Cant decide what led to buy........who wants to help

So i want to go led. But i cannot decide what to do. There have been a few differnt models i have looked at.

135w blackstar ufo

240w blackstar panel

The Hans panel has me curious due to very low energy

300 give or take it was i am willing to spend. Anyone of these sound good for a 20"x29.5"x42" cabinet

+rep for help

It's going to be tough to get enough lamp for 3 bills for that space, but it can be done.

You have approx. 4.1 sq. ft. and it's not a square area.

2 Blackstar 135uv would be bare minimum. They are 80watts each. Finished plants no more than 24".
2 Blackstar 180uv. I think they are around 103 watts each.
2 Blackstar 240uv would be better. They are 133 watts each. I don't think you want to go any stronger than these because of your height limitations. Think SOG or SCROG.

If you went with the Hans you would still need 2 of them. ($600.00)

If you want new Blackstars call Gotham directly and try to get a discount on 2 units. They should work with you.

Gotham rates thier 135w haveing a footprint of 2x2ft., the 180 and 240 are both rated at 2x3ft. I have been looking into getting leds myself and have about the same budget, but I have a 2x4ft. tent and was at most considering 2 240w Blackstars. In my opinion,
1-135w Blackstar would be good.
1-180w would be great.
1-240w would be max. for your size tent. Personally, I think HTGSupply.com has a better color configuration on their leds and pretty much the same price as Gotham.
Happy Growing.

Blackstar 240's go for about 180-200 on eBay.

A51 AF-90 Panel is $365 right now.

Apollo/Astir
Hans/Apache

The Blackstar Chrome's just came out, might be worth a look.

For led: shoot for 40wpsf, credit to PSUAGRO.

Cidly is a pretty awesome alternative as well, if you know what you want.

raven1290 said:

Gotham rates thier 135w haveing a footprint of 2x2ft., the 180 and 240 are both rated at 2x3ft. I have been looking into getting leds myself and have about the same budget, but I have a 2x4ft. tent and was at most considering 2 240w Blackstars. In my opinion,
1-135w Blackstar would be good.
1-180w would be great.
1-240w would be max. for your size tent. Personally, I think HTGSupply.com has a better color configuration on their leds and pretty much the same price as Gotham.
Happy Growing.

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You do know that those numbers, bs180, bs240...isn't the actual wattage drawn right? That's the total number of diodes used on the panel. BS240 draws around 140 actual watts, do the math and use throughout your search; though most companies are nutting up and just being honest.

Good call, Scotch089, I forgot to mention the Ebay route.

Yes, I know the actual numbers, but how much light do think he needs for a 2x2ft area?

lol...i may not be the guy to ask about the bare minimum to illuminate an area... pushing 74wpsf.. in a veg cab..without CO2..

I really like to overshoot it for future plans, give the kiddo's all they need, and the peace of mind..

But if I were to try to illuminate a 2x2' footprint...

-x1 Pro Grow 180 (145w draw)~~ 36.25wpsf------very comparable to the BS240 <--- that would be my guess if you're trying to keep it under 3, if the time is right you might snag two for 350.

30-40wpsf is where you want to be. but keep your lights tight, close, and your air circulating.

I agree with overshooting, but 74w/sq.ft. is a lot. I'd imagine you have a tall grow room with that much power otherwise I would think you'd bleach your plants. I use a 400w in my 2x4 tent which means 50w/sq.ft. Also, the whole point of led lighting is that is more efficient than hid. A general guideline is to double the wattage of the led and thats about what the led will equate to in hid watts. So a Blackstar 240w with an actual draw of say 140 is equal to roughly a 280w hid or a 420w cfl. This is only a rough guide and only applys to 3w led diodes. A 250w hid would be perfect for a 2x2 grow tent, which means a 240w Blackstar (theoretically) would be perfect. Ofcourse, as I said you could get a 180 or even a 135 and still have a good crop.

Check out my sig, two storage cabinets... bout 6ft, Pro Grows don't move, plants move to them. Spectra's have always stayed 16-18" from canopy.. no bleaching.

...considering 74 watts per sq ft in both cabinets, head room wasn't as bad of a battle as I had thought.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181074086819?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

Chrome Blackstar... seems decent.

If you went with the Hans you would still need 2 of them. ($600.00)

Click to expand...

2 LedGrow panels, 450 U$ plus 50 U$ shipping

stizzi said:

2 LedGrow panels, 450 U$ plus 50 U$ shipping

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You are correct. I missed that they offer discounts for multiple panels.

The area is not 2'x2'. It's 20"x29.5". 4.1 square feet. But it's not a square area.

BS135=19.5wpsf=good luck with that.
BS180=25.12wpsf=no good either.
BS240=32.43wpsf=still not enough.

I don't think there is enough height to use a BS Chrome.

Bare minimum is 40wpsf as stated by people with real world experience. I have 2 years with leds (I own 17 panels) and 26 years of high performance growing experience. If you can't afford to get enough lamps right now, save your money until you can. Otherwise you will be dissapointed.

ellydee said:

You are correct. I missed that they offer discounts for multiple panels.

The area is not 2'x2'. It's 20"x29.5". 4.1 square feet. But it's not a square area.

BS135=19.5wpsf=good luck with that.
BS180=25.12wpsf=no good either.
BS240=32.43wpsf=still not enough.

I don't think there is enough height to use a BS Chrome.

Bare minimum is 40wpsf as stated by people with real world experience. I have 2 years with leds (I own 17 panels) and 26 years of high performance growing experience. If you can't afford to get enough lamps right now, save your money until you can. Otherwise you will be dissapointed.

Click to expand...

I agree that any one of those above isn't really adequate for a good grow in your space and you will probably be disappointed with the results.

If you want to go LED though and you don't have any more money at the moment, you can go with one good LED fixture and either 1) grow fewer plants/use less of your area 2) supplement with fluorescent lighting until you have the money for another good fixture.
I started with a couple of LEDs (Kessil H350s magenta) and fluorescent lighting and had a wonderful grow here recently. The LEDs do seem to tend to lend themselves to some very trichome covered buds; I actually had a couple of hash tips this grow. Woohoo!
Area51 has a sale on now and you could get a decent 170W panel for $365. That and a few fluorescents on the side and you have a grow! Then when tax money comes in (or some other good fortune) add another small fixture(s) and your space is all LED! I would add something more in the dominant red/blue spectrum. Keep an eye out for someone selling their Kessils. The spectrum is good but different and the fixtures are well made and at least the 350 runs cool enough to hold in your hand indefinitely...heck not even a great hand warmer (and the power supply/driver is separate and could even be placed outside your grow box for even less heat)! There are lots of good choices but get something quality and make sure there's enough light (LED, fluorescent, whatever) of whatever source to get some good solid flowers. I'm seeing some used Kessil 150s on ebay going for about $60/each and that would be fairly cheap side lighting and you can buy different spectra.

Great advice for the cash strapped introductory grower.