California Light Works or LumiGro Pro

[CaymanS]

Hello,

This is my first post here, I have been lurking for a few months reading as much as I can. I know what I am asking is very much someones personal opinion on things, but...

I live in Phoenix, summer is around the corner, again...

I have a nice little room I created in my garage, looks just like a small storage closest, its very well insulated against the heat and cold. I am looking to replace the 1000watt HID system I am currently running. Since the space is rather small in terms of growing... 7' tall x 5' wide x 3' deep I have to run an AC unit pretty much 24/7/365 to keep things stable. I want to reduce the heat in there so the ac doesn't not have to run as often and reduce the amps I am pulling. APS (our local electric company) just loves me each month when I have to pay the bill!!!

After reading and reading I think I am settled on either the California Light Works Solar Storm 400 (x2) or the LumiGro Pro 650 (x1) to give enough light to replace the 1000 watt and fill the space I have.

Since there is so much information on this forum I get information over load and can not figure out which way to go, any assistance from experienced users would be great!

Thanks, looking forward to more posts and sharing as much as I can.

 

[Muleskinner]

The Lumigrow 650 looks like a great light, but beware it will only replace about 1/3rd the light of your HPS.

According to growerhouse.com testing, the Hortilux 1000 HPS cranks out 1960 PAR at 24 inches, while the 650 measures only 652 PAR on their test. CFL Solar Storm 800 did a little better at 857. Of course this is just one guy's testing with a light meter:

http://growershouse.com/blog/hid-bu...-solistek-lumatek-maxlume-growlite-ultra-sun/

http://growershouse.com/blog/lumigr...se-led-plant-grow-lights-review-and-par-test/

http://growershouse.com/blog/califo...800w-led-grow-light-par-and-footprint-review/

 

[CaymanS]

Thank you for the information I did not see the PAR charts on there. I had a feeling replacing the HID light with an LED is going to be challenging. I am huge fan of LED's my other hobby is salt water reef tanks and I have been using an Aqua Illumination fixture for about a year now, I love it!

 

[Muleskinner]

Thank you for the information I did not see the PAR charts on there. I had a feeling replacing the HID light with an LED is going to be challenging. I am huge fan of LED's my other hobby is salt water reef tanks and I have been using an Aqua Illumination fixture for about a year now, I love it!

sounds pretty cool, I am not trying to piss on LED lighting, but we are in a time period where there are very little useful specs being published by manufacturers. With a little digging you can find lumens and PAR photon flux values for most commercial HID bulbs, but not with LED.

I am lusting after a Lumigrow light, I'm sure I'll get one eventually. Seems like a great company.

 

[hempfield]

Thank you for the information I did not see the PAR charts on there. I had a feeling replacing the HID light with an LED is going to be challenging. I am huge fan of LED's my other hobby is salt water reef tanks and I have been using an Aqua Illumination fixture for about a year now, I love it!

Once you move to LEDs you will never go back to HPS

 

[BrownThumb]

Hello,

This is my first post here, I have been lurking .....

Since there is so much information on this forum I get information over load and can not figure out which way to go, any assistance from experienced users would be great!

Thanks, looking forward to more posts and sharing as much as I can.

I would be sure to ask about how much heat whatever unit generates before you make the purchase. Some LED's generate more heat than you might think. They may run cooler than HID (never ran HID), but it's not all unicorns and rainbows. Some of the LED's out there rival HID for growth and density, but it seems like those tend to be the more expensive units. I went cheap and I am pleased with my selection and the results. I am not sure it is necessary to drop $12-1500+ to get decent units pumping enough watts to do the job, but the best grows I have seen were using units in that price range if my memory serves me. Then you have guys like me that pay less than half of that for a "comparable" unit without HSU's.

 

[CaymanS]

Thanks Brownthumb, I don't mind spending the money on a quality unit. I am looking for personal experience with the coverage of the light, am I going to get enough coverage from either of these lights to fill my 3' x 5' space. I know they put some heat out, but nothing compared to a 1000watt MH or HPS thats for sure!

I was also wondering which one is a better unit over all, quality wise. I always fall for the "its more expensive so it must be better" scam.


Thanks again!

 

[Muleskinner]

Once you move to LEDs you will never go back to HPS

of course - but that's because you can't AFFORD to go back after going LED! heh-heh

 

[GP73LPC]

The Lumigrow 650 looks like a great light, but beware it will only replace about 1/3rd the light of your HPS.

According to growerhouse.com testing, the Hortilux 1000 HPS cranks out 1960 PAR at 24 inches, while the 650 measures only 652 PAR on their test. CFL Solar Storm 800 did a little better at 857. Of course this is just one guy's testing with a light meter:

http://growershouse.com/blog/hid-bu...-solistek-lumatek-maxlume-growlite-ultra-sun/

http://growershouse.com/blog/lumigr...se-led-plant-grow-lights-review-and-par-test/

http://growershouse.com/blog/califo...800w-led-grow-light-par-and-footprint-review/

don't know much about results from light meters when comparing HID to LED, but most people and i do mean most (including beginners) can get the same yield from LED's using about 60-75% the wattage as compared to HID.

so a 600-750 watt LED will produce the same yield as a 1000 watt HID.

if you don't believe me, look at the documentation in the stickies in this forum, or the links in my sig. specifically LED - GPW and LED - 1LB+ grows.

 

[CaymanS]

don't know much about results from light meters when comparing HID to LED, but most people and i do mean most (including beginners) can get the same yield from LED's using about 60-75% the wattage as compared to HID.

so a 600-750 watt LED will produce the same yield as a 1000 watt HID.

if you don't believe me, look at the documentation in the stickies in this forum, or the links in my sig. specifically LED - GPW and LED - 1LB+ grows.

I am a believer, I am still wondering though about the coverage being enough with one LumiGro Pro650 for a 7' tall x 3' deep x 5' wide space. Or would 2 California Light Works Solar Storm 400 be enough to cover that space?

I am worried about spending a lot of money on something and not getting enough coverage is all. I have faith they will work great and I will be happy with the yield.

 

[medmaker420]

with ONE panel you will always be limited to only be able to RAISE the panel in order to expand its canopy coverage. If you run two+ lights, you will be able to deal with canopy management easier without having to lift up the panels.

This will also come down to how you deal with canopies as well as what strains you are running. If they are uniform and short it will make your led life much easier.

Just make sure and feed them well because under LEDs they tend to eat more at least from my experience.

a 5 foot wide area is a big spot to try and cover with just one panel unless you do like I said above and raise it UP and then it comes down to the capability of the diodes within your panel and how much penetration they can achieve the higher up you move the panel.

another option is to run the one panel in a vertizontal style to allow for even penetration within the plants from one side versus the top, they would have less foliage blocking the light from the side compared to the top down shining.

either way, I don't know anyone who stops at just one led panel so get the type you like and feel you will continue to use later on but could also still be used in your garden in all future efforts versus needing to be upgraded as well.

can't wait to see what you end up getting and hope you will get a led grow show going here for all of us to check out.