ive grown with hps for years but crazy high electric bills are forcing my hand to led. The shop I get all my nutes etc from always advised me against them but I’ve read a lot of positive and the cost is now the main driver
I always grow a selection of autos in a 4x8 ft tent, NFT hydro, generally 2 or 3 strains and a couple of plants for each
I’ve used these bulbs for years
- prostar cfl 5500 lumens for seeds to shoots
- PowerPlant hps 600w superveg for Few weeks of veg
-sylvania 600w hps for flower which ends up being 80% of the entire grow
What do you guys recommend? I am running in circles and my usual go to shop is no help on this subject.
Help please
Hey bro, this is Keith from Black Sail. Yeahhh, the guys at the hydro shop mean well but they're not up on the new tech. They have a point though, the vast majority of LED fixtures on the market are either over-priced or total dogshit. You have to be careful, I highly recommend watching these
Growmau5 videos.
So here's the lowdown: You'll need about 420-450 Watts of high quality COBs to match the output from your 600 Watt HPS. Ignore all the other bullshit on anybody's website, in order to compare COB fixtures you only need to ask three questions:
1.
The efficiency in umol/J (2.0umol/J for The Cannon)
2.
The heatsink temperature at full power (120 Fahrenheit for The Cannon)
3.
The cost in dollars per watt ($1.33/Watt for The Cannon)
If you don't get an immediate, straightforward answer to all three questions then don't buy that light!
I highly recommend The Cannon! The two pack is on sale for $638. That's 480 Watts at $1.33/Watt. The 220mm heatsink will be about 120 degrees Fahrenheit at full power, that's cool enough to hold and it'll barely touch the ambient temperature of your tent. The efficiency is 2.0umol/J. Compare those specs to any other COB fixture on the market:smoking: You'll need at least 8 of the smaller 50-55 Watt COBs to match the output, which can easily cost $1000.
Two Cannons will out-yield your 600W HPS all day long. You'll have tighter nodes and a big bump in quality from the improved spectrum and reduced heat. Check out
my forum here on AFN, my IG
@blacksailfarm, and my website
BlackSailMarket.com. Hit me up if you have any questions at all brotha, and happy growing!
Also, a note on spectrum. Color temperature should be 3000K-3500K, I use 3500K 80CRI because it's the best for full cycle. Adding in Far Red and UV is beneficial but not at all necessary when you're using full spectrum COBs, and it's never a replacement for power. Don't let anyone bullshit you about their "magic spectrum".
