Spider Farmer 600W LED or Mars Hydro TS 600W Full Spectrum LED?

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UrbanGardener

UrbanGardener

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Anyone have experience with either or both? Opinions / comments?

Thanks!
 
BigCube

BigCube

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I honestly wouldn't buy either of them. You can get much more for your money.

Of those 2 I would use (not pay for) the spider farmer, since it most likely uses samsung lm301 chips and a mean well driver. If you're going to pay 2 or 3 times what you should, you should at least get brand name parts.
 
UrbanGardener

UrbanGardener

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I honestly wouldn't buy either of them. You can get much more for your money.

Of those 2 I would use (not pay for) the spider farmer, since it most likely uses samsung lm301 chips and a mean well driver. If you're going to pay 2 or 3 times what you should, you should at least get brand name parts.

Thanks Big Cube. What would you use or recommend?
 
uphere

uphere

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I'm picking up a SF 2000 this fall. My friend swears by them. I've seen his ladies and they look very happy.
 
PhatNuggz

PhatNuggz

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Mars had a terrible track record of customer service, but thinking MAYBE they have improved their products, so...

I just went to their www to see which POS Mars is peddling now

So what do they give you for $79.95?

First, unlike HPS bulbs which light 360% without a hood, SMD leds do NOT need or benefit from a shroud/hood, which obviously adds considerable cost

Next: Copied from that page designed to replace a single-ended 1000watt HPS, Average 1.5g yield per wattage (power draw)

If you believe that, then you deserve the screwing they give you
 
BigCube

BigCube

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Thanks Big Cube. What would you use or recommend?

Kingbrite 240w quantum boards are pretty much the exact same light.
240w mean well drivers and lm301 chips. Kingbrite's heat sink is much nicer, and it is dimmable. All for only $105.


There are many of us running kingbrites now, not a single complaint.
Hope this helps man! 👍
 
UrbanGardener

UrbanGardener

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Kingbrite 240w quantum boards are pretty much the exact same light.
240w mean well drivers and lm301 chips. Kingbrite's heat sink is much nicer, and it is dimmable. All for only $105.


There are many of us running kingbrites now, not a single complaint.
Hope this helps man! 👍

Yeah that's really helpful mate! Haven't heard about them here in Australia so I've just been looking. I like the idea that they're dimmable. It looks like some come assembled and others you have to assemble?
 
UrbanGardener

UrbanGardener

176
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Mars had a terrible track record of customer service, but thinking MAYBE they have improved their products, so...

I just went to their www to see which POS Mars is peddling now

So what do they give you for $79.95?

First, unlike HPS bulbs which light 360% without a hood, SMD leds do NOT need or benefit from a shroud/hood, which obviously adds considerable cost

Next: Copied from that page designed to replace a single-ended 1000watt HPS, Average 1.5g yield per wattage (power draw)

If you believe that, then you deserve the screwing they give you

I wondered to myself why the hood! Seemed odd as LEDS facing down only. Possibly traps heat too rather than dissipates?

I also saw the 'designed to replace' claim - dubious at best...
 
BigCube

BigCube

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Yeah that's really helpful mate! Haven't heard about them here in Australia so I've just been looking. I like the idea that they're dimmable. It looks like some come assembled and others you have to assemble?

Yes, but assembly is dead simple. Less than 10 minutes. It's the same price pre assembled, so either way 👍
 
Moshmen

Moshmen

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Kingbrite 240w quantum boards are pretty much the exact same light.
240w mean well drivers and lm301 chips. Kingbrite's heat sink is much nicer, and it is dimmable. All for only $105.


There are many of us running kingbrites now, not a single complaint.
Hope this helps man! 👍
Mine just got here yesterday 480 watts of pure goodness for $320 delivered to door in 4 days! Not to bad in my opinion!
 
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BigCube

BigCube

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I wondered to myself why the hood! Seemed odd as LEDS facing down only. Possibly traps heat too rather than dissipates?

I also saw the 'designed to replace' claim - dubious at best...

I would agree with your heat trap assessment. I'm sure they've done it for "aesthetic" reasons.

The "replaces 1000w hps" claim is almost never accurate. A 1000w HPS actually shits out a lot of light. The rule of thumb is for LED you want a minimum of 35w per sq foot.
Where HPS and other HID bulbs is 55w per sq foot. It doesnt sound like that big of a difference, but in the math its quite apparent.

Take a 3x3 tent, like the ones I use:
3x3=9sq ft
Led: 9x35=315w
Hps:9×55=495w

Always nice to over power your light and have a dimmer, so for hps you would stick a 600w in there and dim it down a bit, and the led I would put 2x240w(480w total) and just dim the hell out of them 👍

The benefits from led come mostly from the extra costs of HID lights. Less heat is a major feature for LEDs. With HID most people have to run ac units and or lots of extra fans. Also HID bulbs are usually replaced yearly at least, for a good bulb you're talking $100 a year just for bulbs. You should get a good 3 years out of a kingbrite, probably more. And even then, the parts are modular and easy to replace so in 3 years or so when the leds have degraded enough, you could just replace them. But I'm sure in 3 years, the lights will be even better.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Where HPS and other HID bulbs is 55w per sq foot. It doesnt sound like that big of a difference, but in the math its quite apparent.
I didn't know that about HID - thanks for the information.

I would put 2x240w(480w total) and just dim the hell out of them 👍
This is a very smart suggestion.

You're starting in a 3 x 3, but if you are like a lot of us at some point you will want to step up in tent size. That 480w of good light can be moved to your new tent. No need to start over either. Just add extra boards as your sq feet of garden space grows. These are good lights at a remarkable price. They won't disappoint!
 
BigCube

BigCube

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I didn't know that about HID - thanks for the information.


This is a very smart suggestion.

You're starting in a 3 x 3, but if you are like a lot of us at some point you will want to step up in tent size. That 480w of good light can be moved to your new tent. No need to start over either. Just add extra boards as your sq feet of garden space grows. These are good lights at a remarkable price. They won't disappoint!

For sure, I unfortunately am limited to 3x3's because I own my house but want to use tents to protect my house 🤣. My "mancave" is only so big, so it's 2 3x3 tents for me.

I envy those of you that can dedicate entire rooms to it, I've never grown in anything bigger than a walk in closet 🤣
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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For sure, I unfortunately am limited to 3x3's because I own my house but want to use tents to protect my house 🤣. My "mancave" is only so big, so it's 2 3x3 tents for me.

I envy those of you that can dedicate entire rooms to it, I've never grown in anything bigger than a walk in closet 🤣

My man cave is in the utility area where all the mechanicals are (furnace, water heater, sump pump, breaker box) The area is about 1/4 of the whole basement. When I bought my house, I'll be honest ... I had some growing in mind. I picked a house that allowed an adequate grow area without extra construction. All I did was run a new circuit from the breaker box, add a lock to the door, and put up my tents.

You would still do pretty well with qty:1 240w quantum board in each of those tents.
 
BigCube

BigCube

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My man cave is in the utility area where all the mechanicals are (furnace, water heater, sump pump, breaker box) The area is about 1/4 of the whole basement. When I bought my house, I'll be honest ... I had some growing in mind. I picked a house that allowed an adequate grow area without extra construction. All I did was run a new circuit from the breaker box, add a lock to the door, and put up my tents.

You would still do pretty well with qty:1 240w quantum board in each of those tents.

Yeah, I'm sure it would be enough. I have them dimmed down almost half 👍 ut I like having more than i need for a number of reasons. One being that it's easier on the equipment when I run them at 60 or 70% but also if something does happen to one, I'm not hooped 🤣

It also fits a square footprint better.
 
MIGrampaUSA

MIGrampaUSA

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Yeah, I'm sure it would be enough. I have them dimmed down almost half 👍 ut I like having more than i need for a number of reasons. One being that it's easier on the equipment when I run them at 60 or 70% but also if something does happen to one, I'm not hooped 🤣

It also fits a square footprint better.
I most certainly agree with you about what would be "ideal."

Just offering options because for some right now, cash is short. You do what you can with what you have and upgrade as you go along. You will grow denser better buds with more light, but until then training will help get the most out of the space using what you already have.
 
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