SolStrip LED lighting: Product info and announcements

Excellent! Looking forward to the results.

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That’s whats needed to convince the spec chasers. The internet has turned us all into biological comparators. It’s obvious that for even growth and a decent yield you need a high PAR count and as close to a uniformly lit canopy as you can get. These strips get me closer to this goal than any other form of lighting.i have come across.

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@Baudelaire, I have a bit of a selfish question, but can you report tests for PFFD at 12" for a Six-strip X3 SolStix three-foot rack kit w/ appropriate drivers and an assortment of stix that produce a full spectrum of lighting?
This one factor has been my sticking point in choosing an LED lighting solution.

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@Sebring: Rack and SolSheet maps are coming, but single-strip testing indicates that the X3s consistently put out around 1650 umol/m2s over a 1 s.f. area at 12 inches, running at their maximum operating current of 36v and 2.4 amps. Based on those results, one could expect a 3-foot X3 SolStix rack with 3 strips running on a 240w driver to put out an average of +800 umol/m2s across a 48" x 18" foot print (6 s.f.)

Six strips at max current would double that output of course, all things being equal. As for spectrum, the X3s are “full spectrum” in that they have 96 diodes at 2700K and 48 diodes at 5700K, delivering a blended 3700K spectrum - perfect for dual use lighting (veg and bloom).

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@Baudelaire do you think the x3 mixed spectrum or 2700k only be better for a flowering only application?

@Baudelaire It sounds like I need an invoice for a 3-foot X3 SolStix rack with 4 strips running on the driver(s) that will maximize performance and efficiency.

Pulled this from another page because some people might need this info. I know I had to look it up. :wink:

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@Enstromentals I think it is largely a degree of personal preference and grow-space requirements.

For a dedicated flower space, I recommend either 2700K or 3500K X2s, or the dual-band X3s with 66% 2700K and 33% 5700K.

The X3s deliver a blended 3700K, not much different than the 3500K X2s, but some LED growers believe the deep red and blue spikes from the 2700K and 5700K diodes offer spectral benefits that their CCT “average” belies.

For folks who are moving from HPS, who love HPS, and want to replicate HPS spectrum or at keep their spectrum similar to more easily compare LED performance to HPS, I recommend 2700K.

I personally am more of a sativa hybrid fancier, and I need and appreciate more deep blue in my spectrum, both to hold down stretch and boost THCA/V production. I prefer average CCTs in the 3500-4500K range. The beauty of SolStrips is that you can design the spectrum you want by mixing strips.

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@Baudelaire for my purposes it would be a dedicated flowering so setup. I’m not in love with my hps, but I don’t want to downgrade from the eye hortilux lamps either. I subscribe to the mixed spectrum being better theory, but wanted to hear more of your opinion as well. 3700 k cct send like a nice place to be but I was curious, in a flowering situation, how you would compare and contrast that to 2700k exclusively, and also to the performance and temperature spectrum of an hps (more specifically the eye hortilux enhanced)?

I’m “sun-centric” in my general philosophy toward indoor horticultural lighting, i.e., the main objective of an indoor plant light is to replicate the spectrum and intensity of the sun. That full spectrum and intensity produce the healthiest plants and best quality and quantity of product, in ways we only partially know how. That low intensity partial spectrum environments (blurple) grow plants like bread and water feeds prisoners: it keeps them alive but greatly reduces their potential for a robust and healthy existence.

With that in mind I prefer the 3500-4000K range, I believe it is the best compromise between a red-spectrum heavy environment with a deep blue component, and the better efficiency, which means more intensity per watt, of the bluer spectrums above 4000K.

But I am certain, and have seen, excellent bloom room results with 2700k, 3500K and even 5000K. I guess I would go with 2700K if I was more of an OG/kush/full indica grower, and 3500-3700K if I was a mixed hybrid or sat grower.

As for the X3’s dual band spectrum, there’s some initial research on dual spectrum being more beneficial, but repeated practical testing remains to be done. I am certain it can’t hurt, and definitely grows top-shelf product on its own. Whether it’s better, remains to be determined, imho. Here’s a spectrograph of the 2700K X2 and X3 strips:

X2 2700K

X3 2700/5700K

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hello friends !! i m from greece !! i want to try this Led if you sent over here !! if i take : Non-dimmable Drivers x2+copy of SolStix X1 x4 at 2700k . how many real watts i have for my canopy ? and what cables i gonna need ? thx alot

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@Baudelaire Are you still in business? no updates here for a while and now solstrip.com is down.

Definitely in business and busy filling orders and working on some new offerings for the fall. You must of come by during a brief maintenance period, we upgraded our website this week.

Coming soon:

  • X3 SolSheet Xs - dual-band spectrum in a ultra-low profile, fully enclosed 230w lamp

  • X2 and X3 SolStix Rack kits - 240w, 320w, and 480w light racks in 36 and 48 inch lengths

  • SolStix Smart Racks - dual-band fully programmable dimming and on/off control from your PC or phone.

More on all of this in the next 30 days. Stay tuned.

-b420

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was browsing the website and noticed the huge difference in page load speed. kudos

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Worked fine for me last night, ordered some heatsinks at like 1am got the “Its shipped” notification today around 3pm cst @Baudelaire is on the ball.

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Yeh i went back a hour later and there was a maintenance notice up by then :thumbsup: Glad things are going well, especially since i wrecked an X3 strip and will be needing a replacement at some time soon. I wont fill this thread up with my pics but if you want to see my first attempt at an actively cooled build using X3 Solstrips…

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Electrical newbie, any wiring videos? Do they wire similar to QBs?

Pretty much just like QB’s only done in parallel typically due to the high voltage of large strip counts when wired in series.

I go into some wiring detail Here hope this helps!

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so these are basically raw electronics that you piece together using items you buy on solstrip.com?

i’m imagining something along the lines of building a PC with more electrical involved

i have roughly a 5 x 8 ft area that i’ll be setting up solstrips in in a few months and am trying to wrap my head around the basics

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Only had mine up and running a couple of days and I can already see a huge difference in how the girls react to the light. I can’t at this moment say it’s been my best grow purchase but if the girls keep growing like they are using my solstrip rig it will beat my HPS lights by a long shot :+1:

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building a space from scratch and am more interested in performance than price - did you build it or use DIY?

I definitely want to learn how to wire the things…

i guess if someone has time - what does it take to light 1 solstrip? how many strips can 1 driver light?

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