Are LED bulbs good??

[fukinstoner123]

I was wondering if led light bulbs are good for growing plants in Veggie cycle grow!!!

 

[Vento]

a hand full of people will tell you yes they are awsome ... another handfull will say they are a waste of time and money ....and another handfull will say they are not great but can be used as extra lighting ...... and then you will get another handfull that will tell you to go read up on the stickys ...... and another handfull telling you that all the other handfulls are dumb


I have had no experince with them , But from reading all the handfull's .... im going with ... if you can afort them and want pretty extra lighting but dont expect to much from them ... Get some

Hope that helps a little

 

[Brick Top]

I was wondering if led light bulbs are good for growing plants in Veggie cycle grow!!!

If you purchase high quality LEDs and if you purchase enough of them and if you then use them properly you will love them.

If you purchase by price and end up with low quality LEDs and if because of price you do not purchase enough of them and if you use them improperly you will end up being just one more person who blames the failure of their LED attempt on LEDs rather on the error you would have made.

LEDs are something that has to be done right or not done at all if you want good results. If someone will not do it right then HID lighting would not be an injudicious option to choose rather than LEDs.

 

[fukinstoner123]

Thanks......

 

[Magnificient]

From what I've read, the best thing about LED lights is that you can pretty much lay them on top of the plants. They won't burn a plant even if they're touching it. In fact, you would want a led to touch the plant so that you get the most out of it.

 

[fukinstoner123]

Ya I started to grow my seedlings with CFl lights my plants are like 2 weeks old I want to change to LED lights.....
I hope they grow faster!!!

 

[onemoretime]

I been asking the same question. I decided to wait on them. They sound like a break through if they really work. One guy says the technology is too new at this time and different spectrums are being explored; While the other guy says they work great. If you have good success with them come back to this post and let us know.

 

[fukinstoner123]

Alright I read about the LED lights and they grow your plant but do not flower you need CFL lights and LED at the same time!!!!

 

[420Rat619]

Fuckin I have been wondering the same thing about which lighting system to use. I have been an outdoor grower and recently moved to a 2 bedroom condo. I have been researching for the past year or so on CFL's vs. HPS/MH vs. LED's. I think it really comes down to what you want to spend up front in the research I have done.(Though I haven't done much research on CFL's...not knocking them) You can pick up 400/600w HPS/MH fixture w/ bulb(s) for less than or around $200 US these days. LED's are some what more expessive UFO 90w are like $120-200 US and are equivilent to around 250w of HPS each. I am personally getting ready to start my own indoor grow operation 4x2 flowering and veg areas and I am strongly leaning towards getting the LED's due to longer life, less heats, 85% engery savings compared to others and getting both blue and red wavelength ouput in both veg/flowering stages. Hope this helps a little...also check out the Grow Journals Section in the forums...there are quite a few good journals using all the referenced lighting systems.

 

[fukinstoner123]

My plants started to flower and they were barely 4 weeks veg Red LED lights are good for Flowering- Blue are good For Veg So Just minus Put Both

 

[Serapis]

I'm going LED and waiting for my overheads. My side light panels are up. There are plenty of grows on here that have compared LED lights against standard 400w and 600w lights. LEDGirl sent out some LED lights for testing and I was very impressed. The last one I saw, the dry yield for the LED wasn't far off from the HID/MH set up. Compared watt for watt, the LED's won. They also out vegged the HID. If you have the money, I'd recommend LED's, but I'm partial because I'm using them. I'm building my closet now and documenting it here... https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/351236-new-closet-set-up-l.html if you want to follow along. I'll be doing an LED journal as well. I'm doing 10 feminized bubblicious in an effort to pick out a mother for clones. Soil grow. I only invested in the LEDs AFTER watching several side by side trial grows done by some of known growers on the board.

Many people will tell they suck, and they are correct, if you buy cheap units that do not hit the right wavelengths. HTG Supply on eBay is the largest seller of LED lights and many people swear by them. No heat signatures to be picked up by choppers and a lot less power consumption. NASA uses them to grow plants on the ISS. There is a lot to learn about them though, as they are directional, meaning reflection is not needed. They come in 30, 60, 120 degrees. you have 1w and 3w LED bulbs too. 1w seems to be the most efficient for power/yield.

Stay away from UFO units. I have yet to see a successful journal or grow done from seed/cutting to harvest. They all seem to get abandoned. Go with the side panels and overhead units. But like they said already, the cost is high compared to standard lighting, but power savings and life of bulbs 50k-100k hours, will pay for the investment themselves.

 

[breakneck]

I got my 300w's from Desert Hydroponics, love them.

 

[led boy]

well i have used a "5 band" (5 dif color led's) 700 watt led and started it in veg and it crapped out mid way thru the flower cycle ie: loose buds mainlly,, BUT let me tell y0ou this thing is a friggin beeeeast in veg,, my veg stuff looks soo fat and dense,,and the node spacing is off the charts!! i have used t's and they are siick not dought,, but watt per watt the 700 watt 5 color led is a stronger veg light in my opinion. i think it would be a wonderful supplament to a hps grow, but not primary,, oh and they make my eyes feel wierd

 

[JUST GROW IT]

I'm using LED's rt now, so keep track of my journal and you be the judge.

 

[Serapis]

well i have used a "5 band" (5 dif color led's) 700 watt led and started it in veg and it crapped out mid way thru the flower cycle ie: loose buds mainlly,, BUT let me tell y0ou this thing is a friggin beeeeast in veg,, my veg stuff looks soo fat and dense,,and the node spacing is off the charts!! i have used t's and they are siick not dought,, but watt per watt the 700 watt 5 color led is a stronger veg light in my opinion. i think it would be a wonderful supplament to a hps grow, but not primary,, oh and they make my eyes feel wierd

I have not seen any 700w LED systems available. That's nearly 6 amps on an LED system?

 

[Tamorin]

My friend veged his plant on the 300 watt ufo I think and I seen it, the planet veg'd fine but not very bushy. Only resean I said it was a ufo was do to the fact it was round. I personally am about to spend a ton of money on lights so if someones got the insider scoopp let me know. Im willing to spend serios money as long as the long term is worth it.

 

[Serapis]

My friend veged his plant on the 300 watt ufo I think and I seen it, the planet veg'd fine but not very bushy. Only resean I said it was a ufo was do to the fact it was round. I personally am about to spend a ton of money on lights so if someones got the insider scoopp let me know. Im willing to spend serios money as long as the long term is worth it.

Most UFO grow journals here get abandoned because of what we assume are crappy results. I have seen some 120w and 206 watt overhead fixtures do well in veg and bud. Avoid cheap LED lights. Make sure that the wavelengths are correct and look for tri band or better. Also keep in mind that not all plants are the same. You may run into a strain that really loves LED lights. The last side by side grow I followed with LEDS was a 206W vs a 400W HID. The 206w outdid the hid in vegging, but the bud weight was a few grams off. The buds were tight, not airy and bushy.

You have to make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for height above the plants. If you try to go above 12" to get a bigger light print, you are reducing the light's intensity greatly. My grow space is only 2' x 4.5' and I'm using over $900 in LED lighting. The bulb life is 50k plus hours, 100k in some models, virtually no heat to exhaust or detect from the air and the savings in power bills is very real. While it may be true that standard hid lamps provide a bigger yield, you are also using a lot more power, generating heat and risking hot ballasts. Watt for Watt however, LEDs win. Check out High Times, they did some grows in LED and featured them in one of their issues.

High Times online articles regarding LEDs and the very near future of growing http://hightimes.com/microsites/led/information.inc.php

 

[WasntMe2]

All LEDs are NOT created equal. If you buy the quality ones you will be amazed at the growth, especially in Veg, and amazed at the lack of heat added and the density of your flowers.

Unfortunately there are a LOT of companies that are out there just to make quick $$ and take advantage of a lot of under educated consumers. There are a lot of cheap LED arrays, Chinese specials, out there. And unfortunately the experience of growers with these cheap lights are being grouped together with high quality LED grow arrays. Things like, "you need CFL to flower" , "they grow alright but not bushy", "the lights crapped out midway through flowering" , etc...

No offence to anyone, but these are the words of people using the cheap end of LED lighting.
The system they have may even be bright but the company who built it used the cheapest LEDs available at the time, which are typically not in the prime or even correct spectrum for your plants.

Like, Serapis, I am fortunate enough to have a HydroGrow LED. These are my 1st choice in LED at this time.
But before you scoff, consider buying , accuse of trolling, state a bunch non facts ... whatever...

I suggest open Google and type "Hydro Grow LED vs" into a search ..... and then decide for yourself.

I will say this, they are to only company I have seen that are putting their name on the line to sponsor side by side 3rd party testing with their product up against any and all other grow lights.
I hope you find what is best for you.

-WasntMe
Hydrow Grow LED vs

 

[SSHZ]

About a year and a half ago I spent about $2400 on 4 lights. At the time they were state of the art. They were high quality and had very good reviews. They sucked and I sent them back. The owner of the shop said the technology is still a few years away from serious performance so give it a few years before purchasing again. I would recomend using them as side/additional lighting only---- not as your primary source. Too expensive for what they offer right now!

 

[WasntMe2]

About a year and a half ago I spent about $2400 on 4 lights. At the time they were state of the art. They were high quality and had very good reviews. They sucked and I sent them back. The owner of the shop said the technology is still a few years away from serious performance so give it a few years before purchasing again. I would recomend using them as side/additional lighting only---- not as your primary source. Too expensive for what they offer right now!

What "High quality" ones did you buy? ... most people think they bought HQ when in fact they didn't.

LED Tech is here now, but only a couple of non scam lights on the market.