led lights

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by 1018am, Jun 8, 2010.

  1. hello, sorry if this topic has been covered, but i couldn't find any info on it. can someone tell me what to look for in comparing led lights? i'm familiar with lumens, but i don't see this stat listed for the led lights. is there another measure i should be looking at? (this is for a small grow space24x48x48 for 2 plants)
    thanks!
     
  2. http://forum.grasscity.com/grow-room-design-setup/604787-lumens-lies.html

    This is why they don't print the lumens. Red/blue light is underrated by the lumens scale to a hilarious degree. Green LEDs would have the most lumens, but would also fail to ever grow a plant since plants can't use green light.

    From what I've seen, the supernova units work best. Might want to wait a while, though. LEDs are still very expensive, so the problem is just getting enough wattage of them, really.
     
  3. Quad band LEDs are great. Kinda like a one size fits all. Very low heat comes off them.
     
  4. so any idea about required wattage? i've seen some reputable places selling smaller units for as little as $30/ea (i was thinking about 2 or 3 units.) i've had pretty good luck with 2- 65 watt cfls flood lights (a la home depot), so close to that would be enough.

    thanks.
     
  5. research seems to indicate that a 90 watt red/blue led lamp will equate a 400 watt hps. seems unlikely, but will have to try to find out. (fyi, ufo led growlights from $140 on ebay)
     
  6. #6 mrbob_58, Jun 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2010
    leds are crap , period. no way my 90 w ufo could even come near a 400, it cant even come close to a 250 hps. the only claim led makes that is true is the heat. and i find the 200 w cfl (actuall 600w equivalant) i replaced the led with gives off no more heat than the 90 w ufo. my ufo died less than 3 months into its first grow and the seller denied i bought it from him. last time i ever deal with home grown hydroponics. the only thing leds are good for is vegging and if you can afford to replace your light every 3 months and dont like alot of bud , then leds are for you. if you are serious about your grow get an hps/mh you will be much happier and you wont have to spend hundreds of dollars on lies.
     
  7. #7 bulletcatcher, Jun 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2010

    Ok... so, let me see if I have this right.

    Because a 90W LED unit powering the LEDs with only about 65-70 of those watts can't beat a HID light with over 6 times its power draw going to lighting... LEDs are crap?

    No, LEDs are fucking amazing, but overly expensive. Watt-for-watt, LEDs will slaughter HID. There's just no point right now due to cost. The gram/watt LEDs get is usually 1.5-2. HID can't touch that. That number will also go up as the technology improves and they get better at tailoring the fixtures to growing.

    edit: and from everything I hear, the UFO units are crap in a lot of ways. Many design flaws.
     
  8. #8 mrbob_58, Jun 10, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2010
    i bought and owned a led....did you?...i speak from experience, my own. not what i read off some post or website. this was sold to me as a name brand light from home grown hydroponics and it was absolute junk. the only way a led can compete with an hid is watt for watt and a well done hps grow will kill the led in flower. thats from experience with both lighting systems. by the time you buy a 400 w led to compete with a 400w hid, you have spent about 3 times the money for a yield thats about 2/3 as big as the hid. my experience with led was a disaster , never to be repeated.
     
  9. did you have adequate ventilation? even a little heat can kill electronics. i've had problems with cfls that people told me didn't need fans (they did!) also, was it ul listed? if not, it might not have been a real ufo light.
     
  10. the cabinet runs between 70 and 80 f the light was clean and all fans working. the power supply blew. it was an over priced peice of crap. led is not here yet. untill they up the power and reliability and eliminate the chineese garbage out there, leds will be nothing more than a big flashlight
     
  11. mrbob_58


    The problem is you purchased a low quality LED being sold as a high quality LED unit.
    I own a couple 90 watt LED's from different retail suppliers, for testing purposes. They are crap no matter how you look at it. If I may ask you a question. I am starting a couple of LED grows on 420 mag and possible here on grasscity in 2-3 weeks maybe 4. All I'm asking is for you to check it out and also check out the other LED grows on 420mag. Especially Irishboy and Growledhydro. I know you are tainted from the piece of crap you purchased. However, Please have an open mind and give it one more chance. You will see the lights I sell will out shine all the others by far. As far as equivalents from LED to HID, the people who say that have no clue about the technology of LED's.
    Don't buy now, just watch and wait and you will see the technology has improved ten fold over the past 6 months and especially with the introduction of my lights. How much did you pay for your light?
     
  12. the biggest problem i can see is the proximity to the plants. led manufacturer's state the light should be 2-3" from the plant. which means a much smaller grow area.
     
  13. #13 mrbob_58, Jun 17, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 17, 2010


    I am more than willing. i still believe leds are the future of indoor growing. but judging on my experience and what i have seen ..they have a long way to go.

    I paid 400.00 bucks for that ufo.

    I ask you this question. I bought this light as a top end peice, from a reputable dealer and it was junk. a chineese knockoff with a name brand label , even the reputable shops are selling junk leds. how will we know we are getting our monies worth? how do you know if your buying garbage? its not doing your industry any good.
     
  14. The way you will know is this; If you want to purchase a light. PM me. I will give you all of the information necessary. Also, I will make a deal. If you purchase a light and do a grow journal to the best of your ability with weekly updates with pics and a title with the name of the company in it. SOG or SCROG method works best with my LED's I will give you a full refund, of the purchase price, at the end of the grow, no questions asked. As a matter of fact this can go for anybody willing to do so. Any smaller wattage unit up 144w.

    -The builder
     

  15. LED lights are not crap. That sucks that you got ripped off, but there are LED lights that exist on the market that absolutely blow away any HID light you've ever seen. Maybe those plasma HID lights can compete, I haven't seen one in person.

    I speak from experience too. Not with the grow scene, but with the offroad truck market. Vision X lighting makes the most powerful LED lights in the world. They were contracted by NASA to make these things for the lunar rovers. I own the Six inch Solstice (X4), the 24 in Xmitter, and the 34in patriot bar. Also a number of solstice solo pods. Go to an offroad store and play with them. They smash any HID you've seen.

    LED Lighting Products | Vision X Offroad Lighting Products - 1.800.994.4460

    I'm waiting for this technology to hit the grow scene.
     


  16. halogen lights have lots of power. they wont gro shit. xeon lights are the most powerful lights sold to the public. they wont grow either. i am happy to hear you have done your truck up like a christmas tree but those lights wont grow plants either. read a bit on what light is actually needed, and then comment. you wont make yourself look quite so foolish.
     

  17. Right on. You know it all because you got scammed. Sucker. I'll just go back to being a fool.
     
  18. #18 mrbob_58, Jun 20, 2010
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 20, 2010
    yup i guess i got scammed. , but with 20 years at this crap i do know something. the light i bought was the right color tempreature for growing it was a name brand unit and it blew up. that has been known to happen. if i can help someone else avoid these garbage lights then its all worth it. what i dont do is use usless incorrect information to try to make someone else look bad. but as a hick trucker I guess we cant expect anything else.
     

  19. 20 years in the game doesn't mean you know anything. Just means you've been a dumbass for twenty years. And those hick lights that you can't afford are 6400K. So if you think Kelvin temperature is the best way of judging how well a plant will do under a given light, those will grow plants. It was not an irrelevant connection. It shows that quality, powerful LED lights for the grow scene are not far away. Not sure why you are such a dick, but such is life.

    You need to do some reading.
     
  20. books and real life are two different things...maybe you need a life?

    Oh by the way. the K number is the arc temperature to produce light in a certin area of the spectrum it is mesured in degrees kelvin. plants respond to light generated in different areas of the spectrum. we are using artifical light to mimic the sun. these temperatures become very important to a good yeild. you can grow under any light you choose. my setup works perfectly for my needs. leds , by experience and as you say yourself are not here yet. this system is and its producing. for that you are insulting and without fact to backup your claims. I have done some reading.
     

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