3 watt diode 21-54 watt bulbs, question?

I have used LED lighting for years and currently use blackstar panels but have came across some bulbs that are composed of 3 watt diodes x 7 (the model I bought) Has anyone used these and how are they able to use 3 watt diodes without a driver or is the driver built into the heat sink?

Looks like the bulbs go all the way up to 54 watts and the 21 watt model I bought to try out was only $20 which is less then $1 per watt....Awesome for supplemental if they last!

I'm guessing a fan blowing on them is a no brainer to increase life expectancy or they are being ran at half wattage, which is still ok by me.

Yes they are from china, nothing like this at this price around here anywhere. Thoughts?

The driver is built into the base. LED's run on DC, there's no way you can plug LED's into a wall without electronics behind them, at least afaik. Whether or not a fan blowing on the bulb is "required" depends on the bulb. A lot of LED bulbs, especially the cheaper ones, struggle being completely enclosed. There are many light fixtures in homes that trap heat and you have to be careful the LED bulb that you're using can handle the fixture you're trying to use it in because, as you said, you can significantly decrease the life of the bulb if you're not careful.

The 9.5W Cree bulbs are $13 at Home Depot. Yeah, a bit more expensive, but it's a pretty top notch bulb.

The bulb I ordered is quad spectrum, 3 red spectrum's and 1 blue and are crated for growing so I guess when I get them I will run them through a wattage meter to see what they are putting out. Thanks for verifying what I assumed was going on, never have used LED bulbs before just larger panels.

Bumping Spheda said:

LED's run on DC, there's no way you can plug LED's into a wall without electronics behind them, at least afaik.

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They make A/C LEDs, just not common or useful in this hobby at this time.

http://ledsmagazine.com/features/9/7/10

CaliJoe said:

They make A/C LEDs, just not common or useful in this hobby at this time.

http://ledsmagazine.com/features/9/7/10

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I bet you would be able to detect the flickering...

So I recieved 1 of the bulbs I ordered and it's looking good, it has 7 - 3watt diodes and looks to be running at least 2 watts per diode if not more. I have another 7 watt grow bulb that has 7 - 1 watt diodes ran at the full 1 watt and the new bulb looks to be 3 times brighter!

This looks like the most bang for your buck you can get right now, I just did the math on a 36 watt version and it looks like I can get 4 of them for $110 free shipping which puts it at 64 cents per watt! The 21 watt version I have doesn't seem to get hot and has a very high quality heat sink.

Making a panel out of these bulbs just screwed into a well spaced fixture array will be very efficient and if one goes out simply replace the bulb in that area. Next grow I will test these out to see what they are capable of but I have a feeling that with the proper spread I should get double coverage then the panel I'm currently using.

The pic below is of the 27 watt version which I will try out next:

Let me say a few words about this bulbs. I think they crap. First of all the most powerfull of them is 18w (54w declared). I bought 3 of them with custom spectrum (I don't understand WHY?!!). Let me show you it more closely:

Unfortunately I have to agree with Castaman, I have tried a few of those bulbs in the last year and none of them I would recommend. On paper they sounded good, which is why I shelled out over a hundred dollars trying a few different ones, but in practice they didn't work as well as even CFLs for me.

Interesting, So they are following the same watt calculation based on 3 watt diodes but not what they are actually ran at? The one I have is so bright and it is definitely way brighter then the 7 watt (7-1 watt diodes ran at full 1 watt each) bulb I already had.

So what exactly is the issue with them not performing even if they are under ran? I have some black star panels that net me 1 gram per watt each and every time and they are complete generic diodes. I have a feeling that any version above my 21 watter is under driving the diodes as the diode count increases, Shit, think about it.... how in the hell could a 54 watt led bulb not require active cooling? Impossible!

I currently veg 2 plants at a time under 125w of CFL then switch to leds for flowering but I don't see why at the bare minimum I wouldn't be able to veg with 2 of these 21 watters. I'll try it out.

in a few weeks I may just do a show down to see what these bulbs can yield. As soon as I can get access to a power tester I will report what mine are being ran at but just by looks alone I would say at least 1.5 watts per diode, still not bad and interesting in an array...maybe.

For me the biggest issue was distance.. there is a very small point in which they put out good enough light for growing, but 2" away from the ideal point and they were too weak. They seem to work best if you are growing something that doesn't actually grow vertical, like moss, but even then the usable diameter of the light is only about 12". I guess in theory a bunch of them over a SCROG may work as long as you keep things level, they just didn't work well when I tried them on things that actually grow vertical (peppers in my case).

One more thing, these bulbs are hot. I think they need active cooling, without cooling i can't hold a finger for more than 3-4 seconds on it in my box.

Castaman said:

One more thing, these bulbs are hot. I think they need active cooling, without cooling i can't hold a finger for more than 3-4 seconds on it in my box.

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I don't have this issue at all, mine are slightly warm to the touch but I can hold my finger on the heatsink indefinitely without it getting hot (I am using the 21 watt version however).

My goal with these bulbs will be side lighting for flower or strictly for veg if they don't increase anything lower down. I'm wondering if these bulbs are all different as far as wattage actually ran at vs what they claim, but as stated before they seem powerful enough in brightness to perform.

It looks like I get a fully blended pattern at around 12 inches and the blues run a bit whiter to the eyes then on my Blackstars. I will take one apart tonight to see whats going on inside and maybe get a hint at what they are running at.

Seems like they bright enough for small box.
Anyone tested them for a real consumption with power meter?