Simple 1000w vs iGrow induction light

WeedsterBunny · Feb 10, 2013

El Cerebro said:
please, that'll be interesting. is he running any of the same clones?

I guess my buddy doesn't have any of the same strains as me going right now... He has 3 Space Helmet, 1 "Texas" ISS, 1 Bruce Banner#1, and 1 more I can't remember.
I think he was only about a month into flowering when I took these. He also vegged the plants under the same light.

1 iGrow light in a closet with a small exhaust fan

Picture of the light spectrum without using filters on my camera

Again with the filter

DYNAMIX · Feb 10, 2013

hey im fresh on the forum so i had to read this from the start upto here and i must say your doin great with your girls! may i ask wot an i gro light is and how its comparing to the hps
so far not only grow wise but wot you really like/dislike about it! as alwayz respect.......

WeedsterBunny · Feb 10, 2013

DYNAMIX said:
hey im fresh on the forum so i had to read this from the start upto here and i must say your doin great with your girls! may i ask wot an i gro light is and how its comparing to the hps
so far not only grow wise but wot you really like/dislike about it! as alwayz respect.......

They say iGrow is an induction bulb using 400w and a dialed in light spectrum "perfect" for plants. There are plenty of videos describing a lot that I would rather not have to take the time to explain on here. Youtube search "iGrow induction lighting".

As far as how I feel about it, I like it. Pretty pricey at first but I've made all my money back. It grows good bud without making my energy bill too extreme. I have no issues I've encountered. The whole unit assembly is kinda heavy, but still holds up with normal light hangers...

squiggly · Feb 10, 2013

That thing is fuckin enormous.

I think that pretty much just sold me on the inda-gro. Love the technology, but not the design.

I'm supplementing with LED, so the tiny differences there might be in performance between the two brands are irrelevant to me--it's all about form and functionality for me (due to limitations in my space).

WeedsterBunny · Feb 10, 2013

Here are some comparison bud shots of the OG Headband:

C Phenotype. iGrow left, HPS right

The last run of the B pheno. iGrow left, HPS right. This plant really looked different under the different lights.

I didn't post comparison weights because these plants were kinda more in the middle of the room and had a lot of shared light. Not a very good comparison.

This concludes my test subjects for now. I will certainly keep posting with each new set of plants I put in. From now on the comparison will only be on the far sides of the room so they get more isolated light.

I will still check back often to respond to questions, and to start my new posts in the "Advanced Techniques" with the graft plants I do.

Happy farming!

WeedsterBunny · Feb 10, 2013

squiggly said:
That thing is fuckin enormous.

I think that pretty much just sold me on the inda-gro. Love the technology, but not the design.

I'm supplementing with LED, so the tiny differences there might be in performance between the two brands are irrelevant to me--it's all about form and functionality for me (due to limitations in my space).

True, enormous, to compete with the coverage of traditional lights I imagine.They do make a half size 200w version I think.
For me the size is great and to have that much reflection that close to the canopy. Most of these pictures are even without the extra reflector wings that add like ~8" on each side!

ttystikk · Feb 10, 2013

WeedsterBunny said:
True, enormous, to compete with the coverage of traditional lights I imagine.They do make a half size 200w version I think.
For me the size is great and to have that much reflection that close to the canopy. Most of these pictures are even without the extra reflector wings that add like ~8" on each side!

The size of the reflector directly relates to how well it will reflect light onto the target surface- ie, your canopy. I like Magnum xxxl reflectors for exactly the same reason.

To address an earlier post about the Philips DE1000 HPS technology, 10,000 hours is a huge improvement over the 500-1000 hours of current screw-in bulb HPS. The increased efficiency- 2.07 umol/watt, as opposed to 1.8- and the fact that these do not dim with use to nearly the extent that screw-ins do, all contribute to better efficiency.

squiggly · Feb 11, 2013

Yes, but that fixture literally won't fit in my space--let alone with the extenders.

I'm in a closet that's got one wall angled (its flush with the roof of the house). So there's horizontal clearance issues.

Also--regardless reflectors don't help these induction lights all that much in terms of spreading the light further from the source. The dropoff is better than HPS both with and without a reflector--it's just part of the technology.

It definitely helps, but it helps significantly more for an HPS. That's part of what makes these lights so appealing. It's also easier to reflect the light from the induction lamps efficiently--because the source is spread out so much more.

I'd argue that you've probably gone well beyond diminishing returns if you slap the extenders on that puppy. It's not useless to do it if your have your lights set to overlap a bit--but it's a waste if you're not.

vaporedout · Feb 11, 2013

very cool experiment, i went through the thread twice, was there any finsihed weights??

smoketrees · Feb 11, 2013

Ya what's the final weight comparison?
Thanks for taking the time to make this thread

WeedsterBunny · Feb 12, 2013

Awesome, thanks for reading it all. The OG Headbands came in pretty close to each other with
the C pheno on the iGrow at 53g and the HPS at 56.5g.
The B pheno on the iGrow pulled 52g and the HPS at 59.4g.

During this whole grow I wasn't going for maximum yield for the whole room yet but more of seeing how the light works and getting some of these Nectar For The Gods nutes dialed in. I realized these nutes have hardly any potassium in their line and a shit load of calcium. I might be switching it up to see what a good soil mix, compost teas and other non bottled nutes will do for me...
Since finishing this run I got a new AC, rebuilt a few things and will try to see how much yield this light can get once I get a better nutrient reg. No telling how long that will take but I will keep you farmers up to date with any cool discoveries!

woodsmaneh · Feb 12, 2013

So do you have any more insight you can share with us? :)

Would you by it again now that you have some time with the light?
What are the pros and cons
If there was more trychrome production on the iGrow it could weigh more?
It looks like it does not have the penetration of a 1000w.
Should I run out and buy it?

A 50% reduction in my electrical cost plus less fans and AC is worth it to me. Even if I take a 20% yield hit, it's still worth it.

Great post and very timely for me and a few others, I have been looking for an alternative for 1000w for a long time, maybe it's time to try it out.

I understand that mileage may vary due to driver and equipment.

woodsmaneh · Feb 12, 2013

If anyone is intrested in seeing more grows and views check this out.

http://growwithinduction.com/

ttystikk · Feb 12, 2013

woodsmaneh said:
So do you have any more insight you can share with us? :)

Would you by it again now that you have some time with the light?
What are the pros and cons
If there was more trychrome production on the iGrow it could weigh more?
It looks like it does not have the penetration of a 1000w.
Should I run out and buy it?

A 50% reduction in my electrical cost plus less fans and AC is worth it to me. Even if I take a 20% yield hit, it's still worth it.

Great post and very timely for me and a few others, I have been looking for an alternative for 1000w for a long time, maybe it's time to try it out.

I understand that mileage may vary due to driver and equipment.

I have been doing this same research, and I found the Gavita/Philips Proline 1000DE setup to be the best return on investment for my needs.

My choice was based on up front cost, costs of operation over time and total light pressure and spectrum on a per dollar basis- and the fact that I don't need to change anything else about my setup to accommodate them...

Capulator · Feb 12, 2013

this is a great comparison thread that showed no bias.

Wonderful job.

I personally like the HPS nugs. They look bigger/better structure to me. It would be nice to see a weight comparison (weighed wet)

The reason igrow plants are most likely not taking up as much water or nutes is the intensity. Have you ever moved a plant in to a shadier part of the room? It will need a lot less water and nutes that's for sure.

WeedsterBunny · Feb 13, 2013

Wow, after posting I wasn't going to continue with Nectar for the Gods, I ran into one of the Oregon's Only Organics reps at the grow store and he was able to answer all of my concerns and guided me to be able to use their line better and what to use to build my soil to work with their nutes. I think I will continue with them :)

As far as the iGrow light, I liked it, and could see myself using them for mostly growing indica strains, not so much sativa(gets a little larfy-ish). Maybe just because I was excited about the light but he buds on the iGrow seemed to have a better smell and taste on the iGrow! I have a connection to maybe get some bud tested from each side to get actual THC%, we'll see... I am going to be posting some more pics of some interesting trichome production further out on the leaves under the iGrow. The light definitely doesn't get the penetration of a 1000w but it does have a super long bulb that reduces the shadows and need for removing big leaves. Better penetration in close range but doesn't look like much after 2-3 feet (works for well for my scrog;)).
I am definitely buying another induction to throw in another closet to get extra stock. Plus it is easy to throw up quick in a situation if I needed to move the ladies and keep plants under a light when there isn't time/money/space to spend time setting up (I've had to do that waayyy too many times:eek:). I'm not going to say go out replace all of your 1000 watters(especially if you've already got the setup and not having issues), but there are plenty of good reasons to get the iGrow instead of a 1000w. Do what works best for you and your ladies!

grower2 · Feb 14, 2013

Nice thread weedsterbunny!

I play around with nectar for the gods as well, and I'm interested to hear about what you learned from the rep, care to elaborate?

WeedsterBunny · Feb 14, 2013

grower2 said:
Nice thread weedsterbunny!

I play around with nectar for the gods as well, and I'm interested to hear about what you learned from the rep, care to elaborate?

Thanks Grower2! My first concern was that there wasn't any potassium but he address that with one of the bottles from the pro-level bottles(can't remember off the top of my head what one, I'll know it when I see it. The only one with only K in it) and told me that the info on the back of the bottles is not always what it says because of some of the labeling legalities. Also that a lot of potassium is kind of a fake weight that shows during growth but leaves in the cure and doesn't end with a very dense bud. (I have seen that with Humbolts Deuce Deuce). I realized I was approaching this nute line just like any other (which are normally all salt based) which apparently is not how NFTGs works(more calcium based which acts well to uptake more variety of nutes and calcium is not mobile, meaning it will form a structure in the plant and stay there instead of being able to relocate to other parts of the plant or escape in cure). I was doing a diluted mix and a few other variations he suggested against and helped me to figure out the bottles I didn't need to be purchasing from them (some are BS alternatives only designed for vegans). Said my PH should be higher using NFTG, like 6.4-6.8o_O, he explained it in more depth so it makes sense. He was really big on the foliar feeds! Said I should try out spraying individual branches with different sprays to see what each one does. Even went so far as to say the employees of the company have all taken little sips of every one of the bottles to prove everything that goes in to the plants and soil is not harmful to humans like other nute lines. We chatted for like 45 mins about what soil I was using and how build my own mix to work well with the line and to save me money! I think the grow store owner was getting a little upset with him because we were talking about how I'm not going to buy that expensive Empire Builder soil and a few other things I was wasting money on. He did have a lot of old school sounding techniques and everyone has their own ways so I take everything with a grain of salt. He suggested that if I ever have any questions to facebook message "Oregon's Only Organics" or give him a call(shows # on fb). Either way it is always the same chill guy who answers our questions and he seems to know what he is talking about.

bstilwell1988 · Feb 17, 2013

Great thread Man if only the igrow didnt cost 800$ lol

WeedsterBunny · Mar 12, 2013

Snapped a few more pics of my friends grow before it came down. He doesn't don't have final weights yet, but soon...
He pulled the light up for the last week of flower.

Bruce Banner#1

Sharks Breath cola on the left (leaf burned from actually coming in contact with the bulb) and Space Helmet on the right.

The light creates interesting colas, some are totally normal (indicas mostly), but some are made up of a bunch of individual nuggets stacked. They look really good, just interesting and not the norm

Simple 1000w vs iGrow induction light

Simple 1000w vs iGrow induction light

WeedsterBunny

DYNAMIX

WeedsterBunny

squiggly

WeedsterBunny

WeedsterBunny

ttystikk

squiggly

vaporedout

smoketrees

WeedsterBunny

woodsmaneh

woodsmaneh

ttystikk

Capulator

likes to smell trees.

WeedsterBunny

grower2

WeedsterBunny

bstilwell1988

WeedsterBunny

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