What a fantastic thread @Northern_Loki, I’ll be consuming that info all morning, possibly all day! Thank you!! What a gem.
3 Likes
I used to have a 400w t5 that I lent to a “buddy” that seedlings loved. Really wish I still had it
Call this a Columbo moment:
Than why smoke it? Old habits die hard. Led isn’t the problem, the problem is old fashioned growers that don’t know how to grow with more power and are to stubborn to admit it. You guys think you made up the wheel and now are scared to ask advice to the new growers that double the score. Snap out of it and find the freaking dimmer for crying out loud!
7 Likes
From an objective viewpoint, this thread is great entertainment. I thank you all for your time and participation in this edutainment.
3 Likes
Why smoke it you ask , well that should be obvious but apparently it’s not, probably because you don’t know me so how would you have any idea what I was doing or why besides your own assumptions. I’m not going to review my growing history with you or explain why I have smoked weed grown under various different led lights sense they hit the scene but I will say that ,
I find your comment unnecessary and passively insulting. You are making assumptions about me and my abilities as a grower and have never met me and don’t know a thing about me, that says a lot about you. I’ve gone into depth on this thread explaining my thoughts and statements about led tech and it’s advantages and disadvantages but people like you continue to step up with some simple bandwagon statement instead of adding anything constructive to the subject.
Your not saying anything that has not been said and addressed already so why even bother posting what you did. Do you get some joy from convincing yourself your superior to others with statements like that ?
There is a lot more going on then the use of dimmers or proper canopy to light distance.
I swear some people have such a sensitive ego they can’t handle anything that goes against what they believe and have to belittle those who who question things they are confident about.
I come on here less and less due to people like you and comments like that. I am a professional horticulturalist and have degrees in environmental science , I advise the local master gardeners and make a living growing produce but go ahead and assume I’m a old fashioned grower even though you know nothing about me or my passion for plants, your only hurting your self in the long run by projecting negative energy into the world.
I’ve addressed my concerns with led lights already and now have some that are working great and cost me a lot less then some of the other ones out there that produce inferior results. The tech has come along way at this point and can produce some decent product but the majority of them produced crap weed historically.
I will never understand people like you who spend there time looking for some comment within a conversation they were not part of that they can then isolate and make some smart ass comment about that really serves no purpose and adds nothing productive to the world. I used to enjoy coming on here a lot but more and more I see these passively insulting comments that seem to serve no purpose besides provoking people into some negative back and forth comments that have led to some great members leaving or getting banned for losing there temper.
Anyways long story short please have something productive, mature and intelligent to say if your going to speak to me or about me ,otherwise I would appreciate not being included in your comments in any way.
8 Likes
Great thread, had fun whilst sipping my morning coffee.
4 Likes
so… I have done very little research into lights. all the technical shit just loses me very fast LOL I grew for many many years with mag ballast HPS and MH. Always buying the premium bulbs of the day. Up until last year I ran a 1000W halide with a parabol reflector and a bare space in the middle of the room directly under the bulb.
Worked okay but once the canopy was formed the lowers were blocked and the plants around the outer edges of the room struggled at that distance
So I got an HLG 600Bspec last year to hang in a 7.5 x 7.5 x 8 grow room, replacing the 1000w Halide. That light kicks ass and in that room, at 75% all the plants are getting enough light to thrive. Adapting to the nutrient needs is a must. I found the issues related to P, K and Ca ratios. That and I can;t get my usual General hydro flora series anymore so am experimenting with Hollands Secret. The plants seem to like the slightly elevated P/K relative to N but I’m transitioning to outside and water only soil mix.
I have been flowering all these years with the hortilux super series… the name escapes me… and my personal favorite but very expensive … the NH940 Ultra Ace which runs on the 1000W halide ballast. This was great because I could run one room in veg with the 1000w super halide and then swap the bulb for the NH940 and I didn’t have to move the plants or make changes to the ballast /lamp set up.
So I have a Spider Farmer SF4000 on the way and I’ve been offered an HLG 600R … so this coming fall/winter when I move to my indoor rooms I will get a chance to make some flower runs and do some comparisons. My brother grows some real nice flower under his LED’s and he runs the sf4000’s as well.
I am thinking I like the idea of a short veg sea of green
7 Likes
That is to large of a subject for me to type out atm, depends on a lot of different things like stage of growth , strain , individual plant needs etc
2 Likes
I went from hid to led and never looked back.
I’m 57 lol, og here.
Old Dawg learned some new tricks
I did.
I dig how i play with the light spectrums.
Sub par buds?
Not in my experience.
It’s OK if one prefers one thing to
Another and I can respect one’s
Opinion.
However there is way way way to
To many youtube grow vids
Side by side comparisons
Real research, SHOWN
impericile data to suggest
Hid is superior to Led is not the case.
Then when we add in costs
Bulb replacement, heat,
Cost, it’s a no Brainerd.
If you guys wanna see some sick.shit
Go to nukeheads seeds on youtube
He’s building a water cooled led grow Light system.
But if some prefer a rotary phone
To each their own.
8 Likes
You know you want one 
I tell folks with young kids to take them by a pay phone & a post office so they tell future kids about the pony express 
before flying cars
4 Likes
I haven’t seen a pay phone I a long while.
Ya those old phones were no
Joke and tuff as we are.
2 Likes
The handset could double as a hammer in a crunch.
3 Likes
I think these enhanced led systems that cost the earth are comparable and surpass any hps set up now I’ve born thorough and detailed research…I still remain with hps though…lol
1 Like
Nothing wrong with sticking with what you like.
I just don’t get people knocking led when it clearly works well.
7 Likes
Same here, To each his own
But knocking something that
Has impericle side by side grows
Multiple times
Multiple channels
By talented growers shown to be
Better overall in power costs
Heat, lamp logivity
Even the samples were sent to labs
So it’s just wrong and it’s been shown wrong that HID is superior.
I pull 200 watts if that and cover
5x2 with great results.
My last light bill was 97.00 lol
My unit cost about as much as 2
Hid 600 watt bulbs but unlike them
I.wont.have to change bulbs for
5.years lol.
1 Like
I’m looking at 2 of these.
2 Likes
Where did you get these bulbs? I tried searching Lowe’s for utilitec but not having any luck. Do you have a model number for them?
Thanks
1 Like
LED tech is getting cheaper and cheaper almost by the day.
Case in point: i won this FCE 4800 recently:
I’ve been eyeing this light since it came out a year or two ago, when it dropped it was around 500 US dollars. Now? Regular price is like 430, constant sales and tons of coupon codes can bring that price even lower.
Average quality LED lights used to be about $1/watt, now it’s WAAAAAY less than that if you shop around. I forget the brand, but saw a 680 watt fixture similar to mine, for about the same price (400-ish). That’s INSANE to me.
12 Likes
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-2-X-2-Grow-Panel-Light/5013060381?cm_mmc=shp--c--prd--elc--ggl--LIA_ELC_143_Light-Bulbs-And-Commercial-Lighting--5013060381--local--0-_-0&gbraid=0AAAAAD2B2W_sJzhcSxfCuKPoX8CQ_Ai1o&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuqDt2oHB_wIVUSytBh1Ebgr1EAQYAiABEgLyFfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
If that goofy looking link doesn’t work it’s product
#4926954
4 Likes