LED Lights

[Fate]

I'm very curious about led panels not so much because of the power saving but the fact they produce less heat and can be mounted on all angles, not to mention plants can grow right upto them without a fire risk....

[BehindTheLine]

The best setup so far for LED's are 7-1-1 so Red-Blue-Orange/Yellow the Red must be the spectrum of 630nm dont get any other one this was has been proven to be the best for marijuana. The red normally goes 630nm-660nm blue is 430nm im pretty sure orange be somewhere in the middle. But is quite importanant to get the 630nm red colour. And as I said a ratio of 7-1-1

[jemma.rylee]

The best setup so far for LED's are 7-1-1 so Red-Blue-Orange/Yellow the Red must be the spectrum of 630nm dont get any other one this was has been proven to be the best for marijuana. The red normally goes 630nm-660nm blue is 430nm im pretty sure orange be somewhere in the middle. But is quite importanant to get the 630nm red colour. And as I said a ratio of 7-1-1

Thanks for that, I will pass that onto the guy that is going to build it for me, this is all a bit technical for me.

[jemma.rylee]

I'm very curious about led panels not so much because of the power saving but the fact they produce less heat and can be mounted on all angles, not to mention plants can grow right upto them without a fire risk....

Hi Fate

This is another reason I'm looking into LED. I have 6 plants all with burnt tops, sometimes I forget to move the lights up, or as they are at the moment, I"m having to bend them over being "old and forgetful" I had forgotten how quickly they can grow. LED panels will be here in about three weeks so will keep you up to date with what happens with them. It would be nice to not be getting $1300 power bills too

[farmerBrown]

clenching my anus for the incoming shit storm... And reminding everyone the following is my opinion only based on the research I have done and my own experience.

 

You won't find much love for LED here OP, no one uses them but everyone is an expert. I'm trying them out with my current grow and they do well in veg, but everything does pretty much. Confidence still remains high for flowering, but we shall see.

 

Check out

Spectra LED

BlackStar LED

Penetrator X LED

 

for ratio's and spectrum's, 7-1-1 is an OK ratio but there is no need for orange/yellow, plants don't really use it. The wattage, manufacturer and beam angle are just as important. 3W LED will provide better canopy penetration than a 1W however the 3W are less efficient. However 3W with a 60 degree beam angle will be good for taller plants where 120 degree angle would suit a SCROG better. Combined angles of 60/90/120 and 2W and 3W LED's using a decent brand like Cree for example would pretty much cover all your bases.

 

That is all very simplified and cursory, so as you can imagine there is a lot more to it than buying a LED off eBay, getting shit results and then saying LED's must be shit or not ready to compete with HID yet.

 

630nm - 660nm Red

425nm - 450nm Blue

Best spectrum range for production of chlorophyll A & B.

 

If you can get your mate to throw in a low ratio of UV that will help will trich production as well.

 

As far a energy saving goes it would appear that the high end LED's like those above are ahead of their HID counterparts by a fair way. Certainly nothing like the 90w LED = 400 HID. Seems more like 250-300W of Good quality LED = 400W of HID.

 

By the time you buy a digital ballast, reflector, cool tube, centri fan, ducting and replace the globe every 9 - 12 months the LED's don't really seem that pricey at all.

 

The only way to know is to try it out yourself. Everyone here knows HID works and works great, but no one seems to know how well LED can or can't do. There are heaps of journals on US forums that have LED grows with great results and plenty with shit results.

 

Suck it and see and don't forget the diary

Edited May 27, 2012 by farmerBrown

[BehindTheLine]

Hi farmerBrown,

Thats some good info u got there. From the research i have done on the use of LED is when vegging have the lights around 18-20" from canopy and for flowering move it down to around 8-12" from the canopy. This allows the right spectrum's to be used optimally. Just something to think about, I will be using these measurments as a base to see how they go. It sounded logical and it also was done with special light meters and wat not to test this out.

[jemma.rylee]

clenching my anus for the incoming shit storm... And reminding everyone the following is my opinion only based on the research I have done and my own experience.

 

You won't find much love for LED here OP, no one uses them but everyone is an expert. I'm trying them out with my current grow and they do well in veg, but everything does pretty much. Confidence still remains high for flowering, but we shall see.

 

Check out

Spectra LED

BlackStar LED

Penetrator X LED

 

for ratio's and spectrum's, 7-1-1 is an OK ratio but there is no need for orange/yellow, plants don't really use it. The wattage, manufacturer and beam angle are just as important. 3W LED will provide better canopy penetration than a 1W however the 3W are less efficient. However 3W with a 60 degree beam angle will be good for taller plants where 120 degree angle would suit a SCROG better. Combined angles of 60/90/120 and 2W and 3W LED's using a decent brand like Cree for example would pretty much cover all your bases.

 

That is all very simplified and cursory, so as you can imagine there is a lot more to it than buying a LED off eBay, getting shit results and then saying LED's must be shit or not ready to compete with HID yet.

 

630nm - 660nm Red

425nm - 450nm Blue

Best spectrum range for production of chlorophyll A & B.

 

If you can get your mate to throw in a low ratio of UV that will help will trich production as well.

 

As far a energy saving goes it would appear that the high end LED's like those above are ahead of their HID counterparts by a fair way. Certainly nothing like the 90w LED = 400 HID. Seems more like 250-300W of Good quality LED = 400W of HID.

 

By the time you buy a digital ballast, reflector, cool tube, centri fan, ducting and replace the globe every 9 - 12 months the LED's don't really seem that pricey at all.

 

The only way to know is to try it out yourself. Everyone here knows HID works and works great, but no one seems to know how well LED can or can't do. There are heaps of journals on US forums that have LED grows with great results and plenty with shit results.

 

Suck it and see and don't forget the diary

Thanks for that info, I didn't realise what a argument between you guys would cause, just thought it would be worth a try, particularly in Brissy during the summer humidity

[jemma.rylee]

Hi farmerBrown,

Thats some good info u got there. From the research i have done on the use of LED is when vegging have the lights around 18-20" from canopy and for flowering move it down to around 8-12" from the canopy. This allows the right spectrum's to be used optimally. Just something to think about, I will be using these measurments as a base to see how they go. It sounded logical and it also was done with special light meters and wat not to test this out.

 

Guess its all worth a try, somebody one day has to get it right I guess, wouldn't it be good if we got it right!!!! My mate has managed to work it out right for fish aquariums and plant life, and that can be pretty tricky and has to fairly presise, some of those fish are worth a fortune

[farmerBrown]

Hey Jemma, seen some great results in aquarium setups. If this guy knows his stuff you should be able to grow some great plants. If you model it on any of the LED companies I listed above you can't go wrong. Look on some of the US forums and youtube for some examples of crazy LED grows.

 

 

Hi farmerBrown,

Thats some good info u got there. From the research i have done on the use of LED is when vegging have the lights around 18-20" from canopy and for flowering move it down to around 8-12" from the canopy. This allows the right spectrum's to be used optimally. Just something to think about, I will be using these measurments as a base to see how they go. It sounded logical and it also was done with special light meters and wat not to test this out.

 

I think light distances depend on beam angle and watt per chip. The thing I love about LED is no heat so you can sit the lights really close and get extremely tight node spacing and really short bushy plants. Great when head room is low.

[bluntman_77]

notice no one in the thread actually had any experience pulling good yield with LED? sure it will grow ok in veg , sure it will get you some bud , but where are the aussies pulling the pounds out of leds?

 

also re: heat im in perth , brutal summers . a 400w hps in a cooltube setup is 1.5-2c above ambient temp

 

at the moment , not worth paying 1200$ for a high end LED for 1.5c off your temps!