OnlyFractured
Active Member
There's no markings on the bulbs themselves but each box is marked 110v, so that's all I have to go by. Thanks for the links to those threads by the way.
tired of adjusting cfl lights. led time
- Thread starter Po boy
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Which seller did you buy from? @mauricem00 linked to "BuyBay" and "GetInCoin." I bought from the former. I'm hoping yours came from the latter (and have a chance to get a good deal.
Maurice appears to be experienced with LED, so I'm sure his were as advertised. (I.e., I'm sure he wasn't saying 2w performance was good.).Curious what the seller will say if you contact them. I could understand if they weren't perfect, didn't last long, etc. But, to be 1/8th the power as advertised, that's messed up. Usually when buying from China, if it doesn't work out it turns into "mail it back, or we'll give you a 20% refund." But, if what you receive is that far off from what's advertised, it seems like they should just send replacements without question.
I also ordered one of these SMD3014 lightbulbs. Supposed to be the same efficiency, just the chips are lower wattage so more are used. Ace posted a link to it earlier in this thread.
OnlyFractured
Active Member
Unfortunately (possibly) for you I ordered from "BuyBay", so likely the same vendor as you. I tried to leave feedback but the site claimed I had already left feedback (I didn't) and couldn't do it again. I then started the process of opening a dispute but hit the "my time is worth more than this" wall when I had to send a picture of the problem to even open a dispute. I did contact the vendor through the website but doubt I'll hear anything back and as far as I'm concerned I really don't care much about a refund or anything. I'll just put it down to a failed experiment.Which seller did you buy from? @mauricem00 linked to "BuyBay" and "GetInCoin." I bought from the former. I'm hoping yours came from the latter (and have a chance to get a good deal.
Curious what the seller will say if you contact them. I could understand if they weren't perfect, didn't last long, etc. But, to be 1/8th the power as advertised, that's messed up. Usually when buying from China, if it doesn't work out it turns into "mail it back, or we'll give you a 20% refund." But, if what you receive is that far off from what's advertised, it seems like they should just send replacements without question.
I also ordered one of these SMD3014 lightbulbs. Supposed to be the same efficiency, just the chips are lower wattage so more are used. Ace posted a link to it earlier in this thread.
If you browse through some of the feedback that has been left (most not in foreign languages but some english) some people have complained that they're running at around 5 or 6 watts I think. Those were the 220v versions and to be honest, one of these running at those wattages might be somewhat useful considering the price.
I'm betting that @mauricem00 is running the 220v version, and is getting somewhere between 5 and 6 watt output.
mauricem00
Well-Known Member
mine measured 2.8 watts. apparently companies that can't do business on e-bay use this site.these were poorly constructed and mislabeled but at least they were cheap for no real harm in trying them. that's a chance you take buying from china. sometimes good products sometimes junk.at least eBay has a rating system for sellers
mauricem00
Well-Known Member
I grow with 2g11 cfls but have experimented with leds for about a year.DIY units and mars hydro but have not been impressed with LED's so far. could be that the more expensive units work better but my grow is a non profit MMJ grow for a cancer patient I look after and I do not have several hundred to invest in lights.I can build a 3 tube 14400lumen fixture with commercial quality bulbs and nema quality ballast for under $60 . a 150 watt hps cost the same but produces too much heat for my grow room.both are proven performers.some people have gotten 1gram per watt with CFLs . its hard to see how LEDS that cost 10 times as much could do enough better to justify the cost. my training is in the area of electrical engineering so I know how to conduct controlled test and measurements
With leds, at least the high end name brand ones the idea is its cheaper for the electric bill, less heat and most importantly will last many many years so it's in that 7+ years your running the light that you make up f I r the initial cost.
if you break down the actual components and know what yourddoing I agree they are wayyyy to much money. Plus you can build a higher efficient, better spectrum, and higher output for a lot less money
all it is, is a driver....heatsink.....diode.
that's all it is, and depending on what components you use for those three will determine how good of a unit you have.
if you break down the actual components and know what yourddoing I agree they are wayyyy to much money. Plus you can build a higher efficient, better spectrum, and higher output for a lot less money
all it is, is a driver....heatsink.....diode.
that's all it is, and depending on what components you use for those three will determine how good of a unit you have.
mauricem00
Well-Known Member
I run 3 tubes in my flower room ant 2 in my veg room. both 2ft* 2ft*7 ft (closets lined with mylar) the flowering light raises my flowering closet 3 degrees above ambient. a mars hydro I picked up on sale for $85 uses more power (180 vs 155 watts measure) and heats my room up more with no noticeable improvement in flowering. both room combined raise my electric bill by $11 per month and I am able to produce 2 ounces per month which is more than enough to keep the medicine bowl filled. after loosing 3 diodes in the first 300 hours I decided t upgrade the diodes and spectrum. still using bridgelux diodes but included their new full spectrum diodes in the mix replacing the 660 nm diodes with them to get a broader spectrum. the unit now draws 200 watts with a comparable increase in output.will begin testing as soon as current crop is ready to put into flowering. the coolest most efficient lights i've found so far for a small or micro grow are standard T5s with a fulham sugercube ballast I am measuring 100 lumens per watt with 2 ft tubes. and they run cool enough that I can comfortably hold the bulbs after several hours.the only drawback is their low output per bulb. I would need 12 bulbs for a 2ft*2 ft grow. the 2g11s are a good compromise. and commercial bulbs last 2 years with only a 5% drop in output (tested)at $11 per month for electricity it would take a long time for a $500 led to pay for itself and in my experiments i've seen ballast fail after less than 1000 hours and diodes fail in less than 100 hours.high quality ballast and diodes are expensive even in a diy project. for a large grow the newer enhanced spectrum HPS lights look like the best option. all lighting systems are evolving and in a few years leds will be a viable alternative. output and quality will improve and price will come down.I just don't feel like being a pioneer in a new field. better to let others spend the money and learn the lessons we will all benefit from some day.till then I will stick with what works for me and keep experimenting when I have a little extra cash to spend on them.
I received my order. The 9, 12 and 15w lights all pull 3.1w. The 18w light pulls 4.5w. Using a reflector I get about 100 lux at 1' distance. A Cree 9.5w (60w equiv) is 850 lux.
Using 3-4 lightbulbs might be equivalent to a single Cree (Home Depot) lightbulb. But, they are not as competitive with Crees as you asserted in another thread.
Even though they might be decent lights for micro grows (they run cool), I'm disappointed that you didn't disclose this fundamental detail about actual watts being so much lower than the seller's stated "consumed" watts.
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OnlyFractured
Active Member
I considered that using a couple of them might be equivalent to a cree bulb as well, but then you have to add in the cost of the extra sockets and by then you're pretty much up to the cost of a cree, without a warranty, and the added stress of fear that they may burst into flames they're so poorly constructed. I wouldn't have them anywhere in my house. Their reaction to negative feedback is kind of hilarious. They'll send you a couple more for free if you change the feedback to excellent
The 5730 appears to be a good LED chip for growing. These lightbulbs throw more light to the side than the Cree lightbulbs (which is why my lux comparison inside a reflector is worse than you'd expect from merely lower wattage). Because these lightbulbs are run at 5-20% of capacity they're not suitable for sidelighting larger plants.
Because they run so cool and throw so much side light, inserting them directly into the canopy might be a good use. In a small solo-cup micro grow, that might be feasible. Using GU10 bases would use less space and those bases are less expensive than traditional E27 screw-in bases.
I'm going to start looking at SMD5730 tape. I like the idea of making some small 4x6" or 2x12" panels. Throw all the light in one direction. The tape uses 12v which makes power distribution easy. Run a single power wire and use clamp-on wire taps (sold at the auto parts store) to "T" off power to each panel. Maybe use those spade connectors sold at the auto parts store too.
I guess that's my point. If I were going to get into surround lighting, I'd go with low-voltage SMD5730 tape. You can shape it to the plant. I don't see much value in these lightbulbs except at the very micro (solo-cup) size grow.
mauricem00
Well-Known Member
at that time I did not have the light. I was going by the sellers claim. I had just started using that site and did not know that they were not as reliable as ebay. my apologies.now that I have more experience with this site I will avoid them
I don't mean to make this difficult, but you said:
When you say you're using something better, people go out and buy things. Please be more careful. They may be decent lights for the money, but they're not anything like Crees from Home Depot.
I received the 3014 lightbulb. It's noticeably brighter than the 5730 "BuyBay" lightbulbs. It pulls 5.3-5.4w and is noticeably brighter. It hurts to look at. I couldn't say that for the BuyBay lights.
At 12" from the end of the bulb (mounted in the same reflector) I get 520 lux. (As mentioned a couple posts ago, I got about 100-120 lux from the BuyBay lights which ran at 3.1w.).
It appears to be about 5000k natural (day) light. Not too warm, not too cool.
This light is advertised as 12w. So, it's still disappointing in terms of honesty. You'll have to buy more than you would have thought (if you're thinking in terms of 9.5, 12 and 18w Cree lightbulbs sold at Home Depot which actually pull those watts.).
Like the SMD5037 lightbulbs from BuyBay, the lm/w may be decent. If a person needs really low power (an extremely micro grow?) the 5037 might be good. Slightly larger space could be good for these 3014s. The Crees at Home Depot seem to still be the best for a larger plant in a 2x2' space.
What would be cool would be to create six flexible goosenecks coming off four corner posts around a 2x2' space. Put one of these 3014s on the end of each goosneck for a total of 120w (30w/sq ft). Just insert them into the canopy all around the plant. 24 wires sticking into the plant illuminating it from within. That would look wicked.
I bet it could be done with these lights. Initial materials (24 goosnecks) would cost a lot. But, after that it would be very cheap, replacing burned out bulbs for $3-$4 each.
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