[vukman]

Hello everyone:

I've heard so much about it that I just had to try it. The 'ladies' vegged for 22 days and flowered for 12 on a 600w HPS.
These are the first images with the new LED which is a 500w "Black Star" unit.

Any input, help or criticism is more than welcomed starting with will the plants go through a stress period/phase because of the lighting change since they are already in flower cycle?

Thank you and I look forward to learning an much as possible from the more knowledgeable than I.

[FunkBomb]

That's a very nice looking tent you've got there. I don't think the plants will be stressed, give them a few days and they'll be fine.

-Funk

[Phychotron]

I'd like to see how this turns out. I have a four blackstar 240's. I had a 500 but when it broke I exchanged it for two 240's. I think they are alright, but built a little cheap. No heat sink, just a sheet of aluminum even in the 500.

The thing only draws about 240w, they just call it the 500w model because they sum the rounded number of watts on the individual diodes, instead of rounding the collective draw like they should. Its a way of lying to you that I don't appreciate. $/watt are not that much cheaper when you factor in how much the fixture actually uses, quality, warranty, etc. I suggest a more reputable dealer in the future.

I think this could go either way, I've never seen what just the 500 could do alone. I don't think it will compare to what the 600w could do, but it'd be a good test if you already know what the 600 can do.

I would suggest blackstar to people who just need something, don't want to go HPS and don't have a lot of money to spend and have no concerns of expanding or largest yields. Blackstar is the most reputable of the cheap fixture class.

[vukman]

Hiya.........I could run the 600w without any issues. Just had a friend who had this and he is no longer growing for one reason or another so I asked if I could use his light for a comparison run........I'm as interested to see how this will turn out as the rest of you...

BTW. I am well aware that the wattage that they 'advertise' is the total of the chips. Most, if not all places limit their output to save the integrity of the chips and not burn them out prematurely. 50% is on the low end. Most places run the chips at around 66%. Few will top them out at 75% but then the warranty is usually only around a year.

Our electrical companies don't always push through 'clean' voltage through the lines and that will severely mess with sensitive equipment. Not to mention power spikes and all other manner of BS that we have to deal with when it comes to electricity these days......

[grow_right]

the girls will so love that new lamp!

[vukman]

Thank you grow_right for the words of encouragement.

I have to say that I think the girls heard ya....see if you can guess if they're happy..:-)...........BTW, that's 4 days on the LED....I can't wait for a few weeks!!!!!!

[habeeb]

looks great..

thing were learning though, is next buy, size the lamps to the area.. meaning like 2 smaller units cover better then having one big light and lifting it very high to get the corners...

but 500 watts of LED is gonna blast!!

have fun

[Phychotron]

Originally Posted by habeeb

size the lamps to the area.. meaning like 2 smaller units cover better

But don't overdo it with small fixtures, it can be a bitch getting to the back of the tent if you have 6 fixtures hanging. For my 4x4 tent I'm going with two 400w diamond series to reduce the clutter from the blackstars.

But yea, the general idea is to create an array of LED's to spread the light out above the plants as much as possible.

[vukman]

Haven't posted anything in a few days so here are some pics from today..August 19/12 which is flower day 16 and day 5 with the LED light....

[medmaker420]

looking great!

What are your thoughts on flowering light height with LEDs as far as the higher wattage setups go? I am running leds in veg atm and the things are VERY cool running but wonder about bleaching in flower not from heat but rather from led intensity.