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

[Chevy cHaze]

The first thing I've noticed after changing from 4000K bulbs to 2700K is slow growth, we'll see if they pay off in flower.

That's interesting.
I have the feeling I'm getting best growth so far under the 2700k's. They stay compact but develop good branching and produce more bud... the first two aspects usually attributed to blue and higher kelvin ratings (cold white).
As I have expressed in other treads before, I am of the opinion that the sheer intensity of bulbless LED bulbs is enough to cover pretty much everything the plant could ask for as long as all necessary wavelengths of spectrum are covered. Even if a 2700k bulb only has a little blue light, it is enough because it's so intense.

CC

 

[BruceBanner]

Alice / Upstream (stalled heavy runt at the start) / SugarLoaf


Very candy and sweet smelling closet, another kind of stealthy Upstream is pure joy artificial candy smell from the childhood

ACE Panama

 

[Delta_9pyro]

Adding a lens??? Whats the PAR???

Adding a lens??? Whats the PAR???

I've gotta replace my burnt out LED light and was thinking of doing this, but instead of just taking that cover off; I was thinking of also adding a lens for better light penetration. About 2 dollars each and can be reused. Ideas? Also, has anyone tested the PAR of this setup?

 

[jonhova]

These bulbs are already intense. It would probably cook your girls in my opinion.

Inatead of an unnecessary lens get the 14-16 watt bulbs.

 

[Delta_9pyro]

I figure at a certain height it would probably cook them just like any high output light would. In a sense, its kind of what I want. I don't want to cook them, just make them intense enough at the lowest watts to penetrate the canopy better. Hence why I'm asking about the PAR of this setup.

 

[Chevy cHaze]

The PAR is actually much better/higher than a traditional hps with the Philips 13w 2700k, I think there we're charts and diagrams uploaded earlier in the thread ?
Hope I', not mixing anything up here hahaha blazy blazy eyes are hazy

 

[jonhova]

I figure at a certain height it would probably cook them just like any high output light would. In a sense, its kind of what I want. I don't want to cook them, just make them intense enough at the lowest watts to penetrate the canopy better. Hence why I'm asking about the PAR of this setup.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=33688&pictureid=1656942

 

[Delta_9pyro]

the link is not opening. it takes me to a blank page.

 

[Delta_9pyro]

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=33688&pictureid=1656942

thanks for that. couldn't open at first because there was a space in the URL.

 

[Terpene]

Nice you're getting these great results with the 5000k bulbs, can you compare to 2700k ones ?
Not trying to get into the whole veg/flower debate but wondering if subtle differences in weed grown under the different K's do exist. I'm using 2700's from seed to harvest...
Do you see a lot of amber trichs towards the end of flower ? I seem to see less and later under LEDs compared to hps but never did a real side by side...

Both bulbs will do the job, I prefer fewer, higher wattage bulbs 14-16w in an area for more penetration (I like to run taller, less aggressively trained plants). The smaller wattage bulbs 8-12w are great for LST / SCROG setups or small cabs with tight canopies.

I've run 5000k and 3000k standalone. The bluer bulbs produce denser plants with smaller leaves, tighter buds and more frost. The warm bulbs tend to produce plants with more distance between nodes, larger leaves, larger buds with less density and frost. More recently, I've switched to a 50/50 mix of 3000k and 5000k bulbs. Its probably not worth anything in terms of real world output, but why not try to provide the fullest spectrum possible?

Now that I've seen that chart, I think mixed spectrum might be where its at. 2700/3000k lacks strength in the blues (430-460nm) and 4000/5000k really falls off in the reds (640-670nm), so this might be a good strategy for rounding out the places where each bulb is lacking.

On that note, here are the bulbs I run in both veg and flower:

• Feit 4 packs of 15w 3000k bulbs. LINK
• Feit 10 packs of 15w 5000k bulbs. LINK

In terms of trich ambering - I always pull my plants when the very last hairs have died back. This is usually around 5-10% amber under LEDs. I did this under CFLs as well. I've never grown under HPS / MH so I really can't compare, but I do tend to lean the direction of the notion that the trichs take longer to degrade under LEDs.

 

[grouchy]

Both bulbs will do the job, I prefer fewer, higher wattage bulbs 14-16w in an area for more penetration (I like to run taller, less aggressively trained plants). The smaller wattage bulbs 8-12w are great for LST / SCROG setups or small cabs with tight canopies.

I've run 5000k and 3000k standalone. The bluer bulbs produce denser plants with smaller leaves, tighter buds and more frost. The warm bulbs tend to produce plants with more distance between nodes, larger leaves, larger buds with less density and frost. More recently, I've switched to a 50/50 mix of 3000k and 5000k bulbs. Its probably not worth anything in terms of real world output, but why not try to provide the fullest spectrum possible?

View Image

View Image

Now that I've seen that chart, I think mixed spectrum might be where its at. 2700/3000k lacks strength in the blues (430-460nm) and 4000/5000k really falls off in the reds (640-670nm), so this might be a good strategy for rounding out the places where each bulb is lacking.

On that note, here are the bulbs I run in both veg and flower:

• Feit 4 packs of 15w 3000k bulbs. LINK
• Feit 10 packs of 15w 5000k bulbs. LINK

In terms of trich ambering - I always pull my plants when the very last hairs have died back. This is usually around 5-10% amber under LEDs. I did this under CFLs as well. I've never grown under HPS / MH so I really can't compare, but I do tend to lean the direction of the notion that the trichs take longer to degrade under LEDs.

The spectrum chart you posted is somewhat misleading. The left hand column is relative intensity and it sets the peak of each bulbs spectrum at the very top when in actuality the warmer spectrums wouldn't each anywhere near as high on the graph if it was based on actual light output. In general, warmer spectrums have less total output and are less efficient than cooler spectrums. This leads me to believe if you want a mixed spectrum you might see more even spread using lower watt 5000k (8-10w) bulbs with higher watt 2700k (12-15w) bulbs in the same fixture.

 

[Terpene]

I'm sure there are more accurate charts, both the previous image and the one in this post come from LEDmagazine (LINK) as typical spectral power distribution. I couldn't find FEIT specific information, so typical LED output is the best I've got. Either way, looking at them, mixed spectrum would seem (at least to me) to make up for the shortcomings in either color bulb's output.

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

yall forgetting that these 2835 chips arnt all the same, you have 1watt chips and 0.2watt chips,and everything in between, this ALL matters for total spectrum output
or what about the bulb filtering some of the blues, the moment we hang a chopped 2700 it puts out more blue than the same with the plastic intact
for the coming growseason ill be building dimmable halogen lights in my fixture, for that extra far and infrared

people worry too much about things they cannot change

 

[slevin_]

Hey guys,
i'm ready for the cut, tonight is the moment i decided! (Now 17:12 in Italy)

This is the last pic of my first cicle whit led! Thank's to all for advice end helps you write here in this post!

Miss the pic of OGK but the limit of post is 5 pic and i wanna write only one post.

Panel 12wbulb x 12 TOTAL 144w. The GB is 80x80cm.

I hope to have almost 35-40g for plant and have 1g/1w result. If I reach this goal, I start with the new bulbs in the panel 200-250w almost. I like the effect of LED, i see Bud "fat" and more resin.


Hi to all guys, tomorrow i update whit result of fresh bud e next week whit results of dried bud.

Thank's and, sorry for the bad english ahahhah

 

[starke]

Congrats!!

 

[mexcurandero420]

Congrats Slevin , it was a good show
Curious to the smoke report

 

[HuffnPufferfish]

youre gonna have a great gram per watt ratio, ill bet u that

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

Forget Choco-Vision... Wonka needed to invent Bud-o-Vision!!

 

[slevin_]

Thank's to all guys! First update, a 775g of fresh bud! Hope almost 150g of dried bud and have g/w good ratio!

 

[greenfox]

So I picked up 4 of these 6 light fixtures:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Houma-6-Light-4-5-in-Chrome-Vanity-Light/999980610
And will be using 14-16w bulbs....

Think I can wire them all to ONE plug? Should I?