LED Companies w/ LINKS

Has anyone used the Blackdog Leds? Are they worth the money? They have some pretty good
info on growing on their website. What makes them so expensive compared to some of the other
Leds.
 

Powertech

Well-Known Member
I'm a new Cutter Electronics fan. Building a light for my flower tent right now, and they will make up the majority of it.
 
Has anyone used the Blackdog Leds? Are they worth the money? They have some pretty good
info on growing on their website. What makes them so expensive compared to some of the other
Leds.
So I went and tried to find and answer to my own question. Comments on this would be appreciated.

Why do we include ultraviolet (UV) in our LED grow light spectrum?

Ultraviolet (UV) light has a wavelength shorter than 400nm and contains more energy per photon than light in the 400-700nm Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) region of the spectrum.
There are plenty of reasons to leave UV light out of an LED grow light. UV LEDs cost 10 times more than LEDs in the PAR region of the spectrum. UV light doesn't count toward PAR / PPFD measurements. And because UV photons are more energetic than PAR photons, it takes more electricity to create them- we get fewer photons per watt out of our UV LEDs than we do out of any other color LED we use.
In other words, if we replaced our UV LEDs with other LEDs in the PAR spectrum, our lights could be made cheaper and our PAR measurement statistics would look even better on paper. So why do we bother to include UV in our LED grow lights?
At Black Dog LED we believe in making lights that provide the best possible grow results, rather than lights that look good on paper. Ultraviolet light grows higher-quality plants and increases canopy penetration, so we include it in our spectrum.
UV light stimulates several different photomorphogenic responses in plants. Plants exposed to UV light create higher levels of natural sunscreen compounds, such as terpenes, antioxidants, flavonoids, THC, CBD and vitamins. Trichomes are also a natural mechanism for providing protection from UV light, so plants produce more trichomes containing these natural sunscreen compounds when exposed to UV. By including UV in our spectrum, we grow higher-quality plants with richer qualities of what you're growing the plants for.
UV grow lights for plants also help increase canopy penetration, allowing for more productive plants as well. Although UV light does not count toward PAR directly, it helps deliver more PAR-spectrum photons lower into the plant canopy. Plants are incredibly inefficient at capturing and converting PAR light into energy that they can use. Most plants only utilize 3-4% of the photons that hit each leaf. Some photons pass through leaves completely, while many others "bounce" off molecules in the leaf and are not successfully captured and used for photosynthesis. These "bouncing" photons typically lose a little bit of energy each time they bounce, which shifts their color more toward the red end of the spectrum, and towards a longer wavelength. For example, if a 660nm red photon bounces inside a leaf on its way through, it would lose a little energy and may become a 750nm infrared photon, and therefore no longer directly usable for photosynthesis (but still possibly helpful due to the Emerson Effect). A photon starting at the top of the canopy as a 440nm blue photon may degrade to a 520nm green photon on its first bounce, then to a 600nm orange, then to a 660nm red, giving it more chances to be successfully absorbed and utilized for photosynthesis on its way through multiple leaves in the plant canopy. Because UV photons start with even more energy (and a shorter wavelength), they pass through more leaves in the canopy before degrading to an energy level the plant can no longer use.
Ultraviolet light increases plant quality and helps deliver more PAR to lower leaves, even in dense plant canopies. That is why we include substantial amounts of UV light in our spectrum. It lowers our photon flux efficiency numbers but actually helps grow better plants. Some competitors claim to have UV in their spectrum, but they don't quantify how much they produce, because it is a trivial amount.
Growing with UV light costs a little more, but we're sure you will agree that the better actual growing results are worth it!
 

hillbill

Well-Known Member
UV diodes have had real durability issues in the past, causing some manufacturers to use fluorescent UV tubes in their lights. Like California Light Works. Makes me wonder.

I also wonder if increased deep blues might help in the same way as what we call UV since the spectrum wave lengths are so close.
 

Powertech

Well-Known Member
UV diodes have had real durability issues in the past, causing some manufacturers to use fluorescent UV tubes in their lights. Like California Light Works. Makes me wonder.

I also wonder if increased deep blues might help in the same way as what we call UV since the spectrum wave lengths are so close.
The plants protective response will not be triggered at the higher wavelengths. I don't think even the higher wavelength UV such as UVA will work. Pretty sure you have to get down to around 310nm or so, but I could be wrong
 

Powertech

Well-Known Member
Ya, once again black dog blaintantly lying.
I just checked them out, yeah waaaay overpriced. the 630 watt light they have is listed at $1549. Do the math, you are paying $2.45 per watt, before taxes. They haven't invented some new type of LED, so paying that much is just throwing money away. I will say, that light will grow some absolutely amazing plants. It is more of a light for people with a lot of money that don't know better

These companies charging the prices they do because they know people don't know better just makes me sick. Offer the black dog 600 for around $600 and I'm in, except i still don't like the central light point, dissipating light towards the edges. Very inefficient use of space
 

Powertech

Well-Known Member
Company needs to sell a light that expands to suit your needs so you don't have the central light point. Almost like those science ball things of plastic bars that expand super big and get small. That would be awesome. Make it a half dome just like the ball to get perfect coverage around the plant
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christopher jordan

Well-Known Member
Has anyone used the Blackdog Leds? Are they worth the money? They have some pretty good
info on growing on their website. What makes them so expensive compared to some of the other
Leds.
They suck. Diode spread is horrible, and the chips are shit, five watt mono's. I think lots of over head.
 
Thanks for the input folks. Also looking at Electric sky 300 v2 looks like a good light for the
money, $695 and lots of good reviews from users. Looks like 2 will do great in a 4x4 area. They
are not full spectrum is this all I need for veg and flower?
 

ledlightings

New Member
LIST OF LED COMPANIES w/ LINKS

For people just getting into the LED game figuring out which company makes what light can be a challenge. This is a list of the companies and the name(s) of the panel(s) they make.

Lighthouse Hydro - Blackstar
High Tech Garden Supply - HTG
Hydro Grow LED - Penetrator
Grow LED Hydro - Spectra
Kessil - Kessil H150/H350
Magnum LED - Magnum LED
Blackdog - BDxxxx/Platinum XL
Pro Source LED - Pro Source LED
Haight Solid State LED - Haight SS LED
Apache Tech - AT120xx
Advanced LED Lights - Diamond series/Extreme
Plant Photonics - Hand Made LED Lights
Pro-Grow Series LED - Pro-Grow LED
Grow Stealth LED - Grow Stealth Quantum LED
Stealth Grow LED - SGxxxx

UNKNOWN COMPANIES


E.shine systems - E.shine Panel 3G/4G
Light Blaze - Lightblaze 400
Fero LED Lighting - Fero xxx 4G

There are others, and I can add to the list if people have suggestions! :blsmoke:
Thanks for sharing these information and I would like to suggest one more company name who are providing led downlights product at affordable rates with quality stuff.
 

coreywebster

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the input folks. Also looking at Electric sky 300 v2 looks like a good light for the
money, $695 and lots of good reviews from users. Looks like 2 will do great in a 4x4 area. They
are not full spectrum is this all I need for veg and flower?
Full spectrum is just some words used to sell lights.
Yes they will veg and flower well in your space.
 
brighter at same price: citizen clu058-1825, luminus cxm32, vero29C
cheaper at similar efficiency: luminus cxm22, citizen clu048-1818, vero 29 B/D

none of these have any "magic bullet" spectrum. while a 3500k from one mfr may differ slightly from another mfrs 3500k, the plants dont seem to mind, ive seen great grows with all kinds of chips

Nice to meet you, want to know the build that can get the best yield with 3 * 3 Tento that can be used in 2020 Japan Japan is 100 volts
 
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