This would be my new thread. Thread labeled as B. I'm sure the title threw you off a bit. Dont matter how much we grow, there's always more to learn, making us all newbies to a degree. I'm going to start by saying that I'm not hear to tell you what not to buy for your grows or what lights to use. I'll tell you what I've used that didnt work and what I use now. And what I still would like to use that I dont have yet. There are many great growers here on GrassCity, all with different ways to grow. from hydro to no-till. organic to full on chem grows. all with their own pros and cons. I've researched lights extensively. LED to CFL, HPS,to CMH, I've spent way too much money on led setups and diy only to find that leds just arent up to par as of yet. I just want to get this posted to start the journal, I'll get more posts up at a later time.
I’m seeing some really nice product being produced by white light LEDs. Quantum boards and COBs, not the blurple, though I have 286 watts of blurple in my room.
Dont get me wrong here, I've seen and had nice stuff with cree white chips and cobs. the colored RBG dont do much. Pound for pound I get way more yield with DE HPS bare bulb and CMH than any LED. I did side by sides with ameristar, mars, custom builds, hps, de hps, and while the leds make great stuff, the yields are very low in comparison. I now get 2 3 pound yields per 1k watt DE in open batwings. much better than the one pound if lucky under any led I've tried. really it's all in preference. You grow personal or to trade off? With personal id probly stick with top bin cree cobs or CMH. but I dont grow for personal. GPW is just not there for me. I hear a lot good growers switching to 4000k bulbs ran with hps ballasts. they're saying its very resinous and triky. Ameristar, Mars, King, knockoffs, diys, blackdog, I've had a lot of led units and they all collect dust now. Best advice is to do what works for you
I love my HPS, it’s the powerhouse that drives my 4x4 room. But the heat and power consumption is a drawback. I’ve been researching for awhile and will be attempting a custom quantum board/ cob led combo build this winter to replace all lighting in my room. Guys are pulling 1.5-2 lbs off these quantum boards and the cost has really come down. I agree that none of those Chinese blurple LEDs work well alone. I use one to add to the spectrum.
Even on a bad grow I get 2 pounds per de. lol I have 4x4 and 5x5 tents, they collect dust also. 1k in a tent is just too hot. or you're using glass and huge fans, massive amounts of AC whatever trying to keep the plants from catching fire. haha. I will not go smaller than a 8x8 for one 1k DE. I spend about $300 per light setup, cost to run with AC around $90 a month, that extra qp to 1 pound weight is well worth it.
Crazy to think it can spread that far out and maintain intensity. Some of The qb guys are doing 1.5-2 in a 4x4. Check out @Tbone Shuffle posts. Dude knows his lighting
i'll have to give that a read. thanks I might have to do another side by side with de and qb. I run 3 de over a 4x16 flow table, consistently pull 6 pounds. I have 1 de over a 4x12, 1 over a 4x10, and one over a 4x9, I have 2 de over a 8x16 still dialing in. first run was 6 pounds. I see he claims to be getting 19zips from 770 watts. where as I'm getting 30+ for roughly 1100 watts. Think I'll stick to DE My rooms are bigger than 4x4, but I have that for a reason. My big rooms are easy to control. I have the room to add. Co2, AC, Dehumidifier, huge charcoal filters, lots of fans. and all my plants are under the lights, I have no light hitting the floor. easy to get around tables, no unzipping tents, I do away with all the problems. And best of all I dont have to waste time building my own lights lol Frames, heatsinks, little fans, drivers, wires, burnt chips in the boards, exchanges of DOA parts, on and on. If these QB boards do so well, why hasnt a corporation made them into a unit yet? If it works for you all more power to you. but I dont see the benefit of leds as of yet.