LED and BUD QUALITY

[Rocket Soul]

My LED has a couple rows of red nodes so the problem has been understood just need new LEDs or go with 3000k

That is one take. You could also argue that both the electric sky and HPS are relatively low in green, while still having a good cover of red.

Only satisfying thing I find when I google crazy farmer 320 from tue US is a guy getting naked and going through a hay bail compound.

Not sure when I’ll be ready for an investment, but the desire is to get an array set up. An improved rig with the same idea as my 20x36inch 50x90cm) but with a 32x32in (80x80cm).

Am I wasting my time and investment on anything not LM301b diodes?

301bs arent that special; good on durability, thermals, efficiency and such, but theres no secret sauce in them, same spectrums as for most diodes, except for EVOs. The efficiency gains: can be reached by just driving diodes softer. Or reach higher output (the whole point of efficiency) by using just q pittle more power. 2-3x lm281b+ pro to 1x 301b is about equal

 

[Verdant Whisperer]

I was thinking it was the genetics the last 5-6 year that has been the decline in quality of herb available where i live, but honestly i think the issue is due to all grows switching over to led's the buds all have this clear white color, where before it looked more mature closer to sun grown with hps. while some of the tastiest bud's i've smoked are led's probably due to lack of terpene evaporation ect. but they don't hit like the hps or sun grown.

 

[Rocket Soul]

I was thinking it was the genetics the last 5-6 year that has been the decline in quality of herb available where i live, but honestly i think the issue is due to all grows switching over to led's the buds all have this clear white color, where before it looked more mature closer to sun grown with hps. while some of the tastiest bud's i've smoked are led's probably due to lack of terpene evaporation ect. but they don't hit like the hps or sun grown.

Nothing beats sun grown in taste and smell, as long as you have decent genetics to start with. With the led buds i honestly think its not really led, rather 4000k + 660nm: High Efficiency spectrum which is the reason of both lack of taste/smell and kick. Too much green and youll drop quality somewhat but further more its going to be difficult to bring that quality back with reds/uv if already so prevalent. Imho

 

[I Care]

I saw lm281sumthin somewhere. A light that has individual analog switches for the daylight and reds. No dimmer, seems durable. If I can fish it out if the internet again and find that it has the + or not.

I saw some 2200K led HPS replacements. Only the hood, no ballast requirement. It’s 8000 lumens at 54 watts.

 

[I Care]

Just your typical, cheap, consumer. I go through the internet finding the cheapest stuff that will work. Until I get hung onto something and my imagination brings me back to that idea later.

I know I’ll have some indoor entertainment. I don’t read so I guess a cheap light is going to be like a good book for me.

Going to set it up this weekend and see what happens compared to other plants under couple 6500k tubes through the week.

What @Ca++ says about mothers is a good suggestion for this light for now. I really need to get some branches going before I get any cuttings. I don’t wanna be a cheap ass with possible winners here, just have no other choice right now. I’ll have a germination station, an light rig and a night rig to better manage the space that the 5x5 was in. With nearly the same cubic volume.

I found the little array I was looking at..
Sonlipo, it’s cheapest on eBay for 200w version with switchable spectrum. less than 50p a watt at full power. Thinking this is good for individual efficiency of the diodes.

Amazon says LM281+, eBay says SMD+. Is that the same thing?

 

[Rocket Soul]

Just your typical, cheap, consumer. I go through the internet finding the cheapest stuff that will work. Until I get hung onto something and my imagination brings me back to that idea later.

I know I’ll have some indoor entertainment. I don’t read so I guess a cheap light is going to be like a good book for me.

Going to set it up this weekend and see what happens compared to other plants under couple 6500k tubes through the week.

What @Ca++ says about mothers is a good suggestion for this light for now. I really need to get some branches going before I get any cuttings. I don’t wanna be a cheap ass with possible winners here, just have no other choice right now. I’ll have a germination station, an light rig and a night rig to better manage the space that the 5x5 was in. With nearly the same cubic volume.

I found the little array I was looking at..
Sonlipo, it’s cheapest on eBay for 200w version with switchable spectrum. less than 50p a watt at full power. Thinking this is good for individual efficiency of the diodes.

Amazon says LM281+, eBay says SMD+. Is that the same thing?

SMD means surface mounted device; any thing that gets soldered onto a circuit board. All of these chips are SMDs. Dont know what smd+ stands for, probably just a misprint.

 

[I Care]

SMD means surface mounted device; any thing that gets soldered onto a circuit board. All of these chips are SMDs. Dont know what smd+ stands for, probably just a misprint

Irie, thats the thing with eBay, the seller’s descriptions arent always complete.

 

[Ca++]

8000 lumens at 54 watts isn't terrible. I don't think the 281b does any better, once implemented in a fitting (iirc they are 160lm/w under test conditions. The + is more like 200lm/w and I forget where the pro fits in. It all needs checking before purchase)

 

[Rocket Soul]

8000 lumens at 54 watts isn't terrible. I don't think the 281b does any better, once implemented in a fitting (iirc they are 160lm/w under test conditions. The + is more like 200lm/w and I forget where the pro fits in. It all needs checking before purchase)

Some of the 218bs have a test current of 150mA (160lum/w) while some have a test current of 65mA which means that its more than just different spec going on here.

 

[Ca++]

Some of the 218bs have a test current of 150mA (160lum/w) while some have a test current of 65mA which means that its more than just different spec going on here.

Being a 301 snob, I had to have a better look
The 281b is listed anywhere except China. I think it used to exist, but isn't even a copy now.
The 281 is a 0.5w package, 2.8mm X 3.5mm. The 301 is a 0.2w package, 3x3mm. We see this in the industry as sizes used by everybody. 2835 and 3030, respectively.
From a thermal point of view, this favours the 301.
The 301b is 220lm/w
The 281+ Pro is 213lm/w
The 281+ is 165lm/w.
This makes one of them top shit, and the other just everyday shit.

I went through the graphs, but this rather wide gap seems to be right. Yet the Plus was actually designed for longer life, not more light. It's generally specified at the same 65mA as a 301, meaning 0.2w not it's 0.5w place in things. It's for long service applications, and as such is expected to be used in a manner to prolong it's life. Not just ran at a full watt with a dastardly and mutley snigger.

All this long life talk, has to be raising the question. 500 cycles.
Yes, your slack bottom jaw heard me right. It's rated 500 full thermal cycles, but from a lowly -45 to +125c. LEDs often fail due to physically breaking up. The 3.0mm package is less prone than the 3.5mm package, as the 3.5mm has 1/6th more movement. 15 years ago people would be taking a soldering iron to their loose components. Then we had board with thin slices to accommodate more expansion/contraction. Today we seem to be over that, but still the internal stresses are quite real.

This all adds up the the need of chips that are good at making light, but not very good heaters. Then we want lots of them. Looking at a 288QB of 301's we find 140/288=0.5w each. We want all the chips we can get, and they want to sell us the least amount possible. Then we want them on a good heatsink. Not a flat plate like some want to sell us. Some tests on a reasonably finned 288QB and found the most efficient part in terms of lumens per watt, was a cooling fan added on top.

Looking at a meanwells 7 year expectancy, LED depreciation suggests we change them at 3.5 years. Which is quite demanding on your supplier. I don't think the industry is geared up towards lamp changes, when trying to sell us the LED dream.