Need the wisdom of LED Users

[SmknCanuck]

Having the itch to start growing again.The end of August i grabbed a 4x8 tent, 2 8in & 2 4in inline fans.1000w hps and i got 7 toly LED burple lights for 350 plus i got another 4 for 140 advertised as to replace a 1000w HID.Bought 12 85l bags of premium pro mix.150 various size ploy bags and 20 fabric pots.Nutes and accessories as my budget allowed.Started the grow Sept 2 now have the 4x8 tent with 1000w hps and a couple of the tolys on the outside edge.Also have a 4x6 closet with 5 tolys in there.Both the tent and closet are now 32 days in to 12/12.Also have 2 tolys in a 2x3x5 rack flowering 2 auto fem northern lights.Getting good results off the tolys so far or so i think.
These pics were taken at 25 days 12/12

The 2 autos at day 40 been trained and are flowering up nicely

After my 1st harvest i will have the cash to upgrade my lights and wanted some much needed input from all you guru high end LED users.This company is close to my house and i am looking at purchasing 2 of the 800w dimmable lights.The specs posted are for the 600w.The 800w is $650 just wondering if you all think its worth buying or you have better suggestions for my money.

Thanks in advance for any input and guidence.LEDs are new to me was always a MH/HPS light guy.

[misterbee]

As you are Canadian, do check with @Mr.Sparkle. He’s one of the “Resident Experts” on everything Lighting, one of the most knowledgeable here. He can save you $'s AND, the LED strips/accs he recommends are manufactured in Canada. Once all this Tariff War crap is a thing of the past, I’m going to spring for multiple units. Hit him up, I’m sure he will be helpful. Good Luck, stay safe and, be well.

[PGT710]

I wouldnt buy it from them. Its from alibaba. If youre going to spend that kind of money get an HLG quantum board, make your own, or just buy them directly from alibaba. I have a board from alibaba and I think its good but doesnt get nearly as bright as my HLG board and they are about the same wattage.

https://m.alibaba.com/product/1600120227650/800w-Samsung-lm301b-lm301h-led-grow.html

[PGT710]

I should also add that while there are many vendors on alibaba there are only about 2 reputable ones. One is kingbrite and one is meiju. Mine is from kingbrite.

[Mr.Sparkle]

If they are what hey say they are and work yeah totally viable and probably effective option

[Gpaw]

You have top of the line Samsung LEDs, MeanWell drivers and it’s 600W out of the wall.
If that’s in Beaver Bucks that’s great.

Not knowing the pedigree I would do an inspection before commissioning
2 dimmable 600W would be loads for a 4 x 8.

Cheers
G

[SmknCanuck]

@misterbee

He can save you $'s AND, the LED strips/accs he recommends are manufactured in Canada.

Hey bro thanks for the input.The whole thing is me and electrical do not play well together…The lights at 650 canadian is 452 american.

@PGT710

I wouldnt buy it from them. Its from alibaba. If youre going to spend that kind of money get an HLG quantum board, make your own, or just buy them directly from alibaba

Hey bro i appreciate the input and will mull over what you said.The thing is the company is only 20minutes from me and i can go in and check them out before i buy.To see what i would be getting.

@Mr.Sparkle

If they are what hey say they are and work yeah totally viable and probably effective option

Hey brother i appreciate the input.Like you said if it is what they say it is, it should be good P.S soaked 5 of those c99xdd you sent me.12 hrs all 5 cracked,placed in paper towel and baggy 16rs and all had nice taps.put in soil and next morning 3 of 5 popped up,the other 2 are moving the soil ready to pop up.

@Gpaw

You have top of the line Samsung LEDs, MeanWell drivers and it’s 600W out of the wall.
If that’s in Beaver Bucks that’s great.

Not knowing the pedigree I would do an inspection before commissioning
2 dimmable 600W would be loads for a 4 x 8

Hey bro appreciate your input.As i said above they are 20minutes from home and i can go to the store and check them out.Its beaver bucks figure for the extra 100 bucks i can grab the 800w ones.Plan being run one with the hps in the tent.Run one in the 4x6 closet.Use the tolys in the 5x5 closet for the autos Plus i am looking at buying 2 mars 4x4 tent kits

[PGT710]

Alright. As long as you can see them manufactured and not assembled. Alot of places/people buy them in bulk and then just try to pass them off as being made there.

[Tejas]

For $500, you could build two lights. The only part that would require solder is the potentiometer, the rest is Wago connectors. I just built a 2’x4’ led using EB gen. 2 strips. @Mr.Sparkle could step you through the process. I got my information for my build on ledgardner.com, but after reading Sparkles thread. Good luck!

[SmknCanuck]

@Tejas

The only part that would require solder is the potentiometer, the rest is Wago connectors. I just built a 2’x4’ led using EB gen. 2 strips

Thanks brother but you lost me already i am a demolition guy, if you need it wrecked and gone i am your guy,if you need it built best get someone else…I have the cash for lights much prefer no stress of unpack plug and go

[Old-Ron]

I have a meiju. It works good. However, I agree with @PGT710. If you can get an HLG, they are the way to go. Look at CL, Let It Go, or something like that.

I have bought all my lights off Craigs List.

Just got an HLG650r, 5 x 5 Gorilla Tent, 8in inline Hyper Fan, Fresh Filter, Monkey fans, duct work and lots of other stuff for $950. The seller also added in 3 ounces of GSC he grew. There are a ton of deals out there if you are willing to look and be patient.

[DannyTerpintine]

OP you literally get what you pay for.

Going to Alibaba for boards - there are So Many different companies… Yes HLG probably gets their boards from one of these companies, but they have stringent quality control. You know you always get Top Bin boards when going to HLG (or other reputable companies).

Imo. the general rule of thumb should be somewhere about $2/W for LED’s and $1/W for HPS. (1000 REAL Watt LED = $2000 give or take… 1000HPS = $1000 give or take.)

As for your Blurples claiming 1000W equivalent - The Real Wattage number you’re looking for is the amount of watts drawn from the wall by the unit. (Your 140W unit replaces a 1000W hps is really a 140W unit.)

I’m heavily invested with HLG. (I did do my own COB build in the past but that’s not economically viable these days.)

Alelius Led is another brand I keep seeing pop up (but I don’t know too much about them at this time.)

Personal Ads (fb- kiji - Craig lst) all have lights for some good prices sometimes. But you have no way to truly know how much the lights were used and if they were taken care of appropriately.

[mtntrogger]

Spider farmer. They are the shit ! For a 4x4 I think you want the sf4000. Not cheap, but also isnt break the bank. Blows away those blurpie lights. Dimmable also. I have the sf2000 and love it

[SmknCanuck]

I know there are way better lights than the burples.But they let me get back growing and have been producing better than i hoped for…I am talking to a guy near me who had to shut down after 1 grow.He has SpyderFarm S4000 says used for 1 grow.He has 10 used and 2 bran new.He is set on full price for the 2 new ones 850 which is what amazon canada has them for.Right now i got him down to 1100 for 2 of the used ones trying to get him to 900 and i can go check them out.

[Grohio]

Hygrow on ebay. Better built lights then the spider farmer. Made in the carolinas. You could get 2 brand new ones for 1100 bucks. And he stands behind his products. Im running the 480 watt rspec style thar he sells. Best light i have ever used. FWIW spiderfarmer coats the boards in a waterproof glue that lessons the intensity of the lights. Thats what made me pass on spiderfarmer.

[Purple-N-Hairy]

@Grohio, you got my attention with your endorsement of HyGrow on ebay and I checked out his store. Here’s a link for those who are curious:

https://www.ebay.com/str/hygrowlighting

He has a few lights and light bundles that are very appealing. Is the Red Spectrum light that he lists as 500W the one you’re using? I checked out your Bodhi Hashplant Grow Diary to see if I could find pics of your setup and light(s) but didn’t see it (though I gave up after a minute to come back to this thread). Can you post a photo showing your HyGrow light(s) over the canopy? If you already have it posted, can you post the link?

BTW, @Grohio, since you are so fond of his product(s), and I really like what I see, too - maybe you should connect with him and tell him to join overgrow and offer us a discount if we buy directly from him. I sell rare and expensive Harley parts on ebay and am all too aware of their (up to) 10% seller’s fee, not to mention PayPal’s 3% fee. Ebay and PayPal also charge those fees on the shipping charges, so the amount he can save by selling to us can be passed along as our discount. Win/win!

[rootfarmer]

@DannyTerpintine

Yes HLG probably gets their boards from one of these companies

HLG contracts Samsung to supply the top-bin LEDs and build the Quantum boards.
that’s why there are so many Chinese copies, but no Korea ones from what I have seen.

[Grohio]

Yes. I am using the one advertised as 500 watt. Im using the one with the lm301h diodes and 660nm red. It comes with a meanwell 480 driver with a dimmer already wired in. All the wiring is done with wago connectors. I really like it. I will snap some pics of it in action.

[SmknCanuck]

Its an extra 300 bucks added on for delivery and import fees to canada.and if that is cost in U.S dollars then with the exchange rate it comes out to $1628.10.if its the total in Canadian dollars then its not a bad deal for me given that the claim the 500w has a 6x6 flower footprint…Noticed they are running out of stock to.

@Grohio thanks for the input i will look into them

Just googled hydrogrow lights as when i switched from .com to .ca no items were found on ebay.ca.Found a link on google to ebay.ca that is the total U.S so its 1628 for 2

[SmknCanuck]

I like the fact it comes plug and go lol