LED vs. HPS

[sfhaze]

That's cool, 250W sounds like a good size, it's better to spread it out with multiple lights instead of one massive 500Wer.

Also, 660nm "dominate" is most likely a BAD idea. It sounds like a good idea on the spectrum because of the chlorophyll A response but unfortunately, the deep red/red ratio is used by plants to figure out if they are getting direct light, or are under the canopy. Too much deep red and the plants will think they are underneath and will stretch to get out... I certainly wouldn't pay more for it, not until I see the non-stretched results.

They are still working it out, hopefully someone will get it right.

I think the prycon is made in the usa.

[Seahawks]

Has anyone here tired the 120 watt tri-band LED from HTG Supply? I have asked around on other boards and nobody seems to have tried them yet.

The description on their site says it will outperform a 600 watt HPS. HTG is a very reputable shop and since this new light carries their brand name I'm inclined to believe their claim. I wanted to get some independent opinions first though.

[oks226]

Look at Be Irie and his grows.. He has done the test and has the pictures to prove it, JohnyHempseed, you keep saying that the LED's are producing X times better than HPS, yet without the comparison?? Johny you sound an awful lot like a salesman throwing a pitch to us rather than a fellow cultivation hobbyist.
I don't mean to disrespect you Johnny, but Be Irie seems to be the expert here as "actually" having done the comparisons, he is an accomplished grower(it's very well documented), and doesn't deserve the doubt that he is getting from you.
Prove us all wrong with a well documented grow JohnyHempseed, I would LOVE to see it!!!!

[JonnyHempSeed]

Dear Oks-
First off, lets clear the air here. Nowhere have I stated that any LED light I have used has outperformed its theoretical HID equiv. If I had, pictures would still NOT TELL THE WHOLE TRUTH about the results. A bud has to be seen, smelled, and smoked to be judged. In fact, I don't give a bloody badger how much weight you can grow under a HPS...it isn't worth crap if the end result tastes like foot. Once again, comparing vastly different technologies like these is like comparing apples and oranges, and I don't dig apples anymore.
The only real proof any of you is going to get from any of this information is by having some faith, and learning something new.
Why? Because I sure as HELL am not letting any trash-talkers blaze any of the god-bud that comes from my lights.

I CAN tell you that every experienced grower that has ever seen my LED garden has completely switched over, and called me up months later to thank me profusely.

Not convinced? That's your problem. PLEASE do not use LED lights, as they will bring you only sorrow. I will continue posting results as pertinent for the believers, the rest of you can have a good time paying your electric bill and smokin' yo dro.

--
Peace!

[JonnyHempSeed]

Hey Seahawks-
This is in reply to your posting about the 120W-
I use a quad-band 120W, and it is the same unit except I had them add 10 diodes of white to fill out the spectrum. This light is by far my favorite of the lower-W units, but I would be a little skeptical of HTG, because although they claim they use an upgraded light spectrum in their lights, they don't actually give you any of the technical specs to tell you WHAT that is.

I'd say go for it, but ask them for the wavelengths they use first.

Hope this helps-

[Seahawks]

Originally Posted by JonnyHempSeed

Hey Seahawks-
This is in reply to your posting about the 120W-
I use a quad-band 120W, and it is the same unit except I had them add 10 diodes of white to fill out the spectrum. This light is by far my favorite of the lower-W units, but I would be a little skeptical of HTG, because although they claim they use an upgraded light spectrum in their lights, they don't actually give you any of the technical specs to tell you WHAT that is.

I'd say go for it, but ask them for the wavelengths they use first.

Hope this helps-

Thanks for the info Jonny! I sent HTG a few emails and have learned that they just came out with these lights in January. They are also currently testing the lights themselves with good results.

I think I am going to order them! There is virtually no info out there about them except for what is on HTG's website, so at the very least I can help get some info out there good or bad.

Cheers

[abia]

does anyone know about the 300 watt led light or even the 600 watt led grow lights

[Mullumbimby]

Because its hot where I live I would love to use this led light.Thanks for da info.

[tonystarks]

LED technology is at it's infancy at this time and looks very promising. I have seen and smoked herb that was grown under LED's and it was good herb it just took longer to grow. I personally won't invest any money into LED's for a few years but once they develope the LED panel that is equivalent to 2000W HPS or MH I am down, for sure. I have seen the slow growth of an LED and am very pleased with my HPS so until LED's can give me tight monster buds I am sticking with my HID setup. Good Luck to everyone, whether you use HID or LED, because in the end we are all smoking herb and that is all that matters

[abia]

Well it is to late. I have purchased two 300 watt led panel. In the summer i cannot grow indoors. So i plan to supplement them with cfls to grow in the heat of summer. I hope the combo will work with out the heat problem . Last summer i had real heat and burn issues and was not very succesfull. Plants burned and died and watering issues in a soil grow system. I have hi hopes. My leds are 660nm red and 460 nm blue. 8 to 1 ratio. From all the studying i have done these are suppose to be the best ratio for plants. But i honestly believe that they are still missing a spectrum or two of light energy. What do you guys think ? March is here and spring is on its way so please wish me well and i will plant my new clones next week using the led and cfl supplements.
Thanks for reading and please give me any advice that will help insure my success.

[JonnyHempSeed]

Good luck, Abia...(and seahawks!)
Let us know how things go, because not too many people have tried out the 300's...and hopefully with the spectrum you got, and with some 6400k CFL's to fill out the mix, you should be good to go! Should be no burn issues at all, and hopefully you'll be running about 20 degrees cooler-
Best wishes with it all~

[t420]

Hi all, the authorities put an abrupt end to my favorite hobby a while back so I decided to start an informal club, we call ourselves t420.

Within the group we have growers using all types of systems, bubblers, flood and drain, top feed, organic etc.

Also the combination of lighting solutions is diverse - mv, hps, mh and cfl (unfortunately no leds as yet). Personally I prefer it grown organically under the sun! The yields are the big surprise, even more diverse than the systems!

420 magazine is mostly a pretty objective source of information but getting some straight facts together regarding leds to present my club with is presenting a challenge. It seems blind faith and passion are getting in the way of intelligent information sharing, with every new technology there is one thing to be remembered, your mileage will vary. Thankyou btw to Be Irie!

I had to wait six months for a grow from beginning to end outdoors, but for all the extra work I have had plants that yielded well over a pound each, with some pretty awesome failures as well. I only grew for myself and I always had a surplus when it came time to start a new crop. My opinion is that you still cannot beat nature!

I have members who will not touch it, hydro is definitely the majority's choice in our club. We tested three of our members last year to see whether they could tell the difference between bush grown and hydro buds. Four buds were given to each, three were hydro, the other bush. All three members simply put the least potent down as being the bush. When I announced that the one that they had chosen as most potent and best tasting was the bush, there was absolute silence.

Each had an expectation that the bush was going to be crud because people love buzz words, hydro is the buzz word of choice where I come from.

My research thus far tells me that if you are a small fry growing a medium amount for yourself that an led might just suit, except for the harsh prices :-)

If you are going to supply all your local stoners plus yourself and your mates then an led at the moment will not be suitable. Why are the companies trying to lead you by comparisons? At the moment my research says that there is little comparison to be made. Except of course that for under $1000 you can buy yourself 3000watts of hid power or you can buy an entry level led. Power to yield offsets are of no comparison as yet.

There are all types of claims being made by companies, when I have questioned some of them regarding these claims none have been able validate them. Truth be told most didn't even reply.

With time this technology will be developed further and of course as more people adopt it the prices will go down and the truth about it's suitability for horticulture will be revealed. I tip my hat to pioneers who have forked out wads of cash to try leds but honestly I've read nothing that would make me go out and buy any of the current leds available to the public.

One of our members has an led panel over one of his fish aquariums and fluoro
over the other, he reports that there is no difference between the fish but says with the led the water needs cleaning far less often?! There, some useless information to leave you all with, L8r.

[Triconomics]

t420

I agree growing outdoors is the best.

My advice? Use a 120 watt LED to veg your plants to 1 or 2 feet in a small grow tent before you put them out in the spring.

I bought a 120 watt tri-band LED for $420 with shipping so when you think about it it is well worth it. And they really don't produce heat, only pure beautiful light.

Only had it for 3 days now but I noticed immediate results from the CFL I had putting my Green beans and Tomato plants under the LED. Much healthier color. And contrary the plants have grown much faster under the LED after only 3 days then they were under the CFL's.

It's good to know before you buy though!

[t420]

Yes for that purpose that led would suit but my point is that companies are claiming that they will outperform hps/mh, I'm still of the opinion that no opinion is the best approach, since I haven't seen these claims validated. What recourse has a consumer got if a company's claim is found (with current leds) not to be true. You can't exactly throw a claim of 'my marijuana didn't grow properly' up in a civil court. Led is hardly a new thing and I believe it shows early promise of developing into a viable alternative to mh/hps? It makes me wonder if sales people are targeting these forums?

[Triconomics]

Honestly? I think they do perform better than HPS/MH. Just maybe not yet showing up in the results as people would like because they still need more LED wattage per square foot. That aspect where they compare the results is fake in my opinion.

The claims for how long the bulbs last is my main concern, however I know if I can even get 5 years out a LED lamp that is so much more economical than say replacing a HPS bulb every 6 months not even considering the chance of fire hazard using HPS/MH. Then taking into account zero power usage to cool your light system. Those two reasons made me switch. Only after looking into lots of different systems though and after I found a cheap enough seller, I would never buy anything from HTG supply or whatever.

I think LED's are the future. Minimum I wouldn't try flowering cannabis without 300 watts of LED's. Most LED lights use 1 watt LED's once they start using the 5 watt LED and 10 wat LED lamps inside the grow lights everyone will change their mind. The crop penetration will far exceed the HPS systems of today. The economics of it all? Expensive but if you want the best you gotta pay.

It doesn't fit the bill for the average grower, who is on a budget.