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Illumitex... hype or hogwash?

Nick08*

Nick08*

Anybody around here ever use any of Illumitex's lighting products? They have a great sales pitch... and what looks to be an awesome product. But it could all be marketing...
 
And at $1300 for a 300w LED seems way pricey. But was thinking of possibly building my own unit using their Surexi F3 LED modules to save alot of cash.
 
Sorry i have no experience with their products, but I couldn't agree more. $1300 for only 300 watts is a lot, even if the wavelengths used are perfect.
 
Try toggling the search feature to find Smokemaster 's posts in this subforum, he has a lot of experience with DIY LED.
 
Edit, almost forgot: check out the reviews linked in this thread. Don't totally count out HPS lights, even the smaller 250 watt models. They produce a ton of grow for the amount of watts used, which actually makes them very efficient. 250 watt models produce less heat than the 400w models, and HPS run less hot than metal halide, but still produce a lot of green growth despite putting out warm colored light (2100k).
 
Good luck either way,
 
Steve
 
On the low end of HID lighting you could buy 10 new 1000w ballasts all with new 1000w bulbs for under $1300.....or buy 1 300w LED light for the same price. :think: :think: :think:
 
Best of luck with the build.
 
Jetchuka said:
Sorry i have no experience with their products, but I couldn't agree more. $1300 for only 300 watts is a lot, even if the wavelengths used are perfect.
 
Try toggling the search feature to find Smokemaster 's posts in this subforum, he has a lot of experience with DIY LED.
 
Edit, almost forgot: check out the reviews linked in this thread. Don't totally count out HPS lights, even the smaller 250 watt models. They produce a ton of grow for the amount of watts used, which actually makes them very efficient. 250 watt models produce less heat than the 400w models, and HPS run less hot than metal halide, but still produce a lot of green growth despite putting out warm colored light (2100k).
 
Good luck either way,
 
Steve
Click to expand...
 
Hophead said:
On the low end of HID lighting you could buy 10 new 1000w ballasts all with new 1000w bulbs for under $1300.....or buy 1 300w LED light for the same price. :think: :think: :think:
 
Best of luck with the build.
Click to expand...
 
I'm currently rocking a 600w HPS, and I really do love it. It has produced great results so far on my current indoor grow (you can see in my glog). Vegetative growth was strong, and all plants are either now flowering, or fruiting (I've already eaten several tomatoes) with pods on my thai. 
 
The only problem is... its about $28/month to run just the bulb. That adds up. I'd like to have an all winter long indoor grow of basically a full salad bar worth of veggies, so long term efficiency would be nice. Plus, I'm kind of a project nerd, and a bit of a tinkerer so eventually I'd like to put together my own LED project. Still doing alot of research, and gathering ideas. Thanks for everyone's input.
 
That light above is a mass produced unit sold by 3 Chinese companies who outfit it with different casings but it contains all the same parts.  HTGsupply sells a lot of them.  They work, but you would be better suited buying some Flouros to run your shelves.  We don't need the intensity that some "other" types of growers require.  If you want to do LED and are willing to spend the money, accept no substitute for ANY of the Lumigrow products.  They're not hype like the illumitex (prolly more Chinese crap) that you have listed above.  Not everything Chinese is junk, but most of these groups making lights are trying to market more than produce results.  Look at the Lumigrow.com website.  They have case studies (well sort of) posted.  Their lights carry 5 year warranties. 
 
With that said, where are the people using induction lights?  There has got to be somebody who's tested the flouro on steroids.  That in fact IS a Chinese to start with because they had to create something with the same intensity of HID but much less power demand.  All the ballast and bulbs are Chinese, and they run them as street lights.  We haven't adopted it yet here just like T5 because of the cost to convert, but it will happen. 

There are people that are going to say DIY, and that's fun and entertaining, but sometimes you just want something that works and is reliable.

 
 
Bridgelux leds are not known to be cheap chinese crap. I am sure the lumigrow lights are nice and if I cared to spend 6 times the amount I did on a fixture that had a switch/dimming funtion lumigrow is what I would have chosen probably or maybe one of those leds that have the florescents built in it too. If you are just looking for a light to start your seedlings than I agree with megahurts. My leds started causing the plants to produce anthocyanin and was stressing them out from too much light. I recently purchased a 2' 6 bulb switchable to 4 t5 fixture that cost $120 with bulbs for starting seedlings. I will use my two 300w led fixtures in a larger tent when they need to be potted up.
 
megahurts said:
That light above is a mass produced unit sold by 3 Chinese companies who outfit it with different casings but it contains all the same parts.  HTGsupply sells a lot of them.  They work, but you would be better suited buying some Flouros to run your shelves.  We don't need the intensity that some "other" types of growers require.  If you want to do LED and are willing to spend the money, accept no substitute for ANY of the Lumigrow products.  They're not hype like the illumitex (prolly more Chinese crap) that you have listed above.  Not everything Chinese is junk, but most of these groups making lights are trying to market more than produce results.  Look at the Lumigrow.com website.  They have case studies (well sort of) posted.  Their lights carry 5 year warranties. 
 
With that said, where are the people using induction lights?  There has got to be somebody who's tested the flouro on steroids.  That in fact IS a Chinese to start with because they had to create something with the same intensity of HID but much less power demand.  All the ballast and bulbs are Chinese, and they run them as street lights.  We haven't adopted it yet here just like T5 because of the cost to convert, but it will happen. 

There are people that are going to say DIY, and that's fun and entertaining, but sometimes you just want something that works and is reliable.

 
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