DIY Light

[DrGreen420]

Looking for a thread that can give me a step by step guide on building a led light for a 2×4 frow area. I want one light to use the whole grow. I plan on growing autos. Just trying to do this all on a budget. Also if there is a thread thats duscussing cheap led lights that may fit my needs im all for buying prebuilt. Its my understaing that its cheaper to build one though. Thanks in advance.

 

[VetSmoke85]

Google LED Gardener DIY build. Loads on there. A few here, including myself, have used info from there to do a build.

 

[DrGreen420]

Thanks. Im having a hard time loading it on my phone. I will keep trying but maybe i will have better luck at home on desktop.

 

[VetSmoke85]

Here's the build I did. You can get those strips in 2ft lengths too. I think it was @Nunyabiz who built a bigger one. He might have a build guide to help out.

Cheap DIY LED strip build

I made a DIY flower tent from an old canvas shoe rack and needed a light. The dimensions are 60x30x90cm. Not many quality lights out there to fit the space so I decided to build my own. After searching online and reading guides I opted for a strip build. Part of this plan was to keep costs as...

www.420magazine.com

 

[Finnicki]

I looked into building an LED but when I added everything up that I would need, it was easier just to buy a completed one. I would have a LOT of extra parts. Too old to learn how to build at this stage. If I were younger and wanted to build extras ( for friends or to sell ), different story. FYI…….

 

[Jaz]

j

 

[The Twisted One]

On a budget. Hmmm. My kind of guy. If you’re on Facebook, go to Marketplace. Search “led grow lights” and chime back in. Odds are good your can now find a lightly used quality led light for around 25 cents on the dollar. People try a grow. Fail. Sell their equipment cheap.
There are a few things to look for or ask about. Here they are in my order of preference.
1. Ignore brand (for now).
2. The first thing that makes or breaks a quality light is the LED diodes. I’m sure there are many good manufactures of LED’s, but for me the Samsung LM301x series are proven performers, and the ones that prompted me to purchase a PAR meter several years ago and perform my own testing up against my tried and true HPS 1000 watt lights. I tested a NextGen and an HLG. The HLG blew the competition away, but it wasn’t HLG that did it….it was the Samsung LM301 LED diodes that did it. I switched and never looked back. Keep that in mind as MANY manufacturers use them, and some use only top bin diodes. Either way, they are stellar performers. I use 3000k in flower and 4000k in veg. My flower lights are driven twice as hard as lights in the mother/veg room, but each board has a robust finned heat sink that really draws the heat away.. If the light has Samsung chipsets and a robust heat sink, you’re pretty much in like flint, and when properly equipped will last a lot longer than most will admit.
3.The icing on the cake. Ask about the driver, or what us old folks called the ballast or power supply. If it’s a known brand like a Meanwell, smile. If it has a dimmer feature via an adjustable pot, smile more. If it has a corded remote to adjust brightness, smile real big.
4. I’m now leaning towards having some deep red, so look for a few rows of 60nm reds, another plus, though I haven’t proven their effectivenes.
5. In closing, this should be first. Ignore power ratings. They are misleading. I’ve seen many 1000 watt led HPS replacements….that only draw 300 watts from the wall, meaning it ain’t 1000 watts. Reminds me of how they used to rate amplifiers….2000 watts….(at a distortion ratio that would make you go deaf)…
The driver, ballast, power supply, whatever you choose to call it will list the true rated watts. That’s the number. Anything north of say 500 watts (true watts) will perform exceptionally well and will replace a conventional HPS light. That I’ve proven, and these days, armed with a little knowledge you can make the deal of the day and do it cheaper than how I did it…by building them.
Good luck my friend!

 

[Jaz]

Ignore power ratings. They are misleading. I’ve seen many 1000 watt led HPS replacements….that only draw 300 watts from the wall, meaning it ain’t 1000 watts.

Correct and you'd be lucky to get 300W from many labelled 1000W; usually around 100W.

For many models, 1000W is not a 'power rating'; it is the model name - this is how they get away with the 'false advertising'.

This style of nomenclature all came from comparing the new LED's to the old HLS, etc.
A simple piece of marketing used to make it easier for consumers to relate to.
i.e.
If your old HLS was 1000W, you can by our new super duper 1000W LED fandangle and it will give you similar results... while pulling 100W from the wall.

j