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DIY leds Discussion Thread for all your how tos and doubts and anything related

Is DIY led worth it.

  • No idea never tried and it seems complicated.

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • No, i tried it and it was just shit/i burnt down my house/im just a negative nelly about it

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No, its too expensive nowadays, can find cheaper than diy growlights

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • No, it takes up too much time and work for the results it gives

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • Yes! The time and effort it takes is what actually makes it enjoyable

    Votes: 3 8.3%
  • Yes, with my prices considerations and needs its actually cheaper than bought lights

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Yes, its actually safer with me doing the work since i know what im doing and can choose parts

    Votes: 2 5.6%
  • Yes, it means i can repair it myself if it breaks

    Votes: 6 16.7%
  • Yes, it means i can get a light that is perfect for my unique space and needs

    Votes: 8 22.2%
  • Yes, cause i cant get the results i want which i cannot find in any light on the market

    Votes: 1 2.8%
  • All of the above yes answers

    Votes: 9 25.0%
  • I dont know but im leaning yes

    Votes: 6 16.7%
  • I dont know but im leaning no

    Votes: 2 5.6%

  • Total voters
    36

Aristoned

Active member
Light movers were invented to increase g/W.
I had lights moving in circles. Later I had them moving in a straight line. But in the end I made progress by removing sides. So in stead of having 1 static light with 4 m side I had 4 static lights with 8 m side. That really made a difference.

Grams per watt or keep ya outta jail.

Ya know, the basics in an occupied country.
 

Ca++

Well-known member
If we are going to light the lower regions of our plants, could we use a different colour to that above. Is there a leverage option, not yet exploited.

There is little to say what known plant responses, apply to our plants specifically. Many are about canopy penetration, so could be very relevant
 

Drop That Sound

Well-known member
Veteran
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Speaking of light movers..

I have an extra 12v 8a rail on my ATX PSU not being used..

Should I install 2 rotary beacon light motors along with 2x 35w Xenon arc tube HID headlight bulbs (with the anti UV coating removed?) somewhere towards the center of my LED fixture, so they spin 360 degrees and blast the plants with 12,000k+ ultraviolet rays?

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Has anyone ever tried supplementing HID or LEDs with xenon arc bulbs yet?

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big315smooth

stay weird
Veteran
just got one in had a few cheap ass small ones messed around for veg purposes but never start to finish with a good one. any tips or issues i should know about or problems you see first timers screwing up on before i send it?
 

Rocket Soul

Well-known member
D
View attachment 19171667 View attachment 19171668

Speaking of light movers..

I have an extra 12v 8a rail on my ATX PSU not being used..

Should I install 2 rotary beacon light motors along with 2x 35w Xenon arc tube HID headlight bulbs (with the anti UV coating removed?) somewhere towards the center of my LED fixture, so they spin 360 degrees and blast the plants with 12,000k+ ultraviolet rays?

View attachment 19171677
HTB1KTh.OVXXXXXvaXXXq6xXFXXXe.jpg




Has anyone ever tried supplementing HID or LEDs with xenon arc bulbs yet?

View attachment 19171691 View attachment 19171695
If you want to supplement UV why not go led? These xenon lights have very little uv, like maybe 5-6% pf 35w. I doubt ot would be enough to make a big impact. Uv leds from 385-405nm are efficient and easy ro acquire.
 

Aristoned

Active member
If you want to supplement UV why not go led? These xenon lights have very little uv, like maybe 5-6% pf 35w. I doubt ot would be enough to make a big impact. Uv leds from 385-405nm are efficient and easy ro acquire.

I’m using 75W of IR and 75W of UVA.

There is a massive difference for me flowering under 4000K 80CRI strips @ ~113W (~500 ppfd).

Lots of very strong stems, strong smell, and the buds are already starting to swell and I’m not even two weeks into flowering.
 

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Ttystikk

Well-known member
Veteran
I’m using 75W of IR and 75W of UVA.

There is a massive difference for me flowering under 4000K 80CRI strips @ ~113W (~500 ppfd).

Lots of very strong stems, strong smell, and the buds are already starting to swell and I’m not even two weeks into flowering.
So you more than doubled the wattage of light by adding 300W of combined blue/UVA and red/IR? I'm not surprised that you saw a big difference!
 

Aristoned

Active member
So you more than doubled the wattage of light by adding 300W of combined blue/UVA and red/IR? I'm not surprised that you saw a big difference!

I each bulb is rated to 75W each for a total of 150W. With the LED’s off it is miserably dark in the tent, I’ll post a photograph tonight.

Even though the incandescent consume more power they produce far less photons of light, but the wavelength being produced is impossible by LED.

My hypothesis is that the plants need far less 660/700 than we think and adding real IR “activates” plant metabolism.

The sun produces far more “green” light than red or blue, and seeing the results of “blurple” LED panels has lead me to believe that “green” light is more important than everyone else thinks.

My current experiment is proving me right so far. Just using the 4000K 80CRI strips provides very close to “daylight” while the UVA/IR completes the “ends” of the spectrum.

@Neferhotep I'm looking at some halogen IR tubes since they have a form-factor that fits better for the next build. I found an agricultural supplier that has reflectors and 250W IR tubes. I figure I could find something smaller to supplement. For now, I don’t see LED as a source for IR, a burning filament is the only way to achieve photo-radiant heat.
 

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Aristoned

Active member
@Aristoned I need to see someone run the IR vs just running ambient temps warmer head to head because warmth accelerates metabolism.

From your advice I increased the temperature to 85° with the UVA/IR combo, the heater is still setup to maintain an absolute minimum temperature and only runs once or twice a day to maintain 75° ambient temperature. This way my home is comfortable to me and the tent is comfortable to them, I also don’t need to run a 1,500W heater when I have 150W of incandescent.

Savings of a factor of 10.

The temperatures are basically the same (84° with heater, 85° with UVA/IR) but the response is MASSIVE.

With my hand under the LED’s I feel no heat, with my hand under the UVA/IR I feel heat. The sun produces plenty of IR and the plants just love it. 150W of incandescent for one plant seems to work fine, I’m going to side-by-side the UVA and IR to see if I need both or if the UVA can be replaced with more IR. I suspect the UVA will be best for the first and last weeks and the IR best for the weight-gain weeks.
 

Aristoned

Active member
@Rocket Soul - 2700K 97CRI (x3)

I can push these up to 210W, I’m thinking they may end up around 150W. I have three drivers I can use with these:

240W
200W
150W

Each driver has different maximum outputs and different efficiencies. When I figure out which one does the trick I will go that route, then I can always go higher for CO2.

My drivers are setup to be plug-and-play so I can easily move everything around and swap drivers between arrays for testing. This way I only need one of each driver to test multiple configurations.

Also, I’m fixing all of my backwards potentiometers.
 

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Aristoned

Active member
Very nice looking connectors. What brand is that?
Very neat.

Edit: found it. It's Evoges.

The splice connectors are very nice, the plug-end was just something I had lying around until I get an actual plug-end.

I picked up a C13/C14 extension cable (PC power supply cable) then cut 12” from the exposed end to attach to the fixture and 36” with the shielded end to the driver. That way I don’t have to worry about exposed wires with 100V/DC dangling. It also makes it very easy to swap drivers or just hang the luminaire without a cable hanging off. Just getting those two hooks on can be a challenge.
 
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