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Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons

ScrogMonster

Active member
Veteran
im still thinking about making those plastic boxes for veggies, but i keep thinking its more work then a closet and not good looking

Yeah, I'm trying to be stealth. The other nice thing about everything being totes for me is that if I feel the need to, I can just unplug and move them very easily if I get spooked or something. Let's say a rental inspection comes up I could tape up the holes the back and throw em outside in the shed for an hour while that goes down... Also makes relocating a cinch. Stealth and portability. I actually wanted to fit all the parts into totes with out stacking I think that'd be even more inconspicuous... But the whole recessed lights thing was calling my name, so much more headroom and should be able to control temps with quieter fans. Several totes dispersed through a climate controlled garage or basement along with other storage/junk would blend right in perfectly.
 
thats why i love ikea

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Buddah Watcha

Well-known member
Veteran
I'd really love to use those instead... shoot maybe I'll mix it up and make a few different things like that from Ikea too. It'd probably be even better to have a random assortment off things instead 6-12 stacks of black totes. Thanks for the thought Huffn!

look on ebay and craigslist, you always find some killer deals there... $20 can get you something really nice! especially for micro setups!
 

Aggilator

Member

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
The problem I have with that bulb is the shape. They really take away the best quality of LED, they are directional lighting. IMO that is what makes LED more efficient for growing. There is no loss of light from reflectors.
 

Aggilator

Member
Of course i agree the directional nature of it makes it problematic,but in a small growbox all the light would atleast be reflected and contained to a point wouldn't it? More of a novelty though. If i was rich i would buy one for fun. Or you could repurpose the components like huffn was talking about before,you would get six strips of 18 LED's each after taking it apart,which you could face however you wanted.
 

TheScrogFrog

Active member
51w screw-in LED tent (Day 47)
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108w screw-in LED tent (Day 25)
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So far I am quite happy with them. Much cooler than HPS and CFL.
 

TheScrogFrog

Active member
Oh yeah, was averaging around 3oz dry from my 150w HPS, which drew 162w at the wall.

Looking to yield the same in the 108w LED tent with a 33% decrease in wattage draw. Also produces much less heat than the 150w HPS. I did flip the 108w tent a little early, probably coulda gone another week.

Hoping for success!
 

Aggilator

Member
Sometimes local energy companies hold bulb exchange events,till now people could trade in incandescents for CFLs, but now they are starting to trade you LED bulbs for your CFLs,they're actually holding such an event this weekend where i live,i might take advantage :biggrin:
 

Buddah Watcha

Well-known member
Veteran
The problem I have with that bulb is the shape. They really take away the best quality of LED, they are directional lighting. IMO that is what makes LED more efficient for growing. There is no loss of light from reflectors.

You should try that bulb on your vertical setup! :D I bet that would work good!
 

ScrogMonster

Active member
Veteran
These are the two bins i bought and am still building for an hour or so a day, They fit together perfect and use the same size lid.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-18-Gal-Roughneck-Tote-FG2215H2MICBL/100644802
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rubbermaid-Roughneck-10-Gal-Storage-Tote-FG2214TPMICBL/202260839

And on topic,someone with more money than me should test out this bulb lol.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Ele...t-LED-Yard-Light-Bulb-C10000-5K-LED/300059562

Are you going for the recessed lights in those stacked totes too? If so keep us posted I'd like to see how you arrange the lights and what you do for a carbon filter, I'm pretty busy with life but if the carbon filter I made that you can see in my thread doesn't work out, I'm thinking of making one about the same size and shape but with a closed top and carbon trays making up the 4 sides of it. there's very little head room left in the ballast box above the wood that holds the lights in place and I'm thinking the top of the carbon filter might be a little too close to the lid and restrict airflow. So drawing from the sides instead of the top should fix the problem... if it does end up being a problem.
 

brown_thumb

Active member
I can't remember if I asked about THESE LAMPS but I wanted to report my results with them so far.

COST: Approximately US$15 each delivered to my door. Perhaps they're too pricey compared to other offerings here??

FOR POSTERITY: These are generic E27 base broad spectrum mix of light wavelengths. I bought the 78 LED version because I wanted a higher percentage of UV and IR than any of the other versions offer at this time (from that manufacturer).

SPECIFICATIONS:
TYPE: Full spectrum 50 watt (equivalent) 78 LED grow light (these test at 15.3 watts each average power consumption)
LED: 42 red, 24 blue, 6 white, 6 UV, 6 IR
WAVELENGTHS: blue (430~440nm, 450~460nm), red (610~615nm, 620~630nm, 650~660nm), white (??), UV (380~400nm), IR (730nm)

EXTENDED DESCRIPTION: Epistar chip capsulation, luminosity factor and wavelength band range are about 2~3 times higher than common leds, while the power consumption is 3 times less.

Body temperature: less than 60°C
LED working temperature: less than 65°C
Voltage: AC 85~265V
Base Type: E27
Warranty: 2 Years
Certification: CCC,CE,FCC, RoHS

PLANT ENVIRONMENT: My larger plants are in 5 gallon buckets in an outdoor lean-to greenhouse covered with translucent white corrugated panels. The seedlings are in 100mm diameter coconut fiber pots sitting at the base of the larger plants on top of the larger bucket soil. The structure is in full bright open shade all morning and early afternoon then in full sun for several hours. Also, the panels have a UV protective coating. So I need supplemental lights with plenty of UVA and UVB output. I live in south Texas, USA so it's very bright and hot in the summertime. It's warm and bright enough to grow during winter months with the right plant strains. The LED lights are situated at various distances because I have two larger plants too. Distance from lights to plants varies from 150mm to 450mm. The larger plants each have 4 lights and the seedlings share the light spillover... but overall the seedlings receive more light per square millimeter than the larger plants. Average distance of lights to seedlings is 300mm.

RESULTS (SO FAR): First, I'm a total newb and have had little success thus far. All I can say now is my four surviving seedlings are thriving (I killed the other seedlings). They're growing faster and are healthier than any other batch I've tried. TO THE POINT; So far, the seedlings seem to be very healthy with excellent even coloration and are growing quickly. Despite being in a fairly bright greenhouse, the seedlings are obviously stretching toward the LED lights. So the LED lights must be offering better light than the highly filtered and limited sunlight. AGAIN, that's all I can report at this time.

NOTE: Every time I inspect my plants with the lights on my eyes suffer a bit so they must be relatively bright. From now on I'll turn them off during inspection and care.

HERE'S A PHOTO:

led_zpsa26rh0uw.jpg
 
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"TYPE: Full spectrum 50 watt (equivalent) 78 LED grow light (I'll test actual wattage consumption and add in a few hours)"

so its 5 watt? :(

100W LED vs 150W CMH?
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I laughed when I looked at the specifications; 10,0000 lumens @ 100W. How is that equivalent to 1000W?
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every time someone mentions that or its written on the box, i feel like i want to put the metal weight equivalent of a bullet in the equivalent of their brain
 

brown_thumb

Active member
"TYPE: Full spectrum 50 watt (equivalent) 78 LED grow light (I'll test actual wattage consumption and add in a few hours)"

so its 5 watt? :(

No, I just tested them as promised. The average power consumption is 15.3 watts each. The 8 I have running are consuming 122.4 watts total. Again, I tested them with them on (OF COURSE :)) and my eyes are suffering a bit.

I turn my plants around very couple of days to try and even illumination on the leaves. I turned them late last evening and the seedlings are already straightening to begin leaning toward the LED lamps but the sunlight is just now hitting the top of the greenhouse. If the seedlings continue to act as they have been then I expect them to start leaning toward the LED lamps by mid morning tomorrow. AND... I ONLY run the LED lights during bright DAYLIGHT hours to avoid curious eyes seeing the purple light glowing through the translucent greenhouse panels. Of course, the filtered sunlight is diffuse and the LED lamps are directional. So I'm sure that has much to do with plant behavior.
 
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Terpene

I love the smell of cannabis in the morning
Veteran
I actually have a problem with the pink LEDs - if you're not light proof, pink LEDs make for a very obvious "oh look, that guy is growing something" similar to the golden glow of HPS. The nice thing about store bought LEDs is that they look like you left a household light on, which people do all the time.

For those looking for containers for grows, rubbermaids are great but always look kinda... junky. I don't mean to throw shade to anyone on this thread who built one. :huggg:

Craigslist is a great place to find used furniture. Cabinets, armoires, lockers, etc. I picked up an Ethan Allen armoire ($1200 new) which matches my bedroom furniture for $75. Slap some lights into it, line it with mylar and punch a couple holes for fans - you're all set. Here's a shot:
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