Vukman, would you suggest any particular reading for the pros and cons of various lens angles? I have a pretty small footprint (looking at a 13"X13" light in a 19"X19" space, so I was thinking that 60 degree lenses would be best, since I don't need much coverage and it would help a bit with penetration. However, I don't know if this would cause them to bleach the tops more easily than a 90 degree lens (seems logical that this would be the case), or if there are other downsides (slightly less blending, for instance). I can't seem to find much information on this topic applicable specifically to growing that isn't from manufacturers touting their own products.
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Cree led grow lights?
- Thread starter alkbud
- Start date
Hello:
Here's my two bits coming. Cree makes a great product. Hands down, no questions asked. So do quite a few other LED manufacturers. I have always found that the best way to find out who to buy from is to first find out what I need. Little background here....
The optimum red wavelength, as far as we are concerned in this market, is the 660nm. As far as I know, Cree does not make this wavelength of chip unless they have started very very recently and I don't know about it. They have 620-630 all day long but...........
See what I'm getting at? I have to come back to my favourite saying over and over..
"An educated consumer is our best customer"
LED magazine has excellent reviews and the latest up-to-date white papers on this still evolving and emerging field.
Sorry if I sound arrogant and condescending, I do not mean it by any means. The answers are out there just waiting to be read.
BTW, Bridgelux isn't that bad either..
Here's my two bits coming. Cree makes a great product. Hands down, no questions asked. So do quite a few other LED manufacturers. I have always found that the best way to find out who to buy from is to first find out what I need. Little background here....
The optimum red wavelength, as far as we are concerned in this market, is the 660nm. As far as I know, Cree does not make this wavelength of chip unless they have started very very recently and I don't know about it. They have 620-630 all day long but...........
See what I'm getting at? I have to come back to my favourite saying over and over..
"An educated consumer is our best customer"
LED magazine has excellent reviews and the latest up-to-date white papers on this still evolving and emerging field.
Sorry if I sound arrogant and condescending, I do not mean it by any means. The answers are out there just waiting to be read.
BTW, Bridgelux isn't that bad either..
Hello my friend......this is our dilemma in this field though, isn't it. We have to balance the optics with PAR and not damage our crops. Your answers all lay within the light wave spectrum you choose. Bleaching only occurs if you have too much of a certain wavelength although now looking at this question, I realize I do not know which wave length that would be....ahhhhhh.......more questions when you are seeking answers....sorry brother..
The other problem is that the field is still growing by leaps and bounds so the information you seek is out there, just may be a little harder to locate than just typing something into a search engine. I'm sure there has been work done on optics and you're on the right track. Just sorry I cannot give you the answers you want. I would rather tell you I do not know than tell you something I am unsure of........we have way too many of those people already..:biggriin:
My apologies for appearing to be a 'thread hog'........I'll shut up now......
Smoking Gun
Active member
Socrates, as far as using 60 degree lens lights would be a good idea from all the info I have seen. There is a company, I just can't remember which, possibly Hydro Grow LED, that is working with 60 degree lenses in their LED units and seem to be getting better penetration. I know that over 90 degrees the light tends to be too diffuse to be as effective as us growers would like. I am not sure of what downsides a 60 degree LED would have. I hope this was of some help, I am not as well informed as vukman, but I try and keep up with technology.
BAH..you give me too much credit my friend.. I just know what I read and have read (funny how the same spelling sounds different depending where the word it used!! ).......oh yeah...let's get back on track here....
Of personal experience, I have very little. On reading, just a little more than very little...any one can gain the knowledge. You just have to be willing to invest the time to it. Same as anything else..
Take care.
vukman
corwinlame
New member
LED grow lights is best for growing the plants. It is used to increase the best plants roots and make your garden better. Now a days many Cree LED lights available in the market for your related price so you can easily select your growing lights.
StoopheadFred
Member
Looks like China's in the house!
I have actually been emailing with this company for a while about these lights. Looks like the smallest models (140w actual draw, but consists of 80 under driven 3w leds) goes for $162 + $74 in shipping for a sample order of 1 light (shipping would be cheaper per unit if you purchased the minimum order quantity of 10 units). I scoured all the China connection websites and found these, I like them because they offer an easily replaceable LED pannel which is extremely important for me because I've seen how many of these Chinese LED lights crap out.
Little off topic here... but I was curious what you guys thought about using screw in E27 LED lights as grow lights? It seems like if you were to order straight from China you would be able to get a low cost per watt, and if one burns out then ditch it and screw in another one. Fixtures could be super cheap just like CFL's and use electrical strips and plug to e27 socket adapters. Plus you could probably order custom spectrums with a somewhat large order quantity.
I have actually been emailing with this company for a while about these lights. Looks like the smallest models (140w actual draw, but consists of 80 under driven 3w leds) goes for $162 + $74 in shipping for a sample order of 1 light (shipping would be cheaper per unit if you purchased the minimum order quantity of 10 units). I scoured all the China connection websites and found these, I like them because they offer an easily replaceable LED pannel which is extremely important for me because I've seen how many of these Chinese LED lights crap out.
Little off topic here... but I was curious what you guys thought about using screw in E27 LED lights as grow lights? It seems like if you were to order straight from China you would be able to get a low cost per watt, and if one burns out then ditch it and screw in another one. Fixtures could be super cheap just like CFL's and use electrical strips and plug to e27 socket adapters. Plus you could probably order custom spectrums with a somewhat large order quantity.
StoopheadFred I can see the screw ins making sense especially if they aren't too expensive to get them in bulk. I would see what the average lifetime is as well as if they can show you an inner shot of everything inside there.
Now on the fixtures, it really depends on how many you get. When I first got started with micro growing I had a TON of cfls in all my cabs and after I kept adding the dual adapters and the wiring and plugs it did start to add up. The good thing is, once I upgraded I had cfl's for any and all house lighting I have needed ( or will have for years to come, I bought ALOT of cfls' lol ).
corwinlame - you feel robot-ish to me so not sure if you are an seo bot or a grower.
vukman - there is nothing wrong with helping fellow growers out but I do agree that all the information any of us know has either been researched or field tested BUT anytime someone has a question there is always a search engine to answer it. With leds being "new" if we can even use that term, it is more exciting for people because there are many choices between the leds you can use unlike hps which the only real choice is which $100 bulb are you going to buy.
Smoking Gun Different companies claim different results, hydrogrow and their supplier ( they don't make their own lights ) does do the 60s and 90s and odds are variations of a few different led degree angles. I personally want to get tests going on 30's on light movers personally.
Socrates - I still haven't seen a ton of bleaching from 60's but for small tents and cabinets I would look into the 90's - 120's especially if you are going to germinate / seedling growth unless you are going to run low wattage / smaller lights then no need to worry.
Off to do more research myself. I still want to see someone using 82 and under copper pennies as heat sinks for individual leds (-; copper rocks!
Now on the fixtures, it really depends on how many you get. When I first got started with micro growing I had a TON of cfls in all my cabs and after I kept adding the dual adapters and the wiring and plugs it did start to add up. The good thing is, once I upgraded I had cfl's for any and all house lighting I have needed ( or will have for years to come, I bought ALOT of cfls' lol ).
corwinlame - you feel robot-ish to me so not sure if you are an seo bot or a grower.
vukman - there is nothing wrong with helping fellow growers out but I do agree that all the information any of us know has either been researched or field tested BUT anytime someone has a question there is always a search engine to answer it. With leds being "new" if we can even use that term, it is more exciting for people because there are many choices between the leds you can use unlike hps which the only real choice is which $100 bulb are you going to buy.
Smoking Gun Different companies claim different results, hydrogrow and their supplier ( they don't make their own lights ) does do the 60s and 90s and odds are variations of a few different led degree angles. I personally want to get tests going on 30's on light movers personally.
Socrates - I still haven't seen a ton of bleaching from 60's but for small tents and cabinets I would look into the 90's - 120's especially if you are going to germinate / seedling growth unless you are going to run low wattage / smaller lights then no need to worry.
Off to do more research myself. I still want to see someone using 82 and under copper pennies as heat sinks for individual leds (-; copper rocks!
alkbud...you're going in the wrong direction...
If you already make your own panels, why would you buy a pre-made?? You are going to pay someone who is trying to MAKE MONEY off you!!
Think about it, if the price is about the same...what do you think, they are putting it together for FREE? Or marketing it for FREE? Or not making a profit..??
Spend your money on the highest quality components you can get and spend the couple of hours to put it all together...I think you'll be happier with the results.
Good Luck.
PS: where ARE you...you start a thread, whine and complain that no one is answering you in 3 separate posts...thread grows to 2 pages and you're no where to be seen. lol
If you already make your own panels, why would you buy a pre-made?? You are going to pay someone who is trying to MAKE MONEY off you!!
Think about it, if the price is about the same...what do you think, they are putting it together for FREE? Or marketing it for FREE? Or not making a profit..??
Spend your money on the highest quality components you can get and spend the couple of hours to put it all together...I think you'll be happier with the results.
Good Luck.
PS: where ARE you...you start a thread, whine and complain that no one is answering you in 3 separate posts...thread grows to 2 pages and you're no where to be seen. lol
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Thanks for all the replies guys had been busy and wasn't on icmag much. After thinking bout it more built myself a 60w panel using same 3w leds for less than $240 +$50 shipping he sells it for. And for side lighting built two 12w (18x1w 660 and 640 led) And I found it wasn't enough light in my 2.5ft x 1.5ft. I did get 28g from 1 plant and 14g and 16g respectively from the other two, so roughly 0.7g/w which is not too bad considering temps were often peaking at 30C due to inadequate ventilation from exhaust fan. New fans have been ordered. For next flower round the top lighting will get an upgrade to 150-200w of 3w/5w LEDs of 410nm, 440nm, 470nm, 630nm, 660nm,740nm and a few whites for full spectrum and use less blue LEDs because a white led is essentially a blue diode coated with a phosphor much like cfl lighting. Just sourcing LEDs and drivers now and mainly a big heatsink to dissipate all that heat the new panel will be generating.
All Cree; http://area51lighting.com/specs.html
I don't know man. I've always been a fan of reds and blue and some supplemental whites for other spectrums not as the main source of light. Whites after all are blue LEDs with phosphor layer. They hit the peak of chlorophyll b in the blue (450nm) but not really the peaks of of chlorophyll a 410/430. After all chlorophyll a is the main photosynthetic pigment.
hyposomniac
Active member
Hey fellows.. I'm building an XML2 based grow light for greens production, where I don't really need the higher levels of red.. will show it off soon.
Chlorophyll absorption charts were made using isolated pigments from a non-cannabis plant, as you probably know.. They are awesome tools, but not perfect. Preliminary research in lettuce showed that 430nm vs 470nm(iirc) really didn't matter. Ill try to get the source for you.
Also, I can't find any of the new-gen LEDs that peak below 447nm anyway.. (whites either). SO if you know some, please share.
I know that those absorption charts were made using isolated pigments which may not represent the exact peaks but they shouldn't be more than 20nm off either direction and cannabis like most other plants also contains accessory pigments other than chlorophyll a and b I agree that royal blue LEDs 450nm might as well be replaced by white LEDs since they peak at 450nm blue plus the advantage of other wavelengths coverage, but 640-660 red still needs to be added as it's the main driving force behind photosynthesis and 720-740nm far red for Emerson effect and Pr to Pfr conversion and white LEDs are not as strong in these wavelengths. Lettuce is very different from cannabis, it can conduct its full life cycle and get a substantial harvest off of very little light part of where the whole hype started that a 90w UFO can replace a 400w HID because lettuce practically spends its whole life in veg mode and during veg plants are not really picky as to the quality of light that they receive. With cannabis you see very noticeable difference between light at 380-430nm and 450nm+ especially regarding terpenes and trichomes expression.
For LEDs in the 430nm range and below your best bet is aquarium places they normally sell them for corals. I know a few places but not sure what the rules are regarding posting website links but pm me I'll be glad to send them to you.
Hello:
Here's my two bits coming. Cree makes a great product. Hands down, no questions asked. So do quite a few other LED manufacturers. I have always found that the best way to find out who to buy from is to first find out what I need. Little background here....
The optimum red wavelength, as far as we are concerned in this market, is the 660nm. As far as I know, Cree does not make this wavelength of chip unless they have started very very recently and I don't know about it. They have 620-630 all day long but...........
See what I'm getting at? I have to come back to my favourite saying over and over..
"An educated consumer is our best customer"
LED magazine has excellent reviews and the latest up-to-date white papers on this still evolving and emerging field.
Sorry if I sound arrogant and condescending, I do not mean it by any means. The answers are out there just waiting to be read.
BTW, Bridgelux isn't that bad either..
Cree has made a "photored" 660nm XP-E. I'm not sure you'll find it on store shelves any time soon but a good conversation with your local sales rep might net you a reel.
I'm personally waiting for XPE-2 photoreds
