Led Or Hps ....leys Talkkk Growers

[muchmorethenahigh420]

Been doin some reasearch but find i like this forum and the people active in it seem well educated in growing cannabis so i figured id bring it here ..

[Willy]

Metal Halide for veg,, led or flouro for clones, and High Pressure Sodium for flower, I have used that indoors for years and highly reccomend it.. There are other options but some seem more expensive, not as efficient, and in general hard to work with.. JMHO  the old and trusted, MH/HPS    

[muchmorethenahigh420]

Metal Halide for veg,, led or flouro for clones, and High Pressure Sodium for flower, I have used that indoors for years and highly reccomend it.. There are other options but some seem more expensive, not as efficient, and in general hard to work with.. JMHO the old and trusted, MH/HPS

i use hps now and it works great but from some reasearch ive found out LEDS use much less power and dont give off anywere near as much heat. So those both being said wouldent growing with LEDS keep me under the radar and help electricty prices ?

[Habenero]

It all depends on your situation. If you are looking to keep long term costs down, if you need better control of heat in the summer, etc. LED can work great if you have enough but are usually a larger initial expense. But in the long run they save a lot on electric. They also produce far less heat so if heat is a problem especially in summer then they work great. HPS uses much more electricity and produces a ton of heat so you need an air conditioner in hot summer months usually which is more electric use.

 

Also depends on your available electric. How many lights you need plus possible air conditioner is a huge draw and you would need dedicated circuits. You can't just plug it into wall outlets in one room. Even if you have 3 outlets in one room they are probably all on the same circuit and that circuit is 15, maybe 20, amp service. It can't handle the load and you'd burn your place down.

 

So consider your available electric and whether you would need it upgraded based on the number of lights and other equip you run.

 

If money is no object then use metal halide in veg and hps in flower and supplement it with some varied spectrum LED.

 

Anyway it's hard to recommend anything without knowing how much space you have, how much you can spend on the grow, your electric capacity, etc. Give some more details of your cash resources, how many plants you want to grow and in what stages, your electric infrastructure, etc.

[muchmorethenahigh420]

Thay u for the help guys have some things to consider

[Willy]

One more thing, magnetic ballasts can be rebuilt for 40.00 and be as good as new.. just saying.. LOL  new digital, ballasts, not a chance,, repurchase.. 

[trichcycler]

I wanted to like the led craze. here is what I found out by spending oodles of cash and oodles of time educating myself. the results are from my real time room. led lights will support growth, and trick you into believing they will be fine for maximum fruition.

I use a refractometer in my rooms to periodically check overall plant health. Plants grown with led lighting just do not metabolize the way they would if grown with hps/mh lights. led's work fine for vegetating plants like basil, marijuana, thyme, rosemary, until its time to flower. These flowers will be subpar in quality, but look fabulous. Some will claim they experienced good effects from them, and I have no doubts. The facts though are that the plants finished in led lights will be chocked full of unburned carbs and other nutrients, because the par lighting just is not enough, and does a crappy job of penetrating more than a few inches below canopy. these results can be seen when lab reports are returned. I shelved my led lights years ago, after one year of farting around wasting time. I hope my experience saved others the hassle. If you want to play with cannabis, maybe a hidden plant in a moms closet, they will work. They will not support a full registry, but they will make really pretty lights at parties.

[t-pain]

you looking to sell your led's grass?

[coreyz]

You lookin to buy some

[t-pain]

well i got a $10 spot for a party light. im a total lowballer.

 

but no , i'm not gonna pay those high prices for old 1W led ufos.

[muchmorethenahigh420]

I wanted to like the led craze. here is what I found out by spending oodles of cash and oodles of time educating myself. the results are from my real time room. led lights will support growth, and trick you into believing they will be fine for maximum fruition.

I use a refractometer in my rooms to periodically check overall plant health. Plants grown with led lighting just do not metabolize the way they would if grown with hps/mh lights. led's work fine for vegetating plants like basil, marijuana, thyme, rosemary, until its time to flower. These flowers will be subpar in quality, but look fabulous. Some will claim they experienced good effects from them, and I have no doubts. The facts though are that the plants finished in led lights will be chocked full of unburned carbs and other nutrients, because the par lighting just is not enough, and does a crappy job of penetrating more than a few inches below canopy. these results can be seen when lab reports are returned. I shelved my led lights years ago, after one year of farting around wasting time. I hope my experience saved others the hassle. If you want to play with cannabis, maybe a hidden plant in a moms closet, they will work. They will not support a full registry, but they will make really pret ty lights at parties.

thanks for the help i dont need party lights ????

[muchmorethenahigh420]

Ima stick with HPS

[trichcycler]

Ha ! UFO's were fun, but not cheap. One vegetated a whole 2x4 tent on its own for a month and a half with no visible issues. My bigger square ($$$) ones had half burned out light banks and sat on a shelf for years before a nibble on CL took the bait for the whole lot.

[mrd]

I am now with all leds. I think hps can produce bigger buds but leds produce rock hard frosty buds. I suspect that this might be due to tuned in spectrum's and lower heat use.  

If you are thinking of trying leds I would suggest getting them from this Chinese guy on Ebay. greenhydroled  . I bought a 700w (max) led light that I got in 3 days (!) shipped DHL from Hong Kong. It uses 6 watt diodes which have greater penetration. It worked right out of the box.    As an example. http://www.ebay.com/itm/KING-1200W-Full-Spectrum-LED-Grow-light-For-Medical-Flower-Plants-Grow-Flower-/181522519747?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Feeding_Bottle_Warmers_Coolers_LE&hash=item2a4395d6c3

 

R member they all give you the high potential power draw but they run at about 60% of that. Also as led lights have gotten bigger and more powerful they do generate moderate heat so do not expect cold lights. 

[coreyz]

I've also been running tests with LEDs , I can't complain. I'm running lumigrow 650 ,and I have to say

, mighty frosty. As well as plumped up .

[garyfisher]

I have two 900w LED units for sale.  They have 3W LEDs

[GanjaWarrior]

i use hps now and it works great but from some reasearch ive found out LEDS use much less power and dont give off anywere near as much heat. So those both being said wouldent growing with LEDS keep me under the radar and help electricty prices ?

under the radar? yes you will grow for less with leds, you will also grow less. everyone i know who has invested in leds....is trying to sell them. best of luck, if you are legal heat from a light isnt a concern. if you are not heat from a light isnt a concern. you live in a state with thousands and thousands of homes with a hot spot.

[garyfisher]

I have a secret about powerful LEDs.  The misnomer that they don't give off much heat is false.  These 900w LED arrays give off a bunny muffin load of heat. 
 

[Highlander]

One more thing, magnetic ballasts can be rebuilt for 40.00 and be as good as new.. just saying.. LOL  new digital, ballasts, not a chance,, repurchase.. 

 

That's a good point.  Most of the time, you can replace a capacitor or ignition for $20 and be back in business.  I bought a cheap 600W digital ballast a few years ago.  When it failed, I opened the case and found the entire board coated in thick epoxy - completely unserviceable.

[trichcycler]

I am now with all leds. I think hps can produce bigger buds but leds produce rock hard frosty buds. I suspect that this might be due to tuned in spectrum's and lower heat use.

I see there is always much for me to learn. thank you.

[Wild Bill]

I am now with all leds. I think hps can produce bigger buds but leds produce rock hard frosty buds. I suspect that this might be due to tuned in spectrum's and lower heat use.  

If you are thinking of trying leds I would suggest getting them from this Chinese guy on Ebay. greenhydroled  . I bought a 700w (max) led light that I got in 3 days (!) shipped DHL from Hong Kong. It uses 6 watt diodes which have greater penetration. It worked right out of the box.    As an example. http://www.ebay.com/itm/KING-1200W-Full-Spectrum-LED-Grow-light-For-Medical-Flower-Plants-Grow-Flower-/181522519747?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Feeding_Bottle_Warmers_Coolers_LE&hash=item2a4395d6c3

 

R member they all give you the high potential power draw but they run at about 60% of that. Also as led lights have gotten bigger and more powerful they do generate moderate heat so do not expect cold lights. 

 

How large of an area does a 700w led cover effectively?

[trichcycler]

all growers swear up and down about every hps and mh bulb they use.

what makes LED work so well for some ?  I know they are more powerful now than ever, but the same

reviews came when the first ones were out.

 

some loved them, before they were shelved, and some hated them until they were.

[semicaregiver]

I have followed the evolution of LED's for several years now.  Every year I go to the trade shows and look over the supplier's latest offerings and every year I step away and say, not yet.

 

Originally the LED claim of lower power and heat was attractive, but it turned out they really did not have enough power.  Now we are seeing 900w LED panels.   Well that sounds dam close to 1000w hps.   The power savings is just does not seem to be there.  Particularly when the unit cost is 5x's+ the cost of a magnetic balllast, hood and 1000w hps.  

 

The real no go for me is the fact that the technology is rapidly changing and the various manufacturers seem to come and go.   Over the last ten years I have dealt with 7 different digital ballast manufacturers.  Each promised bigger, better, more efficient, blah, blah. Some could light any bulb, some could not last more than a year.   The LED units seem to be far more complex than the simple digital ballast.  I have yet to feel comfortable that today's supplier of a $2000 light will be around to support me in a two years or in 5.  

LED's are a fascinating idea, but my life is already complicated, I do not need to add new technology to the complications that are inherent in maintaining an indoor garden.

 

Just my 2 cents

[muchmorethenahigh420]

under the radar? yes you will grow for less with leds, you will also grow less. everyone i know who has invested in leds....is trying to sell them. best of luck, if you are legal heat from a light isnt a concern. if you are not heat from a light isnt a concern. you live in a state with thousands and thousands of homes with a hot spot.

thank u for the help its just law inforcement dont care if ur legal or no that just wana find watever they can to put one of us growers in jail and if they dont it dont hurt there record ..

[resinxtractor]

I spent 3 grand on Led's and never got good results.

 

1. They will burn out. Mine did after 1 year of use. Was warrantied but still.

2.They dont produce less heat like you think. Yes they produce less radent heat.

3. Simple logistics of LED diode design will only focus light according to lens design and provide a very poor optimal footprint.

 

After using Air cooled HPS/MH and LED. I settled on Gavita 1000 DE fixtures. Nearly doubled my yield when I installed 2 gavita's in place of 3 super hortilux hps with blocbuster hoods.

 

Gavita 1000's + Mini split = Best efficiency