Rumple's 2nd LED Challenge

I agreed to test another set of LED lights for the folks at ProSource Worldwide Inc. The lamps are being installed in my legal medical grow-operation. I normally use a 400 watt HID lamp that produces 12 to 13 ounces in 70 total days (10 veg and 60 flowering).


A few conditions:

• They pick the lamps
• They set all the room's environmental parameters (heat, humidity, CO2)
• They set the lamp distance from the plants.
• They pick the number of plants to grow.

I will do the rest of the growing exactly the same as I do with my HID lamp.

Adjustments:
Besides using different lights, they want to up the temps to 89 degrees max.
The light's height above the tops will be at 18" until the 2nd week of flowering, then I will drop them to 8".
Humidity will be maintained at 30% and CO2 above 1600-PPM

The lights look exactly the same as the last batch I tested and came shipped the same way. So I will be using the same pictures and statements in the beginning of this journal as I had in my first test with Prosource's lights.

The new lights....... Whats new about them? I don't know, they won't tell me exactly what changes were made. I have a feeling if they told me I would not understand anyway. They want to have the best lights on the market, and keep it that way (my best guess).

Lets Get This Party Started:

Prosource sent me two Illuminator Jumbo UFO 180W lamps to be tested. They came in a plain box. The packaging was excellent.







I did not find any instructions or literature included with the lamps, but it seems simple enough and may not require any. I did call and ask about the four toggle switches located on the back side of the lamp. Prosource said to keep them all in the on position (no markings on/off could be found). But... After plugging it in, it became obvious that marking the switches might not be necessary. The more toggles that are on, the higher the lamp's light intensity became.




The heavy duty hangers and mounting hardware seemed more then adequate. I hate strings or rope hangers, so I was real happy to see it was already equipped with steal leaders and clips.






A close up of the sticker on the back.


Installing them was a breeze. I used my existing mounts and chains.





I mounted them centered in my 2'x4' closet. So it leaves a gap about 6" between the lamps and a little over 6" between the walls and the lamps,








After plugging the lamps in, I noticed a very slight hum. It looks to have four small PC fans mounted inside the case. You have to listen hard to even hear it. I could feel no heat radiating from the units, even after leaving it on for a few hours. The light is hard to look directly at while on.






Day one of Veg:


















Day Ten of Veg:























Day 17 of Veg and Day 1 of Flowering:





















Day Seven of Flowering:

Day 14 of Flowering:





























Day 25 of Flowering:






















Day 30 of Flowering:









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Day 38 of Flowering:






















Day 45 of Flowering:



























Day 54 of Flowering:








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Day 64 of Flowering (day one of flush).























Day 78 of Flowering (Harvest Day!)

























Total Weight 7.26 ounces (not including all the leaf and tips):











Summary:

Although the weight came out the same as the last set of lights I tested for Prosource, this harvest was more of a disappointment. The quality suffered more then the total yield.

The harvest day plant showed extreme signs of light starvation. The bud leaf grew five times longer then anything I have ever seen before. It was hell to manicure this batch. The airy bud shrank into very small popcorn sized pieces. The plant being twice as tall as my last test subject is the only thing that saved the yield. Some of the branches did not look too bad while wet, but on closer inspection I could tell it lacked density.

What went wrong?:
Well..... The temperature setting (89 degrees) Prosource had me follow, played a significant part in the lack luster harvest. Another factor I would consider is, the plant's overall height might have spread the light a bit too thin. I did not have the magnitude of "airy-ness" when I grew the three foot tall plant. As a matter of fact I got a few real nice buds from that first LED harvest. The light it's self has to be looked at as a major factor in this mediocre harvest.


My Pros/Cons list has not changed.
Pros:

• LESS HEAT! (a lot less)
• Compact design
• Low maintenance (never change a bulb)
• Better for the veg cycle (more branches)
• Easy to hang (balanced right out of the box)
• Secure mounting (heavy duty wire leaders and clip)
• Good packaging
• Easy to clean.
• No noise
• Long power cord (forgot to measure it)
• Plugs into normal wall outlet (no ballast required or special plugs)

Cons:

• PRICE! ($700 each... Come on.)
• Less yield at harvest
• Not a good choice for the flowering cycle (smaller lighter buds)
• Untrue comparisons to HIDs in the advertisements and literature.
• Tall plants will suffer
• Did I say price?

I tell you, it pains me to write a negative review about a product that some real great guys are trying to sell. I truly wanted an amazing outcome. They had the balls to send me the lights and let us all see the results.

I am converting my grow room back to air-cooled HID lighting this weekend. Going to take a break from product testing and work on improving my skills.

Thanks for watching, R

 

They want me to run the temps at 89 degrees. The lights are to be placed at 18" above the tops until the 2nd week of flowering, then it goes down to 8"

 

I looked very closely at the lights (burnt my eyes), I can see no difference. For all I know they are the same. But I will take Prosource's word that stuff was changed.

I better edit the first post to put in the height and temp change they want me to folllow.