I'm not just talking shit. I research ed for a good 3 months before buying them. I am a grower feedback person for a company as well so if led didn't cut it I would say so and send it back. The mars 2 I am not a gfp and I just got it so can't speak much for that other then read in and seeing journal. I have less then 24hrs experience with the mars 2. But a month or so with my California light works. I also stop running game my ac it was getting cold when I switched. With his I was baking! IgOTbAdAdDs0rRy If iCoNfùSeD u
I keep reading the opposite. LEDs certainly work no doubt about that, but from what I have read they don't do as good as 600w HPS, maybe as good as smaller HPS because they have a lower light per watt ratio
I've heard mixed reviews I can not comment on flower atm. But I'll let you know when I can. IgOTbAdAdDs0rRy If iCoNfùSeD u
Well, its not that expensive bub. The 1200 watt Mars 2 I have comes in at just under 500 ($470 before taxes). And for the money I think its a great deal. The actual wattage of this light is 520w-580w on 110v and a little bit less using 220v at around 520w-560w. Which is weird because you would figure using 220v would cause the light to run at the end of the wattage difference. I haven't seen to many HID grows where they end up dry weight with over a gram per watt. I've always heard you were doing normal or alright if you harvest half a gram per watt. Also, this 1200 is comparable to a 1000w HID and if its producing just as Mich or near the HID that's very good considering its half the wattage. A 1000w HID uses more than 1000 watts, I've read somewhere the a 1000w HID uses between 1000-1200 watts so the offsets the wattage difference even more while comparing the HID and LED. IceMud is his name I think, but anyway he has a grow journal with this exact same light and mentions that the led in his opinion produces more trichromes and over all frostier product. I think that over all the leds are more efficient nowadays. I mean a few years ago I wouldn't say that but as far as 2014 I think its safe to say. Its hard to compare a led that's labeled 1200w but only draws 520-580w to a 1000w HID and its holds its own. What should be compared is watt for watt. Take the draw power from the led to the draw power of the hid and the led would whoop the hid lights ass. That'd be 2 1200 watt Mars 2s against One 1000w HID. The HID would not stand a chance against the 1100 watts of led actual draw power. Just my opinion I guess
The standard Mars 2 should be very good at flowering as the ratio is quite a bit in the reds nm favor. All the research and grow journals I've seen leans toward the standard being better for flowering than anything. I've even read that the standard is better than the actual flowering option you can choose when ordering. There's quite a bit of evidence on this site and 420 mags site also. Are you using these LEDs? Just curious
Everyone else says the mars2 1200w uses about 700 watts and because a 600w HPS uses about 640 watts I feel it's directly comparable. But all the grows I have seen suggest that HPS comes out on top. I just finished drying a harvest from 2x 250w HPS lamps. This gives off two thirds of the light that a 600w HPS puts out and I harvested 14oz of top quality bud and 6oz of popcorn bud. From what I have seen they do a good job, and may even match the smaller HPS lights in some cases, but I disagree when you say LED blows HPS out of the water, you are being way too optimistic
When saying led will blow hps out of the water I'm talking watt for watt of draw power as I said in my previous post. I'm not talking about the labeled wattage. I'm saying that the draw power from the 1200 watts mars 2 which is 520-580 watts. The actual draw power, the 520-580 watts. So for the real comparison would be Two Mars 2 1200s against One 1000w HPS. I am a very optimistic person but anyone who has dealt with these lights would know that 2 Mars 2 1200s would trump One 1000w HPS. I feel that watt for watt of actual DRAW power LEDs will come out on top every time. Just my opinion that's all.
I am well aware you are talking about what the lights actually draw. What is confusing me is why on earth you think I am not, even when I have mentioned it in pretty much every post I have put on this thread. I am just repeating myself now but as I keep saying, as far as I am aware the 1200w mars2 draws about 700 watts. A 600w HPS draws about 640 watts. Are you still with me so far? So I am saying these two lights are directly comparable. And the HPS will give you a better yield. You are comparing 2x 1200w mars2s (1400 watts) to the less efficient HPS that draws about 1080 watts. These two are not directly comparable The reason I am saying the LED draws 700w is because someone tested theirs on here and that's what it was using
I think the only safe thing you can say is that LED is getting better with every generation of light that comes out from certain manufacturers. I would not trust any random LED off of Ebay. The other thing is for them to be cost effective they need to come down in price. TopLEDGrowlight is the only company I can see that offers a decent quality for a reasonable price and with an assurance that if the light breaks down you will have customer support. That is why I am taking the plunge... I could have bought a 400W HPS for cheaper I am thinking but not by much and I like to try new things so I started with one of the smaller lights. So far i am impressed with performance vs. CFL... and the trichs do appear to be packing on real nice. I haven't been able to find a journal of Afghan Kush Ryder that is producing like mine but there aren't many out there. Another thing I am noting is that this plant is actually going to finish pretty close to when World of Seeds said it should... IME with other lighting (CFL and smaller HPS) the breeder's finish time is 1-2 weeks faster than reality. (mainly due to them having an optimal set up I imagine)
There's always going to be different opinions. There's always going to be people that will never switch to led and that's fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I value that as I value my own. I've done a lot of research to back up my claims. Which I'm not saying you haven't. Here again Im talking about my own opinions. I didnt start this thread to have an hps vs led War. I started this thread to share my grow and information that I have learned and gathered. Also, to share my own opinions. When I say the draw power is from 520-580 that's because that's what's listed on the manufacturers website. I've seen digital read outs where people's shown it pulling around 567 watts. One guy had two, one was pulling 547 and the other 576. He was worried because he was trying to do a side by side comparison and felt that it was an uneven playing field. Every side by side hps against led grow I've seen the plants grow towards the led. With the led usually having lower watts. Almost every grow I've seen where the draw power was the same the led harvested more over all while some of them showed the hps had slightly larger buds but the leds had super super tight buds weighing about the same as the hps's larger bud. I've seen in person how the leds produce such a tight node length that people actually want some stretch lol Like I said everyone has their own opinions which I love to hear. I'm here to make friends not enemies so I hope you stick around to watch my grow and maybe we both learn a few things. Thanks for your Info and opinions.
Hey buddy welcome to the thread. Congrats on the purchase of the LED. You chose TopLed? Did you go with the Mars 2 if so? I'm sure you will be very happy with it. I'm also sure you done a fair amount of research before buying the light. I said in my earlier post that a few years ago I would not be on here praising LEDs lol bit your right they are getting better with every generation that drops. I think they are to a point now where growers can pack some serious weight with less electricity. I hope all grows well. Thanks for posting.
I got the Reflector II because my grow space is rectangular... very happy so far. This is my Afghan Kush Auto at 42 days pic is a few days old and she is 2x as frosty now.
I read a lot on ice mud too he goes into detail and was one of the reasons I dove in. IgOTbAdAdDs0rRy If iCoNfùSeD u
Very nice setup bub. Those plants look very good. I like the reflector series myself. The pros about that light is that it has switches for veg and bloom mode so there is less waste of electricity. The cons (well not really a con) is that it uses 3w diodes so less penatration, but it looks like your keeping them short and bushy so that's perfect. They do look awesome. Has the LED been on them the whole time? Is that a 150w HPS on each side there? Also, do you notice any of the branches leaning from the hps over to the led? Lol sorry for all questions I have this thirst for LED knowledge.
That is a 125W 2700K CFL on each side of the Reflector. Those will be replaced with another 96W x 3. In my veg area I run seedlings under 96W T5HO, Veg 2 plants under 125W 6400K CFL (I got 2 of these). I like to have 4 seedlings / clones, 4 vegging, and a full tent at all times. Just getting fired back up after a 20 year break. Figured I would look into the new tech before I started and stumbled on Sara's thread. After seeing Htown, Loki, and Icemud's results i was sold. I run the light full on in the flowering tent. Plants really like it. I got a grow journal going link should be in my sig... lots of pics every couple days. Here is a Critical Hog photoperiod I have flowering right now. 42 days from sprout.
She's a beast lol. Very good looking girl ya got there. From clone? I'm glad to hear you started back up. Looks like you came back with vengeance. One of those people you mentioned, maybe IceMud or someone else, once they bought one Mars 2 they went and bought 2 more lol. I think they were running one 400w and then bought two more 400s. If I had more room width wise (a lot more room) I'd definitely would rather have 3 400s instead of just my 1200w because of the light coverage. Also, this 1200w puts off so much heat its crazy.
Nah bro that is 42 days from seed... she sprouted on 5/20 and started flowering on 7/1... That pic was taken then. She sprouted the same day as that auto a few posts up there. Yeah that extra heat is one of the cons of the 5W LEDs it sounds. I have to run an AC 24/7 just to keep temps in line with what I have now. It is like 50 degrees out tonight and I still have to run an AC but hey it will be well worth it lol. I think Htown is the one with like 3 of the Mars II... Icemud has moved on to testing another LED from a diff manufacturer. He likes it more than the Mars but the damn thing is like 5x the price so not for the small timer. I have an entire room dedicated to the operation but not using it all yet... just have stations set up. Growing 8 strains right now all from seed. Also just pulled 8 clones, 5 have rooted, waiting on the other ones. Gotta say it is a lot different now with these new lights. I definitely say MH is a thing of the past for vegging. No reason to use unless you like wasting money on electricity and heat management. I can get nodes at .5-.75 inches using my fluorescent set up and quickly too. Anybody that says you have to veg longer with fluorescent lights just don't know the way to use them.
Nice drobe, looking forward to more pics. Subbed for harvest time I have no opinion on LED's other than they look really cool and I wish I could afford to play with them. As far as results I believe it all comes down to the skill of the grower, seen extreme claims/results from all kinds of lighting. The carpenter not the tools. Speaking of which, congrats on the build, I really like it. Cheers and good luck!!
I'm sure one day ill give the mars2 1200w a try. I might even try the 1600w instead. I can then directly compare it to my 600w HPS. The only thing that's stopping me doing it now is if it produces the same yield or less it's a complete waste of about £300 and that can buy a lot of cake. Wattage and light output is not a matter of opinion, they're matters of fact, you either have it right or wrong, there's no middle ground. I have never tested one myself but a guy on here tested his and it came up as 700w so I can only go off that. I have learned a long time ago to ignore almost all the details that manufacturers put up about their equipment. Are you able to test yours out?