Aside from QB's... on Amazon

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by LoneGardener, Oct 10, 2018.

  1. Hey all!

    I'm looking for another light to supplement the lighting in my current setup.

    I'm not into diy lighting and am looking at Amazon to get it asap.

    Any recommendations for a good brand LED light for veg and flower?

    TIA!
     
  2. It really help to know what size areas you're covering for each operation. You don't have to DIY to run qb boards or order from amazon. Growerslights.com sells all of their kit fixtures and will build them for you for a small extra fee. I always recommend HLG lately. If I actually knew of a grow light brand with better performance for the price I would link that. HLG is king right now in my book.
    Horticulture Lighting Group
     
  3. well the light i have now seems to be good for 3x3 but i am setup 3x5 so i'm looking to cover the 2x3 i guess, or a foot on either side. 2, 1 x 3

    I shoulda mentioned I'm in Canada, makes shipping more expensive, takes forever to get things shipped in and we get slapped with duties and sales taxes once it goes over a certain value.
     
  4. Yes. Luckily for you there is an HLG Canada company but they only sell a few fixtures. I just helped another Canadian decide on a pair of qb260's from HLG Canada the other day. More then in the US but you can skip the import taxes at least. I think a qb260 dimmed a little would be a good fit for a 2x3.
    Horticulture Lighting Group Canada Premium LED Gardening Grow Lights
     
  5. nice! thanks.

    wondering if you know whats the difference between v1 and v2 of the 260's? aside from the price
     
  6. forgot to ask...3000k, 4000k or 5000k?
     
  7. The v1 is the Samsung LM561c s6 diode that was the best one around until about March or April of 2018 when the Samsung 301b diode came out. That is what the v2 uses. It's about 8% more efficient. Not only that but HLG is such a good customer of Samsung that they built an assembly area for them for the boards so the qb288v2's are built by Samsung. They are in control of all the circuits and layout plus what diodes they use. Samsung put a reflective coating on the pcb that directs more light and heat downward over the older boards. The diode layout is more spread out compared to the older v1 288's. The v1 boards are built by an unnamed US contractor. HLG has claimed they are US assembled.

    Both work good but the v2's run 8 watts less draw per board and put out 8% more light per watt. It's probably worth the price difference IMO. I wouldn't buy the v1's unless I was breaking open piggy banks for a setup in which case I would DIY with qb132 boards instead because they need no heatsink and are cheaper to build with.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  8. The lower the K rating the more red leaning the light spectrum. The higher the K rating the more blue in the spectrum the traditional method is to veg with a more blue leaning spectrum for tighter nodes and then switch to a more red leaning spectrum for bloom for the most overall growth. Red is best for growth but causes stretch so the prevailing theory is built a tight node plant with a blue spectrum in veg and flower with Red for the largest flowers.

    These differences are more minimal with led. 3k and 2700k are the flowering spectrums with 3k being the most commonly used. 4k is more for veg but also can flower well. It makes tighter nodes in veg and smaller denser buds. 5k is not that available but is even more blue leaning then 4k so would be veg only. I wouldn't try to flower with 5k when I have seen good buds on 4k. I have a 3500k light in my flower area and it flowers well. I can't tell the difference between the buds under that and the buds under my 3k light.

    If you use one light for veg and bloom I would use either a 3500k or a 3k light.
     
    • Informative Informative x 1
  9. I love it!

    Thanks for all that info tbone! you da man.
     
  10. excellent thanks!!

    v2 it is. I might just go all in and upgrade instead of trying to supplement! we'll see how much is left after my trip to the dentist tomorrow.

    cheers!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  11. My buddy is using these for side lighting [​IMG]

    Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
     
  12. Citizen cob

    Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk
     
  13. What I find strange is 30mm round cobs from Cree, Citizen, and Bridgelux/vero were the light to buy 2 years ago. They don't seem to have advanced though. The efficiency levels haven't climbed much since and the samsung leds are a good 20% more efficient or more. Cree is still selling the CXB 3590 since 2015. No idea why there's no new model in all that time.

    They're good but DIY is more difficult then with boards and by the time you buy all the parts it's typically a little more expensive.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  14. Thanks for your help with this. I dropped the hammer today and ordered the 320W XL QB V2 LED kit, 3000k, from HLG Canada.

    320W XL QB V2 LED Kit

    Cheers!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  15. You'll know you made the right decision when you see it light up. The HLG fixtures are no joke. Congrats! =)
     

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