LED lights

[coldplay531]

anyone know if these expensive, new fangled lights actually work....does any do LED only grows....i am curious if they are worth the cost....thanks...CP

coldplay531 Reviewed by coldplay531 on 05-09-2009. LED lights anyone know if these expensive, new fangled lights actually work....does any do LED only grows....i am curious if they are worth the cost....thanks...CP Rating: 5

[Greenthing]

Just one or two links to LED grows, if you use the search at the top of page you will find more.:hippy:
Oh and welcome to the site and good luck.
http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-li...ed-advice.html
http://boards.cannabis.com/grow-log/...-grow-log.html

[socialistpete]

There's actually a section called "lighting". The short answer is that if you want results don't use L.E.D.s.

[oldmac]

There's actually a section called "lighting". The short answer is that if you want results don't use L.E.D.s.

Have you looked around and seen what people are doing with LEDs?
Or have you bothered to ask anyone using LEDs for an honest opinion of how they do with them?

OK, I'm going to tell you anyway.
Results with LEDs usually mean slightly less dense bud and just slightly less wgt, but more trichome production and increase in potency. Blind taste testers have always been able to tell the LED stuff was better. (sighted testers have not been used yet)
Another plus with the LEDs, no need to run duct work and use (in my case) a 400+cfm fan to cool them (more electric use). The LED setup raises bloom room temps a couple of degrees only above ambient. The other big plus, with less radiant heat generated your medium won't dry out as fast, instead of watering ervery other day the LED plants go a week. But that's not all....because less moisture is cooked off from the pots the amount of salt build up is reduce tremendously.

Here's a couple of pics of some LEDs. How about 2 TI problooms for a total power consumtion of 660watts vs 1150watts total for a 1kw HPS.

See, a side by side comparison of LED and HPS. I've actually used both.
(I also use T5s, love to overdrive them)

[headshake]

hey old mac, how about a tutoria (or a good link)l on overdriving those t5s?


-shake

[MerryPrankstr]

To add to Mac's list of LED benefits, with the reduction of ambient temperature and decrease loss of moisture there is less "smell" during the flowering stages with no decrease in the taste and smell in the finished dried bud.

So far my high intensity LED grow is producing buds of similar size and density and extremely low stretch. My theory is to use the same number of watts per square ft as HPS and see the results and so far so good. The up front cost is quite high right now, but as the market matures the prices will come to the point where HID is now.

I don't even want to think of how much I paid for my first 2 - 1K HPS/MH setup back in the 80's. I had friends who were fellow growers that were laughing at my concept of growing indoors with "light bulbs".

The world keeps changing my friend and I, as always, want to go "furthur".

MP

[oldmac]

Hey MP,

Yup, good point about the smell.

Like I said above, just being honest with my results. But in my other set-up I have a hybred LED/T5 light using 8- 2' T5VHO= 320watts and almost 400watts of Red LEDs plus a few "other spectrum" stuff. It beats the hell out of a 1,000watt HPS. Bigger buds stronger herb, I don't know why people would not want to step up to the future.

The pics above are from a grow I'm partered with, using pro-mix since he's a "long time (10yrs)grower" but just a dirt farmer in my eyes. Some of the things I've been doing is trying to show him there's a better way to do things. Not just lights either, hard to break notions.

You know what I mean?

[oldmac]

hey old mac, how about a tutoria (or a good link)l on overdriving those t5s?

-shake

Yo Head Shake,

I keep kicking myself that I only recently started taking pics. But even since I started taking them, I still forget to document the build. I did it once (tutorial) for the franken fogger set up I built, and posted at fogponics,dot,com. Those pics I'm moving over to an album at IC, but it will be awhile.

Here's a pic or two of those same pair of TIs on a frame with 4- 4' T5 VHO. this is the current set-up, experimenters are never finished.
The spacing of the T5s needs to change, inner ones shade the edge of LED lights. It was built to hold 2- Procyon 100s, but decided to sell those (money got tight suddenly).

Sorry I have no pics of the ballast itself. To get them to VHO levels (4'=85w/tube, 2'=40w a tube) I use a ballast made by IceCap, Inc. and is a model 660, capable of driving T12s,T8s,T5s and even those square base Power Compacts floros, like TT105s. I bought a package that included end caps, standoffs and wiring harness, abt $300. And that brings up cost. It's probably cheaper to just double the amount of T5 HOs. ie:To do a 4'x4' grow tray I'd use 8- 4' T5 VHO via IceCap ballast or 2-4' T5 8bulb fixtures. 680w VHO or 864w HO and both set ups give you about 80,000 lumens. 180+watts saved, it should pay for itself.

A few pics of hybred and a few of my cloner light, 4- 4'T5 HO (54w/ea) plus 1-4' super actinic white in the middle. Designed to go over 2-120 EZ-cloners, but just using one, and side for small plants and seedlings. OH, and one happy hybred growing girl!

[MerryPrankstr]

Yep, ahem..
I am a dirt farmer in more than one way.
At least I've been think'n about DWC, maybe in the future.

MP

[oldmac]

Hey MP,

There's nothing wrong with being a dirt farmer, that's how I started.
Age of ten me and my older brother were sent to my aunt and uncles' farm in SC because my uncle got called up from Naval Reserves. Tended tobacco, veggie row crops and my favorite, hemp. Couple of years later I was helping and learning from the hispanic workers tend patches of "wildwood weed" in the hedge rows between fields. Did not even know it was mj till a few years later. LOL

At least you stepped up to the future with your lighting!