IP66 LED Fixtures -> Mind = Blown

[luxcultivars]

How has you opinion developed with more use?

Thinking about adding a supplemental 30w or 50w unit to my 18" x 30" flower room.
Currently I have a 150w HPS in there. Are the units in stock anywhere right now?

Thanks,
Budelight

Back in stock on Amazon now: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JB12IUE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I think that these COB white LEDs can serve well in the fixtures found on Amazon. If you team 4 - 50w fixtures together in a square you get something similar to a 400w hps or mh. I would say a bit less light penetration, but many people use them in cabinets so that isn't an issue. They are fantastic general work lights; I will say that.

What I want to see is BetaTestTeam do some spectrum analysis of these. How much plant-usable light is there? I have no idea at this point. If the spectrum were good it would be great to put 9 of these in a square formation, all in one fixture.

I'm currently using 2 warm-spectrum 50w fixtures side by side in an isolated breeding chamber. I reverse my female and let it hang out in the main flower room until the pollen is close to release, then I put it into isolation so it can finish somewhere safe. Seems to work fine for that, or for having a quarantine area for new or buggy plants. I suppose you could probably veg under them to some extent.

What I don't understand at all (not being overly educated in electronics) is why a single fixture with 2 - 50w LEDs in it costs significantly more than buying two separate fixtures each with 1 - 50w LED. The 50w fixtures go for under $40, but the 100w ones go for $100 and often much more. Doesn't make much sense to me. http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Equivalent-Daylight-Security-Floodlight/dp/B00JB12L9C/ref=pd_sim_60_17?ie=UTF8&refRID=0P5ZGJE7RWNBVYABKHA2 or: http://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Equivalent-Daylight-Security-Floodlight/dp/B00JB12LGU/ref=pd_sim_60_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=0N3507FZ1JZ5N2E20B4C

But of course, then LED fixture sellers and manufacturers wouldn't be getting top dollar for their current multiple-spectrum output foo-foo light fixtures, would they?

I did a search of 'COB spectrum' here and apparently nobody has ever discussed it...

 

[luxcultivars]

sound of crickets

 

[PetFlora]

There are several problems with flood lights when using them to grow QUALITY cannabis

1. lumens per watt = Intensity

2. CRI= color rendition index

3. umoles per meter squared

Of course floods do not provide this information, as it is not a part of their purpose

We want

1. Primary AND secondary lenses to focus the light deeper into canopy

2. High CRI

3. High Intensity

These chips are probably ~ 90 l/w whereas a quality led panel, designed specifically for cannabis, is > 130 l/w, a minimum of 40% greater

That 40% will likely cost ~ $3/w, but the dividends are well worth it, especially when you faotr in a quality led panel will last many times longer without losing intensity/CRI/umoles

 

[Gillgemesh]

Essentially just focus on intensity known as luminous flux. Don't worry about CRI or lenses. Just get Cree with the lowest step and bin.

look here

Check out N0HCD35H and N0HCD50G.

The 3500 kelvin is better than the anything lower simply because it is more intense. Dont get lost in the details.

 

[luxcultivars]

There are several problems with flood lights when using them to grow QUALITY cannabis

1. lumens per watt = Intensity

2. CRI= color rendition index

3. umoles per meter squared

Of course floods do not provide this information, as it is not a part of their purpose

We want

1. Primary AND secondary lenses to focus the light deeper into canopy

2. High CRI

3. High Intensity

These chips are probably ~ 90 l/w whereas a quality led panel, designed specifically for cannabis, is > 130 l/w, a minimum of 40% greater

That 40% will likely cost ~ $3/w, but the dividends are well worth it, especially when you faotr in a quality led panel will last many times longer without losing intensity/CRI/umoles

Thanks for the response. After much reading this sounds pretty accurate, other than these maybe being useful for short-term quarantine areas or pollination chambers. In those cases we aren't necessarily looking for lush growth response, so we can get away with paying one-fourth of the price of a quality horticultural LED fixture. Frankly, if cost weren't a factor I'd just move straight into CMH lighting.

You nailed it regarding the output of these spots; 2 of the 50w ones are barely enough for my two reversed breeders in 1-gallon pots. 4 would work better. For $160 @ 200w I'd be pretty happy. I wouldn't be expecting anything miraculous.

I will get a 315W CMH when I can afford it and move these out to use for shop lights.

Gillgemesh, I love the idea of having many of those in a custom fixture, but I have too many projects on my plate to get into this the way I'd like to.

 

[monkey5]

Terpene, Question for you.."Here's a lighting penetration comparison in umol from my sweep-style light meter." sweeping style light meter you speak of..do you have a link to yours? Thank you in advance! Great thread by the way! monkey5

 

[PetFlora]

Thanks for the response. After much reading this sounds pretty accurate, other than these maybe being useful for short-term quarantine areas or pollination chambers. In those cases we aren't necessarily looking for lush growth response, so we can get away with paying one-fourth of the price of a quality horticultural LED fixture. Frankly, if cost weren't a factor I'd just move straight into CMH lighting.

You nailed it regarding the output of these spots; 2 of the 50w ones are barely enough for my two reversed breeders in 1-gallon pots. 4 would work better. For $160 @ 200w I'd be pretty happy. I wouldn't be expecting anything miraculous.

I will get a 315W CMH when I can afford it and move these out to use for shop lights.

Gillgemesh, I love the idea of having many of those in a custom fixture, but I have too many projects on my plate to get into this the way I'd like to.

CMH is expensive. UNLIKE LED spots, it is non-directional= reflected light is not as intense

Amare Technologies SS 100 is designed for both veg and flower, and can be piggy backed ($295)

 

[luxcultivars]

CMH is expensive. UNLIKE LED spots, it is non-directional= reflected light is not as intense

Amare Technologies SS 100 is designed for both veg and flower, and can be piggy backed ($295)

Hmm. Not sure I follow. CMH lights are VERY intense; far more intense than LEDS are. By far.

The Amare SS 100 is actually far more expensive than CMH if you consider the watts consumed, and probably also in total light output... although on the Amare web site they don't bother to list the total light output so who knows what it is.

You also have to stay about 20" from the canopy with it, where with the CMH you can be 3 or 4 feet above it and still get the same or even more light. I'd say LED might be better choice for stealth cabinets, and CMH might be better for larger spaces. I personally don't prefer my plants that close to my lighting regardless of heat output considerations. CMH has great penetration.

A Sun System 315w CMH is about $450 street price. It puts out 33,000 lumens. Well worth it in the long run IMO.

 

[REALSTYLES]

Hmm. Not sure I follow. CMH lights are VERY intense; far more intense than LEDS are. By far.

The Amare SS 100 is actually far more expensive than CMH if you consider the watts consumed, and probably also in total light output... although on the Amare web site they don't bother to list the total light output so who knows what it is.

You also have to stay about 20" from the canopy with it, where with the CMH you can be 3 or 4 feet above it and still get the same or even more light. I'd say LED might be better choice for stealth cabinets, and CMH might be better for larger spaces. I personally don't prefer my plants that close to my lighting regardless of heat output considerations. CMH has great penetration.

A Sun System 315w CMH is about $450 street price. It puts out 33,000 lumens. Well worth it in the long run IMO.

My light kicks the shit out of a lot of lights on the market but cost about $700 to make and it's 413watts that I dim down to 186watts for the summer

What you see is 4 panels running at 186watts each in a 4x8 tent

 

[luxcultivars]

Sweet! Make me some?

Those do look pretty damned bright.

 

[yesum]

I have been looking at the 100 watt IP65 for $55 shipped. Comes with plug too.

I have a good Area 51 100 watt white LED lamp in my 2x2x5' tent. It leaves a little dead area on either side of the lamp cause it is a rectangle. This is in flower and the lamp really close to plants, which is how I like it.

I was thinking to add this light to the side of the other and cover the gap or tilt it sideways to shine horizontal to mix with the vertical of the Area 51.

This would be for flower. I can get away with putting the 51 around 6 inches from the tops of plants so I figure I could get the IP65 within 3 inches without too much bleaching. If I have too, if I have room then farther away.

Any more thoughts on this type of light? For the money it seems to be really worth it. I have a extraction fan for the tent running all the time so I guess the passive cooling on the LED would do the trick with no fan blowing on it?

 

[Terpene]

So I wanted to post a quick update on the IP66 fixtures: they're good, but screw in LEDs have come so far in the last few years that you shouldn't waste your time with them. For 5 bucks a bulb, they're so bright its stupid and the heat is half as much as a CFL.

Here's my current veg setup with 8w bulbs:

Here's my current flowering setup with 16w bulbs:

Here's what you can expect from these bulbs:

For more information, you should take a look at Blynx's screw in LED thread. Its full of amazingly good info / lumen output readings / results: https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=314806

 

[jikko77]

imho, that thread show us how a led can be "better" without ottics or lens, or any filter on the emitters than one with one on.
a better chip is a better chip period. don't get me wrong u can get very valid gu10 led like the sylvania superia es50 or stuff like that (345lm for 7w with the lens on). but better chip are just ... better.

 

[stonedsurfer]

just purchased a 200 watt model to try out in my 3x3 tent that ive had good results in with a 400 MH trying to see if i can get close to that with half the power and if it doesnt do well tray and use the housing and swap in some cree/vero cobs.

http://www.amazon.com/SSG-Brightest...=1-4&keywords=200+watt+warm+white+flood+light

 

[mexcurandero420]

Nice experiment How many lumens are those 8 W led bulbs?

Keep on growing

 

[Klompen]

So while these COBs are only putting out 90-100 lumens/watt, it should be noted that you can buy these chips by themselves for DIY. I just picked up 700W(actual) worth of these cobs for 31 US dollars. Hopefully they'll live up to expectations, but we'll see. I have ordered 10 of the "blurple" "full spectrum" and 4 of the "cold white"(aka "daylight").

Right now I am debating what I want to do with them. I may build 4 fixtures that each contain 2 blurps and 1 white COB each, or maybe I will build 2 fixtures that each have 5 blurps and 2 white cobs each. I know with the 4 fixtures that leaves me with 2 surplus blurps, but I could maybe throw them into a fixture for mom plants.

My current plan is to make some copper plates out of some thick copper tubing that I have in storage, and then solder those to an aluminum structure of some kind. I've been scrapping for over a decade now so I have a pretty big supply of metal parts to pick from and all the wiring and other crap I might need. I'm not sure yet how large I should build the cooling structure though. I really want to keep these things as cool as possible though.

 

[Terpene]

Quick update on my little cabinet - I have switched out the individual sockets for cheap chrome bath vanity strips which you can pick up at any hardware store. They not only simplify installation, but also space the individual LEDs evenly and look great doing it.