Hey everyone, I’ve compared the ES300 by the Green Sunshine Company and the Grow300 by Grow Light Science in two of my tents for the length of a full grow now. I thought I’d take a few minutes and explain some differences for anyone who’s interested. I had the ES300 first, and I could not have been any happier with it. When I decided to add another tent, my plan for another light was to wait until I could afford another ES, but luckily I got an email from an online grow light warehouse about a new light called the Grow300. I checked out the specs, and I was very happy with the price so I tried it out.
They’re both great fixtures in my opinion. I’ve gotten nothing but fantastic results from the ES300 since day 1 with it, and the Grow300 did just as well in it’s first run. I have a PAR meter, and both of the fixtures websites are very accurate in their specs. The two biggest differences between them are the housings and the price. The ES300 is built to be bulletproof. It’s very heavy for it’s size, and it’s clearly made very well with top quality materials. The Grow300 has more of a conventional shop light style housing. It’s considerably lighter and constructed of cheaper materials. That’s not a bad thing though, it’s not that it’s made cheaply, it’s just that the focus was not on a bulletproof housing. The ES has glass lenses that cover the LED’s. This offers some extra protection, and to be honest I have accidentally bumped it from time to time and been happy it was there. There is also a small difference in the size of the fixtures that came into play for me. The ES is 36" long, and the Grow is 48". I had the ES in a 2 1/2 x 5 tent, and I always felt the coverage on the two ends of the tent was a bit weak. I added a 2 x 4 tent, so when I got the Grow300 I put it in the 2 1/2 x 5 and moved the ES into the new 2 x 4. It works better that way, the ES covers the entire 2 x 4 and Grow covers the bigger tent just fine.
So they are both great fixtures, and both companies offer phenomenal customer service. Matter of fact, the owners of both will personally answer your emails. I got great explosive growth in veg, great node spacing, and I’d say they did an equally impressive job in flower. The biggest factor by far comes down to the Grow300 being $300 cheaper than the ES. If you’re looking for a light, it’s worth checking out, they have tons of info and all the necessary specs on their website.
Good insight been eyeballing since yesterday
What were yields under each?
I got just over 15oz total from 3 GDP’s and 1 Godzilla Glue (all photo periods, and untrained) under the ES-300. And 11oz total from 4 Expert Gorilla (autos) under the Grow 300. And a side note, I got much better yields from GDP’s and Godzilla Glues in my closet grow under the Mega, but I trained those ones and had way more tops, but I enjoyed the smoke better from the untrained ones under the ES!
I haven’t used the ES for autos yet, but I will be now. It’s the light I’m using for the run with Not2sure. I’m positive both fixtures could do much better with a more experienced grower at the controls. I’ll get there one day.
Now that the weather has warmed up, I’ve found another difference between the two fixtures. The entire housing of the ES is a heatsink, and it works really well. The Grow 300 is going to require a little more power from the exhaust fans than the ES, and probably up my AC usage a bit, so that’s a big factor to consider. I still think they both rock, but since I’ve been in this forum I’m very curious about trying one of the HLG fixtures you talk so highly of @dbrn32!
Quantum boards are basically the same thing. Same style of light anyway, just a little more efficient and cheaper.