LED LIGHTS

[wrekstar]

Being a micro grower, and wondering about LED lights i thought i should post this here, if not can mods move it to the proper place?

Anyways, i'm looking to grow between 1-3 plants ( autos or normals on 12/12 ) i ment photoperiod instead of normals.

Going to make a stealth cab or wardrobe to fit a LED light, liking these because of the low heat output, high usable light for the plants, easy to put up and not needing a proper exhaust ( good powered pc fan should do it ).

My budget is between anything from £0-200 .

I've seen the ' blackstar ' range and the ' penetrator ' range and on a different growing forum theirs been different things thrownback..

a 63w led panel 1w from penetraotr = £200
where as a 2011 100w panel with 3w from blackstar = £100-200

I'm pretty confused where to look and what to do

I'm in the UK also..

Thanks for any advice or info
I'm still doing my research while running this thread so bare with me!

 

[wrekstar]

Ok so i've read up that most LED lights are shit..
but that must be from rip off chinese models?
Surely a commercial blackstar isnt going to be bad
people say HPS are better but if you want to be super stealth and not produce a heat sig or noise problems with fans then these are best right>?

also lower degree angles mean better penetration?
they produce the best usable light with cfl's and t5's?

 

[wrekstar]

Also CMH lighting is good but i wont feel safe leaving on a bulb on for that long.. problems of my own.

 

[FreezerBoy]

CMH isn't left on any longer than any other type of lamp. If you won't run a lamp long enough to do the job, no lamp will work.

 

[crunkyeah]

@wrekstar - I am too interested in the emerging technology that is LED grow lights.

To be honest with you I would not even bother with the pre-made units offered by ANY company. I have only seen 2 that are worth the money spent on them, as they offer many more wavelengths than the traditional red:blue offered by a lot of companies. A big trend among the companies is to add colors(white orange green etc) and this is actually detrimental as the red blue works best, IF you have the right setup. First you need the right color blue(~460nm, expensive), and second you need the right reds. Normal red(~630nm, cheap-ish) is good, but 660nm wavelength is best. To counteract the processes made by the red you also need far red(~730nm, expensive). At least this is all my understanding of LEDs at this time.

Being in europe you have a large number of suppliers for LEDs(granted you have to learn how to operate/wire/direct them yourself) that we do not have here in the States.

I have personally made a couple LED lights myself, and they work great. In my experience I do have some things I'd like to say about the viewing angle of LEDs. You always always ALWAYS want the widest viewing angle possible, and you want to spread out your LEDs over a larger surface. This accomplishes 2 things that pre-made units don't take into account. First, there's heat distribution; it's a lot easier to manage the heat(may not even require a fan if done right). And second, if you have an intense amount of light over a half square foot area, you're going to have a tiny plant, which will most likely get bleached due to too much light. I had a chocolope plant growing under my homemade 53w LED and it actually turned all the leaves white because the plant could not handle the intense amount of light hitting the leaves. I'd also like to mention that the plant was NOT burned by the LED either, it was just bleached.

Also, I'm not sure what LED lights you're looking at, but NEVER go with ones that use 5mm LEDs. Those are the cheap kind they put in mini keychain flashlights and use to light up underneath counters and hospital elevators etc etc. Those are wayy too dim to use for horticultural lighting.

There is a vast world of LEDs emerging, you might do well to use our trusty friend google and you'll be surprised how much you can learn about LEDs. It'll pay off in the long run if you spend your money right the first time.

One other thing I would like to mention is PLL lighting. You can find out loads about it here on IC. It would be considerably easier to get going for the money, and would also net you the results that you want.

Good luck with whatever you do decide on

 

[PetFlora]

Crunk is right to a point. Yes, mj needs B/Rs, BUT, it needs Green too. Research Green spectrum and its' effect on chlorophyll A/B. It's like a super charger. At least one company charges $100 extra for a few Green bulbs mixed in.

I switched from LED to a Quantum Bad Boy HO T5 (8 bulb). The fixtures are available in 2, 4 6, 8, even 16 bulb. I would get at least 4 bulb. HO bulbs are 54 watts and 46" long: you can grow more plants under them.

Aquarium bulbs (for growing coral) are available in LED type spectrums: ATI Actinic Blue, Fiji Purple is a good overall light (including green) for grow and bloom, and UVL Red Suns during bloom.

Think LED benefits, without the high cost. Plus when bulbs die, you can replace them. SWEET.

If that doesn't get your juices flowing then a 250 CMH would be a better choice than LEDs.

 

[dazarooney]

Ok so i've read up that most LED lights are shit..
but that must be from rip off chinese models?
Surely a commercial blackstar isnt going to be bad
people say HPS are better but if you want to be super stealth and not produce a heat sig or noise problems with fans then these are best right>?

also lower degree angles mean better penetration?
they produce the best usable light with cfl's and t5's?

Depending on where you get your lights from, yeah some will be crap. That's the same with any product.

 

[GP73LPC]

check out this thread... lots of LED grow numbers compiled... different manufacturers...

LED Grow Results: Grams per Watt

and this thread/post shows LEDs growing over 1 lb...

LED 1 lb.+ Grows

 

[trem0lo]

First you need the right color blue(~460nm, expensive), and second you need the right reds. Normal red(~630nm, cheap-ish) is good, but 660nm wavelength is best. To counteract the processes made by the red you also need far red(~730nm, expensive). At least this is all my understanding of LEDs at this time.

Good info here. I was wondering about the absence of 730nm from lamps and their effects, and how much is needed. I haven't read much about it and would appreciate your opinion.

It was also my understanding that sufficient green could be achieved from warm white LEDs without the addition of actual green lights.

 

[GP73LPC]

isn't 730nm IR or getting close to it?