Best lighting options for a single plant

SadBadGrower · Jan 28, 2020

BigCube said:
The cost of a 400w digital ballast with a dimmer and bulb, and a 240w quantum board are about the same.

The HID will need regular bulb replacements, will cost twice as much to run, will produce 2 - 3 times the heat, and will be a single hard fixed point of light .

I have 2x240w (480w total) of quantum boards in a 3x3 tent. The temperature only goes up 2 degrees.

I get +7f with drivers in the tent and +2 degrees but its around 1.75F with the drivers outside the tent. I keep mine in the tent during the winter then remove them in the summer.

BigCube · Jan 28, 2020

HeLLfiReZ said:
Pretty much this. I myself wouldn't mind running leds but what i want is 5k. For now i run old 1000 watt magnetic ballasts. After 15 years they still work great. Still consistently giving over 2lb a bulb. For veg i use 400watt mh fixtures i bought for 20 bux a piece.

I doubt any leds last that long, time will tell i guess.

How long does a bulb last you?
Led fixtures come in 5k.

2 bulb replacements buys you an led fixture.

I can get a pound out of 1 led fixture that runs under 300w

2 lb under 1000w is less than 1g a watt.
I get at least 1.5g a watt from screw in led bulbs from the dollar store.... not kidding.

HeLLfiReZ · Jan 28, 2020

BigCube said:
How long does a bulb last you?
Led fixtures come in 5k.

2 bulb replacements buys you an led fixture.

I can get a pound out of 1 led fixture that runs under 300w

2 lb under 1000w is less than 1g a watt.
I get at least 1.5g a watt from screw in led bulbs from the dollar store.... not kidding.

I'm not looking for 5k spectrum. I'm saying what I'm looking for in a led setup is going to run me $5000. I know that led work just as well as hid. I'm just saying there lifespan is not yet proven. I don't know anyone that has 50k hours on one yet do you? 2.5lb off 15 year old magnetic ballasts is pretty decent as they lose efficiency over the years. I'm not bashing led lights, I'm just saying cost wise for my needs is out of reach for me atm.

At some point I will pull the trigger on them. But I don't feel like it's gospel. Especially if your just getting your feet wet again, and can pickup old hid lights for peanuts to get up and running. If I can get a 1kwatt light setup for 100bux used vs paying 1200 for a hlg550v2 rspec, even if I have to buy a bulb is not that bad.

BigCube · Jan 28, 2020

HeLLfiReZ said:
I'm not looking for 5k spectrum. I'm saying what I'm looking for in a led setup is going to run me $5000. I know that led work just as well as hid. I'm just saying there lifespan is not yet proven. I don't know anyone that has 50k hours on one yet do you? 2.5lb off 15 year old magnetic ballasts is pretty decent as they lose efficiency over the years. I'm not bashing led lights, I'm just saying cost wise for my needs is out of reach for me atm.

At some point I will pull the trigger on them. But I don't feel like it's gospel. Especially if your just getting your feet wet again, and can pickup old hid lights for peanuts to get up and running. If I can get a 1kwatt light setup for 100bux used vs paying 1200 for a hlg550v2 rspec, even if I have to buy a bulb is not that bad.

How long does a bulb last you?
What fixtures are you buying that requires 5000$?

Basically add up your bulbs over the 15 years, add up x2 or x3 for the power you're using over the 15 years, add that to your unit cost, add that to the cost of cooling it down over 15 years.

Nobody's had an led grow light for 15 years cause they havent been around that long. Specially since they became viable. LED fixtures have only been viable for the last year or two.

You are comparing oranges to apples.
These fixtures come with a 3 year warranty, and yes they are honored.

Even if I only get 3 years out of my quantum board, it's way cheaper than HID in every way.

HeLLfiReZ · Jan 28, 2020

4 hlg 550 v2 rpsec would be my happy place. Bulbs for me usually yearly but sometimes i get lazy.

Heat isn't hard to manage in fact i take advantage of it. Canada is a cold climate. Pulling filtered air through your lights and blowing it into your furnace ducting works wonders on the heating bill. It takes some creativity but easily doable. While the lights are inefficient the inefficiency is being utilized in the cold months. Here the cold months are sept to april on the norm.

When you break everything down it all has its pros and cons. They all work, led can use 50% less energy yield the exact same results but cost many times the price upfront while saving you over time.

Personally I'm for get it up and running cheap then upgrade. That's exactly what I'm doing.

BigCube · Jan 28, 2020

I'm in canada too. I'm in BC. It doesnt get cold here really.

The fixture you want costs 3 times what it should just because if the name. A kingbrite fixture with the same specs would cost you 350 canadian. X5 = 1750.

If you use decent hps bulbs, they are around 100 bucks each, most growers replace their lights every 2 or 3 grows. Less than a year. In 15 years you can easily buy 17.5 bulbs. X 5. 3 years of bulb replacements on 5 fixtures would pay for all 5 led fixtures.

Just your bulb cost could pay for all your fixtures.

Matthewstever · Jan 28, 2020

I'm on social security disability, and I can't afford good grow lights either. I'm growing these girls out under cheap led floodlights. They are advertised at 100w each. Daylight spectrum. I compared the spectrum with that of several led grow lights...red and blue are almost identical, the floods obviously add the yellow.
Got a box of 10 for $176 on eBay. Using eight of them, with 2 in reserve for spares.
My kimbo kush's are a bit leggy...prolly the sativa end of the genes. My diamond og and Corleone kush aren't stretchy at all.
These were only vegged about 2 weeks from rooting, and have been under 12/12 for 3 weeks now. I'll veg longer next crop...needed this run to be fast(er).

canothink5 · Jan 28, 2020

Buzzer777 said:
If you had Sammys go out in a week, they could have been lower shelf, or just infant mortality..That the 1st time that I ever heard of anything like that with Samsung diodes from a quality vendor!

Sorry Buzz I was referring to residential led bulbs going out in a week or less.

Snakeskins · Jan 28, 2020

This my last grow with cfls for vegging and the 300w(120 actual watts) panel for flowering. For me, it didn't get any better than that.... but it could XD

BigCube · Jan 28, 2020

canothink5 said:
Sorry Buzz I was referring to residential led bulbs going out in a week or less.

I have in my bedroom lamp, an led light that has been there for almost 8 years.

I bought a 400w digital balast that literally started smoking the first time I plugged it in, right out of the box. It never worked.

Point is, there are outliers in every group.

In general, I almost never have to replace led bulbs. I've been a home owner for 20 years. I used to replace incandescent bulbs all the time. CFL even more often. LEDs in the last 6 years since I've gone full led, I think I've replaced 2 or 3.

Snakeskins · Jan 28, 2020

BRAAAAs, I found the solution that is going to make everything better. I was going to buy a 150w hps fixture and bulb but that would probably burn too hot especially in miserable hot summers. The wiser option is the FSGTEK 1500w COB panel. Actual power consumption 230-250 actual watts. Got one coming from Amazon already XD

BigCube · Jan 28, 2020

Snakeskins said:
BRAAAAs, I found the solution that is going to make everything better. I was going to buy a 150w hps fixture and bulb but that would probably burn too hot especially in miserable hot summers. The wiser option is the FSGTEK 1500w COB panel. Actual power consumption 230-250 actual watts. Got one coming from Amazon already XD

Cobs are pretty good alright, I ran the x5 cob to great effect. I've bought 2 x5 cobs. The first one I bought went on the fritz after about 6 months (a grow and a half, veg and flower). One of the drivers went in it, and one cob just flickered. I had a spare so it didn't fuck me.

I contacted them and said hey wtf. They said oh, sorry about that, here have another one.

But I have since gone to quantum boards, mostly for the even light distribution, the lm301b's and the mean well drivers.

Kragle · Jan 28, 2020

Snakeskins said:
I sold my old 300w light for $30 and im looking for something stronger for my next organic soil grow for 1 plant. Maybe COB or LED at a price of $70.00 or under. Any suggestions appreciated. My tent is 2x3x5 with a 6 in. can fan.

I've gotten great results using the Macegrow 450w LED. It's a combination of COB and LED. You can find it on Amazon for less than $70. Reviews are spotty so maybe they have quality control issues. I've got 2 of them and they both work great. I've been using one for a year and the other one for 4 months. At any rate I'd suggest getting something that uses a combination of COB and regular LEDs.

Best lighting options for a single plant

Best lighting options for a single plant

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