LED Ahoy!

[khyberkitsune]

Looking good! :jointsmile:


I"ve had to put my MH back up for veg regarding the E-mails,... but the LED is now hanging over 2 little girls on 12/12 for a side by side HPS LED flower of the same strains. I'm thinking of doing a SCROG under it for my next LED grow,... wow would that be a thing of beauty!

I will try to offer some useable feedback for ya as this progresses, So far both are on equal footing.

Sounds like fun times ahead! Keep me posted!

[StoneMeadow]

I"ve had to put my MH back up for veg regarding the E-mails,... but the LED is now hanging over 2 little girls on 12/12 for a side by side HPS LED flower of the same strains.

I'm very interested in this, so please be sure to do a grow log. Call it something like "Side-by-side HD versus LED Grow-off"...

[headshake]

I'm very interested in this, so please be sure to do a grow log. Call it something like "Side-by-side HD versus LED Grow-off"...

go back and check out Irydyum's Kush Grow Log.

he's running a 400W HPS vs 300W of LED.


-shake

[RackitMan]

As of right now I only do LED lighting, but I am working towards getting smaller-scale systems designed for home usage with help from my Australian partners. Not entirely sure on when, though.

I was using 120 degree viewing angle due to the need for wide coverage at short distances, and more even blending of the different lights closer to the panel itself. however, knowing that's not going to be necessary for the next generation, I'm adjusting that down. I think 75 degrees might be my next target, it just depends on how my panel gets designed.

I may still keep a 120 degree viewing angle for those wishing to do shorter plants but wishing to keep wide coverage as well, for example, a good prostrate rosemary bush would enjoy such a configuration.

And no worries on the name, it happens all the time!

In my design, I am thinking of putting higher wattage, wide angle LEDs (say 120 degrees) in the center of my light sourrounded by medium wattage narrower angle LEDS (maybe 75-90 degrees) and lower wattage LEDS with maybe a 30-60 degree angle around the edge.

Seems this might allow for a wider 'sweet spot' as to optimum height above plants. If not, please point out the error in my reasoning.

With my current commercial 120 degree angle 120w LED it is very difficult to get the correct height without either bleaching the plants or dispersing/wasting too much light.

[khyberkitsune]

Well, the light bleaching is a result of so much raw photosynthetic power hitting the plant. As chlorophyll does its thing, it literally dissolves and reforms. Light bleaching occurs when the rate of photosynthesis is so great that chlorophyll can't regenerate fast enough to keep up with the incoming power.

Working with different wattages of LEDs is, IMHO, asking for a higher risk of the equipment failing. Different diodes of different wattages have different operating conditions, and thus it is likely that having .5w diodes mixed with 1w diodes would cause the .5w diodes to fail pretty rapidly given they're more sensitive to heat.

As for wasted light, sadly this is what happens with ANY light solution. Due to the recessed nature of the LED board inside the panel housing, the outer edge LEDs don't get a chance to blend (and this is why you see that off-colored outside ring of light from any panel) so the center dominant color becomes the outer ring primary color. Once we can get panels that aren't designed with recessed boards made, then we won't have to worry about such wasted light.

Also, bear in mind that a 120 degree viewing angle was meant for shorter and more compact plants, as such a wide spread cannot penetrate to the degree 90 or 75 degrees would due to the wider spreading of photon emissions.

[means2010]

khyber there r some companies that do sell 300 watt + grow lights ,here is a link to a 750 watt let grow light,tell me what u think,i'm seen a lot of 300watt led lights out there

[RackitMan]

Except for the piss-poor quality, I really liked my 0.5w LED 50w panels - when they worked. I believe they were 60 degrees.

[means2010]

LED Grow Lights - Best New LED Grow Light

740 watt led

[means2010]

what do u think about this led grow light,it is pricey,how do u think it would work?

[khyberkitsune]

Ahh, I remember those lights!

The point of LED is to target only the highest-reactive wavelengths for phytochemical and photosynthetic processes. First, they're covering 11 wavelengths, that's quite wasteful, there are only 4 major photosynthetic peaks to cover, and carotenoids get coverage from the blue range (and at one of the highest peaks) so there's not need for so many wavelengths. Second, the IR they're using is all over the place, and in totally improper ratios to compliment the deep red for enhanced fruiting and flowering. Third, I'll bet on those 3w chips being multi-emitters - lossy. Fourth, they have UVA, no UVB - tests show UVA is useless for flowering, you want UVB instead. With the sheer amount of power alone the panel should produce decent results, but it is not optimized, there is a lack of blue, and looks like they tossed a bunch of stuff together to claim a proprietary blend, as evidenced by the random tossing of UV and IR into the mix along with the 615nm.

Their warranty is great, however, I'll give them that.