Bought a cheap led for under 100 off eBay last year (light is advertised as 300w but i highly doubt that), have done 2 grows with it so far, 1st grow was with Mazar autos and the 2nd grow was with one Mazar and one Heisenberg special, both were autos. All plants yielded less than an ounce and were grown in 15l smart pots with the full plagron line of nutrients. Anyway both of these grows resulted in plants that were less than a foot in height but kind of bushy. none of the plants smelt properly, in fact there was virtually no smell what so ever. After a cure there was very little smell, only a slight smell when it was ground up. the smoke was potent and got you pretty high but didn't have much taste. Im really wondering is it possible for a light to effect the height of a plant and ultimately restrict the taste and smell of the plant?
Yes, this is a problem that has plagued the LED horticultural movement. Someone here recently said "its a mine field of misinformation" and I have to agree. first off you need to buy a wattage meter (kill-o-watt) this will tell you what that panel is actually pulling at the wall. Another way to evaluate what the 'actual" wattage is on a panel is to count the number an type of LEDs being used and do the math. 100 x 3 watt leds (100 x 3 - 300 right? nope) are typically driven at 1.6watts so 100x1.6=160watts as an example. A vendor on eBay may call my example above a 300 or 600 watt "equivalent", which is likely the trap you fell in. Now even though that hypothetical panel is only 160 watts, it will still grow 1-2 plants no issue. Now if I purchased it thinking it was going to be equivalent to a 1000 watt HID my results will be disappointing. What really bothers me is I have seen this time and time again over the last 4 years or so, and what happens is perfectly decent grows get robbed on an LED and ultimately that gives LED a bad name, undeservedly. Yes your spectrum will affect growth characteristics. As will not having enough light.
LED watt rating is the same thing as the CFL wattage equivalent, except for LED wattage is equivalent to HID wattage, whereas the CFL wattage is equivalent to incandescent wattage. So most 300w LED range from 130w to 180w. A 300w LED produces close to what a 250w HID would produce. From what i have read anyways..
Really good informative answer dude, thanks for your reply! Yeah its sickening how these counterfeit companies bring bad connotations to an otherwise viable alternative to good quality grow lighting. But hey, thats how most eBay vendors make their grade. You seem like you've done your homework on LED's, what do you think of the mars hydro brand? was thinking to buy one Jeez id say even close to 250w would be generous considering the crock of shit light i bought haha. Still though, for what it is, I was actually kind of impressed that it even managed to produce close to an ounce per plant.
I have been using the Mars Hydro 600W LED Grow Light, just staring out. There was a sale on Ebay for 2 units for 280€, so I have a backup in case anything were to happen. I had my first harvest yesterday, Royal Dwarf Automatic, 34 grams wet (its still drying) with a LOT of room to improve on nearly all aspects. I still have no idea what it really puts out, but it definitely works well for my set up. At some point I will switch to a Mars II or whatever the current model is when the time comes.
Best rule of thumb with LED is that you can replace HID watt for watt and your yield will improve (+30-40%) or to get the same yield you do with HID shave 30-40% off the wattage. Save money or increase yield, your choice. But it all comes down to photons and you want a light with the most efficient means of converting electricity to light energy. I hear people say 35 watts of LED per square foot. I count 100 LED watts minimum per plant , but thats more about my grow style than anything else. Many factors to take into account, best advice rethink your entire grow if you are switching to LED.
--- I had the same problem with the lights I brought off eBay..I couldn't figure out if it was my lighting or nutes cause I was also growing autos ..not glad but relieved to know that it was most likely my lighting now...I had smell and tall plants but no bud production..I plan on goin with a mars hydro led and hoping for better results ..
Thats why I added "with a LOT of room to improve on nearly all aspects". That was my very first plant ever (and its a Royal Dwarf Auto, small plant)
Please explain??? What I said matches your statement perfectly. I stated a 300(rated) LED is equivalent to a 250w HID. Most 300w LED are actually true 130w to 180w. Let's do the math: 40% of 250w(HID)=100w 250-100=150w Which is basically halfway between my ranges of 130w and 180w of true LED power for 300w rated LED... Soooooo what more shall I read??
Thats not real math mate, keep researching. "Equivalents" are pure fiction there is no rhyme or reason to them and you cannot make extremely generalized statements like "MOST 300 watt"..... there is no actual versus equivalent wattages. , only ACTUAL The ONLY number that matters is the power pulled at the wall, ignore equivalents altogether. Your 'advice will only confuse some poor sucker who thinks he is getting a 600 watt LED from some ebay vendor who is really only selling him 150 watts of 3 watt epistars. There are plenty of bad apples who will not follow your logic when marketing their lights.
most LED are listing their current draws now days , where they weren't for awhile till all bitched . Also the newer LEDS run 5 watt and larger diodes . If a light says 300 LED watts then actual watt draw will be more like 140 watts same for a 600 that will draw about 278 real draw watts Here I see a Marshydro unit 1200 Led watts draws 489 real watts AND here is shit box 1200 Led watt Chinese unit that draws 330-400 watts so look at the diode size and most important actual watt draw
Incorrect. When an led lists a higher wattage then it draws it is not an equivelant rating. It's advertising bullshit. All it means is that the diodes of the led are able to handle a higher wattage but are ran at less so they last longer. I was under the same impression as you at 1 time.
also considering you lose 70% of weight to evaporation that 30g is gonna diminish pretty drastically come the end of drying/curing. Just to clarify though dude, i was by no means making fun of what you got from your grow. We all started somewhere and its onwards and upwards from here.
A bit off topic but the consumer tactics are pretty gross these days, like Made in America....with global materials. Playing off peoples pride, while assembling chinese parts in a US shop for instance.
Many of the brand name manufacturers all state that's what their rating is. However, I think it's all bullshit though. For cfl to incandescent and the hid to led. I understand that the hid to led is a marketing standard and nothing official. I hate they don't just openly list the actual wattage. But their estimates seem to have some consistencies. I think it's really about 75% of what they say it is (I.e. A 600w advertised led is really equivalent to a 450w hid. Assuming quality led).