pulpoinspace
Well-Known Member
at that price point your best option is a DIY light. It seems intimidating at first but it's actually not all that complicated.
2x300w or 1x600w VIPARSPECTRA LED lighting for 2-3 plants
- Thread starter SlappyD
- Start date
That's good to know! I was using a 400w HPS in a 4x4x6 tent. But knowing the whole time o shoulda had a 600w for that size of space.
But I'm gonna remember that "60%" compared to HPS. In that case the 320w Samsung quantum strips might be perfect. Just hope converting to Canadian $ and shipping to Canada doesn't blow up on me. Canada is so expensive lol
You might be right. Maybe I'll check out some easy step by step YouTube vids to see if it's feasible for a noob to try haha. Do you know if soldering is involved?
pulpoinspace
Well-Known Member
It can be, but you can also build lights without soldering. Some of the latest tech uses "poke-in" connectivity to keep soldering out of the equation. Also you can use high quality lever-nuts from Wago to make really solid connections between wires. It is entirely possible to build a light without soldering, but in the same breath i'd also say that soldering is very easy it's just intimidating the first time. If this seems interesting to you at all, check out the youtube channel Growmau5. He has some older videos, i think a 6-part series (like 5-10 min each) about DIY LED that would be a great place to start.
All of us were noobs at some point.
Suggest building fixture and spreading out lights more....e.g. Timber
nfhiggs
Well-Known Member
Yes they are finished lights, ready to hang.
gwheels
Well-Known Member
Get cobs or QB. A bit more upfront but way better. Check out true northern lighting those strip boards are better. And if you are tight for cash grab one for 300 bucks and when you have time or a bigger tent or funds grab another. 
They are dimnable by the driver.
https://true-northern-lighting.myshopify.com
Because you are in Canada and all. This and BC blonds are made here. These are a better option for the cash outlay. I might sell my CMH and grab one of these to make my tent all cobs and strips but i will wait until this grow is done.
For 600 you can run 2 of those 238 watt boards. Perfect 4 x 4 coverage ish...
They are dimnable by the driver.https://true-northern-lighting.myshopify.com
Because you are in Canada and all. This and BC blonds are made here. These are a better option for the cash outlay. I might sell my CMH and grab one of these to make my tent all cobs and strips but i will wait until this grow is done.
For 600 you can run 2 of those 238 watt boards. Perfect 4 x 4 coverage ish...
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That's awesome! Thanks man I was looking for a Canadian distributor since I'd be paying duties on the Optic 4 and other quantum boards I saw.Get cobs or QB. A bit more upfront but way better. Check out true northern lighting those strip boards are better. And if you are tight for cash grab one for 300 bucks and when you have time or a bigger tent or funds grab another.
Because you are in Canada and all. This and BC blonds are made here. These are a better option for the cash outlay. I might sell my CMH and grab one of these to make my tent all cobs and strips but i will wait until this grow is done.
For 600 you can run 2 of those 238 watt boards. Perfect 4 x 4 coverage ish...
Gonna email them about shipping costs. Also guessing it's all in Canadian pricing?
gwheels
Well-Known Member
Yup Canadian. and freight is reasonable. And it is a good idea for a light not a regret you will have later.
Ya just check and only $17 shipping if I got the 476watt version.
Do you personally just leave the light full power during both veg and flower?
Wow, $230 for an LED fixture? In Canada's Costco, Canadian Tire, or Home Depot, you could get 60 15 watt LED bulbs in the spectrum of your choice for that price and the sockets for all from Amazon ca. Of course that much light might be a bit too much. I find about ~40 watts per square foot for that amount of area perfect with lights a good distance (18"-24"). With the plastic globes popped off, they have surprising penetration capability when you have that many spread evenly over that area. I find about 47 bulbs is more than enough for a 4X4. It may not be the most efficient setup, but the convenience of turning off the bulbs you don't need progressing through veg and changing the spectrum mix is so easy.
pulpoinspace
Well-Known Member
That sounds interesting. Which bulbs do you use? best ones i can find on amazon and home depot are ~100 lm/w and they're like $3-5 each. Might cost slightly less up front but what about running costs?
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My favorite bulbs are from Costco, a Luminus brand that apparently has 120 lm/w but I can't find the specific model online (It's exactly 15 watts). Cheaper than $5 each too, I think about $3.50?. But they always have lots of "party packs" in the store. Sadly, the cool white cannot be found at Costco, so I went for a mix of whatever I could find for that spectrum - Ecosmart from Home Depot and Phillips from Amazon. I built up mine over a few months the first time as my plants grew so that I could take advantage of sales. I didn't pay anywhere near $5 a bulb. It started as an experiment about 6 months ago, but then it became more than that as I noticed the response in the plants.
Oh the Ecosmart bulbs at Home Depot are near 110 lm/w. Yeah not the most efficient in the world for modern LED now, but I also wonder if the lumens are measured with the plastic covers on? Once off, the difference in brightness is very significant.
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pulpoinspace
Well-Known Member
I see I see. $3.50 for a 15w LED that puts out 1800 lumens sounds pretty good to me. I haven't seen them for that price around here.
Okay, not 1800 lumens... but more efficient than the Ecosmart and longer life too. I do believe they were close to 1700 lm. Regardless, it seems to be working for me. I've managed very close to 1gram per watt in a 4X4 so I'm pretty happy with them. So definitely as efficient as HPS anyway, but with a longer lifespan and more even spread of lighting. GOOD Led that are very efficient are still very expensive. Plus if an LED is not advertised as its TRUE watts it draws from the wall, I'd just run away. That's the majority of those Amazon burple lights.