Grow light help

[RagnarLothbrok]

I need to know what kind of LED light would be best for the Vegging stage; and aswell as full growth cycle of plants

The closet is a good meter and ahlaf long and probs a good foot n half deep
Any recommendations on what kind of light Would be best for this closet? and for both vegging (for outdoors plants) and fully growing plants indoors.

anyone have any reccomendations on how i can get a good light for this closet? Please reply any advice is helpful (Please post link to light your referring to if so!)

 

[Mike Wright]

Are you looking for a budget light or something that will give you more bang for your buck?

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

I only have $240 I spent the rest of my paycheck on outdoor setups and to get the seedlings started
So i guess im looking for a cheap budget light but one that will do the job grea
My closet is a good 1 1/2 metere long but 1 foot deep

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

1 or 2 feet deep not to sure but not far back so something that would be great for that small of space for a single plant or two
especially to stat out in veg stage; def looking for LED light

 

[Mike Wright]

So among the sponsors that I personally am familiar with Mars has some really good lights in that range.

I have a 4 year old Mars LED and I still use it for veg, it does an awesome job and I'm using it in my current veg (fluxes link in my sig). The 96 will cover your closet.

 

[Old Salt]

Timber has packages that will fit the bill. Check out their two COB Citizen based fixture. If you are handy, you can get a kit with four COBs for just a little more. The difference between CREE and Citizen is that the CREE is more efficient at the lower end. The lifetime cost including power is close to the same for both when putting out equal amounts of light.

Lighting is the area the most money is wasted on. I bought a Chinese light with their custom COB for $259 USD. It was great for veg, but the light distribution and intensity lacked. I lucked out as folks here have had much worse experiences. The fixtures made by Timber spread the light out, and the COBs are industry standard. You can easily upgrade their lights, should you wish to as technology changes. A COB is easy to change. Changing soldered in LEDs is challenging.

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then I've flattered Timber. I ordered parts to build a beefed up light with the same COBs they use.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Because you're repping viking myth I shall assist you with no Danegeld to follow


Building a light yourself is the best way to go, and very easy to do.


3x Single row Samsung F-series Gen3 (1120mm long 39,8mm wide) linear light strips 3000K - Part number @ Digikey.com -> SI-B8V521B20WW = $82

3x 1200mm long (40mm x 20mm x 2mm) Aluminium U-channel - For heatsink - check local hardware store - and get a little L-channel so you can mount on the ends of the U-channels to keep it all in place. = ~ $50

1x LED driver -> Meanwell HLG 240H-48A - Part number @ Mouser.com -> 709-HLG240H-48A = $87

1x Thermal Tape Ceatech 20mm x 25m (I don't think there's a 40mm one, so just use 2 rows of this)

71Id5nY1C3L._SL1500_.jpg

• Teddy Edwards
• Apr 8, 2018

= $14

3m/10' solid wire 14 AWG or 75 mm2 = $5

2x 5 port Wago connectors = $3

Total = $241

And of course some sort of hangers are needed


You could strecth it and only get 2 strips and a smaller driver to cut costs, but 3 strips is what I would recommend if you also want to flower under them.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

I would love to build my own although the details are too fancy for me to uderstand aha Ripp,
I was checking out the mars website and
I found this one

Mars Pro II Epistar 80 Bright LED Grow Light Replace 300W HPS HID CFL Coverage 2 x 2 for sale,buy Mars Pro II Epistar 80 Bright LED Grow Light Replace 300W HPS HID CFL Coverage 2 x 2 ,Led grow light , Mars Hydro

Would this be good for a max yeild for the plant aswell good size for the closet, I can't go more then 2 ft deep/wide but I can go longer, also
How many plants would this light be good for just one or two?

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Those (or any blurple LED) are not something I would recommend, it's low grade components and covers less than half of your closet, and the internal fan is noisy.

I understand DIY is not for everyone and might look challenging at first glance, but if you're hellbend on LED you have to build it yourself to get something worthwhile on your budget. Decent off the shelf LED lights are pricey, and the cheap ones are not very good

Getting HID might be the way to go, 2x 250w HPS would do decently in your closet.

By the way do you have ventilation in the closet?

 

[Mike Wright]

The Mars 144 will cover your space nicely, its $250 US. I like Old Salt's suggestion of Timber, I was going to grab one myself, but they are a little more $$. I do think it is worth investing up front though. You can never have too much lighting.

 

[PurpleGunRack]

The Mars 144 will cover your space nicely

No, it covers 100-110cm length, and 40-50cm width, the lamp is 80cm long and the closet is almost twice that.
I have 2 of them in a 120x120cm (4x4) tent and they're not covering the tent well enough for cannabis in bloom and the diodes dim or die out at a steady pace.
Does it work, yes - good enough, no As an owner of said lamp I highly recommend getting HID or quality LED in stead

 

[Old Salt]

Lighting is the last place you want to scrimp to save money. It will end up costing more in cost/Kwh and replacement. You'll get the best bang for your $s with DIY, followed by Timber. Today's DIY lights require no soldering thanks to Wago connectors, and are easy to assemble. I'm building am eight COB light for a 120 X 60cm space. It's far more than needed for this space, but I'm building it to experiment with light. Here are my costs for a light to be used for flowering:

Parts Received:
CLU048-1216C4 3000K 80CRI                      8    $ 13.00    $104.00
thermal tape                                   8    $  0.30    $  2.40
Ideal 50-2204CT + Ideal 50-2100AN + Reflector  8    $  4.60    $ 36.80
Pre-drilled heatsink (163mm)                   8    $ 15.00    $120.00
Wago 222-412                                   5    $  0.40    $  2.00
MW HLG-240H-C1750B                             2    $ 55.00    $110.00
Shipping cost                                  1    $115.00    $115.00
Charge by PayPal(3.8%)                         1    $ 18.62    $ 18.62
Subtotal Shenzhen KingBrite Electronics Co Ltd                 $508.82 USD / $682.22 CAD
Import Taxes/Duties                                                          $ 24.89 CAD
Aluminum 3/4" Angle & flat bar for frame                                     $ 18.57 CAD
Replacement for pan head screws                                              $  7.11 CAD
50KO linear taper potentiometer                                              $  3.99 CAD
Knobs for potentiometer                                                      $  4.69 CAD
Cable Tie Mounts                                                             $  5.06 CAD

Parts Ordered:
TC421 WiFi LED controller/timer                                              $ 40.05 CAD
Digital-LED-Power-Panel-Meter-Monitor-Power-Voltmeter-Ammeter                $ 10.31 CAD
Relay board (12V 4 channel)                                                  $  8.28 CAD
24VDC 5A Power Supply                                                        $ 10.33 CAD
LDD-H-4 Driver Board with 2 X LDD 1000 Drivers                 $ 28.00 USD
8 X CREE XP-E Far Red LED                                      $ 29.50 USD
Shipping for above two items                                   $ 10.00 USD
Total RapidLED order                                           $ 67.50 USD / $ 89.78 CAD

Grand Total (to date)                                          $678.96 USD / $905.28 CAD

You'd only need half the parts, of lesser power than I've received for veg in a 120 X 60cm space. You would want a 4K 80+ CRI 4 COB light for vegging in your size of space. Kits start at $143.80 plus shipping for Citizen COBs, and $219 plus shipping for a CREE solution from KingBrite Electronics on Alibaba. Adding another four COBs at 2700K or 3000K later would give you a good light from seed to weed. Upgrades to the COBs will only cost $50+ rather than $350+ for most manufactured lights. This holds true for Timber grow lights as well.

Have a look through the grow journals on this site. There are folks using the MARS lights, as well as Timber and various DIY solutions.

 

[Mayne]

USA X6 COB 1800W LED Grow Light,Sunshine Full Spectrum Grow Light for Greenhouse

put that in ebay search,

$130

You really cant use a great light because you dont have the room for great growth to be honest. But this light is perfect, cheap, and works. Raise it as high as you can, and when you flower, drop it half way.

There are avenues you can do, like stated above, but out the box, this should work well for you.

 

[Mayne]

3 fusion boards or 3 QB120s would rock it tho, or 2 QB 288's,

 

[Mike Wright]

No, it covers 100-110cm length, and 40-50cm width, the lamp is 80cm long and the closet is almost twice that.
I have 2 of them in a 120x120cm (4x4) tent and they're not covering the tent well enough for cannabis in bloom and the diodes dim or die out at a steady pace.
Does it work, yes - good enough, no As an owner of said lamp I highly recommend getting HID or quality LED in stead

Well, I have a 96 (which is 2/3 of a 144) vegging a 50cmx1m area nicely. So extrapolating up by 50% (cause the 144 is 50% longer than the 96) it should veg the closet nicely. Will it be bare minimum for flowering? For sure. But it meets Ragnar's requirements and budget. I ran two of the 96's for many grows so I do know what they will flower, and my remaining one is 100% operational and 4 years old (I sold the other).

I do agree that he should consider shooting a little higher and increase the budget, but sometimes you've only got what you've got to spend.

 

[Old Salt]

I have the King X6 Dimmable 1800W LED Grow Light Full Spectrum light @ $259. Turning a knob for dimming is easier than raising/lowering the light. It draws 300W from the wall. It's now my veg light.

 

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean, ideally you want a wall-to-wall ceiling of light covering your canopy.

Dang, now I'm gonna have to go in and add my Vipar to my tent. See what you guys have guilted me into!

Canopy 2 weeks

• Mike Wright
• Oct 18, 2014

LED plus Metal Halide

 

[Mayne]

definitly wont hurt in flower, nice.

Keep in mind, if you veg with 200watts, you should flower with 400watts.,, good rule of thumb.

 

[Old Salt]

Here's a closer look at the King X6 dimmable:

You can view progress in my journal "Crop King Seeds Crown Royale Indoor Coco Coir Grow." I had it running at 50% during 9 weeks of veg, and 100% for the 10 weeks of flower. Note that the COBs are discolored after a single grow. I have no way of measuring it, but I suspect that the light output now is lower than when it was new. I put that down to insufficient cooling.

Each COB has it's own driver in this light. I think the seventh box is for the dimming circuit and fans. Fan control is probably the circuit to the left of the power receptacle / switch.

 

[RagnarLothbrok]

No, it covers 100-110cm length, and 40-50cm width, the lamp is 80cm long and the closet is almost twice that.
I have 2 of them in a 120x120cm (4x4) tent and they're not covering the tent well enough for cannabis in bloom and the diodes dim or die out at a steady pace.
Does it work, yes - good enough, no As an owner of said lamp I highly recommend getting HID or quality LED in stead

Honestly, I think building one would be the way to go; I live in Canada see, so which stores would offer the right kind of led lighting to buy to build my own?
I can easily scavenge scrap computer vans and get them running (What battery should i use)
Do you have any instructions or could you even possibly make a video?

I'm pretty much looking for an easy to build one that is simple but would give full spectrum or atleast good red blue light, aswell as enough wattage for my plants; Definitly LED, (saves the most, hydro wise) Or if there is a nice one for around $200 i could buy possibly even one that needs assembled i just need a good one for my closet