LED grow lights... input please.

[turtle420]

Yeah, definitely...

I think that our advantage here is that we can build a custom light. There are various wavelengths of red (nm), ... the company I'm speaking with has LEDs that are able to produce the ones listed at the top of this thread.

I don't think people in these boards actually are understanding the situation:
Yes, it's new stuff, un-proven... BUT, the company is on OUR side... They're willing to go the extra mile (making custom bulbs!!!) for us... they know, and we know, it's a win/win situation.

I think I'm going to pick some wavelengths to the best of my abilities, and ask the company for a price quote on that prototype. Once I've got that, if it isn't too much $$$, I'll fork it over to them, and as soon as I receive the bulb, I'll do a controlled-setup grow to see how it turns out.

One thing I'm thinking, from a marketing success point of view, is that we shouldn't ask the company to cram both vegetative and flowering wavelengths into ONE bulb. Growers nowadays are acustomed to having bulbs for veg and bulbs for flowering... Even if it's better, I would preffer to have one bulb for veg (blue) and one bulb for flowering (red).

Now, I'm thinking:
VEGETATIVE bulb --->
................90% blue nm
................10% red nm
..........nm....# LEDs
..........630...2
..........660...2
..........400...30
..........460...30

FLOWERING bulb --->
................90% red nm
................10% blue nm
..........nm....# LEDs
..........630...30
..........660...30
..........400...2
..........460...2

Any and all input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

-turtle420

[seedbare]

ok I have looked into this and the perception is its a 2 to 1

[seedbare]

shit... anyway the perception is its a 2 to 1 ratio in favor of the red lights. Now im not sure if you get the different colored lights because the glass is that color or the bulbs themselves are of a different spectrum of light any idea's? they have some on ebay right now only from 1 person though for 85 bucks for blues and 119 for reds (ouch) I think I like my idea better and build it out of one of those reflective tail lights. my car actually has those exact same kind of led lights, and they are bright as fuck. you can replace each of those little lights (theres hundreds) with any color you care too (still wondering about the spectrum though).

[seedbare]

in fact I have seen those same damm lights on the back of trucks they look like red reflectors but they have the bright led dots all over them when they turn on there lights you seen those? those would be cheap and commercially available.

[turtle420]

Seedbare,

Yeah man... I know the tailights that you're talking about... Mercedes Benz have started using them for about 3-4 years (I think). And I've seen since about 2 years ago many retrofit bulbs made out of LEDs but for the normal bulbs' sockets. I've seen those especially in the tailights of public transport buses... they've replaced their normal bulbs with those LED paneled lights... And I've also seen them on traffic lights... Instead of that HUGE 10/12" incandescent bulb, now they've got a circular panel of LEDs... they look prettier...

Anyways, back to our point:
They make the different colors depending on the materials they use for the LED themselves. Those are n-type and p-type semiconductors with a special mix in the middle... when they vary different elements in that "special mix", they get different colors. Of course, they also color the plastic housings to 'give' more color to the, um, color.

I don't know if we're looking at the same eBay lights, but yeah, $$$ !!!

Your ratio of 2:1, I think, is right on. But we can by-pass that by using different bulbs: one for vegetative (blue) and one for flowering (red). That's why I picked the 90%/10% ratios on our hypothetical bulbs above. I would imagine that during flowering, the plants need at least some blue light... Same as during vegetative, the plants need some red light.

I don't know SeedBare... please keep on thinking about this. I'd really like to come up with some sort of 'bulb' specifications to send this company... They build the bulbs, we test them out.

Looking forward to you opinion SeedBare...

-turtle420

[seedbare]

I also have another crazy idea i have seen led christmas lights (without a colored lens) in dollar stores I say get about a dozen of these strings of lights arrange them in a circle tie with some duct tape and wala a perfectly useable grow light, im sure they sell them in reds and blues.. I would want to confirm they can grow plants....

[seedbare]

the big advantage to these bulbs is they claim they grow plants as well as hid lighting, they are very energy effiecient 10watts instead of 1000watts they are cool (no airconditioning, fans) which means no helicoptors picking up heat signatures, now they do make uv led lights I wonder if that's what there using??? they dont depend upon lumens but upon the wavelength of light (they claim 100% usage of wavelength) now this all sounds well and good but the real test would be growing with them.

[turtle420]

Seedbare,

What bulbs/systems are you looking @ that claim 100% usage of wavelength?

Can you provide a link? Are we talking about the ones @ eBay?

[seedbare]

it could have been the ebay site on there store at ebay they have some stuff on them Ill look and come back and tell you, Ive been looking at alot of sites though.

[seedbare]

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache...g+plants&hl=en