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  • Led light Discussion!

    I have been looking in the internet and reading up on Leds. It seems that pretty much all of them come from China. Does any one have a led system that did not? I am hoping for a discussion that doesn't turn into mine is better and we can share the good and the bad of your led system. I have been looking at King, Mars Hydro, Joy Hydro grow and one called Gro Star. I myself have two 225 panels that carry full spectrum(so they say) and have had good veg times but did not go into bloom with them so I can share some info on that. How about any one else - what do you have and how is it working out. Please lets keep this to Leds and thanks - -slo-han

  • #2
    I run the Marshydro lights and they seem to work well for me. I think this next early spring I'm gonna try a scrog with them..
    Mike

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    • #3
      Hi Slo. Been running the Spectrum Kings. Very pleased with the results. Veg is great and the plants I've flowered have some good firm buds. I did a diary on the Black Diesel which turned out OK, although the bag seed I was growing next to them was much better!
      Am just about to flip what I have going on in the tent. Some Critical, BB X NL and more cuttings from the lovely bag seed. Should be within the next two weeks. I will post a diary when I do and you can watch and see how they perform.

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      • #4
        I use the Growth Star Power Bloom plus 280w. LED its strictly for bud phase but i have no complaints and done pretty well. Just need to have it higher my next time round, had it too close to the tops my last time round.

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        • #5
          Seems that all I read and what I experienced - the led lights penetrate well and can burn real easy. I guess starting way back and look for legs is the ticket on all of them. They say 18 inches but I had to back off about 2 feet with those 225's until they acclimated to such intensity. I lean toward the mars hydro's as they are switchable from veg to bloom. They are also the most counterfeited as well so.......................hey what was the price you guy's paid for these puppies? I paid about 30 bucks American for each one on sale which is why I call them cheap china lights. I had the clones under them and they did good but they all ended up outside. I will state that some of those cheap china's are usless. I researched a bit and ended up with ones that had white as well as amber and red and blue - some are one color - NOT - -slo

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          • #6
            I bought my hydros off ebay and I think I gave 265 for the 600 watt and about 210 for the 450 waters.
            I veged outside and brought them indoors for flower. I don't understand why your lights burned the plants at 18". Heck I had 1 of the 450s just about touching and had no problems. The other lights were about 16" above the canopy. Good luck Slo. Mike

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            • #7
              I brought the Mars Hydro 2 900 watt for 130 off the bay, The hardest part of growing with it is most likely my lack of confidence in it with a hps you know where to place to get a certain stretch you want etc. I started my led at 20" above the plants was way to much for them so i moved it up to 40" still i have no stretch with really tight nodes. If i use it again i would start off at 5' above the plants.
              One thing i did like about it, was i had a slight sulphur deficiency and under the light you could see it if you took the plant out of the light you could not. This allowed me to fix the deficiency quickly before it become a real issue.
              Until i finish my first grow with the led i guess i will lack confidence in the light, leds imo are like a minefield so many conflicting opinions let alone all the technical details spectrums, manufactures, light angle, par values. lumens the list of factors seems to go on and on.

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              • DarkLotus760
                DarkLotus760 commented
                Editing a comment
                Hey kbag,
                I have been looking into the same light and am a little curious about it I was wondering what is the heat temp at with this light running? And how's your plants responding to the light? Is it better than the HIDS? Also I was reading that using L.E.D.S that you use more cal/mag have you had this issue?
                Last edited by DarkLotus760; 11-01-2014, 05:29 PM.

              • kbag
                kbag commented
                Editing a comment
                Darklotus i am going to answer your questions to the best of my ability in my grow diary. So if you would like take a look at look at that post i hope it will be helpful to you.

            • #8
              Also, I should have mentioned that I have the green lights with the reflectors and veg-bloom switches.
              Have a good1. Mike

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              • #9
                I might have stated that wrong - they were closer and burned them a bit so had to move them away. I have also learned that one has to learn how to manipulate the chems as they use up cal/mag and sulfur pretty quick. Yes there is a bunch of jargon to read/learn on and it's gonna get worse before it gets better but I think this is the future for growers as I have seen some amazing results from people who understand them

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                • #10
                  From people who understand them! Well said Slo. That one line really say's it all when trying to grow under LED's for me! Thanks, Mega

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                  • #11
                    That is exactly what I am trying to do - understand them, 3w, 5w, seems it all comes down to how many of them per how big a grow - we all get that but, what I'm trying to get a finger on is why did my predominantly blue led has leds smaller than the predominantly red led panel. All the lumens and par values are the same. Different manufacturers? A breakthrough on led design? I will probably never know and does it matter - if they work - that matters, and finding out how to work them is what I want to learn. So, we have learned that the leds cause the plants to leach out the calcium and the magnesium and sulfur so more is needed and until the plants get used to them the leds must be slowly manipulated. We also know there is a pretty good savings on the elec. bill. Anybody got anything else? - -slo

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                    • #12
                      Hey Slo since we are talking about LED Lights thought I would throw this info I found on LED lights I too have been looking into them. ~~LED grow lights have come a long way in a very short amount of time. Manufacturers first started using 1/16th Watt diodes and then used larger and larger diodes as the technology advanced. Now you can find diodes even up to 50 Watts and larger, but is bigger always better when it comes to LED grow lights? The answer is No. The ideal diode size for LED grow lights is the 3 Watt diode.
                      Although 1/16th Watt diodes are too weak to grow much of anything and 1 Watt diodes by themselves do not penetrate enough, diodes that are too large are also counterproductive for indoor growing. Save the 10 Watt diodes for street lamps. They have no business going into grow lights as they are much more expensive on a $/Watt basis, give off more heat and completely defeat the whole purpose of growing efficiently with LEDs.
                      ~~The 3 watt diode provides the ideal balance of canopy penetration without having excess heat problems that come with larger diodes. With 3 watt diodes, a grow light is able to penetrate up to 5 feet past the plant’s canopy which is what is needed for commercial indoor growers.
                      What are the drawbacks of using 5Watt, 10Watt or larger diodes in a grow light? The first issue is heat dissipation. As the diode size increases, so does the amount of heat that needs to be dissipated by the diode chip. Larger wattage diodes need larger heat sinks to dissipate the heat that they give off. This results in heavier and bulkier lights. The second issue is of chip density. Since the 5Watt and 10Watt diodes give off more heat, they must be spaced further apart to avoid thermal failure. They cannot be packed as densely as the 3 watt chips. The result is a less densely packed grow light that is heavier and bulkier.
                      The third major drawback of the 5Watt and 10Watt diodes is that they are too expensive. They cost more and are also more expensive on a $/watt and $/ square foot basis. A quick analysis shows that it is not worth paying a premium to have larger diodes in LED grow lights. They are unnecessary for indoor growers and come at a burdensome cost of increased prices, less densely packed network of diodes, and bulkier grow lights.
                      Bigger is not always better. When it comes to the question of the ideal diode size for indoor LED grow lights, the 3 watt diode is the smartest choice for any indoor growing project.

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                      • #13
                        Thanks Dark for the interesting read and for taking the time. They are still trying to get it right and that's a good thing. The two I have are 3w and I will be playing with them again. Just like anything else, there is a learning curve and all input is appreciated - slo

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                        • #14
                          Newbie here getting my research done before attempting my first grow. I plan to use LED lighting, my experience in the automotive/truck aftermarket has so many positives and as reading here and other place the savings on electrical is considerable not to mention other advantages.

                          Question is has any one really came up with a fair priced lamp assy to get this done? Not too concerned about it coming from China look how much other crap we get from there. But the price spectrum goes from $100's to $1,000's, there has to be a happy medium there for a descent product.

                          Anyone have any preferences or input to share?

                          Will be using them for the complete cycle sprout to harvest so they will be adjustable and contain the different colors need for each step. The plan is to purchase 2 in the start and go from there as I grow it to a more stream line operation.

                          Any thoughts...

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                          • #15
                            MarsHydro seems to be working for a bunch of people - the green ones have a switch for veg and bloom. Also look for reflector quality I hear they are the better ones - nice avatar - go hawks - slo-han

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