Why are so many new growers choosing blurple/led over hps/mh??

They choose blurple because they are misled by companies bs marketing, look at black dog led, 2 grand for 600 Watts lmao, their marketing game is hella strong though. Diy led is the only way to go if you go led, Samsung diodes or trustworthy knockoff. Led is supposed to be about cost efficiency, if it can't be justified taking everything into account including initial cost then it just isn't worth it.
 
Ive never grown with blurples, never seen the need to go that route when i first started, hps was already tried and tested and cheap to buy.

Ive grown with all 3 of the big lighting types(HPS,CMH,LED) . All 3 grow weed just fine. My main reason for the switch was enviromental control to be honest. I was having a very hard time keeping heat under control with hps running, plants didnt like it and i didnt want to buy and run a/c just for a grow room. So i switched to LED( built my own strip lights) and it was the best decision i have made since i started growing imo.

Everything has been easier, heat isnt a concern at all(1440 true watts in a 7x14 room), plants typically love warmer temps under leds so it works great for my situation. Another huge bonus that i love about my led strip lights is canopy coverage. My lights are built the exact size of my canopy, i can run them soft and basically slam the lights on top of my plants and get max lux numbers across every inch of canopy.

I do agree tho, its either DIY with top tier leds or i would go back to hps or cmh, buying top of the line pre built fixtures is a huge no go for me, prices are absurd. Building them seems to be the only option for me. Def no blurples.


Merry christmas!
 
twalte said:
I choose HID lighting because I have no technical abilities and I need something to illuminate a 5x5. I can keep a few spare ballasts and bulbs and be guaranteed to keep my grow running. If an LED craps out, Idhave to mail it back for repair.

I’ve considered LED multiple times, and it seems like the technology is changing too fast for me. I looked at blurple, but then people were talking about cobs so I waited. Now they’ve moved on to quantum boards. It’s all very intimidating.

if I had to buy a light today, I’d look at this one for long term use. Im sure that it can be built for a lot less by someone who knows what they’re doing.

NextLight Mega LED Grow Light

Part of the Commercial Series the NextLight Mega produces a high intensity full spectrum light designed to efficiently replace any DE 1000w HPS on the market. This bright white LED grow light was named “Mega” not for its size but for the increased product
nextlight.com nextlight.com
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That is definitely a nice light. Just need the price to drop about 66% :)
 
As a broke newbie to growing cannabis (I'm a full-time carer looking after my wife, so money is tight)
The first grow room was lit by modifying 3 tube 18w fluorescent ceiling units, to hold 9 tubes providing 162w . Three of these units lit 15sq ft 486w and that translates to 32w per sq ft. The yield from the first grow (ever) was 1oz a plant from feminised auto. My limited growroom height meant the downside of these lights was headspace, they took up so much space.
After much research, I decided to go to LED: There were three options: cool white, warm white or full spectrum. It made sense to me to go with full-spectrum. The strongest lamps available at the moment are 100w and 200w cob LEDs were either cool or warm light. 50w full spectrum COB LED seemed an ideal choice. My main concern was the power draw from the wall, was it actually 50w and it was, so these are really 50w LEDS.

My 50w cobs were sourced from two suppliers, five from one supplier and four from the other to see if there was a difference. Eight LEDs were used in my "lighting system" (link) 450w a slight reduction in my fluorescent setup but is seems much brighter. (eye-balling is a real scientific measure)
I'm tempted to add a few warm and cool white LEDs to widen the specrum. I'd also make it so the cool white could be turned off for flower.
The yield and quality will be the proof of the pudding.

There are really valid reasons for going with HPS and in hindsight, I could have used the heat in the winter.
 
.Smoke said:
Was just wondering what made you all decide to go with your lighting choice?

I'm pretty knowledgeable about electronics (10yrs working on them in the air force). I did a TON of research before I started growing back in June. Knowing what I do, I came to the conclusion that for me to be happy with LED I would either have to DIY or spend a crap ton of money. I was never interested in the blurples once I figured out the whole "1000W=200 actual watts" deal with them. So to me the easiest choice was to go with the tried and true old school HPS/MH so I could focus more on learning about how the plant grows instead of spending most of my time trying to get the perfect vpd, or be worried about whether I needed to add this red spectrum or that blue one.

I am running 2.6kW of HPS and at my current electric rate, that's about $115 a month. Way less than what I was paying for my weed.

So again I ask,
What made you all choose blurple/led over (what seems to be the easier way) of hps/mh?

And Merry Christmas too! Hope you all got some great new presents we will all see pics of in the grow rooms soon!
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Because people online talk about how good LED's are and convince people that spending hundreds on a shitty burple is an investment that pays for itself.

My mate did a few grows with his viparspectra tc1200, none went well, he gave me the burple for free. Did his first hps grow and got dank bud. I decided to save the vipar as a veg light if i ever do perpetual grow and use a hps.
 
.Smoke said:
That is definitely a nice light. Just need the price to drop about 66% :)
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Absolutely! And like every other piece of new technology, I’m hedging that the price drop will happen someday. Until then.....I’m holding out with my tried and true metal halide for veg and HPS for flower.
 

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LEDs were the solution to a problem no one needed fixing.

Power should be cheaper bottom line.


Sure as tech gets better LEDs will eclipse HPS but not yet, MH and HPS and even CMH are homogenized industries....

LEDs are still in its snake oil phase. Not enough of the industrial horticulture tech has been made affordable for home use so the indsutry shifts to DIY, a goos shift to force cost change and to make the growers market in general switch the low operation cost lighting.

But quality and yield and propriety drive this car and LEDs still borrowing it to get lucky in the backseat on the weekends...
 
rustyshaclkferd said:
LEDs were the solution to a problem no one needed fixing.

Power shoudl be cheaper bottom line.


Sure as tech. Gets better LEDs will eclipse HPS but not yet, MH and HPS and even CMH are homogenized industries....

LEDs are still in its snake oil phase. Not enough of the industrial horticulture tech has been made affordable for home use so the indsutry shifts to DIY, a goos shift to force cost change and to make the growers market in general switch the low operation cost lighting.

But quality and yield and priority drive this car and LEDs still borrowing in to get lucky in the backseat on the weekends...
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Gotta agree. And if a noob like me that didn't know squat to start can get a bud like this off the first grow with HPS/MH....well, why fix somethin' that ain't broken... :)

600W hps
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.Smoke said:
Gotta agree. And if a noob like me that didn't know squat to start can get a bud like this off the first grow with HPS/MH....well, why fix somethin' that ain't broken... :)

600W hps
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The quest to reduce cost and be more efficient isnt a fools errand...just not there yet as affordable grow tech

Space isnt often a higher cost then lighting but the right space is always more valuable the its cost. Meaning when you need more floorspace to achieve the same output and if none can be had how much you save in power is trash to how little you produce. Cant create market share without product.

A business out performed by others but saving money in electricity is a failng one
 
CANNABISCOOPERATIVE said:
Because people online talk about how good LED's are and convince people that spending hundreds on a shitty burple is an investment that pays for itself.

My mate did a few grows with his viparspectra tc1200, none went well, he gave me the burple for free. Did his first hps grow and got dank bud. I decided to save the vipar as a veg light if i ever do perpetual grow and use a hps.
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So he bought one of the worst led you can buy and it didn't go well what a shock...
 
.Smoke said:
Gotta agree. And if a noob like me that didn't know squat to start can get a bud like this off the first grow with HPS/MH....well, why fix somethin' that ain't broken... :)

600W hps
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Yep...HID delivers if you can handle the heat and the monthly payment to your local utility. For a small 4 plant grow like mine, it’s worth it right now. Beautiful photos there!
 
.Smoke said:
Gotta agree. And if a noob like me that didn't know squat to start can get a bud like this off the first grow with HPS/MH....well, why fix somethin' that ain't broken... :)

600W hps
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That looks really leafy and foxtailed in a bad way. I bet it was super fluffy when it dried I wouldn't be happy with that but hps can grow good bud. It's funny people just say "hps" there's de and se if you spend the extra money on de you are using the same logic as led guys you spend more money to get more output.
 
rustyshaclkferd said:
Idk grow how you want...but dont live in delusions of granduer from chioces in lighting...its lighting not a baptism
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I mean, I'm just saying spend your money and get the best lumens for your $$$, and don't fall for marketing gimmicks. No one can get that 4 months of wasted time back growing under a blurple they thought was 1000w. You do you buddy, I'm not the guy clamoring for 3gpw under a single bulb.
 
Lucky Luke said:
Dont confuse Blurples with quality LED.

If your not in a sealed room then your environment should dictate your lighting choice.
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Or the amount of power available give me 20a with led vs 20a with hps and unlimited square footage with both. led will absolutely shit on the hps the extra bud would more than cover the cost of the lights. Most hps guys don't really think things through.
 
Ryante55 said:
So he bought one of the worst led you can buy and it didn't go well what a shock...
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It has way more actual watts than most other burples, double what kingbo etc have in their similar watt models. Again he was a beginner, i don't think he knew what he was doing, so he asked online and was told to get that. Which is my only point. its because people don't know better.
 
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