which led light should i buy? growers with led experience only please.

[scoobydoo69]

hi guys, i'm going to invest in led's. the main reasons being to reduce heat and i hate the hassle of using a ballast. i'm looking at using a completly new sut-up with 4'x4' grow tent. i have been researching leds for ages but i am still a bit undecided on what to buy. from what i have seen & read it appears the magnum lights would be the way to go. i'm thinking either 2 magnum357's or 1 of the new magnum plus lights. the magplus says it covers 4'x4; but i'm not sure if this is for veg or for flower. i dont want to get caught out without enough light to properly finish the grow. i would love to hear from any growers currently using leds and if anyone could provide pics or yields for a similar size tent & light set-up it would be very helpful. leds look like they have an exciting future and i cant wait to get started. thankyou in advance for any advice anyone gives.

 

[PatFenis]

I can tell what not to buy! I have been running a penetrator and it's a piece of shit, I can't even pull a half gram a watt off of this garbage. I feel like I got scammed!!!

 

[CA5P3R]

Well I use one Magnum 357 for a 2x2. I know Dunit used 2 Mags for his 4x4 and he did really well.

 

[repoman]

Keep in mind that's it a little war going on with the led panels so the answers you'll get at the forums will not be unbiased.

On some forums the spectras ar the best and on some forums the magnums are the best, depending on who's behind them I guess.

Although I use a magnum myself and will have my first harvest from it this week and I will let you know if it's good or not, don't trust guys like dunit I found a lot of lies in his journal.

 

[619ster]

I've tinkered with LEDs for quite some time now. I think at this point in time, Blackstars are a great investment for the watts per $ you're getting, and the quality of CREE LEDs is well know. Personally I think a DIY panel using Osram LEDs would be best ;) Though you will get by with Magnum, Spectra, Advanced, or Blackstar. I love my LEDs and the meds created by them!! Pics in my gallery but none that are under LEDs. Still new here and getting situated so my more picture uploading for me to do

 

[desertmedgrower]

proledsystems.com .... they are a new company but boast true wattage and customizable panels. The plants I have under the 8:1 Red : Blue 600W light are doing easily as well if not better than my plants under the 1000W digilux and Badass bulb.

 

[PatFenis]

I've tinkered with LEDs for quite some time now. I think at this point in time, Blackstars are a great investment for the watts per $ you're getting, and the quality of CREE LEDs is well know. Personally I think a DIY panel using Osram LEDs would be best ;) Though you will get by with Magnum, Spectra, Advanced, or Blackstar. I love my LEDs and the meds created by them!! Pics in my gallery but none that are under LEDs. Still new here and getting situated so my more picture uploading for me to do

There is no way that blackstar is using Cree diodes for the price they are charging. Cree diodes are like $20 each and some of these panels have 200 - 300 diodes in them. I highly doubt that they use cree, maybe they use 1 or 2 cree diodes in the whole light so they don't get hammered for false advertising??? But 100% cree, no effen way brah!!!

 

[notlow6]

proledsystems.com .... they are a new company but boast true wattage and customizable panels. The plants I have under the 8:1 Red : Blue 600W light are doing easily as well if not better than my plants under the 1000W digilux and Badass bulb.

Save yourself some money, you can buy direct from the manufacturer of eshine systems. These are lights that can be bought off of alibaba for half the price.

 

[desertmedgrower]

Save yourself some money, you can buy direct from the manufacturer of eshine systems. These are lights that can be bought off of alibaba for half the price.

I don't think these are the same lights at all.. If you look at the wattage of each diode alone they are different so right there it tells me these are different LED panels. I also do not see any customizable panels through eshine...

 

[the ganjaman]

hey just got my 357+ this light is blinding under bloom , veg or full spectrum plenty of light for a 4+4

 

[testez]

.... the ganjaman ... are you going to post a grow journals thread? Really curious to see full disclosure on this unit.

 

[LISA1983]

HI First you need to know Vegetables and flower have different requirement for light intensity.Our LED PFL 600 2line (100W) is for 1 m2.If for 4 by 4,I think 150W is ok.If need better efficiency,200W is enough.

 

[notlow6]

I don't think these are the same lights at all.. If you look at the wattage of each diode alone they are different so right there it tells me these are different LED panels. I also do not see any customizable panels through eshine...

They can be customized through alibaba from the eshine manufacturer. 1watt\2watt\3watt, you pick your led configuration, etc.

 

[ShutUpDonny]

I am digging my Advanced lights so far, though I'm currently on my first grow so I haven't seen actual results yet. Check the link in my signature if you want to see what I'm dealing with.

 

[K11NG]

im the only one using stealthgrow lights that I see but Im happy with my results check out my link below make your own opinions. if your intrested let me know ill see If I can get you a discount. good luck on your decsiosions either way.

 

[LEDhead]

I'm using 4 Kessil H350's Magenta on a C130 in a 3x3 growlab, they work great :)

 

[smurfer]

I did my research and bought a Pro Grow 260. It took them two weeks to ship the unit which was an unexpected delay. Communication with them was poor. When the unit arrived it looked great and was reassuringly bright but it was also smaller than I was expecting (not a bad thing) and much louder than I expected. The thing is so loud that I emailed Pro Grow to be assured that all was normal and it should sound like several big computer fans on steroids.

I put the light to use right away as I had a plant just beginning the bloom phase. It seemed to be doing the job for ten days and then today I don't hear anything coming from the grow. Sure enough the LED is lit but none of the three fans is turning. I cut the unit back to just bloom lights (nice feature) to lessen heat and sent an email to Pro Grow. The only phone number I found on the site was for reporting receipt of a damaged unit. No one was available there and callers are encouraged to use email.

I'm disappointed but still hopeful that this is going to be a great light and that Pro Grow will stand behind their three year warranty. I'll keep you all posted.

 

[spin doc]

Smurfer You raise an issue that I have often wondered about ... the need for fans to cool an LED fixture. I am by no means an electrical engineer or considered an expert in LEDs (see my thread on the Science of LEDs for my lack of qualifications). However, I would think that a properly designed heat sink and maybe even a 'remote' power supply would eliminate the need for cooling fans which would eliminate one possible point of failure and would certainly enhance the stealth aspect by eliminating unnecessary noise ... not to mention how annoying a constant hum can be.

Maybe another question for me to pose to the 'cyber think tank' boys.

 

[willy led wonka]

i have personally seen an led that uses 1-100 watt led with a 6000k spectrum that draws 102 watts from the wall @ .87 amps. It has a heat sink and remote driver that you describe. Its really pretty neat. Im curious as as to why they are messing around wtih the smaller wattage leds when the manufacturers are making 100 leds. The fixture i saw was running around 120 degrees- and had a nice large finned heat sink. It disspates most of the heat surprisingly without the use of fans.

 

[sm0ke_dawg]

Get a screw driver and check out ur panel man. Fans can be replaced if needed. I would have gone with blackstar/Gotham LEDs. Best of luck to you bro.