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mistamiles
regular lights
BEST L.E.D. SOLD
- Thread starter IC BUDZ
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mistamiles
ok
Mercury is not "emitted" by mercury vapor lights, nor is sodium emitted by hps lamps. The mercury vapor is contained by the glass envelope (actually 2 envelopes in the case of mercury vapor lamps...only one in the case of compact fluorescents or fluorescent lamps, which also contain mercury). It is used because it "fluoresces" (glows) at operating temperature.
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mistamiles
mercury is highly toxic
M
mistamiles
natural
olddirtybastard
Member
thats silly, for one thing mercury vapor is not escaping from the glass, even if it was leaking there is only so much of it and would dissipate in a short period of time.
ever get a filling? those are half mercury half silver and its said small amounts of mercury vapor are released over time when you grind your teeth, chewing etc.
ever get a filling? those are half mercury half silver and its said small amounts of mercury vapor are released over time when you grind your teeth, chewing etc.
SupraSPL
Member
The most likely threat is if a fluoro tube gets broken releasing mercury vapor (especially when they are new). When I was a punk kid we broke dozens of 8 foot fluoros and the dust would sprinkle down on our heads. Look how great we turned out 
Luckily LED can easily replace vegging fluoros (4x-8x improvement in efficiency!)
Commercial LEDs do not and probably cannot (because they do not know) disclose the actual efficiency of their emitters. So if we are generous enough to assume 20% we can compare against the best value top bins available for DIY which are now about 40%. Despite the doubling of efficiency there is not a doubling of cost (unless you consider your time lol).
For comparison (and not taking into account spectral distribution) the best 4'-8'fluoros when brand new are 20-25%. The best HIDs when brand new are about 40% efficient.
Luckily LED can easily replace vegging fluoros (4x-8x improvement in efficiency!)Commercial LEDs do not and probably cannot (because they do not know) disclose the actual efficiency of their emitters. So if we are generous enough to assume 20% we can compare against the best value top bins available for DIY which are now about 40%. Despite the doubling of efficiency there is not a doubling of cost (unless you consider your time lol).
For comparison (and not taking into account spectral distribution) the best 4'-8'fluoros when brand new are 20-25%. The best HIDs when brand new are about 40% efficient.
Fluoro tubes do not however shatter or burst if hit with water droplets or any foliar overspray. LED's of course do not have any of the massive heat, poisonous mercury or potential breaking issues that HID or fluro tubes suffer from. No voltage spike at start-up like HID, no IR heat signature, far safer and way less likely to start any fires. The list goes on ending with more frosty & more potent Cannabis. 
When they make an LED light that can replace my xxxl hood and 600w mh/hps bulbs and can provide an equivalent amount (or better) light for my 4x4 table, at a non-astronomical price... then it will be considered. LED's so far seem to only be good for VERY small grows unless you have multiple of these lights. If you have to buy multiples of these the price is out of this world.
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sm0k4
I also like when they advertise Cree 3W emitters. Cree doesn't make 3W emitters. Just more marketing bs. Sure, the light will grow, but not the best as if you were to make your own.
Cree cool whites and royal blues mixed with LEDEngin or OSRAM 660nm reds seem to be top of the line at the present.
I see GLH advertises using Epistar 660nm reds. But when I look them up at Epistar's site, they are so weak compared to the OSram or LEDEngin output for that wavelength. The Epistar boasts 135mW of power at 500mA current. The Osram GD+ boasts 320mW at 400mA. Thats twice the output at less current. What would you rather have?
Yes, I did my homework and am in the process of buying my last $400-500 worth of parts to build my array. I believe it will beat out a 250 HPS but its expensive to build, even for DIY. I think the total tab for materials alone to build my 260W light is around $900. So if you pay less than a grand for a true 260W LED light (not marketing lies), you aren't getting the highest quality, not even close. Even then you might be getting stiffed. I just don't trust LED dealers and manufacturers, they design for cost savings and profit margins, I design for durability and quality.
All of the lower cost LED lights will grow plants, but they aren't built for durability or quality, so there is lots of room for improvement if you have electrical skills and a fairly deep pocket. The up front costs are big, but after that you only eat the cost of upgrading the emitters. That would be around $4-500 at today's rate. I figure at 12/12 flowering they will last 7-8 years with still ~90% efficiency. With HID you might go through 2 bulbs a year. Lets say avg. bulb is $40 for a 400W. At 7 years that is $560. Replacing anything bigger than a 400W isn't quite worth it yet according to my math. It wouldn't pay for itself anytime soon. You should be able to match a 400W HID with 250-300 Watts of high quality LEDs. Has anyone made an array this big yet? Not a commercial lamp, but one using high quality optics. Mine will use 160-170 LEDs for 260W. I doubt the commercial lamps truly output their advertised power. Average LED power would be 1.8W. Some less, some more.
Bowlsworth
New member
w.ledgrow.eu this guy has been building his own and testing and upgrading for sometime now and puplished his efforts...hes really got it dialed in now..worth a look
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sm0k4
Yeah, thats one of the first places I came across when researching LEDs for growing. After many days of LED data sheet reading, I came up with the ones I want to buy. I would have opted for the XPEROY blue rather than XPEBLU, but they aren't too far apart in the spectrum. Cree and LEDEngin just have higher luminous output per watt than the competition. Osram GD+ is up there too and their new 660nm reds are highly efficient.
I will be using 1.5" wide x 18" long heat sink bars for my arrays. 20 Watts per bar and they can be mounted in any fashion I want. His setup gave me the idea to make smaller panels for better air flow and positioning.
Bowlsworth
New member
alibaba has good deals on leds but ive never dealt with them b4..
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sm0k4
Yeah, not the high quality LEDs though. Most likely a lot of LED light manufacturers already buy them since they are so cheap. Lots of Chinese and Taiwanese components are sold on Alibaba. I was thinking of getting some and comparing them to the Crees I have running already. I can't really find any data sheets on the parts found on Alibaba either, so I can't say whether they are good or not.
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snoopytime
Has anyone here tried an AdvancedLED light? I read decent things about them on a few other places. I am interested in a single veg light for 1 rubbermaid veg station. AdvancedLED has a blue one just for veg that seems pretty reasonable, it comes in 3 sizes. I was considering the middle size one, tis around $370. Thanks guys.
