LED's tell me more

[TheDude0007]

I wonder if any of you are experts on LED lighting. I would love to build my own LED light setup. Is this possible. Please send me links to good treads if you know of any, I have searched my ass off but not found much. I suck

 

[Brick Top]

I have never researched DIY LED lighting but the most impressive grow thread I ever followed was a totally LED grow. Several years back, on a similar board that is now defunct, a member came into a tidy sum of money and decided to dump his HID lighting and switch to LED lighting. He researched to find the very best LED lights and he purchased a good number of different styles.

Above his plants he had two large LED panels. He built what I call portable posts for the lack of a better term, 4 X 4 posts cut in sections that would stack on top of each other, with a flat piece of plywood attached to the bottom of each portable post set for balance.

Each section of stackable post was long enough to hold an LED light bar. On some portable posts he attached LED light bars to one side and on others he attached LED light bars to all four sides. He ringed his plants with portable posts with an LED on one side and once the top LED light panels were raised high enough he added more portable posts with LED light bars on all four sides between his plants. Each time the top LED lighting was raised enough for another section of portable post with more LED light bars on them he would add another section.

His plants were the thickest most lush plants I have ever seen grown indoors. The colas were massive and the buds on the lowest portions of plants were as large or larger than most I see people get just under the bottom of their colas, meaning larger than most people’s very biggest buds other than colas are.

The key to LED lighting is to purchase the highest grade LED lights available and to purchase them in sufficient numbers AND then use them in a way that they will be able to do the very most they can for the plants growing from their light.

If people did that they would throw rocks at CFLs and HID lighting and never use either ever again. In most cases people purchase low quality LEDs because of price, and purchase too few of them, again because of price, and then they tend to expect too much from them and use them incorrectly. The result is a bad rap against LED lighting when it should instead be on those who should never have spent their money on LED lighting in the first place considering how they did it.

 

[LEDGrowKing]

The key to LED lighting is to purchase the highest grade LED lights available and to purchase them in sufficient numbers AND then use them in a way that they will be able to do the very most they can for the plants growing from their light.

If people did that they would throw rocks at CFLs and HID lighting and never use either ever again. In most cases people purchase low quality LEDs because of price, and purchase too few of them, again because of price, and then they tend to expect too much from them and use them incorrectly. The result is a bad rap against LED lighting when it should instead be on those who should never have spent their money on LED lighting in the first place considering how they did it.

Well said. If you try to set up a cheap grow, you're going to end up with poorly made LEDs that under-perform. Most high powered LEDs (over 90w fixtures, 1w, 2w, and 3w chips) are very similar now. The poorly made panels tend to appear much more on the low end of wattage.

LEDs are not cheap either, BUT, it is very common to over-pay for the fixture you want. Ebay is actually really good for finding low-priced, good quality lights, just be sure to always ask before buying. Check with forums before dropping several hundred dollars.

I've purchased LEDs from a number of sites, always bargain hunting. This company is not the absolute cheapest, but they are right on the lower-middle end of pricing. However, the lights I got from them were very high quality, and they always tend to have the most cutting edge light available.
http://www.hydroponicshut.com/index.php?route=common/home

Good luck to you!

 

[TheDude0007]

His plants were the thickest most lush plants I have ever seen grown indoors. The colas were massive and the buds on the lowest portions of plants were as large or larger than most I see people get just under the bottom of their colas, meaning larger than most people’s very biggest buds other than colas are.

The key to LED lighting is to purchase the highest grade LED lights available and to purchase them in sufficient numbers AND then use them in a way that they will be able to do the very most they can for the plants growing from their light.
.

Wow that really makes me want to get some. I have a 400W HPS and would like to use them as a suplement light source. Thanks for the info man. You are always helpfull.

Well said. If you try to set up a cheap grow, you're going to end up with poorly made LEDs that under-perform. Most high powered LEDs (over 90w fixtures, 1w, 2w, and 3w chips) are very similar now. The poorly made panels tend to appear much more on the low end of wattage.

Thanks for your input. I agree you would need qaulity ones. What I mean by making it myself is by putting it all together myself. In other words find the LED lights and then wire em up in a box myself. That way I can decide how many to use and in what configuration. So buying a ready made UFO for example would take away the fun But if it is not possible it is not possible and then yes I would need to buy one from e-bay. But I would like to try my hand at making one myself

 

[LEDGrowKing]

Thanks for your input. I agree you would need qaulity ones. What I mean by making it myself is by putting it all together myself. In other words find the LED lights and then wire em up in a box myself. That way I can decide how many to use and in what configuration. So buying a ready made UFO for example would take away the fun But if it is not possible it is not possible and then yes I would need to buy one from e-bay. But I would like to try my hand at making one myself

If you are looking to make one, this is suppose to be the "new age" LED light just coming out. It might be a good reference point for figuring out what color ratios to use. If you make one, post pics!
http://www.hydroponicshut.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=56