Switching to LED, Advice?

THC123 · Feb 14, 2018

Hi,

I want to switch to LED and I want to buy the brand viparspectra because they are not too expensive and seem like a good introduction to LED.

I have a 150 cm x 150 cm x 200 cm grow tent and normally I use a 600 watt HPS.
The reason for switching is that it always becomes too hot in the tent, even with enough exhaust and ventilation. I grow beautiful buds under hps but the heat causes the top buds to dry out and lose aroma and stickyness. I am sick and tired of it, that is why I am going for LEDs. I think HPS is better suited for grow rooms but not for small tents as in grow rooms I never had heat stress.

Ok back on topic:

I wanted to use the 900W light that draws 405 watts or I wanted to use 2 X 600 Watt lights (actual draw 269 watts).

What would be better for the best yield? I think with 2 600 watt ligh I will have better coverage and yield even though the intensity is less. And I think 2 x 900W might be overdoing it.

What is your advice?

Once I have money I will buy heliospectra but they are too expensive atm.

Koondense · Feb 14, 2018

My advice.
Save the money and get some proper leds(vipar are old tech) or get some tools and build your own led light on a budget.
Realistically you'll need 750-1000W of top performing leds(cobs, qbs) for best results in a 1,5x1,5m tent.

Cheers

zachrockbadenof · Feb 14, 2018

Koondense said:
My advice.
Save the money and get some proper leds(vipar are old tech)
Cheers

i'm not sure if vipar's r old tech, but bought '3; 300w last year for a 4x3.5ft tent, n they SUCKED big time 12/12 .. slow growth... i gave em away.. tho my buddy says he is using em in his veg room n they seem to perform better then the 2 fixtures of 8bulb/4ft t5's is was using...

THC123 · Feb 14, 2018

Hey Koon,

Are you talking about actual power draw or output watt(of which i dont believe much)?

What other brand do you recommend?

I would like heliospectra but they cost 1600 euros for ONE lamp 600 watt. That is out of my budget.

SO are there affordable LED's that perform well?

I saw that Paddi has nice results from MARS en VIPAR

Koondense · Feb 14, 2018

Honestly, i almost always recommend building lights, the cheapest way for best performance.
I only talk about draw watts(total driver consumption) any other numbers(except par watts) are a bad marketing trick from old days when blue/reds were the only leds around.
If i were buying a led fixture, I'd very likely buy a Timber lights(fatty VS) but prices are not low if you want quality.
Realistically, these lights get payed out after one harvest.

Cheers

Pro Headies · Feb 14, 2018

Im new to LED world also but have been non stop researching them recently. Id recommend staying away from the blurple led lights like the vipar from all the side by side grows ive seen of them against COB's and QB's. Id check out the Quantum boards on https://growerslights.com/collections/led-grow-lights since they ship internationally(guessing your not in US since used metric measurements for tent)
https://www.rapidled.com/horticulture-kits/ for COB's.

FunkBomb · Feb 15, 2018

Check out the Horticulture Lighting Group's Quantum Boards. They are the best LEDs out and continue to get better and more efficient.

-Funk

starke · Feb 15, 2018

I just finished a grow in your size tent with an URSA Optilux LED. 1.6# bud harvest came in at 1.13 GPW. This is a kick ass light, but not cheap. In its' most basic form this light is basically COBs powered by Meanwell drivers in a pretty case. Like Koondense said, build your own for less. If I were doing it over or if I expand in the future, I will build my own.

Phaeton · Feb 16, 2018

The bud room is on its third generation of LEDs. The favorite changes year to year but Black Dog and Advanced have inexpensive competition now.

The current favorite is Dwarf Star by Black Diamond. 230 watts per unit, a pair of them (460 watts) would give similar yields as a 600 HPS but the buds would be tastier by far.
Three different color temperature white LEDs enhanced with red and blue, the lights can be used veg and bud.
The bud room uses four Dwarf Stars, followed by three Black Dogs at half again as much $ per watt.
Watts are all measured by draw at the wall, watt meters are cheap.

EcoNepenthe · Feb 18, 2018

COBs Rock

COBs Rock

Greetings: You're inquiring in the right direction...LED. The 2 most efficient are COBs(circuit on board) and QB(quantum board) for LED. I use Cree COBs. A 1K rig I recently wifi'd (GreenGenes Zigbee controller tutorial). If you are reasonably handy DIY is a good approach. DIY allows one to enhance or experiment as they go along. If not, GreenGenes PLC or Timber Grow Lights for pre-assembled.
You will yield quantity and high quality cannabis. Environment is more manageable.
This is just my opinion, hope it gives some insight.

Stay safe!!!
Success w/ya grow!!! :canabis:

dread · Feb 21, 2018

groeilampenshop.be

v1ru5 · Feb 23, 2018

Finally someone posts a link to an european LED shop, thanks a lot dread!

dread · Feb 26, 2018

no problem!!

RB56 · Feb 26, 2018

MIGRO has been working very well for me. Also EU.

angelgoob · Mar 2, 2018

my 450 was for one auto.

i wonder what you was using the 300's for? did you go by manufacturer light distance specs?

THC123 · Mar 19, 2018

Well I got myself two viparspectra600 because they are my first LED lights and budget was tight.

These are supposed to be the equivalent of one 600watt HPS.

I am glad I bought 2 of them and that I looked at the actual power draw.

When I have 2 lamps turned on, they give me the same amount of light as ONE HPS 600 watt.

So no way one of these lamps would have been enough.

I am excited to see how it will go. I have a tent full of SSSDH OJD cut.

zachrockbadenof · Mar 19, 2018

THC123 said:
Well I got myself two viparspectra600 because they are my first LED lights and budget was tight.
These are supposed to be the equivalent of one 600watt HPS.
I am glad I bought 2 of them and that I looked at the actual power draw.
When I have 2 lamps turned on, they give me the same amount of light as ONE HPS 600 watt.
So no way one of these lamps would have been enough.
I am excited to see how it will go. I have a tent full of SSSDH OJD cut.

i bought '3' of their 300w fixtures - put them in a 4x3.5ft tent, n they were totally inadequate.. i added an 8bulb,ft fluor after a couple of weeks which totally f'd up the grow with heat - i ended up giving em away . very un-impressive lights...

Zeez · Mar 19, 2018

Van Belgie.

THC123 · Mar 21, 2018

I am thinking how to position the 2 lamps in my grow tent.

The surface is 150 x 150 cm (about 5 x 5 feet)

The lamps cover an area of 2.5 x 2.5 feet at 24 inches of height(per lamp). WIth such a small coverage, the idea of one of these lamps replacing a 600 watt hps is ludicrous, how do they even dare make such claims? My 600 watt covered my whole tent no problem. With 2 lamps I can get close but the light doesnt spread out much causing spots with much less light.

I was thinking about positioning them diagonally.

DOes anyone have tips on how to spread the lights an position them in my square tent to have the best possible coverage?

The LED's shine in a 90 degree angle so the light doesnt spread out as much as I am used with HPS.

Koondense · Mar 21, 2018

All sounds right, those lights and sellers are claiming false statements.
You'd obviously need 4 such lights if one covers only 2,5x2,5 sq feet.

I think the best thing to do is to return them, save a bit more and buy some cob based led light system or build one by yourself.

Cheers

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