3 footprint. If Boss has a 600W HID that he'd like to use for the next run, and is willing to send the 205W back to trade up, I could possibly offer a 345W for his next round of side-by-sides. PM me if interested Bossman.

Sounds great LEDgirl, boss you gotta 600w laying around? I'd love to see ya work another round like this with the 345w! Herbs grow will probably kill it then...he kills in tents...period. Should be fun.

ok
Ledgirl would you be so kind as to do the math for us(and show ur work) = )

a 345watt led costs $1,150.00
http://www.hydrogrowled.com/345W-Penetrator-LED-Grow-Light-P46C7.aspx


a 600watt hps(bulb ballast reflector costs $229.00)



the 600 watt will need an ac to cool the room, the growers on here go between 4k btu or 5k btu per thousand watt, so 3k btu should be sufficient.

How long in years before the led pays for itself compared to the HID?
taking into consideration the ac requirements the hid requires.

Will be an interesting comparison and very tough to compare due to varying electricity costs. It may cost me $500 to run 6k where it takes someone elsewhere around $1k for the same set up. AC will vary on how your lights are ducted and how cool you keep your room (i can run 6k ducted at 82-85 no ac if ducted right). Don't really think there can be a really good subjective side by side there....if you are looking long term comparison i would think it more so breaks down to how big you are going to go and long you will be at that level. If you are going large commercial, hid's, turnover, yield, etc will be hard to beat for the cost. For a closet/tent grow, numbers might be a good deal closer depending on yield....

 

[MediMary]

ok lets go with a .15$ KWH
thats kinda in the middle for the 50 states

 

[true grit]

You'd probably have to supply all the variable individually.... as in theres no way to do a direct comparison. Theres no general idea how much running your ac will cost, or how much it will run, or efficiency. The lights you can calculate by kwh used though, thats totally doable...not by me though. I quit math. haha. But a comparable breakdown of electricity consumed, time used and cost can be calculated for both the hid and led fa sho...

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

The Hid did have a MH bulb for veg.
And the 400 watt that I used for flower is actually a dimable 600 watt quantum.
So I will do the swap with Led girl.

Thanks for all the good words peep's.

 

[Lost]

The Hid did have a MH bulb for veg.
And the 400 watt that I used for flower is actually a dimable 600 watt quantum.
So I will do the swap with Led girl.

Thanks for all the good words peep's.

NICE!!! I think you should still do MH/HPS, as thats how most people run them. I run HPS in veg and im moving away from it. I actually got t-5's after seeing your sucess!

 

[Pandaman]

Still think that you did an excellent journal on this one Boss :-). I'll be following your posts as you post them regardless of the end result.

Don't know if it helps but I got a GDP clone at Progressive Options in May. My grow skills are still novice but it was a great smoke. Don't know what "Cut" it was tho...

One thing I noticed with LED's is that since the plants are shorter (mine<---), they have a harder time supporting the weight of the flowers that are getting fatter and fatter. I didn't use stakes until I saw my plants (5 weeks into flower) topple from the sheer weight of the flowers themselves. My plants are 14" to 18" (Micro grow - flipped at 1 week) with incredibly tight node spacing. Smaller plants = More weight on thinner branches. That's one thing about LED's.

I think that people that try LED's need to consider using an added defense to bugs too. I noticed that with HID's, you get a small defense from the heat that comes off the glass. Most insects (flying mostly), cannot enter an area that is too high/low in temperature. Something like a +/- 10deg difference and some insects will avoid it. I think stores that have that air conditioner right inside the door. You know, the one that blows straight down on your head. I heard that it is used to shock insects (mostly flies) and make them fly away from it.

With temperature not being a prob, I think I have (Imo) inadvertently let some new insects into my grow area because it was a compatible environment for them. I now do regular sprays and bombings that I did not have to do with HID's.

Just my 2c.

Sorry for long post.

Peace.

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

Hello peep's.
So monday I go in the garden and while tending the lite test girls. I noticed that they looked awfully finished.
So went back and rechecked my notes. Long story short I lost a weak somewhere. So I have been grooming.
I will be finished grooming today. And there is already huge noticable difference's.
So let start off with the obvious. The Scrog training did not work out very well. Also in trying to keep feeds the same I had some nute issue's. The next run I will listen to the girls. And treat them as individuals.
So I know the yeilds where drastically affected.
But all testers had the same issues. So to me the results are still valid.

So my thoughts as of now.
The Led has some serious potential and for a small closet or cabinet grow's they would be great.
Also IMO only one girl spread out wide would be optimal for the 30 inch coverage.

The girls from the HID will be groomed toay. Though it is clear it out yeilded the Led. But got wooped by the Bad boy.

So for any grow with the room for a Bad boy and an AC.
The the Bad boy is awesome!!
I expect it to out yeild my latest GDP's that were under a 1000 watt. 1 plant from under the Bad boy yeilded more (wet of course) then all 3 Led's.

I believe the Led's suffered from too many girls under it.
So for the next run It will be 1 girl per lite. And I will improve on the scrogging. Now I feel challenged to pull a good yeild from the Led. So it is still on.


Pics 1 to 4 Led.
Pics 5 to 8 Bad boy.
Pics 9,10,11 HID.
missing one hid girl. Will get pics when I pull her out the room. She is the last one in there.

Round 2 will not be posted on the Farm untill completed. I will post it on another Forum. And when the test is completed I will do a journal here.

 

[TrichromeFan]

Awesome test there, Bossman! I would love to see the bad boy final comparison as well.
So.... Where might some adventurous devil like myself find the play by play on the next test? You can PM me with that if you like. Thanks man, for your LED testing and your MPB adventures as well. Keep on with the good work.

-TF

 

[budbrothers]

very cool. i especially liked the civil war party. No Comment on that .

good to hear they are ready. IMO i think the hid pix look better . just my opinion. quality not quantity. funny that's what i say about titties too. lol

 

[captaintrips]

I am very interested in seeing the details and finished buds of each so I can decide on what lights I might use in the future.........

 

[Lost]

Another well written and informative journal Boss, good job!

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

Looks good Bossman. I love your reviews. can't wait for your next test.

On and it says that Pics 1-4 are LED and Pics 5-8 are LED. Don't know which one is the BADBOY

Thanks bro,
I fixed the pics.

Awesome test there, Bossman! I would love to see the bad boy final comparison as well.
So.... Where might some adventurous devil like myself find the play by play on the next test? You can PM me with that if you like. Thanks man, for your LED testing and your MPB adventures as well. Keep on with the good work.

-TF

Thanks trichome,
I am still searching for a new forum. I will send you PM as soon as I find a home.lol

very cool. i especially liked the civil war party. No Comment on that .

good to hear they are ready. IMO i think the hid pix look better . just my opinion. quality not quantity. funny that's what i say about titties too. lol

The Hid pics dont do total justice. The Bad boy has more trichs. And also a better smell then the others.

I am very interested in seeing the details and finished buds of each so I can decide on what lights I might use in the future.........

It truly depend on what size garden you want.
For a cab or closet grow the Led would be really sweet.
For any good size grow then the Bad boy or Hid is the way to go.
The Bad boy has really impressed me. It yeilded just as much per girl as a 1000 watt. Under a 1000 watt the last few runs my GDP was only giving 1 z per girl.
Under the Bad boy it was 1.5 z per girls.
Also the Bad boy has great coverage. I can fit 8 girls under it. And if done right. I think a P would be easily reachable.

Another well written and informative journal Boss, good job!

Thanks bro,
You called it way back in the begining.
The Bad boy stole the show.

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

Alrighty.
It has been dryer then frick.
I have actually been running AC to slow the drying down.
This is what they weighed as they went into cure.
LED 52 g's.
Hid 76 g's
Bad boy 124 g's.


Pic 1 and 2. Left Bad boy and right Led.
Pic 3 and 4 Left Bad boy and right HID.
Pic 5 HID.

Pic 6 and 7 Bad boy.
Pic 8 and 9 Led
Pic 10 and 11 HID.

 

[BOSSMAN88188]

I will come back and do a smoke report. After Cure.

 

[MediMary]

Damn!!! Badboy=Badass
Great test Bossman!!!

 

[MediMary]

For some reason I think the Bad boy is going to outproduce the others. I think it will be really close with the HID and badboy. I think the LEDS will veg awesome and putter out in flower.

Anyone else got some predictions they wanna set down? It could be fun to see how many of us eat our words, lol :)

On the Money!

 

[budbrothers]

is it me or is the HID have the smallest buds too???

 

[Lost]

Damn, that bad boy did awesome! Thanks Boss.