Lushpro 200w COB lights

[J.gsaw]

Good day all, Bit of a newbie here, however been searching the dreaded net for the best cheapest options. These Lushpro COB 200w lights seem to be the go as far as an ebay special, just wondering if anyone else has used them or similar? Im just a casual smoker, so not after a huge setup, just a small grow tent /2-3 auto type plans.

Tossing up between cfl 250w option or run the led. Whatever doesn't suck the life out of the power im guessing. I have some nice beans here I want to get going asap, but torn between which way to go, any replies welcome, Cheers.

[Ford Fairlane]

Have you considered hps? I reckon a 250w hps would outdo a 250w cfl any day of the week.. as for LED I am clueless, but if you get the right one, they seem to do the job.

[J.gsaw]

I considered hps but not enough space and they chew power. Im just keen on small grows personal use etc. If I can get a single light setup that can easily rip through a few auto's I will be happy. Im just after the cheapest option but effective at the same time. I basically figure if I can get at least 10000lumes for each plant dual spectrum, I shouldn't go wrong. Im reading that led is cheaper, but so many opinions.

[Naycha]

200 watts is 200 watts regardless of whether led, hps, or anything else.

 

What kind of yield are you expecting to get per harvest? This would be a better way of working out what light is best for you. Cutting corners = less buds.

[J.gsaw]

I smoke a fair bit these days, so I would like to turn over at least 4-5oz per grow. Perhaps more if it let me. But im not greedy, just sick of running out .  

[Naycha]

My first grow was in a 2 door wardrobe from the 2nd hand shop. I used two computer fans as intakes as well as a large hole with no fan. For the exhaust I used a 250mm centrifugal fan which was overpowered but that was good for when I upgraded. The light was a 400w HPS. I had one plant in a 50L pot of clayballs and nutrients were recirculated from a 50L tub outside the wardrobe with a small aquarium pump. The key was having the hot air exhaust outside of the room so the room didn't recycle air and continuously heat up.

 

I ended up with 8oz from that plant and was very happy. It was a simple setup with the only expensive item being the fan, and the fan lasted me at least 5 years.

 

A beginner should be able to do well if they have fresh air, acceptable temps, and if they don't overwater and over fertilise.

 

Depending on how much you pay for electricity a setup like that with the light on should run at around 25 cents per hour or less.

[Sir PsychoHashy]

I'm gonna go out on a bit of a limb here and state the obvious.  Lushpro are made by Growlush, and Growlush electrical items are an extremely bad investment to make for any grow setup. So

 

2nd, in a given space, a 250w HPS will outyield a 250w LED or CFL, mainly due to better light penetration.  Will generally put out a bit more heat though, but, as per Nays comments on airflow, good air circulation will take care of that except in mid summer.  Should be possible to crack 4-5oz/grow with 250w, but 400w in a grow space of 1*1m or slightly bigger would be a better starting point.  Having said that, those lights are the best option for some people, and they do still work, so figure out what's best for you.

 

If you want the cheapest possible setup, use the sun, it works a treat and gives better smells and flavours to the buds IMO.  But if you want the stealth and environment control afforded by an indoor setup, then there are setup and running costs involved, and sometimes trying to save money with the cheaper options ends up costing more, so you are better off planning properly and saving for the right gear before starting.  Doesn't have to be too complicated or fancy, but you do need appropriate wattage for your space, good air exchange, and your choice of grow medium and appropriate nutrition to match.  Soil is the cheapest option, but you need to know how to make a good soil mix and then make best use of it to get good results.  Coco with perlite, and coco specific nutes are the simplest hydroponic method as you can simply hand water.  I prefer recirculating hydro systems myself, but they cost more to setup, and there is a little learning curve to get the best out of them.

 

Look around the site, plenty of past and present grow journals to look through for ideas on setup, methods etc to give you a better idea of starting points.  And if you post your own journal when you get going you will get plenty of assistance and encouragement, just make sure you have a digi camera to take pics as we are all canna porn whores

 

And lastly, you mentioned auto's.  Nothing wrong with auto's, I happily grow them sometimes, but they are not necessarily the best option for beginners.  They tend to only perform when given the right treatment from day 1, otherwise minor fuckups in the first few weeks can hold them back considerably.  I would recommend you cut your teeth on some photoperiod plants until you get a feel for rootzone treatment, watering/feeding schedules etc before venturing into auto's.  The difference beween getting it wrong and right can be from less than 10 grams of bud from a plant, up to 200+ grams from the same batch of seeds with autos.

 

Best of luck

[J.gsaw]

Awesome, cheers for all that gents

[Naycha]

Also consider that regular plants flower on 12 hours of light so you will save big $ over growing autos there.

[Woz from Oz]

I've been taking an interest in COB lights lately checking out the various assemblies on Aliexpress and the d.i.y posts on different forums. I've seen the Lushpro ones on ebay and I'm a bit wary of them. They give you a lot of guff about lighting systems but nothing on the one they're selling! They are probably using 100w chips and and running them much lower than that. (Otherwise they would have short life so its not an actual 200w.) There is nothing about the actual chips and that's what matters.

COBs sound great and I would like to D.I.Y. but quality chips cost and to be effective you need quite a few of them + heatsinks and drivers.

I've always used HPS (600w) though been trying MH (400) for veg but have decided to give leds a go - at least for vegging. My grow area is small 1x1m x2 so I won 2 x 340W Sunspect panels on ebay. Their actual power is 154W each. Should do for this led beginner! Currently as part of a promotion they are listed on ebay for $80 with free postage. I think that's pretty good and might suit you. Good luck!