LED Brand

[themeangreen]

Hey everyone
I'm looking to start growing with Leds and have been eying up hydro grows new generating x series. I'm not sure I want to wait another 2/3 months before its released. I was just wondering if anybody that has had experience with a brand they'd recommend? It'd be for both vegging and flowering...
Thanks

 

[efnscreenames]

advanced led lights

I own the 360w extreme flower and thinking of bying the 720w

 

[themeangreen]

can you post any pictures of plants you had vegged/flowered under it?

 

[Slips]

I think any brand that uses cree epistar or bridge lux 660nm 3 watt chips should be fine ... Note I have not used any leds so far; Info so far from friends offline and what I have read ...

The growright 350w for sure uses these so does the 357w magnum, and some others ...

Dr Growright 350
The LED's we use are Semiled, Epistar, and Cree. The listing is for the newest most advanced 240 watt 4 band LED growlights made with 3 watt chips and 40 degree lenses. These lights are made from all very high quality materials. They are deffinitly the most advanced LED grow light on Ebay. The 4 bands are blue 470 nm., red 620 nm., red 660 nm,. and white 6,000 kelvins, which is a broad spectrum ranging from 420nm all the way to 615 nm.

 

[efnscreenames]

I will get some pics up tomorrow I was going to today but Ive been runnning getting stuff to change my setup to handle more plants so as soon as I get everything up and running Ill be heppy to post them. the light I use has 3 watt bridgelux diodes in it and the newer light Kyle says are using CREEs its on the webpage I listed its the 360 watt extreme flower.

 

[Darth Fader]

I just used a GLH 180 for veg (240w actual draw) and first 10 days of stretch. Great light, super bright. Put in a 600 watt Digilux HPS, and when I made the switch I thought there was something wrong with the bulb because it wasn't as bright as the led panel (not kidding).

Check my sig for details. BTW, anyone who tells you leds don't put out heat is full of crap. If they didn't put out heat, they sure as hell wouldn't come with 6 fans to cool the electronics. Temps in a tent are always an issue, but with a 6" fan & the led, I was able to run 1 degree over ambient. A second panel would give me great coverage and enough watts to feel ok to flower with, hopefully without pushing temps too high. Someday I may try to flower under the 180, but I want some big-ass buds and don't want to mess around. It may be comparable to a 400, but you know - been there, done that. The 600w HPS will deliver without question.

 

[SwollenCalyx]

LumiGrow ES-330 or 165 @ www.greners.com, 165 is just half the 330, and is less than half the price.

 

[efnscreenames]

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

 

[themeangreen]

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

Heats what im concerned about aswell. did you get those pictures?

 

[FarmHand]

Got a lighthouse 90w UFO - a real nice addition to a HPS, but my temps are way to cold with the HPS goodness!!

(Hi everyone!)

 

[TheHerbalEssenc]

Hey 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

 

[Zombee]

It'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.

 

[recreationaluse]

Hey 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

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 lights

 

[recreationaluse]

It'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.

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 FREEDOM

 

[blazer01]

I may have looked over the thread but what tent are you using and did you switch to a different one and if so what brand was it gotta buy one and was trying to get the right one the first time.

 

[SwollenCalyx]

Not trying to push the Lumigrow on you folks and I'm in no way associated with them but I have seen many side by side tests with the LG330 and others, most popoular is the HGL345, and it outperforms every time. It is $400 or so more but it is just built right, easy to use and packs more power. The absolute best way to set them up is with 4 in a 4x8 tent, using scrog method. The only downside is investing more money up front but if you want to buy the right one the first time and you want that kind of security like there is when buying an HID, then you want this one.
However, using any LED`s I have found it can be helpful to leave ducting hanging around the lights where they are putting off heat for more efficient air exhaust.
I hope this was helpful to someone out there looking to jump into the LED realm, you are also doing quite a bit of good for the earth too by using LED`s I believe. I figure a ton of money down the drain and time wasted should be put in to something for the use of others.
Cheers.

 

[BluntForce]

I agree with the above post by blazer, Lumigrow are the real deal and from what I have seen nothing comes close really. That said I've just ordered a 357magnum due to the fact I can't possibly justify dropping $1400 on a light to the Mrs. I hope that with time, like all tech the prices will come down. I suspect that major manufacturers are gettimg the idea that high power LED can beat HID with just a little more tweaking and will invest heavily in R&D. Hopefully in 2-3 years time we'll be able to buy 400W units that are honest replacements for 1000W HID's with about the same heat output of the current LEDs. Then it'll be the aftermarket co's scrambling to develop cooling devices for those units so even in the hieght of summer we'll be able to grow without air-con.