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LED and BUD QUALITY

Ca++

Well-known member
I hope there is a ballast, or it will be very interesting indeed.

Two sockets might be out of phase, to give 240, but that would be from two circuits using different fuses. It would be a bit naughty. Many 120 homes bring in 120-0-120 and offer 240 at a drier point. I regularly hear of 240v drier points, and never 240 for other big consumers, such as cookers, or the biggest of them all, the electric shower. Where anything under 10kw means you should be pitied
 
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greyfader

Well-known member
I hope there is a ballast, or it will be very interesting indeed.

Two sockets might be out of phase, to give 240, but that would be from two circuits using different fuses. It would be a bit naughty. Many 120 homes bring in 120-0-120 and offer 240 at a drier point. I regularly hear of 240v drier points, and never 240 for other big consumers, such as cookers, or the biggest of them all, the electric shower. Where anything under 10kw means you should be pitied

And behold, Ali brings us the £65 quantum meter
the electrician who showed me this trick said to use two different circuits running on separate breakers, thank you for helping me remember, it's been a while.

we were just starting to build out a large room and only had 120v circuits and we needed to test 240v equipment.

he also said that there was no way it would pass an electrical inspection. something about it being unsafe.
 
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kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
Did some short veg sog from seed with good results under led. Staten island chem s1s in foreground. I think even snakedope would get faded off this shit.
Nice job, thank you for this because I like to test seeds with minimal or even no 18/6 at all so seeing your success with LED and short veg is a very good news to me. I switched to LED for 1,5 years and I have not yet try to make a grow like this because I was unsure of the results as LED produce squatter plants than HPS I find. How long did you keep the seedlings in 18/6 before passing in 12/12?
Last time I made many seeds at once I set the timer on 13/11 and once all the plants were sexed I switched to 12/12 then at day 25 I reduced to 11/13, I had some plants producing more(+/-40g) than some who had 4 weeks of veg before the switch(+/-30g) and it was only dense buds on those totem poles.
 

I Care

Well-known member
as a famous cheap bastard, i approve of using anything that will grow weed. but, do you know how to wire a 240v ballast to a 120 circuit? it looks like there is a ballast on it. does it say what voltage to use?

i don't remember any warehouse lights that run on 120v. but there is a way to get 240v by wiring together 2 separate 120v outlets to produce a 240v circuit.

what's the brand and diameter of that thing?

I hope there is a ballast, or it will be very interesting indeed.

Two sockets might be out of phase, to give 240, but that would be from two circuits using different fuses. It would be a bit naughty. Many 120 homes bring in 120-0-120 and offer 240 at a drier point. I regularly hear of 240v drier points, and never 240 for other big consumers, such as cookers, or the biggest of them all, the electric shower. Where anything under 10kw means you should be pitied
I have no idea, I figure I’ll take them apart, strip the wires off and solder a cord onto them.

it’s just domes with mogul base and three prong ballast connector cord sticking out of them. kinda figuring it’s a direct wiring job to 3 prong with 120v plug on the end. haven’t taken them apart yet. Didn’t know If theres difference between the large mogul base and a standard lamp socket,

diameter is probably 18“
 

I Care

Well-known member
I wasn’t very clear.

At some point may have mentioned that I discovered the existence mogul base LED filament bulbs that run at 2200k HPS spectrum. They are classified as retrofit bulbs And require that installer bypasses the ballast The bulb that I’m most interested in is rather expensive, 2200k 8000lumen 54watt bulb. It’s like 75US plus shipping.

There are also bulbs from a company named TCP, that are 200lm/watt. 8000lumen 40w that are either 4000k or 5000k. These are about 54US plus shipping This company offers a range of retrofit bulbs.

I just did some math. If I use two of the 40w for 24h and two of the 54w for 12h then the total kWh annual will be around 1175kWh.
 

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kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
With higher amount of IR plants can touch the led board...this led "light burn" is more caused by inpropriate light spectrum than it is with powerfull lights levels.

Leds are good for veg and thats all....I have to say that I never had that speed of veg growth since I moved led from flower to veg.

When plant dont have IR its like its is blind.

Phytochrome System: Phytochromes can detect the ratio between red light (around 660 nm) and far-red light (around 730 nm), which is near the infrared spectrum. This ratio changes depending on whether the plant is in the shade of other plants (where there is more far-red light) or in open light (where there is more red light).Growth and Shading: Through the phytochrome system, plants can detect the presence of other plants nearby and respond to shading. For example, when a plant detects an increase in far-red light, it may indicate that it is shaded by other plants, triggering stem elongation to reach better-lit areas.Photomorphogenesis and Adaptation: This detection and response to different parts of the light spectrum help plants adjust their growth processes and survival strategies, such as changing the shape, size, and arrangement of leaves to maximize light use efficiency.Environmental Assessment: Infrared light, along with other parts of the spectrum, allows plants to assess their environment and make necessary adjustments in growth and development to optimize resource utilization.Conclusion: Infrared radiation indeed serves as an orienting signal for plants, enabling them to evaluate their surroundings and adjust their growth and development strategies to optimize the use of available resources. This capacity is crucial for their survival and efficiency in various environmental conditions.

Make yourself a favour and use HPS in flower.
I have better buds with my LED, I have no intention to go back to HPS , all people who smoke my buds have noticed a clear improvement in quality since I switched. Here is one of the plants flowering right now under my Lumatek bars, she's at day 45 and don't miss anything
IMG_0381.JPG
 

Ca++

Well-known member
I thought you were looking for a sodium lamp :)
I have seen these retrofit lamps. Some look quite nice, and I wouldn't say no to what you are doing, just to light my staircase from the high up bit. A nod to the early days. I would be looking at decorative one's though. Not something to be taken seriously.

The prices of the one's meant for factory replacements, is really quite high. I'm not sure they even work in the situations they claim to. 40w@200=8000 which is in the 100w HID region. The smallest of sizes, that never went in the reflectors you have. Which if they are as big as I imagine, might leave these 40w lamps spaced so far apart, you might not have an option to switch between them. They might all be switched on, and touching.
 

CannaT

starin' at the world through my rearview
I have better buds with my LED, I have no intention to go back to HPS , all people who smoke my buds have noticed a clear improvement in quality since I switched. Here is one of the plants flowering right now under my Lumatek bars, she's at day 45 and don't miss anything View attachment 19039904
Some cultivars are good some are not its easier to cultivate with hps...but it all depends on setup.
 

greyfader

Well-known member
those are high bay lights. they are designed to be used for ceiling installation in large buildings with ceiling heights between 10-25 ft. they project a tight beam downward. they originally had hps or metal halide lamps in them with a built-in ballast.

they are nice specular aluminum fixtures, well made. when leds arrived on the scene people were converting hid fixtures like these to led just to cut the electric bill in large buildings.

now they don't even sell these anymore and folks are buying dedicated high bay led lighting instead when doing an original install in a new building.

i feel the beam is too tight for efficiently lighting plants. and the effect of the retrofit bulb is still going to produce a single point source effect in that fixture instead of a multi-point.

multi-point lighting reduces shading and therefore increases efficiency over single point sources for plant use.

you would probably be better off in the long run to just buy a small led grow light.

i like the way those things look though. if i had them i would strip the guts out of them and install a single led household bulb in each one and put one over the dining room table, one over the desk, the kitchen counter, etc.

paint the outside black. it would look pretty cool.
 

kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
I don't want easier I want better buds and with good LED it's not so hard to do, all the different plants I've grown so far did better with the LED compared to HPS grows. The only type I've not yet grown with this set-up are dominant sativa hybrids, it will soon be done with crosses of New Caledonian male selected by Elanius, some Chem91 x NC and (TropCherry x Pink'nPurp)x NC. I have some Sowahh flowering right now, it's my second run with them but I don't think they qualify as very sativa dom hybrid.
IMG_0377.JPG
 

CannaT

starin' at the world through my rearview
I don't want easier I want better buds and with good LED it's not so hard to do, all the different plants I've grown so far did better with the LED compared to HPS grows. The only type I've not yet grown with this set-up are dominant sativa hybrids, it will soon be done with crosses of New Caledonian male selected by Elanius, some Chem91 x NC and (TropCherry x Pink'nPurp)x NC. I have some Sowahh flowering right now, it's my second run with them but I don't think they qualify as very sativa dom hybrid. View attachment 19039921
It all depends with setup you got...
Overall when both are grown in perfect setup with leds you get more yild and less terps. And vice versa with HPS less yild and more terps.
 

kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
Absolutely wrong about terpenes, the buds made under LED have higher terpenes %. I'm far from having a perfect set-up, I have very little control on the humidity level and temperatures despite fans and extraction. Even in those imperfect conditions the buds grown with LED are of higher quality compared to my HPS grown buds, the lower temperatures in LED grows allow to keep more terpenes in the flowers, over 25°c I think you're losing some terpenes slowly.
 

CannaT

starin' at the world through my rearview
Absolutely wrong about terpenes, the buds made under LED have higher terpenes %. I'm far from having a perfect set-up, I have very little control on the humidity level and temperatures despite fans and extraction. Even in those imperfect conditions the buds grown with LED are of higher quality compared to my HPS grown buds, the lower temperatures in LED grows allow to keep more terpenes in the flowers, over 25°c I think you're losing some terpenes slowly.
Many studies and my personal expirience it different on terp and smells with leds.
Yes now in perfect at summer in this kind of setup soon when cold weather comes. You want post pictures again.
Anyway everybody have their preferences and likings.
 

ledo

Chasing the Present
Phytochrome is real; HPS is the cheapest & most efficient way to deliver the FR & IR side of things; it doesn’t need to be complicated

LED far outperform the others for the 380-700nm or so range: inside isn’t mutually exclusive RE the usage of lighting tech by any means, in fact it’s about using them all… together

I always chuckle at the chest pumping, my tech is best attitude…. I’ve been testing it all for decades, we adapt & grow along with the tech if we’re prudent growers

Fluorescent for UVB 285-320nm or so
LED - for bulk of it all 380-700nm or so
HPS - FR & IR - 700nm +

^ That's the way to do it, embrace it all - until it changes & better options become available

Peace & happy farming, just my 2 cents
 
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kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
Phytochrome is real; HPS is the cheapest & most efficient way to deliver the FR & IR side of things; it doesn’t need to be complicated

LED far outperform the others for the 380-700nm or so range: inside isn’t mutually exclusive RE the usage of lighting tech by any means, in fact it’s about using them all… together

I always chuckle at the chest pumping, my tech is best attitude…. I’ve been testing it all for decades, we adapt & grow along with the tech if we’re prudent growers

Fluorescent for UVB 285-320nm or so
LED - for bulk of it all 380-700nm or so
HPS - FR & IR - 700nm +

^ That's the way to do it, embrace it all - until it changes & better options become available

Peace & happy farming
There is some Led bars who produce UV or IR now, I think there is a few IR LED in my bars, I have to check to be sure. In winter I add my old HPS when lights are on instead of using a heater when I need to rise the temperatures.
 

ledo

Chasing the Present
There is some Led bars who produce UV or IR now, I think there is a few IR LED in my bars, I have to check to be sure. In winter I add my old HPS when lights are on instead of using a heater when I need to rise the temperatures.
LED Mfgs offer weak range UV (UVB diodes burn themselves out fast & are prohibitively expensive - it’s gimmick marketing by the light manufacturers) & their efficiency for IR is extremely poor vs HID (by design I’ll add) - it’s simply the nature of the technologies - understand the how; & the why becomes crystal clear

PS: Driving/overdriving LED’s hard will invariably create more IR but of course as they produce more IR they become “less efficient” at producing their intended range of output and is contrary to the nature of semiconductor design
 
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kro-magnon

Well-known member
Veteran
You're growing a lot of sativas do you prefer a certain type of light to grow them? Do haze hybrids need a different set-up than hybrids and indicas ?
I ask because those plants grow in very different part of the world where the light is not the same so trying to replicate their native light is maybe helpful to a have successful grow.
 

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