Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

[SunandMoon]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

holist2002,

You could make this light almost silent by replacing the stock fan with a speed controlled, "silent" computer fan and increasing the standoff size. The fan has it's own 12V power supply and the light runs very cool. It would easily get by with less CFM. Be sure to seal the gap between the fan and the case. It will sound like a modern desktop PC.

Hello CoNerd. thanks for the ideas

Will the connection accept any 12v PC fan, or does the amperage need to be greater or lesser than some number?

I'm looking at a small cabinet (1-2sqft x 2.5ft), having the light shining down into it, through a cutout in the top, so the previous sizing isn't as much of an issue. It also eliminates the lamp heat inside the cab space.
I'm still figuring the cabinet air exchange/exhaust & carbon design, but believe the exhaust fan can be slow enough to be near silent.

 

[Boomer76]

IMO the beauty of growing autos is you can kinda throw them into either tent you have enough room in.... They will flower when they want to no matter what light schedule you have them on... I haven't grown but one to finish and have 2 going now but they all just got shoved where I could fit them and the first one I harvested almost 3.5 oz dry off of her...

Wow thanks for all the replies peeps (just quoting Dennise here though),

I will defo go for the 18-6 schedule if that seems to be the sweet spot eg not too little and too much, then and leave them to do there thing.

In relation to that the nutrient formula i use is in 2 parts Grow and Bloom, how will i know when to swap from the grow solution to the bloom one? and should i flush when swapping over?

Thanks again one and all for the advice (this grow is getting exciting now lol)

 

[Dave Groomer]

Wow thanks for all the replies peeps (just quoting Dennise here though),

I will defo go for the 18-6 schedule if that seems to be the sweet spot eg not too little and too much, then and leave them to do there thing.

In relation to that the nutrient formula i use is in 2 parts Grow and Bloom, how will i know when to swap from the grow solution to the bloom one? and should i flush when swapping over?

Thanks again one and all for the advice (this grow is getting exciting now lol)

You will see when she starts going into flower. I would switch when you see them starting. Here is a picture of my Ice as she is starting to flower.

 

[Dennise]

Wow thanks for all the replies peeps (just quoting Dennise here though),

I will defo go for the 18-6 schedule if that seems to be the sweet spot eg not too little and too much, then and leave them to do there thing.

In relation to that the nutrient formula i use is in 2 parts Grow and Bloom, how will i know when to swap from the grow solution to the bloom one? and should i flush when swapping over?

Thanks again one and all for the advice (this grow is getting exciting now lol)

IMO your girl won't need nutes for the first little bit then she will throw herself into flower... That is when I would start nutes... Unless she is showing some sort of deficiency before you see her flowering... but I sorta doubt that will happen... I would not worry about veg nutes to much at all again unless she is showing some sort of deficiency... When you see her starting to flower start with the blooming nutes.....

 

[WhiteBoyBrian]

IMO your girl won't need nutes for the first little bit then she will throw herself into flower... That is when I would start nutes... Unless she is showing some sort of deficiency before you see her flowering... but I sorta doubt that will happen... I would not worry about veg nutes to much at all again unless she is showing some sort of deficiency... When you see her starting to flower start with the blooming nutes.....

Is that only for autos ? I have Dyna gro foliage pro and bloom I plan to use . Just curious .
Thanks !

 

[CoNerd]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

Hello CoNerd. thanks for the ideas

Will the connection accept any 12v PC fan, or does the amperage need to be greater or lesser than some number?

I'm looking at a small cabinet (1-2sqft x 2.5ft), having the light shining down into it, through a cutout in the top, so the previous sizing isn't as much of an issue. It also eliminates the lamp heat inside the cab space.
I'm still figuring the cabinet air exchange/exhaust & carbon design, but believe the exhaust fan can be slow enough to be near silent.

A hole 8.5"x10.5" would allow the light to rest on its bezel and off the reflector. (Please measure yourself before you cut anything.)
18 of the 48 LED's are powered by the bloom PS.

Here's my smart phone sound meter app test: All values are dB
Room lights off - 35
Room lights on - 37
1 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent open - 46
3 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent open - 50
3 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent closed - 46
Breathing at phone - 49!
My home office w 1 running tower PC with lots of cooling - 55

Search for 12V 140mm low rpm fans if you decide to replace it. The $25 silent models come with a bunch of adapters to select the desired rpm and soft mounts. You'd probably have to splice the connectors to get it to work. Look at the HTPC forums if you want details on how to make computer fans run quietly.

A clever person could use the exhaust from the LED light to warm the roots and provide ventilation to the space. Recirc air if humidity and temps are low. Vent to outside air when humidity or heat exceed your threshold. There's lot's of heat loss due to evaporation. You'll need to add some heat in the grow space if your room temps are 75F or lower. Currently, most LED lights have poor cooling design. Hot air moves from the sides and loops right back into the fan intakes on the top. You need cool air from the grow space to get above the light, somehow. I currently have to pump warm air from above the lights to below the canopy to keep the environment in the tent manageable.

I'm about to stick an Arduino with a 4 chan relay shield in a MH 48x3W. For about $50, I purchased the former with temp, humid, IR, soil moisture sensors and a wireless relay link. I'll be able to program/switch both LED banks, the fan and one extra AC device. I think I'll be able to do all controls necessary to run a super stealth grow cab from within the light case. It could even have a wireless remote control, instant "off" button.

I don't need all the extra features, I just wanted to control the banks of LED's and fan so I can run the red spectrum for a short while before and after the full spectrum period. I "had" to get my purchase over $35, so I purchased all the extra sensors and wireless link to have some fun and experiment.

Anyone got an unused MH 48x3w reflector to donate for an attempt to design and build a stealthy, inexpensive, programmable grow box? I'm going to limit my experiments in my personal grow space, but I'd be willing to go wild and put in all the bells and whistles into an experimental grow where the smart light controls "everything". I'm not interested in making money out of this. I'd open source the hardware design and code.

I have no idea if this is of interest to anyone here. Some companies hate it when people hack their hardware.
I've been thinking about this for a while. Now it's out. I'm giving my Mars Hydro a brain. Does anyone care?
Does anyone else want to participate?

 

[Dave Groomer]

IMO your girl won't need nutes for the first little bit then she will throw herself into flower... That is when I would start nutes... Unless she is showing some sort of deficiency before you see her flowering... but I sorta doubt that will happen... I would not worry about veg nutes to much at all again unless she is showing some sort of deficiency... When you see her starting to flower start with the blooming nutes.....

I don't use alot of nutes in veg. The FFOF has plenty. If they show they need it, or they seem to be growing slowly, I will add some Grow Big. I do recommend adding Cal/mag to veg and flower. They seem to need it more with the LEDs.

 

[TokeItUp77]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

the fans on the lights are like a computer running. my garage shed i don't hear anything outside when i open door and go in i hear it not to bad.

 

[Dave Groomer]

IMO your girl won't need nutes for the first little bit then she will throw herself into flower... That is when I would start nutes... Unless she is showing some sort of deficiency before you see her flowering... but I sorta doubt that will happen... I would not worry about veg nutes to much at all again unless she is showing some sort of deficiency... When you see her starting to flower start with the blooming nutes.....

I don't use alot of nutes in veg. The FFOF has plenty. If they show they need it, or they seem to be growing slowly, I will add some Grow Big. I do recommend adding Cal/mag to veg and flower. They seem to need it more with the LEDs.

 

[WhiteBoyBrian]

If I add a 60x3 Marshydro ufo light would it make any difference? I have a 96x3 reflector in there now and my tent is 2.5x2.5x5 ft .

 

[SunandMoon]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

A hole 8.5"x10.5" would allow the light to rest on its bezel and off the reflector. (Please measure yourself before you cut anything.)
18 of the 48 LED's are powered by the bloom PS.

Thanks for that.
So with Growth only, the output would be about 65watts. (someone posted a killawatt photo here showing the 48x3 uses 86 actual watts).

I've been wondering about the led watt-heat conversion also.
Some vague information online suggests that 100watts of LEDs will produce a bit less heat than 100watts of incandescent bulb. (estimates are that 95% of incandescent watts are converted to heat, and about 80% of LED watts are converted to heat)

That would mean the 48x3w Reflector (86watts), should give approx. the same amount of heat as a 75watt incandescent bulb.
With the Growth switch only (~65watts), the 48x3 Reflector should give approx. as much heat as a 50watt incandescent bulb.

Search for 12V 140mm low rpm fans if you decide to replace it. The $25 silent models come with a bunch of adapters to select the desired rpm and soft mounts. You'd probably have to splice the connectors to get it to work.

My cab will be in a closet with a door, so that will help. But I can't know what it will really sound like until I have it and hear it.

You said the fan has it's own power suppply.. does that mean it is supplied by the same amperage as the rest of the light, 110V/0.87A? Meaning it can accept any fan that is .87a or less?

SmokeSara, can you share if that's right?
if I would swap a new fan, would that void the warranty?

 

[Dennise]

Is that only for autos ? I have Dyna gro foliage pro and bloom I plan to use . Just curious .
Thanks !

yes....

 

[Dennise]

I don't use alot of nutes in veg. The FFOF has plenty. If they show they need it, or they seem to be growing slowly, I will add some Grow Big. I do recommend adding Cal/mag to veg and flower. They seem to need it more with the LEDs.

I concur...

 

[Dennise]

If I add a 60x3 Marshydro ufo light would it make any difference? I have a 96x3 reflector in there now and my tent is 2.5x2.5x5 ft .

Well of course it would... more light = better bud....I know you know the numbers but again they are 37-50 watts from the wall per sq ft is optimal for growth and bloom....

 

[SunandMoon]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

Search for 12V 140mm low rpm fans if you decide to replace it. The $25 silent models come with a bunch of adapters to select the desired rpm and soft mounts. You'd probably have to splice the connectors to get it to work. Look at the HTPC forums if you want details on how to make computer fans run quietly.

silentpcreview is a good source also. For a fan swap, or for a quiet fan for a cabinet, noctua and nexus and scythe are some good ones. Splicing and soldering are no problem.

A clever person could use the exhaust from the LED light to warm the roots and provide ventilation to the space. Recirc air if humidity and temps are low. Vent to outside air when humidity or heat exceed your threshold. There's lot's of heat loss due to evaporation. You'll need to add some heat in the grow space if your room temps are 75F or lower. Currently, most LED lights have poor cooling design. Hot air moves from the sides and loops right back into the fan intakes on the top. You need cool air from the grow space to get above the light, somehow. I currently have to pump warm air from above the lights to below the canopy to keep the environment in the tent manageable.

It depends on if the grow space needs additional heat or not. There are so many options for any situation.
Heating= more light watts, less cfm exhaust, room heater, burn fuel for CO2, electric blanket/elements for the container or floor, fans to circulate air in the grow space.
Cooling= less cfm exhaust, full or half cool-tube for lights (full=intake and exhaust ducted to outside, half=only exhaust goes directly outside), closer lights and less light watts.

For a LED light with no heat, put it on top of the grow box/cabinet/tent, with only the lumens shining down in through a hole.

To gain the LEDs heat, but keep the light itself as cool as possible,, affix the light to the inside of the ceiling of the box, with a hole cut so the fan can intake outside air. With the casing of the light inside the box, the heat will be exhausted into the box.

 

[CoNerd]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

Thanks for that.
My cab will be in a closet with a door, so that will help. But I can't know what it will really sound like until I have it and hear it.

You said the fan has it's own power suppply.. does that mean it is supplied by the same amperage as the rest of the light, 110V/0.87A? Meaning it can accept any fan that is .87a or less?

SmokeSara, can you share if that's right?
if I would swap a new fan, would that void the warranty?

My photos of the inside show a blurry 12V 1A supply. The fan says 12V 0.25A. It's big enough to power 3 fans.

Humidity will be a bigger issue than heat with the LED's. The latent heat of evaporation makes my soil 14 deg F cooler than the air around the lights.

In other words; The heat problem will go away when you control the humidity. The "heat load" will decrease as the plant size increases.

Also FYI; This is the weekend in China. She usually comes back on-line Sunday night in the US.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

Thank you CoNerd.

holist2002,

I'm using the 48x3's and the fans sound like a typical computer fan. In a silent room, you can clearly hear them. Most of the noise comes from the blades passing by the grill at medium RPM. They have already lowered the noise by adding standoffs which separate the blades from the case/grill. They don't seal the gap caused by the standoffs, so there's lot's of wasted CFM.

You could make this light almost silent by replacing the stock fan with a speed controlled, "silent" computer fan and increasing the standoff size. The fan has it's own 12V power supply and the light runs very cool. It would easily get by with less CFM. Be sure to seal the gap between the fan and the case. It will sound like a modern desktop PC.

The reflectors vent out all sides, so you can't block them. You need at least 1/4 - 1/2 inch clearance on all sides.

I have a 4.6 ft sq grow tent and the ventilation fan is the dominant noise. You have to vent to keep moisture and heat down. Keeping that near silent will be difficult.

Let me know if you need more details.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

You can replace it with the 12v 120mm size PC fans

Hello CoNerd. thanks for the ideas

Will the connection accept any 12v PC fan, or does the amperage need to be greater or lesser than some number?

I'm looking at a small cabinet (1-2sqft x 2.5ft), having the light shining down into it, through a cutout in the top, so the previous sizing isn't as much of an issue. It also eliminates the lamp heat inside the cab space.
I'm still figuring the cabinet air exchange/exhaust & carbon design, but believe the exhaust fan can be slow enough to be near silent.

CoNerd, you really did some homework

A hole 8.5"x10.5" would allow the light to rest on its bezel and off the reflector. (Please measure yourself before you cut anything.)
18 of the 48 LED's are powered by the bloom PS.

Here's my smart phone sound meter app test: All values are dB
Room lights off - 35
Room lights on - 37
1 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent open - 46
3 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent open - 50
3 MH 48x3 at 2m - tent closed - 46
Breathing at phone - 49!
My home office w 1 running tower PC with lots of cooling - 55

Search for 12V 140mm low rpm fans if you decide to replace it. The $25 silent models come with a bunch of adapters to select the desired rpm and soft mounts. You'd probably have to splice the connectors to get it to work. Look at the HTPC forums if you want details on how to make computer fans run quietly.

A clever person could use the exhaust from the LED light to warm the roots and provide ventilation to the space. Recirc air if humidity and temps are low. Vent to outside air when humidity or heat exceed your threshold. There's lot's of heat loss due to evaporation. You'll need to add some heat in the grow space if your room temps are 75F or lower. Currently, most LED lights have poor cooling design. Hot air moves from the sides and loops right back into the fan intakes on the top. You need cool air from the grow space to get above the light, somehow. I currently have to pump warm air from above the lights to below the canopy to keep the environment in the tent manageable.

I'm about to stick an Arduino with a 4 chan relay shield in a MH 48x3W. For about $50, I purchased the former with temp, humid, IR, soil moisture sensors and a wireless relay link. I'll be able to program/switch both LED banks, the fan and one extra AC device. I think I'll be able to do all controls necessary to run a super stealth grow cab from within the light case. It could even have a wireless remote control, instant "off" button.

I don't need all the extra features, I just wanted to control the banks of LED's and fan so I can run the red spectrum for a short while before and after the full spectrum period. I "had" to get my purchase over $35, so I purchased all the extra sensors and wireless link to have some fun and experiment.

Anyone got an unused MH 48x3w reflector to donate for an attempt to design and build a stealthy, inexpensive, programmable grow box? I'm going to limit my experiments in my personal grow space, but I'd be willing to go wild and put in all the bells and whistles into an experimental grow where the smart light controls "everything". I'm not interested in making money out of this. I'd open source the hardware design and code.

I have no idea if this is of interest to anyone here. Some companies hate it when people hack their hardware.
I've been thinking about this for a while. Now it's out. I'm giving my Mars Hydro a brain. Does anyone care?
Does anyone else want to participate?

 

[CoNerd]

Re: Reflector 48x3W specs

Thank you CoNerd.

You are welcome.
Isn't this the weekend for you? Why are you working 6 days/week? We don't want you to burn out.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Hello Boomer, guess you have know the answer now.

Wow thanks for all the replies peeps (just quoting Dennise here though),

I will defo go for the 18-6 schedule if that seems to be the sweet spot eg not too little and too much, then and leave them to do there thing.

In relation to that the nutrient formula i use is in 2 parts Grow and Bloom, how will i know when to swap from the grow solution to the bloom one? and should i flush when swapping over?

Thanks again one and all for the advice (this grow is getting exciting now lol)

Thank you supergroomer

You will see when she starts going into flower. I would switch when you see them starting. Here is a picture of my Ice as she is starting to flower.

Great input Dennise

IMO your girl won't need nutes for the first little bit then she will throw herself into flower... That is when I would start nutes... Unless she is showing some sort of deficiency before you see her flowering... but I sorta doubt that will happen... I would not worry about veg nutes to much at all again unless she is showing some sort of deficiency... When you see her starting to flower start with the blooming nutes.....