New LED's

whiterussian said:

Hey maybe you and call me a fool can go live on a deserted island and grow your own plants using LEDS and UFOS LOL!

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See CRAP like that!! This an informational thread.. Not the coffee table or chat room.

I tell you what! Once the 'new car smell' wears off and the prices drop significantly, I will be buying me some LED's to save money on electricity and just to play with them in general. =)

There is need to fight over what light works better then others LED lights are not that new to growing. But due to the cost of them, you do not hear many people useing them My biology class in high school used them them to grow soy beans about 7 years back. But to the people that are useing them I thank you Much more info is needed to determine what is the best light to use. But as of now MH/HPS is the best due to the cost. Maybe when a UFO gets down to say $150 bucks, then it will be more cost effective. But even then it still wont be a huge drop in your electric bill. Is it really that big of a deal to spend $60 more bucks on the electric bill to get the biggest buds you can get? I say no.

As far to say that 82% of the light from a HPS light goes to waste I would have to disagree with that The only way that where to happen is if you get the wrong color spectrum light. Different light is need in different times of groth. I hope we all know that

I agree Smoky. As for LED growing Soy,,that doesnt surprise me. Sould be able to use them on small(short)crops. Not much canopy to penatrate,,and they have the right spectrum,,,BUT,,just not enough of it to make worth the money from what I have seen.But then again I dont know ****.

Rather than opinion I prefer science. For starters here is a very useful page for finding hard science facts about LEDs: hXXp://members.misty.com/don/led.html

If you assume the use of the very best LED's - white have the most efficiency - then it is 80 lumens/watt. So to compare this with a 400HPS, we'd input 400 watts to the LEDs and get 32,000 lumens. And the HPS would run around 50,000 lumens. Not to mention the fact that the 400W to the LEDs is actual LED power, and does not include the wasted power in the current source (similar to the wasted power in the ballast of a HPS)
So to anyone who tells me LEDs are more efficient ... I say ... oh yeah? Show me the figures!

northernlightssmokn said:

It seems that people like to "make up stuff" and say that it is the opinion of all. I see it in forums everywhere. Every once in a while one gets in here too, like pimpdaddy there. He has NEVER seen an LED or a UFO and yet has an opinion. Was not the topic to be discussed by people that have actualy seen or used LED's? I reread my post from lastnite and it was harsh..I apologize for the word "ignorant". I am sorry. I will not apologize for singling out a "player" with bad information. These bad apples cause people to make bad descisions. There should be a button down by the "thanks" button that you can press to "reject" a post as well when bad information is posted.

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Well then go make your own marijuana forum, and tell everyone to grow with UFOS and make a "Reject" button

northernlightssmokn said:

See CRAP like that!! This an informational thread.. Not the coffee table or chat room.

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Just stop talking bro, im not crap, ive obviously gathered enough info to know when someone is full of crap

northernlightssmokn said:

I have NEVER heard a more worthless ignorant comment as that!!! You probabaly never even seen an LED or a UFO. You want two good examples of LED growth...

1) My grow journal (link below)
2) http://www.greenpinelane.com/ufo_light_test.aspx (tomato's journal)

I am tired of worthless second hand garbage hear say information like that!! From now on you should start ALL your posts with a truthfull comment: "I once knew a guy who had a friend that was told by his brother that he overheard a lady tell her neighbor that she knew a worker that told her....."

I searched the forum...I dont see any "scientific research" or "proven experiments" with your name on them...

Yes...you hit a nerve....

NO..I am not sorry...

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...... HAHAHAHAHA!!!! Man i've been feeling pretty crappy lately but that made my day..... whooo.... HAHHAHA IM STILL CRACKIN UP!!!!

Dude relax a little bit! Its my opinion mon!!!!!! You can call me ignorant thats fine, but i have seen with my own eyes the difference between grows using LED's and HPS and there was no comparison. Im not saying the UFO's dont do the job, so put your panties back on...

All im saying is that if you want GREAT output and not just OKAY, id personally go with the HPS.

Dont take it to the heart man! your getting yourself too worked up! hahahaha But i do give my thanks to the fellow members, like HEMPGODDES and WHITERUSSIAN for agreeing with me. Its not a contest. It was a question! Whats better? lets be honest! HPS is! So its more expensive? whats it worth to you? the best of the best or electricity cost?

Hope your anger issue has gotten better since your post! :hubba:

i was browsing some more led stuff and came up with an interesting grow that actually compares his led grow to his hps grow

hxxp://www.breedbay.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=201338902&highlight=leds

hps showed chunkier buds but leds showed much much more trichomes and an overall nicer looking plant

figured i'd share

i got this off a website that talked about NASA's use of LED's. The website has a PRO's and Con's list. Here's what i got. "LEDs can be calibrated to emit only the light most efficient for the plants, but not all the light plants need." with that said, HPS delivers all parts of the visible spectrum, closely immitating the sun.

"in time LEDs efficiency will be maximized while prices reduced" with THAT said, Led's are not a terrible choice by any means. I think that if you retrofitted your whole grow room with LED's then you would get a fantastic output. But its simply too expensive, and does not produce ALL of the wavelengths required for correct growth. (again, not saying that the plants wont turn out okay, just not as well as if you had ALL of the spectrums involved)


They just DONT quite put out like a HPS yet. Its fact.

im cheap and broke so i picked up a cheaper led setup, it works fantastic for vegging but does not penetrate for flowering..now, im not saying thats all leds, thats just what i have to work with

It looks like in my absence the debate has gotten ugly on both sides.

Everyone stop take a breath then smoke a bowl and while you are at it take a hit for me (since i can not right now). This site is not about belittling others and pushing their buttons. It is for trading information and expanding everyone's knowledge base about all things MJ.

There is mis-information going on on both sides. I am going to start by addressing what is being ill reported about HPS lights:
1. A 1000 Watt lamp does not produce 1000 Watts of light. It draws a 1000 watts of electricity to produce light.
2. At 22% efficiency a HPS lamp is one of the most efficient means of producing light visible to the human eye, but that does not mean that it produces the best colored light for growing efficiently.
3. 780 Watts of energy used by a 1000 Watt HPS lamp does nothing but produce heat.
4. An additional 100 to 800 Watts of energy are lost as heat for each 1000 Watt HPS lamp by its ballast. So that means for every 220 Watts of light energy produced between 880 and 1580 watts of energy are turned into heat by the lamps ballast and bulb.(the range is due to the efficiency of the various types of ballasts out there)
5. HPS lamps are currently the best choice of lamps to flower MJ under due to her unique needs.

Now for LEDs:
1. LED growlights are at nothing more than an experimental stage for growing MJ. They work very well for leafy plants like lettuce, herbs (the kind you cook with), grasses (the kind you walk on) and many other plants, but do not produce the OMG type of results that Ads and websites lead you to believe that you will get with MJ.
2. The 90 Watt UFO = 400 Watt HPS comparison. This is a bit of snake oil salesmanship. What they are saying if you read everything they publish carefully is that the 90 Watt UFO is producing the same amount of RED and BLUE as the RED and BLUE light produced by a 400W HPS. Anyone with experience growing MJ knows you need more than just red and blue to produce big healthy buds of MJ.
3. LEDs do produce heat. They just are more efficient at producing light than heat. HPS require heat to operate. LEDs produce heat due to operation. In my experiments one of the $20 150 Watt HPS lights (384 Watts including ballast) produced more total heat than my 215 Watt LED board and its power supply.
4. LEDs show great promise at producing a perfect grow light due to their ability to target the exact color of light desired, BUT as of yet no perfect LED grow light for MJ has yet to be produced.
5. LEDs should only be used to grow by those who want to play mad scientist and have plenty of money to bank roll their experiments. The technology is unproven, costly and can leave you with only small amounts of varying quality buds.

I have done both the research and hands on experimentation to back up all of the above. If you have any questions or would like to debate any of it I would be happy to do so in a civil manner.

"2. The 90 Watt UFO = 400 Watt HPS comparison. This is a bit of snake oil salesmanship. What they are saying if you read everything they publish carefully is that the 90 Watt UFO is producing the same amount of RED and BLUE as the RED and BLUE light produced by a 400W HPS. Anyone with experience growing MJ knows you need more than just red and blue to produce big healthy buds of MJ."

What do you mean "you need more than red/blue"?

northernlightssmokn said:

"2. The 90 Watt UFO = 400 Watt HPS comparison. This is a bit of snake oil salesmanship. What they are saying if you read everything they publish carefully is that the 90 Watt UFO is producing the same amount of RED and BLUE as the RED and BLUE light produced by a 400W HPS. Anyone with experience growing MJ knows you need more than just red and blue to produce big healthy buds of MJ."

What do you mean "you need more than red/blue"?

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What I mean is is exactly that.

MJ needs a little 700nm (near infrared)during flowering to produce lots of big buds. The 700nm as well as photoperiod both help production of the chemical transmitters that help the plant bud. Light energy between 580nm(yellow/green) and 630nm(orange) also are very beneficial in bud production.

The 475nm and 670nm light used in LED growlights target photosynthesis in clorophyl. MJ has evolved under our sun (see light read out below) and because it has it uses most of the available light from 380nm-730nm to produce energy and other chemicals and triggers. Giving a MJ plant just blue and red will not kill it or prevent it from going through its' life cycle (MJ is very adaptable), but it will not make the MJ reach its full potential.

Using just red and blue light to grow MJ is like growing a human with nothing more than Coca Cola and Tofu. All the right elements are there for basic survival but don't count on growing an olympic athelete or anyone else outstanding.

In order to grow really good MJ in good quantities the plant needs exposure to more wavelengths than just the red and blue of chlorophyl. If attempting to produce a grow light of your own aim for the PAR light curve as much research has gone into that spectrum read out, in order to maximize light output to plant growth.

Rogue said:

What I mean is is exactly that.

MJ needs a little 700nm (near infrared)during flowering to produce lots of big buds. The 700nm as well as photoperiod both help production of the chemical transmitters that help the plant bud. Light energy between 580nm(yellow/green) and 630nm(orange) also are very beneficial in bud production.

The 475nm and 670nm light used in LED growlights target photosynthesis in clorophyl. MJ has evolved under our sun (see light read out below) and because it has it uses most of the available light from 380nm-730nm to produce energy and other chemicals and triggers. Giving a MJ plant just blue and red will not kill it or prevent it from going through its' life cycle (MJ is very adaptable), but it will not make the MJ reach its full potential.

Using just red and blue light to grow MJ is like growing a human with nothing more than Coca Cola and Tofu. All the right elements are there for basic survival but don't count on growing an olympic athelete or anyone else outstanding.

In order to grow really good MJ in good quantities the plant needs exposure to more wavelengths than just the red and blue of chlorophyl. If attempting to produce a grow light of your own aim for the PAR light curve as much research has gone into that spectrum read out, in order to maximize light output to plant growth.

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Ok so in other words, the HPS would be a better choice for growing marijuana? yes or no??

whiterussian said:

Ok so in other words, the HPS would be a better choice for growing marijuana? yes or no??

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Read the post he made before the one you quoted..."HPS lamps are currently the best choice of lamps to flower MJ under due to her unique needs."

northernlightssmokn said:

Ignorant fool

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as i said before go make your own marijuana forum, no one needs your attitude, your like a little girl, were all here to help eachother grow, not you telling people whats wrong and whats right, you obviously havnt done research and instead of prooving us all wrong, and showing us some pics of your UFO grows, you sit here and complaign, and talk crap, GTFO

Things are getting ugly again. Just stop it!

There is no reason to call each other ignorant.

Just a question. WHY do people fight over this LED light thing so much. I mean,,aint none of those Light Companies paying anybody a dime of thier profits. I say to each his own,,but untill the LED guys are paying good money for your Loyalty,,I dont get how its worth arguing over. Hell just go grow some good Bud with the LEDs and smoke a bowl.