Cheap LED 4x4 DWC grow (new setup)

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ninjadip

ninjadip

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My last and first run was a little adhoc, some planned then some MacGyver. It was in a 4'x2'x4'. I quickly realized the tent was too short, as well as how to better keep them squat next time when needed. I got a bigger tent, upgraded ventilation, added supplemental bloom lights (it's my main flowering tent). This run is going to be a lot more planned.

Without discussing genetics and strains and type of grow, I want to introduce the setup first. Just finished setting it up today. I want to show how well researched cheap LEDs can be killer. We're looking at over 500 watts of very high efficacy LEDs for under $200!!! There is no cheap way to do ventilation, you simply can't skimp on this. I have two inline intakes, and one massive 8" exhaust. I plan on overloading this tent, so air flow will be key. I also have 4 pole fans. The lung room has a dehumidifier as well as central A/C @ 72f. The exhaust has a filter on the outside, I read a post here on the Farmer from a HVAC guy explaining that everyone was doing it wrong, that you get much more airflow, longer life on the motor, if you blow into a filter instead of sucking through it. So it is on the outside of the fan instead of the common installation. The science on why made sense. Negative pressure requires more energy to create than its counterpart.

Tent:
Ohuhu Grow Tent 48" x 48"x 80" $95

Lighting:
2 x GroPlanner 150watt 2.75μmol/j (MIGRO rates it even higher, over 3, with a real-word test) One @ $45; One @ $25 (free Amazon coupon)
2 x Weicrea 110w Samsung LM301H and MEANWELL Driver; 3.10 umol/j; 3rd party tested w/ Apogee equipment; $50
4 x SZABEST UV1000 Bloom Light LED Grow Light with UV, RED, and IR. 30watt; $41 (one was free from Amazon seller)

Total PAR Watts: 520 $170
Supplemental: 120 $123 (one was free from Amazon seller after buying first)
TOTAL: 640 watts



Ventilation:

Exhaust:
VIVOSUN 8 Inch 720 CFM
Intake:
2 x VIVOSUN 4 inch 195 CFM

1 x Hurricane 6 inch clip fan
3 x LAYOND Grow Tent Fan, Oscillating Fan 6Inch 20W

Nutrients/Additives:

General Hydroponics Floralicious Plus (New to this grow)
GH FloraNova Bloom
GH FloraKleen
GH Ph Up/Down
Southern AG Family Fungicide (cheaper/stronger version of HydroGuard)


MIGRO Review of Gro Planer light
Giving this surprising underdog LED a stellar rating. He mentions the MSRP of $150 I believe.. I was able to get one for only $25!!!
Amazon Link to GroPlanner https://www.amazon.com/GROPLANNER-Spectrum-Indoor-450Watts-Control/dp/B08DKYV518

SZABEST UV1000 Bloom Light LED Grow Light with UV RED and IR​

UVA : 395nm LED Chips - 54 pcs
RED : 660nm LED Chips - 42 pcs
IR/FAR RED: 730nm - 42 pcs


Here is the tent running at full throttle. The tent can suppress some of the inline fan noise, that is why they are placed on the inside. The tent is in a functional room. Plants will be going in this week.
 
Cheap led 4x4 dwc grow new setup
Cheap led 4x4 dwc grow new setup 2
Cheap led 4x4 dwc grow new setup 3
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mannitu68

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2 x GroPlanner 150watt 2.75μmol/j (MIGRO rates it even higher, over 3, with a real-word test)

i highly doubt that. There are only a few lights on the market hitting +3.0 system efficiency...you probably misunderstood something. Still an unbelievable good deal for 45 dollars. Its got an acceptable efficiency. Shane tested 2.01 PPFD, means its got 2.3-2.4 system efficiency.


and that Wei.something light also doesnt have 3.10 umol/J efficiency. Its called advertisement the chinese way. Just because the 301H can in theory reach 3.1, doesnt mean this lamp has 3.1 systemefficiency.
You cant break both records for lowest investment and highest system efficiency the same time.

You need a very serious amount of diodes/watt for these numbers.
 
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ninjadip

ninjadip

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i highly doubt that. There are only a few lights on the market hitting +3.0 system efficiency...you probably misunderstood something. Still an unbelievable good deal for 45 dollars. Its got an acceptable efficiency. Shane tested 2.01 PPFD, means its got 2.3-2.4 system efficiency.


and that Wei.something light also doesnt have 3.10 umol/J efficiency. Its called advertisement the chinese way. Just because the 301H can in theory reach 3.1, doesnt mean this lamp has 3.1 systemefficiency.
You cant break both records for lowest investment and highest system efficiency the same time.

You need a very serious amount of diodes/watt for these numbers.
My mistake.

Yes, you are right. He says 2.01 umol/j . And I looked at the wrong page on the Weicrea, i was looking at the efficacy of the Samsung diode itself, not sure why they listed that...

The Weicrea is 2.5, still very high. And Migro gives the Groplanner a very good review for what it cost then at $150.

Yeah, the chinese like to overrate, but everything is made in China.... so it's really a company per company thing. How many chinese LEDs offer a detailed lab testing though, and using apogee? I am impressed that even if they are faking it, to know who Apogee is, means they know enough of the market to impress me. The Weicreas are on their second run, they are beasts. I did not include their lab analysis. Just this simple image.
 
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ninjadip

ninjadip

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I like the idea of doing a super economical (cheap) for fun grow..! 😁
Thank you thank you

I will detail the strain, source, type of grow, and grow equipment soon. I have 8, yes 8 plants going in. Five are clones and 2 weeks behind the three from seeds that will go in as well. I just put the clones in. I have the supplemental lights off until flip. I will let the clones beef up to match the height of the other three until I place them in. I think this will be in 2 weeks. Then after they settle, flip mode.

I am going to be pushing this tent with a lot of power, I am definitely going to have as much as I can dialed in.

The goal is 2 lbs, dried.

Ambitious? Very
 
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mannitu68

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The Weicrea is 2.5, still very high
Nope. Its a BS light. Did you ever inspect the manual? Or the light itself? I think you got it in your hands, you should see its not a Meanwell driver. And i guarantee you these diodes are not Lm301. 2,5 system efficiency? I dont think so. is that a shock to you for a 50 dollar light?

This might come as a surprise for you, but just because a chinese seller puts fotos of Meanwell, Samsung etc. next to his product, it doesnt mean it really does have them. What you gonna do about it? Travel to China and sue him?

There are no rules or regulations in chinese marketing. You have to develope some common sense.

Dude and please stop posting advertisement pics the way they were facts. You cant really be that gullible? Its really laughable. Maybe its got really 2,5 system eff., means its got about 2.1 useable PPFD. I still doubt it with 220 diodes/110 watt, diodes are probably epistar or ledestar samsung-clones.

These guys are bald enough to put some Meanwell and Samsung Pics next to their product that obviously have nothing to do with their product. How authentic do you think their "lab testing" is?
 
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ritoMox

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I think we're all gullible to something in this world. Shit, look how many of us participate in online borg training without any real awareness of it. Gullibility is just part of the learning process.✌️
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

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Nope. Its a BS light. Did you ever inspect the manual? Or the light itself? I think you got it in your hands, you should see its not a Meanwell driver. And i guarantee you these diodes are not Lm301. 2,5 system efficiency? I dont think so. is that a shock to you for a 50 dollar light?

This might come as a surprise for you, but just because a chinese seller puts fotos of Meanwell, Samsung etc. next to his product, it doesnt mean it really does have them. What you gonna do about it? Travel to China and sue him?

There are no rules or regulations in chinese marketing. You have to develope some common sense.

Dude and please stop posting advertisement pics the way they were facts. You cant really be that gullible? Its really laughable. Maybe its got really 2,5 system eff., means its got about 2.1 useable PPFD. I still doubt it with 220 diodes/110 watt, diodes are probably epistar or ledestar samsung-clones.

These guys are bald enough to put some Meanwell and Samsung Pics next to their product that obviously have nothing to do with their product. How authentic do you think their "lab testing" is?
No idea why you're coming at me like that, without respect.. I was civil, open, and respectful when I first replied to you.

I said I didn't post the lab testing here it is, ass.
Screenshot 20220926 070914

There is a goddamn video of them testing it. Not sure how that is fake .. and then lab test.

Please don't come on here as a Righteous prick.
There is a video but I can't link it cause it's sold out
 
Screenshot 20220926 071015
Screenshot 20220926 071051
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mannitu68

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dude, you know exactly its not a meanwell driver, because you have the lamp at hand, still you highlight that "Meanwell Driver" in your post. So whats your motivation for that? I dont see any independent test result, i just see a screenshot of a document anybody could have filled. These chinese fake "testreports" are a big topic, not just in growlighting.

yeah, that readings in the tent are probably rigged using an Apogee sensor. so what? Theres a dozen ways the readings can be rigged.


edit:
and now listen carefully, i dont have big hopes that you (want) to understand, but ive made myself the pain to go through the video and calculate the numbers.
The average of their measurements is 750 umol/s. Multiplied by 0.36 for the 2x2 tent gives us 270 umol/s. With 110 watt power its app. a PPFD of 2.5 Exactly what they advertise as the result from the "lightsphere test".

Problem is, they messed it up, because what they actually measured in this video is PPFD and not system efficiency. So suddenly they want to tell us the light has 2,5 useable PPFD. For that, it would need 2.9.-3.0 system efficiency. Incorporating an apogee instrument into your scam doesnt make it better.

Its probably a waste of effort to tell you that, because you only see what you wish to. Just please dont highlight and fatten up all these fishy advertisement claims that want to make people believe they get a highend-efficient light for 50 dollars...you really challenge some people. Especially the ones that know better.


so with 750 umols/s average in a 2x2 for only 110 watt, this is officially the most efficient 100 watt-growlight on the market. For 50 bucks. Man you got it.
 
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justgrowing

justgrowing

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Nope. Its a BS light. Did you ever inspect the manual? Or the light itself? I think you got it in your hands, you should see its not a Meanwell driver. And i guarantee you these diodes are not Lm301. 2,5 system efficiency? I dont think so. is that a shock to you for a 50 dollar light?

This might come as a surprise for you, but just because a chinese seller puts fotos of Meanwell, Samsung etc. next to his product, it doesnt mean it really does have them. What you gonna do about it? Travel to China and sue him?

There are no rules or regulations in chinese marketing. You have to develope some common sense.

Dude and please stop posting advertisement pics the way they were facts. You cant really be that gullible? Its really laughable. Maybe its got really 2,5 system eff., means its got about 2.1 useable PPFD. I still doubt it with 220 diodes/110 watt, diodes are probably epistar or ledestar samsung-clones.

These guys are bald enough to put some Meanwell and Samsung Pics next to their product that obviously have nothing to do with their product. How authentic do you think their "lab testing" is?

China DGAF 🤭
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

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263
Rise above..

To everyone else this is a thread to point out that cheap lights aren't the devil. And the bin of "cheap" is so vast, it's unfair to say ALL cheap products are crap. There are always diamonds in the rough. While some companies spend $$$ doing R&D, other companies copy their research and put out a much more affordable product, because of the lower overhead costs. This is the case not only in China, but everywhere. The Weicrea is very close to an exact copy of the BESTVA Dimmable Pro1000W, which is a more known company. That is how I discovered it. I read reviews, saw grow videos using the light, read more reviews, did company research, then purchased. I am not as gullible as some might believe. I just didn't want to go there... It's too much negative energy.

Either way...spending $500 for lights that have a little more efficiency doesn't add up to me. HLG makes great lights, but the cost is too high for me and many others.

Come back in 10 weeks to see results, or watch along for some fun!

Much love to all!
If you don't want to send love back, or at least respect..... there's the door.
 
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mannitu68

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"rise above"??? Dude you still have that "Weicera 110w samsung with MEANWELL DRIVER" in your 1rst post allthough you know better. What are you trying to do here? If you promote scam-Products and praise them, be ready to be called out on this BS. No need to bring it on the emotional "Love and Respect" Train now.

YOu have no respect for anybody here. If you had, you wouldnt keep on posting this fantasy claims. And its not the first thread where you praise this Junk. If you take it personal to be called out on that-your problem.

blablabla Meanwell blablabla Apogee blablabla certified....you cant really be that stubborn and limited, its revolting.
 
Blastfact

Blastfact

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"rise above"??? Dude you still have that "Weicera 110w samsung with MEANWELL DRIVER" in your 1rst post allthough you know better. What are you trying to do here? If you promote scam-Products and praise them, be ready to be called out on this BS. No need to bring it on the emotional "Love and Respect" Train now.

YOu have no respect for anybody here. If you had, you wouldnt keep on posting this fantasy claims. And its not the first thread where you praise this Junk. If you take it personal to be called out on that-your problem.

blablabla Meanwell blablabla Apogee blablabla certified....you cant really be that stubborn and limited, its revolting.
I apricate you fighting the good fight. But china lovers will never admit to or understand they are the enemy. While china for the most part can not be avoided because of people like these. Going with the best you can get and limit exposure to china money laundering which is what there doing is great. They always have the buzz words of I can't afford, respect, rise above bla, bla, bla. They are the problem more than china itself. And give these POS china company's a reason to be. Instead of bettering themselves, making more grip, saving and learning. I'm on a fixed income so I do understand having to be frugal. But not to the point of being socalled penny wise and pound foolish. They will never do any real testing on there own. They will never have a amp clamp, multimeter, Apogee or even the skills to utilize them or even the basic knowledge to use a simple ohm's law calculator online, much less do the real math. And then there is spectrum of which is so far above there heads they will never understand or be able to test or what that means in reality. I want to follow this china junk light grow that @ninjadip is spewing about. I want to see them take a 1 day old seedling to 8 or 9 days with good root growth and tight nodes and control ppfd, temps and humidity. Here is a series of pics of a current grow in coco, Gaia Green, EWC, Recharge, Epson Salt under a HLG 100 V2 4000k from day 1 to current day 9. They are photo seedlings that have been under 24 hour lighting at 21" above coco level.

Day 1, helmet heads.
256 ppfd

Day1 grow


Day 8.
8 days

Plant1 roots

Plant2 roots


Day 9,,, today.
IMG 8651
 
beluga

beluga

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Let's not fool ourselves. All of our lights are China lights. I built my own lights and they are still China lights.

That said, I do agree that the verbiage is misleading.

You should specify, to the greatest degree of accuracy, what you're really working with. And, since you cannot specify to a great degree of accuracy what you are working with, it's prudent to those who might follow you to only give them what you know. It is x model light from x manufacturer. You can't trust videos, labels, or descriptions - all of those things can be and are often falsified.

But it's good to see case studies of all different sorts of equipment and this is no different.
Grow on, dude 🤙
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

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Let's not fool ourselves. All of our lights are China lights. I built my own lights and they are still China lights.

That said, I do agree that the verbiage is misleading.

You should specify, to the greatest degree of accuracy, what you're really working with. And, since you cannot specify to a great degree of accuracy what you are working with, it's prudent to those who might follow you to only give them what you know. It is x model light from x manufacturer. You can't trust videos, labels, or descriptions - all of those things can be and are often falsified.

But it's good to see case studies of all different sorts of equipment and this is no different.
Grow on, dude 🤙
Yes, they are all China, you are right.

I'm not sure where the hate is coming from from the other posts on here...

I do know how to test... Yes I already own an amp clamp and multimeter, I've been working on cars my whole life.. just not sure why you guys are so mad inside..

Chill...
Move on
 
ninjadip

ninjadip

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I think I figured it out, people are mad when you make waves, go the other way, do something contrary to everyone else. Ahhh

Cool!
Let's call this case study:
2 model X + 2 model Y LED grow

I've already gotten away with plants in a 25w aerogarden that everyone said wouldn't work. The first pic is my first go, the second pic is from a 3 week clone. I gifted the clones to 4 new growers, and I never condescended them while they are going down that research road.

I have a lot of love for any grower, any way they want to do it.

I am trying an experiment.
 
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PXL 20220805 215001256
beluga

beluga

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I mean... I and many others made cfl bulbs in gutted PC cases work. And proto-blurples.

And screw-in LEDs:
picture.php


People like to fall into norms because they want to emulate successes that they've seen... and so forth and so on to the next person down the line with identical equipment.
It makes sense and they preach what they know works for them, et al.
But all sorts of shit works 🤷
Show us that this shit works, too.
I'm along for the ride 😎
 
Anthem

Anthem

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263
Yes, they are all China, you are right.

I'm not sure where the hate is coming from from the other posts on here...

I do know how to test... Yes I already own an amp clamp and multimeter, I've been working on cars my whole life.. just not sure why you guys are so mad inside..

Chill...
Move on
No they are not all Chinese. All of my flower lights are made somewhere elsr
 
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