Another LED thread? C'mon, man!

[Triggle]

Well the time has come for an upgrade. I will be keeping my CFL cabs for veg and mothers as they work wonderfully for that but I want a bigger flower room so I'm setting up a tent....and I'm going LED.

Weeks of looking and reading and going nuts with all of these reviews that only sit on the far ends of the yay/nay spectrums. Night and day differences in consumer experience. It's just crazy. I chalked it up to the fact that most lights are in fact imported, mostly from China, even if the company is "proud to be USA owned". Most of these guys are simply distributors who have their name put to a mass-produced "generic" product. I'm actually fine with that. Car companies do it, musical instrument companies do it, even the food we eat is produced, branded, re-branded and eventually sold. So whatever, I buy lots of Chines stuff that works fine.

Even so, the price differences were crazy. I tried to go USA though and sent a message to California Lightworks with a detailed description of my goals as a grower, the needs of my patients and outlined ideas for custom applications...I really wanted to give them my business...their website was impressive, their online reviews sold me. They never responded.

I keep coming back to KIND but something keeps preventing me from pulling the trigger on the K5 750. I like CREAM too but some of their lights look EXACTLY like the Helios from Twilight. Speaking of Twilight, whats the deal with the website? No spiders? No prices? (price of $0)

How about advanced? Oh, well your website sucks.

So now theres Mars...hmmm, good journals, great price but...oh that pesky website thing again! Sounded like a 2nd grader wrote the thing. Terrible. BUT, I went there today and the verbage and the grammar has been greatly improved. And SmokeSara is awfully active out here trying to help and make things happen...maybe a little eager to promise results but she's got drive!

Platinum...oh Platinum. I actually don't have any concerns here, other than I would hope to receive the new grey-cased lights with all of the improvements that have been advertised as "much, much more than cosmetic" But idk, are these grey ones the 4G? Your website still shows white ones but customers have the newer models in their hands already? hmmm...


So I guess it's down to Platinum, Kind and Mars....Feel free to sell me either way.

Ok, I'm done. Sorry.

Trig

(Yo admins, my bad if this isn't a kosher dill. Or a sweet gherkin for that matter.)

 

[Gushers]

Brother I'm right there. 2x potential customers in this thread.. Someone convinve me to invest in ur business!

 

[zero244]

I just recieved one of the grey Platinum P300's very nice lights. I havent had a chance to compare it output wise next to a White P300. The light spectrum on the New Grey model does look a little different. Very bright and solid build. You should take a close look at the Pled line. For the build quality and output they look like one of the best bangs for the buck. Before I bought the Platinums I had already purchase 6 LED lamps and they were 2 or more times the money per watt.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Thanks Triggle, we have a native English speaker friends who is willing to help us improve the words on our website. And he just send us the Mars II section so we make some adjustment on our website. I am really sorry if my English is not so good. I will try to improve in future.

Well the time has come for an upgrade. I will be keeping my CFL cabs for veg and mothers as they work wonderfully for that but I want a bigger flower room so I'm setting up a tent....and I'm going LED.

Weeks of looking and reading and going nuts with all of these reviews that only sit on the far ends of the yay/nay spectrums. Night and day differences in consumer experience. It's just crazy. I chalked it up to the fact that most lights are in fact imported, mostly from China, even if the company is "proud to be USA owned". Most of these guys are simply distributors who have their name put to a mass-produced "generic" product. I'm actually fine with that. Car companies do it, musical instrument companies do it, even the food we eat is produced, branded, re-branded and eventually sold. So whatever, I buy lots of Chines stuff that works fine.

Even so, the price differences were crazy. I tried to go USA though and sent a message to California Lightworks with a detailed description of my goals as a grower, the needs of my patients and outlined ideas for custom applications...I really wanted to give them my business...their website was impressive, their online reviews sold me. They never responded.

I keep coming back to KIND but something keeps preventing me from pulling the trigger on the K5 750. I like CREAM too but some of their lights look EXACTLY like the Helios from Twilight. Speaking of Twilight, whats the deal with the website? No spiders? No prices? (price of $0)

How about advanced? Oh, well your website sucks.

So now theres Mars...hmmm, good journals, great price but...oh that pesky website thing again! Sounded like a 2nd grader wrote the thing. Terrible. BUT, I went there today and the verbage and the grammar has been greatly improved. And SmokeSara is awfully active out here trying to help and make things happen...maybe a little eager to promise results but she's got drive!

Platinum...oh Platinum. I actually don't have any concerns here, other than I would hope to receive the new grey-cased lights with all of the improvements that have been advertised as "much, much more than cosmetic" But idk, are these grey ones the 4G? Your website still shows white ones but customers have the newer models in their hands already? hmmm...


So I guess it's down to Platinum, Kind and Mars....Feel free to sell me either way.

Ok, I'm done. Sorry.

Trig

(Yo admins, my bad if this isn't a kosher dill. Or a sweet gherkin for that matter.)

 

[Triggle]

Thanks Triggle, we have a native English speaker friends who is willing to help us improve the words on our website. And he just send us the Mars II section so we make some adjustment on our website. I am really sorry if my English is not so good. I will try to improve in future.

You're a badass Sara! I hope you understand that I was giving you praise!

Here's the deal...you spoke up...Mars Hydro gets business.
Talk to you soon.

Trig
Thank you!

 

[Antics]

I've been using the Mars Hydro Old Model 100x3 (3 watt diodes), on one plant, which is now taking up over 4 square feet in my grow closet (over 2' wide on both sides at last measurement)

Dusty Kiefers is using the 48x3 Reflector, and produced a plant that filled in a 4 square foot SCROG: 2' x 2' DWC Scrog With Jock Horror Under 48 x 3W Top LED Reflector

MARS II 400w: First Grow - 400W Mars II LED

All you need is some extra CalMag to supplement during feedings, as the plants tend to use more of these nutrients under LED.

As for the English on the website, sure it's not the best, but it's often difficult to learn a 2nd or 3rd language, and understanding their English is much easier than if most of us tried to speak Chinese.

And their grow light topic is very popular as well, Sara spends a lot of time, and sometimes long days helping people with their questions: Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

 

[Eugene300]

Hi Guys

I found this thread while searching Grow lights for chilli's.


I don't have alot of money... so my "rig" is basic.


I purchased a 6watt Grow LED bulb (it's 40led red / 20 led blue) It makes a big violet/purple light. 120degree's angle. SO it covers a big area.



How far above the chilli plants must the light be shining to be adequate.

I have 5 chilli pots (20cm H x 20cm W) - Each pot has a different chilli plant. Habanero's, Carolina Reapers etc.

My other question is. Because it's a 6watt Grow LED> do i run this 24/7 on the plants or also 12hours on and 12 hours off ?


I purchased another 10watt Flood Light (Also grow LED, 6 red / 3 blue)- But i'm keeping this to the side as a spare.

 

[jummejum]

The best advice i can give you is stop purchasing light sources that won't grow you anything. You're better of saving some bucks and buying a "proper" led light, or you can use CFL bulbs instead.

The light schedule is not determined by the light source, but by the plant itself. So for veg period you'll need at least 16hrs on 8 hrs off, and flower period 12/12.

Hi Guys

I found this thread while searching Grow lights for chilli's.


I don't have alot of money... so my "rig" is basic.


I purchased a 6watt Grow LED bulb (it's 40led red / 20 led blue) It makes a big violet/purple light. 120degree's angle. SO it covers a big area.



How far above the chilli plants must the light be shining to be adequate.

I have 5 chilli pots (20cm H x 20cm W) - Each pot has a different chilli plant. Habanero's, Carolina Reapers etc.

My other question is. Because it's a 6watt Grow LED> do i run this 24/7 on the plants or also 12hours on and 12 hours off ?


I purchased another 10watt Flood Light (Also grow LED, 6 red / 3 blue)- But i'm keeping this to the side as a spare.

 

[Eugene300]

so you reckon the 10watt or 6watt (or both) is not good enough? These are supposedly Grow Lights. Their light intensity is very good. (visibly from my point of view)

Very bright purple colour.

i'll use the 16/8 and 12/12 schedules (thanks)

 

[jummejum]

You're growing chili's ? I don't know for sure about chili growing. Might wanna have a better look into chili growing. But i am pretty sure that the light won't be powerful enough.

 

[newoldguy]

so you reckon the 10watt or 6watt (or both) is not good enough? These are supposedly Grow Lights. Their light intensity is very good. (visibly from my point of view)

Very bright purple colour.

i'll use the 16/8 and 12/12 schedules (thanks)

With that low wattage, they will probably be fine if kept close to the plant, at least to start.
But when they start getting tall, then it's not going to be enough light except on the top of the plant.

 

[Antics]

With that low wattage, they will probably be fine if kept close to the plant, at least to start.
But when they start getting tall, then it's not going to be enough light except on the top of the plant.

Agreed. As the plants get older, which means taller,, and bigger, there won't be enough light from the smaller lamps to give the plant enough light to grow.

They'll work good for supplemental side lighting, but you should definitely replace them with a larger LED panel as soon as possible.

There's a bunch of great companies here on the sponsor list: Sponsors : 420 MAGAZINE ®

All of which have lights that are proven to work, they build great, solid products, and have damn good customer service. You can't go wrong with a panel from any of those LED manufacturers.

 

[Equanimity]

Yeah dude like everyone else said, wattage is key here.

If it was like 6 or 10 watts per diode, you'd be onto something pretty niche but total wattage, nah. You've got a pretty light show and i imagine the kids and the pets in your house will get a kick out of it for 5 minutes.

When you're looking into LED lighting you check the wattage per diode and number of diodes; an example is the panel i just purchased, a "mars hydro 1200w"

It contains 240 5 watt diodes of various colours and this is where the "1200w" figure comes from.

However, there's a little more to it than that.

Some people would compare the "1200w" figure to HPS lighting and imagine they'll get 1200w's worth of HPS strength growth out of it.

No.

Check the actual power draw of the panel; in my case it was 520W~600W

This says to me that this unit will draw something similar to what my HPS draws.

While many people say that you can't compare the two [HPS and LED] in this way, it's how I decided to play it.

This way i'll find out for sure if LED will deliver the same results as a HPS on the same amount of energy.
(obviously LED doesn't win the game until it does better than HPS, for the same energy)

Once you've got the technical shit nailed down, move onto the beef...

Check the LED grow journals (there's a bunch in "Completed")
For contrast and to see what could go wrong, look at the LED grows in "Abandoned Journals" as well; My plants live better because I often read how other plants died.

Most journals will mention the name, wattage and other aspects of the panel.
Some will be 'sponsored grows' in which a member was gifted or lent a device to showcase in a grow journal. Although one might consider these to be biased, you can read several and compare to non-sponsored grows for contrast. The sponsored grows are normally furnished with plenty of good pictures and don't often get abandoned.

Once you've consumed all of that, you'll be able to pick a panel confidently enough.

And yeah most of the high powered panels put out a pink/purple light. Gives you a headache after a while.

 

[Triggle]

I feel like I was a little harsh, especially to Advanced. I called out a lot of Sponsors, and while I stand by my comments I want to be clear that I meant no disrespect. I know that without these sponsors, 420Mag and this community would not exist in it's current form.

I'm still a consumer though and sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes it's what you've got to hear though. While I singled myself out by starting a thread, there are literally thousands of people across the US and world that are pulling their hair out with me.

Anyways, I'm going to order a couple Mars II units soon. The results speak for themselves and the customer service and consumer experience have been improved dramatically right before our very eyes and in quick fashion. All of our sponsors lights produce great results. Mars has just put their product at a price point that makes all of the others make less sense.

Unsubbing this thread tomorrow. Thanks everybody and thanks to and the sponsors of

Trig

 

[zero244]

I agree deciding which LED panel will suit your needs is a daunting task and shouldnt be rushed or you will probably buy something that isnt what you thought it would be. Grows and reviews from actual owners is key to making the right decision. The Mars II line has a big following which gives you a big clue what to expect. I considered the Mars lights but decided the Pled units suited my needs better. The LED industry is changing so fast one probably should buy at a gradual pace.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Ah... I am a idiot Triggle. I was thinking if I did something wrong.... Thanks for your kind praise, to master English as well as a native is a long way to go.

You're a badass Sara! I hope you understand that I was giving you praise!

Here's the deal...you spoke up...Mars Hydro gets business.
Talk to you soon.

Trig
Thank you!

PM me when you are ready to order.

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

Sara is a bad ass she works her tail off. I am getting a new panel and Sara gets my vote.

 

[Triggle]

Got a 3x96 reflector series scheduled for delivery on Monday. Super stoked!

 

[Dusty Kiefers]

I just ordered a Mars 400.

 

[Triggle]

Nice! That's what I'm gonna roll in the tent eventually. The 3x96 will replace the overhead CFL fixture that is currently over the Snow. With spring setting in, my Temps are starting to get too high due to that cabinet being in the south facing garage.