Help me pick the best LED lamp from these three

Lenin1917 said:

All 3 are fine. With those prices I’d go with R spec. If you want to save a few hundred look at the mars hydro fce series. Same output as the fc but bridgelux diodes instead of Samsung. A lot more diodes too so I’d wager they have a longer lifespan than the fc series . I’ve got the fce4800 in a 4x4 it does damn well.

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Nizza said:

I wonder if the gavita would be a contender, I'd go with hlg

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• DLC Listed
• High efficacy (2.6 μmol s-1 per watt)
• High output for high intensity
• FCC and UL8800 compliant, IP66 wet rated
• CE and CB compliant, IP56 wet rated in Europe
• Top bin LEDs
• Reduced HVAC requirement (30-40% less)
• Balanced, full-spectrum light output
• Dimmable up to 50% without loss in efficiency when used with the Gavita E-Series LED Adapter
• 8-bar configuration allows for use in low rooms, on vertical racks, over benches, and even in tents
• Each unit is eligible for a free 120-277v power cord and E-Series adapter.

Hobbes said:

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Thanks for the clear thoughts, I hadn't been thinking about the FC E 6500 because I thought it was a cheap light, but like you said - all of those diodes might give it a longer life.

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Hobbes said:

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Thanks Rocket Soul, that was a great analysis!

Can you tell us more on eliminating the hotspot? How long ago; what is a form factor?

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Rocket Soul said:

Form factor / hot spot : originally hlg sold the 550 as their 4x4 killer but it bundles 4 boards, on slightly higher wattage each, on aprox 2x2' fixture. This this causes very intense light right under the light but less coverage for the perimeter. The scorpion is about 3x3' with 6 lower powered boards more spread out. People saying the diablo has a hotspot around the interwebbs are often talking about the 650 diablo light: same formfactor as the 550 but with a bit extra juice and efficiency: this means the same or worse hotspot, needing a lot of hanging height to get it even and thus maybe not for a tent really. Dont get me wrong, should work great in a large open space with lots of fixtures with cross lighting but maybe not great for a tent.

"How long ago?" I dont get it.

Of the 3 lights posed the scorpion diablo is the only one that has a different spectrum: it has a double blue peak, 435 and 450nm. I cant say for sure but from what ive seen id associate this wider blue spectrum with better plant health and increased tolerance to higher light intensities. Black dog has the same extra coverage of the blue spectrum but their way of getting to that is much less efficient, about 50% light output per watt.

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Rurumo said:

Once my current grow is done, I'm going to put in my FC 6500 and see how it compares to the Fold-8 I'm running now. Those are all good lights Hobbes, I think you'll kill it with any of them.

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Hobbes said:

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I found a Canadian site that's advertising th FC 6500 for $980 cad, a steal!

Mars Hydro FC 6500 Full Spectrum 650W LED Grow LightDefault Title

DLC&ETL listed -Samsung Lm301b & Osram 660nm LEDs -More than 50% higher in PPFD compared with HID lamps -Balanced, full-spectrum light output -Energy-saving with 50% lower power consumption than HID lamps -8 passively cooled bars provide broad-coverage lighting for full-term growth -Dimmable box...

growlights.ca

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Hobbes said:

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North American lights only please, if you know of a good light that I missed please post and I'll add it to the list.

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My Black Dog LED is only 2.5 years old but I get the feeling - smaller colas, airy, lower harvest weight - that the lamp is dimming.

So I'm looking for a new light and have the list down to 3 lamps - Mars Hydro FC 6500; Scorpion Rspec; Scorpion Diablo. All three look like great lights with the FC 6500 having the best PPFD chart, very even light over the canopy.

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FC 6500: $1,110.; I can't get a pic of the light or it's PPFD chart to load here so here's the link: https://marshydroled.ca/collections/fc-series-led/products/mars-hydro-fc-6500

Scoprion Rspec: $1000: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1538/8585/files/Scorpion_R_spec_PPFD.pdf?v=1601664425

Scorpion Diablo: $1300: no PPFD chart; https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1538/8585/files/HLG_ADV_Scorpion_Diablo_Manual_2021_online.pdf?v=1634667886

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From looking at the PPFD charts the FC 6500 is the winner, but I don't know the pluses and minuses of the Quantum boards used in the Scorpions, please chip in if you have knowledge.

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I read on the forum last week that the Scorpion Diablo has a hot spot, making the Rspec the better light. Anyone hear of this?

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Hobbes said:

I thought it was a low watt light, but not so.

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Hobbes said:

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I've narrowed my field to two lights - the S. Diablo and the FC 6500. I'm impressed with the PPFD chart for both, but as said earlier in the thread we don't know if Mars does their own testing or if they farm it out to a lab like HLG.

Anyone who has either lamp please post your experiences, in particular is the S. Diablo too much light for a 4'x4' tent? I see it advertised for a 5' x 5' flowering footprint.

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