LED users out there need some advice

My room does have a window but it has film on it(doesn't open) that plants in front of it lean to the fluoros on the ceiling 7 ft. away.

Kinda like the what I think.
I think I'll buy the 50 Watt LED spots as NEW TOYS.
My parents house is totally solar.
Dad likes LEDS.
If they don't work for my plants,they will become porch lights or whatever in Tahachapi.

I'd go through all the vendors sites.
Check out the specs. and go from there.
Super Bright in an add means nothing.
Also,don't buy from guys that won't let you return them.
If you open the box and the light is flashlight bright,you need to return it.
I haven't had any problems with Chinese stuff as far as bad products.
BUT I've heard a lot of stories...
I think with LEDS most of the complaints are because they bought a flashlight expecting to get a floodlight instead.
To some extent you get what you pay for.
Though the chinese guys will bargain with you almost all the time.
Tell them you are interested in buying 100 lights but want to only buy a couple to test out first.Your last Vendor sold you 100 crap floodlight that fried in 3 months or whatever.
Tell them you want to test their product before commiting to a bigger sale or whatever.
Works great at times.
I get quantities of LEDS for very cheap from some vendors.
If they think they will loose a possible great customer they will bargain the price down at times.
IF you can't dazzle them with brilliance,baffle them with BS.

If you are willing to mess around with different vendors,you can sometimes set your price.
You might have to buy 3 or 4 instead of 1 or 2 but you'll be paying the same$ for 4 as you would for 2-3 at full price.
 
I'm afraid to get mine too close to the windows here.  During the winter months here is can get to -40 F and I am not that clueless to know that a pepper plant reaaalllllyyyy  wouldn't like it that cold.. LOL
 
So I think Im on to this DIY LED thing. Im pretty new at this whole growing peppers hydroponically indoors thing; so correct me if im wrong on any points please.
 
Check this out:
http://dx.com/p/10w-6500k-750-lumen-white-led-emitter-metal-plate-9-11v-81841
6500K - Should be good right?
750-Lumen - So x 3 =2150 LM, same as 1 T12 bulb
12 = 1 - 4 bulb fixture
 
Not saying this is the best buy, just trying to make sure I'm looking at/comparing the right areas.

I see this is quickly turning into a price/lumen thing.... :party:
 
So I think Im on to this DIY LED thing. Im pretty new at this whole growing peppers hydroponically indoors thing; so correct me if im wrong on any points please.
 
Check this out:
http://dx.com/p/10w-6500k-750-lumen-white-led-emitter-metal-plate-9-11v-81841
6500K - Should be good right?
750-Lumen - So x 3 =2150 LM, same as 1 T12 bulb
12 = 1 - 4 bulb fixture
 
Not saying this is the best buy, just trying to make sure I'm looking at/comparing the right areas.

I see this is quickly turning into a price/lumen thing.... :party:
Wow.... Those right there are expensive! I have some 10w LEDs that I bought from http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-10W-LED-White-High-Power-6000K-LED-Lamp-SMD-Chips-light-bulb-1100LM-/141096327397?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item20d9ff18e5 for less than half the price. Haven't made my diy grow light yet but i hope I made a right choice in buying these and some 3000k ones.

The ones I bought all work and are very bright too. Most expensive part will be the driver to run them all.
 
xxkamikazexx said:
Wow.... Those right there are expensive! I have some 10w LEDs that I bought from http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-10W-LED-White-High-Power-6000K-LED-Lamp-SMD-Chips-light-bulb-1100LM-/141096327397?pt=US_Car_Lighting&hash=item20d9ff18e5 for less than half the price. Haven't made my diy grow light yet but i hope I made a right choice in buying these and some 3000k ones.

The ones I bought all work and are very bright too. Most expensive part will be the driver to run them all.
 Nice, I figured they could be found cheaper, but aside from the price i wanted to make sure I was looking at the correct spec's: such as lumens and K.

Can you run this right off a 12V source with no need for a driver? If so maybe using a car battery with a solar/wind charger to help cut down on elec bill.
I have 3x T12 (4-bulb) a 2xT8(4-bulb) fixtures right now, its costing me $60 a month ugh :mope:
 
 Nice, I figured they could be found cheaper, but aside from the price i wanted to make sure I was looking at the correct spec's: such as lumens and K.
Can you run this right off a 12V source with no need for a driver? If so maybe using a car battery with a solar/wind charger to help cut down on elec bill.
I have 3x T12 (4-bulb) a 2xT8(4-bulb) fixtures right now, its costing me $60 a month ugh :mope:


Oh boy, $60 just to run that is a hefty price.

Unfortunately you need a driver when using LEDs. See LEDs need something to limit the current they get. As they get hotter they draw more and more current up to the limit where they burn out. So to avoid this, a driver is used to protect the LEDs from burning themselves up. You can put all the DC voltage you want but they'll only draw what they need to light up. The current is what you have to limit.
 
Yeah my electric is $0.18+ per kilowatt hour, ugh.
 
If you put a resistor across a voltage source it will limit the current to what ever you decide. It's essentially a current source. It seems the drivers are made to allow for AC input to drive the LED.
 
If you drop a 1 ohm resistor across a 12v battery, 12 amps will flow through that circuit. Adding a 2nd circuit in parallel will share that current on some ratio, but no more then 1 amp will ever flow through either.
 
In other words the, you limit the current by using a steady voltage source and a resistor of known unchanging value.
 
I could be making a mistake as its been 5+ years sense I've dealt with any electronics and Im a few drinks in on a Friday night lol :dance:
 
So the big question, assuming a mature plant needing 3000 lumens/ sq ft of floro light (T5,T8..):
How many lumens of direct LED lighting would be needed for same plant?
 
Yeah my electric is $0.18+ per kilowatt hour, ugh.
 
If you put a resistor across a voltage source it will limit the current to what ever you decide. It's essentially a current source. It seems the drivers are made to allow for AC input to drive the LED.
 
If you drop a 1 ohm resistor across a 12v battery, 12 amps will flow through that circuit. Adding a 2nd circuit in parallel will share that current on some ratio, but no more then 1 amp will ever flow through either.
 
In other words the, you limit the current by using a steady voltage source and a resistor of known unchanging value.
 
I could be making a mistake as its been 5+ years sense I've dealt with any electronics and Im a few drinks in on a Friday night lol :dance:
 
So the big question, assuming a mature plant needing 3000 lumens/ sq ft of floro light (T5,T8..):
How many lumens of direct LED lighting would be needed for same plant?


Oh sorry, I wasn't taking into consideration that you would use resistors but yeah you are correct on that.

As for the question at the end I'm not as experienced to be able to answer that... Would like to know as well.
 
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