Budget Light Decisions! HLG, VS, or SF?

You and @Poseidon1 have some really good points there, my tent is 62” tall so I should t have an issue with raising the light to a good level

I don’t have an HLG account yet, and they have an offer right now on their site for 20% first purchase on a new account enrollment.

2 Likes

Thank you everyone for the insight and tips, I really appreciate it!

I think im gonna pull the trigger on that 150 Patriot before I change my mind 10 more times!

1 Like

Their website statement is that the Patriot has internal dimming, meaning that there is a little screwdriver hole in the driver that you use to adjust the pot. It also has the remote mounted driver, and I have changed my two older lights to remote mounted drivers, and this gets their heat out of the tent and makes getting to the dimmer pots much easier.
There is more to consider than just watts vs price.

1 Like

To give you some idea of the dimmers here is a picture my remote mounded drivers. The small one has the screwdriver slot hole for the pot adjustment. The big one has the remote pot with the knob mounted below it.


You will be happy with the HLG.
BTW it is nice of you to grow for your wifey.

1 Like
  1. Lm301b/h are not all the same. They have different flux and voltage bins that equate to different performance levels. Hard to say for sure exactly which you get with each light, but hlg chips will be as good or probably better than the others.

  2. Dimming is really overrated on something like a 100 watt light. Not a bad feature to have but i also don’t think I’d let it determine what i bought.

1 Like

Thanks for the info, seems like im making the right choice then. I feel like the HLG Patriot 150 should be perfect for a one plant 18”x18” grow.

1 Like

Vivosun is garbage. I have a VS2000 ran for two weeks I’d love to get $50 for. I upgraded to HLG and have never regretted it.

2 Likes

The new boards i put on my 550r are 54v. Bought newest driver also. Amazingly bright.Most out there are 48 i think. HLG will outperform those other guys but not by a mile at 100w i bet.

2 Likes

Patriot is a good value and should exceed what you need it to do.

2 Likes

You still got it? I’d take you up on that. I’m running a VS1000 in my veg tent :rofl: I wouldn’t mind double the output in there.

Edit to clarify- I am not advocating for the Vivosun lights. They’re really pretty awful. They do a fine job vegging things incredibly slowly, which is the whole task of my veg tent. :joy: I run HLG, Green Beams, and KingBrite, the majority of my light power being HLG Diablo boards.

4 Likes

how do you like the green beams

I like it a lot. I had a pretty satisfying yield with my plants largely grown under the 240 watt. It isn’t exact science because I grow in a room with lights all over the place, but the two in question were grown directly under the two boards on the GB so that was the brunt of their light supply.

Said plants (2 clones) yielded ~216 grams after tossing some mold-afflicted bud. In a 2x3 (ish) area. I don’t think I’d rely on the 240w GB to do more than a 2x4

1 Like

Once again hlg holds strong :muscle: They have excellent lights and stand behind their products, this makes them a top choice for many growers.

Enjoy your new light✌️

1 Like

yea im currently at 250w in a 4×4 so 1 of those gb 240s would work perfectly

I have an HLG, a SF, and I just added an AC Infinity light. I am thoroughly impressed with the AC Infinity. I recommend you add that to your list of options.

3 Likes

Ill be sure to check them out as well, thanks for the suggestion!

1 Like

You’re probably right about it being good for veg. Probably equally good for keeping a mother plant. The lies in their advertising and selling kits to noobs they know aren’t enough to finish a grow really pissed me off. It’s amazing how bogus the ppfd charts are from these companies selling lights. Didn’t like spending another $400+ on a light to flower plants when I’d just gotten one. Ended up with a 350R $200 cheaper than amazon so I’m happy now.

Btw I paid vs extra to upgrade from the 1000 to 2000. They know dang well a VS 1000 (or 2000 for that matter) isn’t enough for a 2x4. Doesn’t keep them from selling that kit though. Now if they’d just add a co2 bag option …lol

Wouldn’t get your money’s worth

Just another way to take advantage of noobs. If you pay $1 for a co2 bag you’re not getting your money’s worth.