LED growing- An instructional grow log

[Opie Yutts]

It's not that he dared to expirement.....I think we all do that.......it's that he dared to expirement $1800 worth. That's pretty much a different ball game right there.

Yes it is different, fortunately. So different it just might work. Since we've started talking about LEDs years ago, I've always said that someone might be able to get a nice fat yield using solely LEDs, but not by spending $200 on light. I've always contended that it will be into the thousands$ to end up with anything significant. I was thinking more like $3000 per plant and up, at todays technology and cost, but the price for this technology is rapidly declining, as with all electronics after a few years of getting more recognized and commonplace.

[Opie Yutts]

If Edison can sponsor energy saving products and distribute them this cheap why are the fricking red and blue one $600 bucks? Hello........I could buy 50 of these and some red or blue leds and swap out the whites here wouldn't you think?

Edison and several other companies have recently been taking big initial losses with the hopes of getting people to see the light, (no pun intended), and to get that wonderful government subsidy that comes out of our pockets. The rest, and then some is usually recovered through taxes that come out of our pockets.

The blue ones are normally double or triple the price of red, and they are $600 because it is an entirely different, and much newer technology. Beta video players were damn expensive when they first came out too. Now a unit costs what, 10 cents?

If you choose to rebuild those lights, it would be best if you kept at least a couple white ones, but yes of course, mostly blue and red. Also, different colors and brands run at different volts, amps, ohms, or whatever, which I imagine might be a significant hurdle to overcome. Not sure, I'v been reading some but haven't started tinkering yet. Been waiting for you to show me exactly how. I think you might be better off starting from scratch. Ideally at minimum two light fixtures; one for veg and one for bloom, with more blue in veg and more red in bloom. Sounds like a fun project, and I got pretty excited about similar projects a few months back. They just kinda slid down the priority list one night when I was asleep. Sneaky bastards. Since we are paying for these whether we buy some or not, for 2 or $3 each (with batteries) I'd be tempted to scoop up 50 or 100 of these and see what they can do by themselves. However I fear that if used as grow lights, the cost of batteries will be the downfall (rechargeable batteries? don't know, but that costs electricity). I tell you what though: LEDs make friggen great flashlights. (But get the higher power ones.) Hey either that or you could scoop em all up and sell em on Ebay for $4 each. That's what... x amount? Damn! I almost did that when I got the expensive CFLs for 8 cents each.

[Opie Yutts]

Im sorry that we were in the financial situation to be able to do this, i mean, even a mediocre harvest will pay for the lights. I dont get though why how much we spent keeps coming up.

Why are you sorry for having money? Please don't be, I think that's great. I think it's even more great that you're planning on sending me some. YOUR EYE LIDS ARE GETTING EXTREMELY HEAVY, BUT WHEN I SNAP MY FINGERS YOU WILL AWAKE FEELING REFRESHED AND HAPPY. YOU WILL ALSO GLADLY DO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING I TELL YOU TO WHEN I SAY "ALBANIAN CHICKEN SOUP" IN THE PRECEDING SENTENCE.

I'm very happy that at least a couple of us weed growers not only are able to experiment for the sake of the rest of us and for the sake of overall knowledge, but to be able to show us what happens when a grow isn't constrained the slightest by lack of finances. I guess being able to use top of the line products, craftsmanship, nutrients, etc. is what I'm talking about. Hopefully one is able to combine all that with knowledge and common sense. In that case the whole deal has huge advantages over a ghetto grow that "can't afford to spend money on something to measure PH". Not that you are doing all this, but at least perhaps a nice bit of funds may enable you to study and try what might eventually become the "top of the line" lighting system. It was the illustrious Zandor who said, "If you go cheap you'll grow cheap". I whole-heartedly agree.

I'm not entirely sure that you really are sorry or sheepish about getting a little money, but if so there is no need for that. In general I'm just as comfortable around wealthy people (don't know that you are or aren't). We'll get along just fine unless you start indicating that you might be better than me, or start flaunting your money, or just overall being a total ass like I have seen many people do.

And SnS, to answer one part of your question; This may be a little hard for a person with money to understand, but I'll try. For many of us one of the main concerns for everything we consider, or often, everything we think about, is how much that thing or situation is going to cost us. When you have to decide between food or electricity, it's kinda out of the question for many of us to be able to justify spending $1800 an a lighting system for weed. However, many (or at least several) of us are very interested in your project, or LED lighting in general, and perhaps would like to someday construct something similar to your set up. That is why we are interested in many aspects of it, including the cost. In our case we have to ask, so perhaps we can't afford it.

Keep on fighting the good fight.

[Opie Yutts]

However I fear that if used as grow lights, the cost of batteries will be the downfall (rechargeable batteries? don't know, but that costs electricity).

Oops, sorry just skimmed back again. The lights come with power cords as well.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[SnSstealth]

yup....dont get it twisted we is BROKE... a lucky one time lump o loot made sure that if we did it, we did it right....that way we knew what if i had CO2...what if.... so we got it all, now we are broke...and hoping like hell for an AVG at least, yield...then repetition...well...i am talkin to a bunch of growers...lol.....oh..another attempt at the pics....
guess not

whiskeytango

[Weedhound]

I don't recall shooting anything down. I just refuse to bat my eyelashes and say "wow you big strong $1800 hunk you" if I don't happen to think so. And right now, while I like the pink, if you want wows you gotta give the folks something to wow about.
We've all given you the proper wow for the money you spent on lighting (which IS WOW!) but this is a VERY "what have you done for me lately" kind of deal and we're stoners......we forget things fast.

[Opie Yutts]

dont shoot my shit down before its even started....weedhound, opie, mvp, cma...none of you guys have really bugged me... i was mainly talking about cture,

Huh? I guess I missed something. In the 2 or 3 times cture shared with the class I don't remember him/her ever shooting your shit down. Just from memory here, but didn't he just offer some advice and say what he might do differently, and in general offer to help? And at least in somewhat of a non argumentative manner?

As best as this stoney mind can recollect, nobody was putting down your deal man. If you want to point the finger at anyone, seems a more appropriate choice might be Weedhound, but even then I don't think she was doing anything worth fretting over. She just thinks that's a damn large amount of coinage to be dropping on an experiment that's trying to take a concept farther than it has gone in the past. Is that about right WH? I completely understand her point of view and I agree with it. However, if it weren't for insane wealthy people investing a bunch of money in ridiculous, unproven ventures, we wouldn't have much of the necessary useless crap we have at our disposal today. At least it would have got here later, costing many thousands of lives. What the hell is this circular, obtuse, cosmic crap opie?

The deal is that the collective has yet to behold a yield or a bud of great stature, when the grow used LEDs as the sole lighting source. Understand that it is human nature to be skeptical and critical of the new stuff, and defensive of our old "proven" methods. Sure we've seen bud. Also, sure we have not seen giant, mouthwatering dankness as with HPS. This doest mean we should not endeavor to perceiver, especially as technology advances in that area. I hope you don't get discouraged at previous and future put-downs, or whatever, and there most likely will be some.

And I haven't "really" bugged you? huh? Sounds quite a bit different than just plain ol' "you haven't bugged me." I'd appreciate it if you could point out my bugginess, so that I may learn to not be such a bugger.

[Opie Yutts]

... LEDs are not perfected yet, and do need some work. But as they evolve just a weee more to get to that point, i'll be at the point waiting.

That is an extremely bold and confident statement. I'm pulling for you, but that is one hell of an order to fill. I hope you'll grab my hand and pull me up to that level when it happens, or at least somewhere close.

[SnSstealth]

Mmmm, could someone please explain how LED lights affect quality any differently than say... CFL, or halogen, or MH.

I can't explain it, but both in the Hightimes UFO grow comparison and one other I saw, they claimed higher resin levels and a better high. I dont claim to know why, just hoping they're right:thumbsup:

Doughboy

[SnSstealth]

Everyone please understand the purpose of coming in here so early is to have a hard to dispute, picture laden record of WHATEVER happens with these grow lamps. good or bad. They are out there making claims of what they can do and until each different type of light is tested by themselves than no one will no. If the price we payed is an issue I would rather it not mentioned ever again. As WH said this thread will blow up if we show budding plants and its getting long already. The LED lights...info please thread (of which I think we've all been to)is a good place for lighting theory ?'s. I'm not trying to shut anyone down or stop their input, but cture "INSISTING" we add more lights isn't what we were looking for. I know there are many "helllllp what do I do" posts, so its understandable, and NO we dont know everything and may have ?'s just as you have. It just seems we all(us included) are sharpening our sticks to go after one another for no reason. We are all very interested in any new grow technique, its human(grower...lol) nature for new processes to be loved and belittled at the same time. I do hope that you are all around to either point and laugh or point and praise...and the experiment will continue.

:rastabong:fillin it up to send around the room,
Doughboy

P.S. pics as soon as it lets us