Can LED's do a pound or better per harvest?

[indianajones]

I'm thinking my next space with be LED exclusive since I have found a good brand of LED (evergrow)

http://www.ledgrowlights.cn/default.asp

Two of their 508 watt units on a light rail covering a 10x10 area? Sure, why not? I've got a buddy using one of them covering a 4x12 and he was raving about it.

Once I get that space set up it should be interesting, because that will be 1016 watts, which is actually less than a 1000w hps/mh draws when you consider that the ballast burns ~100 watts.

In a 10x10 space, one would typically run 4kw of HID + 18, 000 btu AC. If your power costs 12c per kw/h then you will spend $300 on the lights alone ($75 a 1kw a month), the AC burns about 1650w, so that's an additional 123.75. So monthly, your power bill would be- $75 (pretax) on 1016w of LEDs; or $423.75 (pretax) on HIDs. Even if you spend 2k on the lights, you would recoup the cost in a year in power alone. A $75 power bill looks so low nobody would ever suspect a grow op!

Those evergrow lights don't cost anywhere near that. They cost the same as a 1kw hps with a digital ballast, sunsoaker hood (my personal favorite) and ushio/hortilux bulb. $1 a watt, and that includes shipping. Since I won't be buying four lights and an AC, I will just be getting two LEDs and a light mover, my startup cost will be less. Saving money on startup cost, money on electricity, and less hassle setting up the lights themselves? PPPPPFFFFFFFFTTTT! It's not even a question!

 

[DZLHIT]

Ever grow changed their policy, their min order is 10 pieces now.... unless you name drop or have an existing relationship with them.

Looks like they want to remain a supplier and not a retailer, which is kind of a bummer; The market needs more companies like them.

 

[Mikenite69]

well i am gonna see what i can yield this time around with led lighting i like how you dont get crazy amounts of stretch with them.. This will be my first led grow start to finish and the best part about it is i am gonna be using a shitload of them. I have a vipar 360 led rated watts, and a 300w led vipar rated led watts so maybe about 4 hundred at the wall between the 2 maybe less.. Also have another 360w led rated watts using x2 lense along with 2 light house hydro 90w led ufos one veg and one all red some blue uv model all the leds are running 3w leds except for the U.F.O'S They are 1w plus i have another 270w led rated blue and white switchable that could join the party also so if i use all of them i am looking at around 7/800 watts at the wall if i am lucky but ill just call it about 600watts ill have to buy a meter and add them all up at the wall so far i am very impressed with how internodes stack using l.e.d's well if i do wind up using them all i am gonna run the light house hydro ufo's for side lighting. So far i have been using only the 2 360 led rated watts for veg well watch my grow journals for updates or when it is all finished ill come back and post results and pics to prove weight and results.. Also i am most likely not gonna use my blue and white switchable during the flower period because that is my veg light so ill x that off my flowering list of leds..

 

[Kindest]

Sounds awesome Mikenite, better wear your shades!

 

[Mikenite69]

Thanks ya I am gonna try to see what these LEDs will do my newest edition the vipar led and the light house hydro lights all have uv and ir I am praying to the weed gods that I'll be able to get some hash tips going on. I'll be happy if I can pull a lb or more I sure have enough light coverage because all of these lights will be in a 4x4 tent on top will be 360w and the 300w with uv and ir in the middle with the other 360w on the other side of the 300w light with the two 90w light house hydro ufos with uv and ir for down low side lighting should be one hell of a show come flowering time. I am stoked to say the least and I can wait to see if these will out yield my 1000w hps only time will tell.

 

[psyphish]

The Lighthouse Hydro's LED panels have an uv-led that is 380nm. AFAIK 380nm is not useful.

 

[Mikenite69]

I always thought the uv and ir are what is good for creating hash tips? Almost every grow I have saw using l.e.d lights where the plants got hash tips on the tops of the buds the lights were using uv and ir LEDs in them.

 

[Phaeton]

I always thought the uv and ir are what is good for creating hash tips? Almost every grow I have saw using l.e.d lights where the plants got hash tips on the tops of the buds the lights were using uv and ir LEDs in them.

LED have been played with a few years and hash has been made, as well as oil extracts and bud.

When doing supplements with IR and UV separately the extra tips came from the IR growing. More than a single factor is involved but IR most definitely increased tip growth.

The UV pretty much slowed growth overall, the more UVB the slower the growth.
There was a benefit in three out of four strains tested: The UVB intensified the "creeper weed" effect.

On another note, the plants thrived much better when the UV portion was not on top but rather a diffuse ambiance from the sides. When the Reptisun 10 (10% UVB) fixtures were taken down from over head and set vertically alongside the plants health increased while the creeper effects remained the same. The UVB meter reads 100 to 180 microwatts at the plants for maximum effect on the strains affected.
UVA (365 nm) and Actinic blue (420 nm) had identical effects on the plants, UVB right at 315 nm had most effect versus least damage.

 

[Mikenite69]

Thanks for the great info on the uv well that is good news then because I planned on using the lights with uv for side lighting anyways. My other lights I have I was wondering why they only had ir and no uv well I guess it's a good thing. So basically those California light work lights with the UVB tubes on the side of the light are no good?? Also how does that uv act in metal halides being used in flower because I have always switched to metal halide my last two weeks of flowerig so was I actually creating a negative effect I always thought it created a positive effect well atleast for me it did.

 

[hempfield]

LED have been played with a few years and hash has been made, as well as oil extracts and bud.

When doing supplements with IR and UV separately the extra tips came from the IR growing. More than a single factor is involved but IR most definitely increased tip growth.

The UV pretty much slowed growth overall, the more UVB the slower the growth.
There was a benefit in three out of four strains tested: The UVB intensified the "creeper weed" effect.

On another note, the plants thrived much better when the UV portion was not on top but rather a diffuse ambiance from the sides. When the Reptisun 10 (10% UVB) fixtures were taken down from over head and set vertically alongside the plants health increased while the creeper effects remained the same. The UVB meter reads 100 to 180 microwatts at the plants for maximum effect on the strains affected.
UVA (365 nm) and Actinic blue (420 nm) had identical effects on the plants, UVB right at 315 nm had most effect versus least damage.

This is extremely useful information ! Did you kept something like a grow report or similar to have it posted here as a sticky thread ? Every LED grower (and not just them) will be happy to know all this details.

Thank you !

 

[devilgoob]

The 365nm UVA wavelength is close to the band-gap size into which proteins fold, which disrupts the process I assume, but am not sure.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10365447

 

[PetFlora]

Kinda late to the party, but hey maybe it will get reinvigorated

I too have been experimenting with leds for 3+ years. They fascinate me. I even started a company LED RetroFIt to replace t8 type troffers in businesses

I think it's safe to say that not many people get 1g/w with hps

LED?

The new led tech is COB.

Several guys (on another grow site) made their own light using 1-4 COBs, and the results are extremely promising

If interested, I have a link to a super cool DIY COB light in my thread

One guy pulled 0.9g/w, based on actual watt draw

 

[PetFlora]

Kinda late to the party, but hey maybe it will get reinvigorated

I too have been experimenting with leds for 3+ years. They fascinate me. I even started a company LED RetroFIt to replace t8 type troffers in businesses

I think it's safe to say that not many people get 1g/w with hps

LED?

Not long ago 0.5g/w was good, but the tech is literally exploding

One guy pulled 0.9g/w, based on actual watt draw

It used to be ~ 70% of well designed leds would equal hps,
but thaks to cobs, it's about to go < 50/50!

But since not all watts are created equal, g/w really is a meaningless measure

The new led tech is COB.

Several guys (on another grow site) made their own light using 1-4 COBs, and the results are extremely promising

If interested, I have a link to a super cool DIY COB light in my thread

 

[hush]

I recently got into the LED world and I'm definitely interested in COB lighting, as an alternative to the expensive 5w emitter panels. But I don't want to DIY anything myself. After looking around a bit, it seems there aren't a whole lot of options. Is Apollo Horticulture the only company that sells them? I can't find shit. My Google-Fu must be slipping.

I would love to purchase a full-spectrum LED replacement for my 400w MH/HPS, to go in a 2x2 tent. I would love to get one of those California Lightworks Solar Flare 220s, but the price is slightly higher than I would like to spend. The Apollo COB fixture is affordable, but there aren't a whole lot of reviews out there. Here is a link to what I'm talking about: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00I15DAB2/ref=pd_aw_sbs_4?pi=SS115

Anyone know anything about these?

 

[PetFlora]

DO A SEARCH FOR APOLLO GROW LIGHT

NOT A GOOD REPUTATION

 

[hush]

Good to know. Thanks.

So yeah all the options are really expensive, it seems. I only just got into LED lighting with this small UFO style one I'm using right now, which was only a hundred dollars or so. It's listed as 135w but I don't know what the actual wattage is. Someone on ebay is selling them, and he claims they are 90w actual, but I can't find any confirmation of that. Anyway, the one I use is by Apollo, and it has exceeded my expectations, being that it was the cheapest one I could find at the time. Now, granted, it is in a tiny little cabinet with one single plant under it, but based on what I'm seeing, I could put 4 plants under this light and easily yield a gram per watt (based on 90 watts). As it is right now, I'm expecting half that with one plant.

So it seems to me that the most affordable option would still be to purchase the cheap ones, but lots of them? I mean, 4 of these UFOs would still be cheaper than most of the higher quality panels being sold from what I can tell. But then I guess at that point I could almost afford a Solar Flare 220...

Maybe I need to accept that the cost of LED lighting for a 2x2 space starts at around $400 and that's the end of the story. Oh well.

Anyway, I'm off topic. I know for a fact that a pound cannot be achieved from a single UFO fixture, lol

 

[PetFlora]

Area 51 makes a 75w that should be on your buy it now list

http://a51led.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=191

It will kick the shit out of those cheap ufos

Tell them I sent you

 

[mohammed romney]

i got almost 6 oz from a 205w unit and that was under bad conditions...

well said. a friend tried these expensive led lights then threw them in the garbage..

Area 51 makes a 75w that should be on your buy it now list

http://a51led.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65&products_id=191

It will kick the shit out of those cheap ufos

Tell them I sent you

for $4 a watt i would have epic expectations

 

[PetFlora]

for $4 a watt i would have epic expectations

Using your logic then $1-2/w are likely to be mediocre

Somewhere, somehow, someone started the dollar/watt as a quantifiable base line

Like many things dealing with leds, it is bad advice

 

[hush]

As badass as that light appears to be, PetFlora, I gotta say I can't imagine ever bringing myself to pay $270 for a 77w light. Jeez, at that price point I might as well spend the extra amount required to purchase the Solar Flare 220 or something similar. Which, is exactly what I'm hoping to buy at some point. I keep reading awesome reviews about those.

But yeah, $270 for a 77w light sounds unreasonable when I'm getting results that exceeded my expectations from a $100 light with probably about the same wattage. You know, I think I'm going to go buy a Kill-A-Watt meter today so I can find out once and for all how many actual watts my Apollo UFO uses.

Thanks for the link though. I must say I like the idea of how they mixed white leds with reds. That makes it look less like a neon beer sign, lol.