Hi Guys Thinking of purchasing these lights, they look the goods, just like to know what the pro’s think
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Hey there @Medicalgrower
Gonna call in some pro’s for us @dbrn32 @MAXHeadRoom @Countryboyjvd1971 @Donaldj @garrigan62
I’m gonna say that I think the consensus will be that you can do better for the money but not sure. I am getting decent results with “china lights” but I was initially advised to stay away from the 5w led’s and I bought a bunch of 300w lights that use 3w leds.
The advice you will get from those I tagged will far outweigh my input, best of luck and welcome to the Forum
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how would you feel about building your own @Medicalgrower ?
you can build some great lights with very little effort…
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I second that. You can skip several generations of led development by building your own light which will be cheaper to run AND more effective. Those of us who have done this are universally happy.
I’ll wait for @dbrn32 to weigh in.
n.b.–I have 8 of those Amazon lights you can HAVE lol,
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Where can I get instructions on building my own
LED
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Look up the thread: “Let’s talk DIY lights” and in particular look at Quantum Boards. It’s a bit off putting at first because you think it will be a bit technical but once you dive in it’s pretty self evident.
LED technology is advancing incredibly fast so last year’s model is a campy nostalgia item this year lol. The performance and efficacy of the newest LED tech is incredible. I built a fixture that exceeds MH/HPS in output with 55% efficiency. This means that my previous 8 Amazon fixtures at 1,300 plus watts has been replaced with 720 watts and it will do a better job than the higher output lights. That alone is amazing!
Also; you are looking at color spectrum that is easy on the eyes and is specifically targeted to growing. There is a lot of data lacking in these China lights and most of us regret investing in them once we see the difference.
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thank you I’ll look that up
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Are you able to find how much power it consumes or a spectral distribution graph for it? I didn’t see other, usually two of the bigger factors we use to compare lights.
Without those it’s kind of difficult to see how it stacks up. So I couldn’t really say one way or the other.
Actual draw is 230 watts.
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cooling fans are drawing a portion of that wattage even…lol
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Check out viparspectra lights they work great and are very well made
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Thanks screwauger, I posted the site for the lights mentioned, fortunately I have an opportunity to give them 6 hrs of sun atm.
I also did build some lights, used 80 3w leds, Ill post a picture shortly, don’t laugh, ok
Ok here they are, they just dont seem that bright, I have a light meter that measures Liminance, called physics tool box, free download
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I’m assuming all parties commenting can read these posts?
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Yes, likely any interested have set the thread to tracking or watching to get flagged when posts occur.
Whatever grows our meds @Medicalgrower works for me.
If you can put them outside every day to get some sun, then you just need inside lights to supplement so photoperiod plants don’t start flowering during the spring and winter. They actually don’t need much light to do that, and they only need about 15 minutes around midnight. But days are getting longer than 12/12 now, so if you put them outside to flower, they won’t be ready to harvest until September or October.
If you are ready to flower, you can put them outside for 12 hours a day, but then you have to take them in and put them in TOTAL darkness for 12 hours a night. That requirement is hard to deal with for most of us. So it’s just easier to grow outside in summer and fall, or grow totally inside under lights we control with timers. 18/6 to veg. 12/12 to flower. Very much simpler but expensive.
If you do want to go all inside, RapidLED has some nice COB kits that just bolt and snap together. Everything is pre-drilled and threaded, etc. Very efficient COBs. Quantum boards and strips are efficient, too. @dbrn32 can help you pick if you want to go that way.
If you live in a legal-to-grow-6 state or country, you can probably grow way more than you need just growing outside in summer and fall. Start your plants in April so they are trees by October. Cannabis can grow huge if it has time. You can get several pounds off 6 trees.
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If you’re capable of building that light, the last thing I would be doing is buying an led panel light from ebay!
What leds did you use?
What size space are you trying to light?
Im in Australia, our climate is fine atm, I have them on 12 x 12 dark & light, Im flowering them now for a week.
I give them sun for 7 hrs then 3 hrs under lights
3w from my local electronics store