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themeangreen
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I dropped some serious coin on my light but with where Im at Im more worried with heat than anything. Im probably going to eventually try HID lighting but for now Im happy
i myself done a grow using blackstar and glh models (both 2010) units and found results to be identical. plants were cuttings from same white russian mother vegged same time under t5. when flowering came i put slightly smaller one under blackstar(due to it being my first time using it) and decided to keep bigger cutting under glh. end results were the same, two identical plants with only around 8% difference in yield. of course the smaller cutting under blackstar produced 8% less but remember that cutting was visibly smaller than the glh one so my final analysis was that the blackstar did just as well as the glh model. SINCE then i have sold 2010 model blackstar, my buddy bought glh light from me, and we are both flowering th seeds darkstar under leds. he with the glh and me with a brand new 2011 6 band blackstar.***note: I'm currently in plans of fully changing over to leds and im only choosing blackstar leds because IMO they are COMPARABLE to some of these other ridiculously priced lightsHey THCFarmers, this is my first post, but i have been lurking for a while to find out good info on LEDs.
Ive heard the companies to go to are Stealth Grow, Kessil Lighting, Lumigrow and Advanced LED. I have also seen great things with the 357w Magnum. If you arent low for cash and are willing to invest in a good LED, definitely buy it from one of those companies.
However, if you're like me, its hard to bring myself to drop $1000 on 1 LED light which is why I've been searching around for a cheaper alternative..
I went and bought some 90w ufos a couple months ago, and all I have to say is: BUY AMERICAN. If the led is not made with American Cree LEDs, it ain't growing how you hoped it will. I believe that these cheap Chinese knockoffs are what have given LEDs a bad name. Which brings me to a question..
What about Blackstar Hydro lights? They have a 240w panel (i think the draw is 180w), which is assembled in China, but using American Cree LEDs, and it is only $300.
Does anyone have this light that has gone all the way to harvest? If so, would you recommend it?
Any help is appreciated
completely agree with everything he says especially towards end... I USE A BLACKSTAR 240 AS OF NOW AND ONLY ATTEMPT TO FLOWER ONE SINGLE PLANT UNDER IT. but all of my grows have been under t5 setups. I NO LONGER USE HID DUE TO ACCIDENTAL FIRE THAT NEARLY CAUSED ME TO LOOSE EVERYTHING. CROP, HOUSE, FAMILY, AND FREEDOMIt's so difficult in the burgeoning field of LED grow lighting that almost anything on a vendor's site is to be take with grains of salt. My first LED was from HGL, a 63w unit. I bought two more 126w units. They performed well for what they were, but then I started seeing evidence of certain light brands producing better results.
Look at Irish Boy's grows, both here and at other forums. He uses GLH lights, and based on IB's results, I purchased two of the 2011 (First Gen) 300 watt units.
Until someone has the money, or hosts a site strictly dedicated to comparison grows of the units, and can actually afford to buy them and dissect them to see what's *really* in them, one can only make an informed purchase by evaluating the grows others who have ponied up the cash and done the grows.
A few points I will make, of course, only based on my experiences:
- They do run cooler than HID units, but they are not HEAT free. You should still provide nominal ventilation and air circulation
- The heights above the canopy will vary from strain to strain and vendor unit to vendor unit. So far, the only vendor to publicly assist in this was GLH's owner who found that 20" to 28" inches above the canopy resulted in much better vegetative growth and flowering.
- Don't waste your time with those 45w flat panels, or 5mm '1,000 pcs.' LEDs. Pretty much a waste of your time and money.
- DIY is for hard core peeps. I won't try it, you probably shouldn't unless you're an EE or have worked with high powered LEDs and constant current drivers in another hobby.
- Any units under 150w are good for small single plant scrogs, vegging clones or growing/sexing seedlings. Serious watts mean serious results. Period.
Good luck in your search.
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