213 Watt LED Nirvana Northern Lights Grow

GP73LPC · Feb 21, 2013

ok, a little update.

P1 is a beast !!!
P2 is a smaller version of P1
P3 has finally recovered from the nute burn and is looking healthy with the last several sets of leaves.

on a side note, when i entered the room in which i grow i could smell sweet weed. and this from Northern Lights. i recently built a mini carbon scrubber with net pots, but it created too much back pressure so today i whipped together a larger scrubber and put it in place. left the house for bit and when i returned and entered the grow room nothing but clean air. :woohoo:

i will be adding a ozone genny later, but all is good for now.

i am sure hoping P1 is female cuz (she) is gorgeous !!! the secondary (side) branching is strong and vigorous.

P3 is tall, lanky, with little to no side branching at this point. not to impressed with this pheno type.

i'll try to get some pics up later. the pics under the leds just aren't that great so i need to drag the plants out the grow chamber.

we are on our way now :tiphat:

BrownThumb · Feb 22, 2013

Don't give up on P3. I doubt I have your expertise as a grower, but I do know that judging a book by its cover in this case is not wise. That might end up being the one just as easily as not. I just went through this w/ some Afghan land race I am running and my eyes don't know shit. I had a pheno just like how you describe P3 and while it never did have the vigor of some of the others, it ended up being the best tasting, the most dense and yielded far better than I would have thought. In fact, it yielded nearly as much as plants twice its size and the whole time I was growing it I thought I was wasting my time. Now that is my number 1 cut (my plant like your P3, had little branches and not very many of them compared to sisters), followed closely by another of the girls from batch 1. I did super crop, but it's the pheno., not anything I did.

GP73LPC · Feb 22, 2013

for sure brownthumb, i don't disagree P3 could be special. i have no intentions on giving up, just not impressed as of yet.

i will say P3 would be the superior SOG plant based on structure. so no problems waiting to see what transpires. i love this hobby and ALL plants get a chance in my garden.

:tiphat:

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

WTF ???????

so tonight i decided to take a little peek on the babies with a green LED cap light i have.

much to surprise there was NOT total darkness. glad the plants aren't mature yet.

my LEDS aren't shutting all the way off. is this a timer problem? seems like i have read that some where.

do i need to invest in a better timer?

HELP !!!! need to fix this before we get sexually mature.

rives · Feb 23, 2013

If your timer is triac-based (solid state relay), rather than an electro-mechanical relay or direct-operated contacts, then they almost always leak some current in the off state. The amount of light that you get is going to be dependent on the amount of leakage and the sensitivity of the driver. You need to change out your timer, I'd say.

Phychotron · Feb 23, 2013

they are either getting power or they're not, your timer is in charge of that.

SeaMaiden · Feb 23, 2013

rives said:
If your timer is triac-based (solid state relay), rather than an electro-mechanical relay or direct-operated contacts, then they almost always leak some current in the off state. The amount of light that you get is going to be dependent on the amount of leakage and the sensitivity of the driver. You need to change out your timer, I'd say.

Is that...? Ok, this is totally reminding me of a problem we have with using the LED bulbs made for home use in a ceiling fan that's kept running. The lights stay ON! I told Dave that, while I love the energy savings, I can't sleep with lights on and so no more LEDs will be installed until they figure out how to stop that from happening.

Love when I learn something like this, thank you.

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

rives said:
If your timer is triac-based (solid state relay), rather than an electro-mechanical relay or direct-operated contacts, then they almost always leak some current in the off state. The amount of light that you get is going to be dependent on the amount of leakage and the sensitivity of the driver. You need to change out your timer, I'd say.

thanks rives, i do indeed have a cheap solid state timer. one of the same ones i used to use with HID lighting.

so it's the sensitivity of the LED drivers that are allowing this small leak to be seen. i guess this did not apply to the ballasts and HID lighting, since the HID lighting always went out completely.

thanks man, off to order an electromechanical timer now. not nearly as cheap as the solid state models.

Phychotron said:
they are either getting power or they're not, your timer is in charge of that.

VerdantGreen · Feb 23, 2013

i have always used a cheap segmental timer and a relay switch. probably dont need the relay switch for LED's

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

VerdantGreen said:
i have always used a cheap segmental timer and a relay switch. probably dont need the relay switch for LED's

no problems with your LEDS being slightly lit when the timer shuts off?

maybe the welthink have cheap drivers?

i really don't know.

VerdantGreen · Feb 23, 2013

i think the mechanical timers are just a switch so no i dont think there is any current leakage... but the relay switch/lighting controller would make it doubly sure - basically it stops the full current to the appliance passing through the timer.

it dont think it's anything to do with the LED fixture - like rives says

VG

VerdantGreen · Feb 23, 2013

this
http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk...ctors-&-Accessories/Grasslin-Segmental-Timer/

and this

http://www.greenshorticulture.co.uk...es/Maxiswitch-2%2dWay-Light-Controller-(10A)/

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

thanks VG. :tiphat:

who has some recommendations for units in the U.S.

these things are not cheap.

WeedIsGod · Feb 23, 2013

Home Depot has mechanical timers for pretty darn cheap. 30 minute increments, two outlets, like $7.50 before tax if I remember correctly.

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

WeedIsGod said:
Home Depot has mechanical timers for pretty darn cheap. 30 minute increments, two outlets, like $7.50 before tax if I remember correctly.

either i am confused, which wouldn't surprise me with this subject, but isn't the cheap ass timer i am currently using mechanical ?

it's just a wally world or home depot special that will accept a three pronged plug (grounded).

rives · Feb 23, 2013

Got a model number?

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

yea, mine is just mechanical.

brinks - ez dial timer, model 42-1015.

i found the box it came in, says mechanical right on the box.

GP73LPC · Feb 23, 2013

the electromechanical timers i am finding do not appear to be plug-n-play.

have to be wired.

is this the only way these things come?

rives · Feb 24, 2013

The bigger ones like the Intermatic T-101 have to be wired. If your timer is mechanical, then you have something else going on. Did you try cycling the power switch on the light to see if it went all the way off? Is your grounding continuous and in good shape?

GP73LPC · Feb 24, 2013

rives said:
The bigger ones like the Intermatic T-101 have to be wired. If your timer is mechanical, then you have something else going on. Did you try cycling the power switch on the light to see if it went all the way off? Is your grounding continuous and in good shape?

ok, then i have another problem.

the welthinks have no power switch, so i can't try that.

on the grounding i can only guess. everything is grounded up to the point of the plug on the wall. i can't speak to what happens inside the wall.

maybe i should try another wall plug to see if that matters.

any other help from you all is greatly appreciated at this point.

i'm confused.

thanks for your help rives :tiphat:

213 Watt LED Nirvana Northern Lights Grow

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