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lighting Oh no, another lighting thread

W

wordwiz

Has anyone besides me tried LED lights? I;m using three different lights, a 226 panel. One is a 225 bulb, (163 red, 63 blue) panel that uses 13 watts. It covers about 1.5 sq. ft. another one I'm trying is a 168 bulb spotlight that has about the same ratio of red/blue. Then I have this 28 blue and 84 red panel that is much stronger - it covers about six sq. ft and delivers 2200 Lux from three feet away. I have it on a tomato plant and the thing is growing like crazy.

These lights are pricey, to say the least (about $25 per panel, $80 for the hyped up one). But they are supposed to last about 5 times longer than CFL lights and the light sprectrum they deliver is only blue and red.

Mike
 
I've not used them, and I'll be very interested in hearing how your plants do with them in regards to fruiting.

Please, let us all know.
 
From what I have read the cheap ones with the 5mm LEDs will grow them but they wont set fruit. The really expensive ones that cost hundreds of dollars and have really high power LEDs like CREE ones grow and set fruit great. I have a couple of the cheap ones in addition to my other lights but I don't know how good they would do on their own.
 
Leds on their own.

I only have a few fruit, but they seem to do well in that respect. My plants are very young though.
I like the totally blue ones. They make my plants grow well.
Different companies have different brightnesses. Even though they look the same. This guy:http://cgi.ebay.com/4-Pack-Blue-LED...ryZ42225QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem sells really bright blue ones. I don't know about his mixed or red ones.

They make my pictures look weird, but I like it. Here is my purple tiger(I think that white powder is pollen):
 
If two 40-watt regular fluoros will set fruit, I would think these (that are 1,000 LUX stronger) will work.

I know the lower-power one does great for vegetation though the plants are not getting leggy, just bushy. I can easily cover 16 three-inch pots and probably could handle 25. The plants under that light look about like ABM's above. But the one under the high-power one, even though the ratio of red/blue is about the same, is reddish.

Mike
 
I think everyone should learn how to make their own lights from large leds. I need to find a cheap crash course on how to modify the ones I got too. Does anyone have a course on this subject?
graphi1284.jpg
 
ABurningMouth said:
I think everyone should learn how to make their own lights from large leds. I need to find a cheap crash course on how to modify the ones I got too. Does anyone have a course on this subject?
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Click to expand...

ABM,

Is there a significant savings in D-I-Y? I bought a 112 bulb set for $92 which included expedited delivery. For 100 bulbs and holders, the best price I could find was about $55 (not including shipping). Plus, I would need the frame, power supply plus whatever else is needed. Not to mention the time to build it.

I really believe that $ 4 $, the LEDs are the best light to use, at least for starting and growing plants. The jury is still out on flowering and fruiting but that may be because my test tomato plant is too old to flower - but it sure is growing! I have some peppers and eggplants under a 225 blue/red light and they are going ballistic. I did have to adjust watering - they soak up a bunch more and quicker, probably because they are growing faster.

It would not be too far fetched to see me having a dozen of the 226 red/blue lights and four of the 112 bulb sets next year, especially if the hydro is decent.

Mike
 
My plants really drink alot too. The leaves taste great and are very tender. I think the red light really needs to be increased to flower like they do outside. A good fan is very important too. My plants are not very rugged(they are wimpy).
I guess I just want to know how to fix the lights if they break down, or make them brighter or adjustable by adding a simple component.
I have eight 13.5-14 watt panels pointed at a 4x2 foot area. They give off a weird kind of heat toward the plants.
Are your 112s 100 watts?
 
They use 45 watts of energy running off a 120 volt line. There is an in-line adapter but I have to be honest, I didn't pay any attention to - I just plugged the cords in!

Have you checked greenpinelane's site? He seems to be the guru of LED lights and he has a forum where some of your questions http://www.greenpinelane.com/yaf/

Someone there should be able to answer your question, though you will porbably need to let them know what kind of board you have.

I sort of like the RGB boards with a controller to determine the color of the light. They could do away with the green - who cares! But if I could buy a couple of boards with red and blue lights, one whose intensity I can increase or decrease, I would probably be in seventh heaven!

Mike
 
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