Lighting Project Cheapo LED Grow Lamp

[Banjacked]

Ok, as was mentioned in another thread I have ordered some el-cheapo LED grow strip from China at the grand price of under €12. It arrived yesterday so the planning began.

There is an initial issue, that being that my notion of a "dome" will not work as the strip does not like going into a "curve" when flat so the design has had to be changed. This is quite simple, it's 5m of 1cm wide strip so that can easily fit onto a plate that is 30x25cm, which allows some space between strips to aid cooling and gives a bit of room for the connections between the strips.

This gives 72w of 4-red, 1-blue strip in a space less than 1 square foot, which can be bent to to the shape of the reflector loved by those using CFL or other lamps, and the colour of the plate does not matter since it is not being used as a reflector as we're looking at connecting up 20 pieces that are 25cm (10") in length meaning the whole damn thing is nothing but what is claimed to be full spectrum LED light.

The plate? Well, this is a budget build so I conveniently have the side plates from an old PC which I have had lying around for years as well as assorted cables which can be used for the solder connections (I don't like throwing out things that may be useful) so my only extra outlay has been a few euros on some solder since I ran out of that a while back.

I'm not so keen on the power supply that came with the strip, but that isn't an issue as I know I have at least two working PC power supplies lying in a closet so that is well and truly covered at no extra cost as this is 12vdc strip, and a cheap car battery charger could do the same if someone has that sort of thing lying around.

As I say, this is being sized up as something that anyone with a little technical knowledge can knock up in their bedroom using mainly what some would class as "garbage" lying around their house, or that a friend may have, or that they can get for nothing elsewhere due to it being someone else's "useless garbage", the notion being to prove to those thinking about making the step into growing that they don't have to spend silly money on specialist high powered lighting rigs as this whole setup, not including my time, is coming in at under €20 and should easily give enough light for a single plant meaning it should be ideal for micro/closet/bucket growing.

The carving up of the plate, setting up of the strips, connections, etc, will start today, should only be a couple of hours including making my usual endless supply of Earl Grey. Pictures will follow when completed, and since I will not pay for a quantum meter I will only be able to give Lux/Lumen comparison to a 100W equivalent 6000K LED lightbulb using an app on my phone, which I know will not be accurate but will give an indication of the difference. These figures can, of course, be inputted into an online calculator which will give a rough idea of PAR values

Let the games begin!

 

[Banjacked]

Well, the toy is mostly done, I have a flat panel of LED strip 20x25cm which is giving me, according to http://dev.edman007.com/~edman007/pub/par-dli-cal.html , close to the figures in this post already and that is without bending the plate to concentrate everything onto the plant as I plan to do.

As expected, heat is negligible as that radiates away from the plant via the metal backplate so this thing can be put VERY close to any plant meaning that the light is targeted where it is needed and is not spread "outside the grow zone" where it's effectively wasted.

Time is going to tell regarding whether this is going to work or not, but since the next project is going to be a "grow box" using some old wooden plates I have which will be lined with some reflective material, along with a second roll of LED strip which is on it's way as we speak, then things are looking promising indeed.

 

[Banjacked]

Next instalment.

The plate has been bent in a trapezoidal shape, pc power supply hooked up, all working and is suspended around 6 inches above a healthy 3 week old plant (originally under the 6000k led bulb, was hit and miss on getting the right height above the plant, was too close at first and you could see the plant didn't like it).

So the light meter app has been out again, and according to the conversion link above I think the "panel" is not doing too bad with a DLI of 34.361 mol per day and a PPFD of 530 micromol/s/m² based on an 18/6 light cycle. Maybe not the absolute optimum, but definitely above what I see as the minimum and it can always be supplemented with warm white led bulb, or the 6000k bulb, or the "grow spots" I have, or another panel made with similar strip which I should have next week.

 

[FormaKnownAs]

Subbed, good luck! Always looking for a cheaper way! For myself and prospective growers.

Sent from my LG-H910 using Tapatalk

 

[Free Flow]

I'm watching this too, a lot of cool knowledge here. I'm always looking for new ways to make a small space thats cheap and out of the way for mothers seedlings and clones. Good luck brother im curious to see how this looks!

 

[Banjacked]

You asked for how it looks, and here you go

As I say, length 25cm and "flat" width of strips 20cm. And it's as rough as hell hanging on string which is easier for raising/lowering as necessary. As you can see, one of the tapes on a piece of strip has come loose but that was my fault for not supporting the weight of the cables feeding the whole thing so that pulled it loose. What you don't see is the VERY healthy green colour of the plant and growth has been noticeable.

 

[BigSm0]

I just read this on grow weed easy.

 

[Banjacked]

I just read this on grow weed easy.

View attachment 833748

It's something I noticed elsewhere too, which is why I can always lift it at the slightest sign of trouble and use supplemental lights if necessary. The second set of strip should be here any day now so I was already thinking of making a second panel and getting the duct tape out to join them together meaning I could have more light from a similar shape that could be set higher..

But if the LED strip being too close is such an issue, why have people had success using it inside PC case grows where things are obviously VERY close together? Could it be genetics may play a part, or that the led used in that setup was somewhat bigger than I have?


Edit. Found the page you were talking about, http://www.growweedeasy.com/cannabis-light-burn , and the top pic you posted is one where the plant actually grew up against the light. That ain't gonna happen, I can assure you, and by paying attention to the little lady I should be able to avoid these problems. Some good info though, as I say I'm still learning so thanks for the heads up.

 

[Banjacked]

Well, the second set has arrived, so now it's decision time. Do I make a similar panel that can be used together with the first one or do I make a "separate" panel that can be used on a second plant.

Decisions decisions...

 

[Banjacked]

Well, an update. Things seem to have been stunted thanks to me, I saw what looked like Fungus Mites so out came the garlic powder, which was washed into the soil making things a tad more wet than I like. That was followed by a liberal sprinkling of cinnamon and now the little blighters have gone. But that isn't something I like doing as it means watering from the top and not the bottom, but she survived it with no issues.

I can say "no issues" because I know how much she jumped up in size since yesterday and I had to lift the panel by more than 2" this morning. Looks like she may be going into preflower soon, just as I was thinking of topping so she spreads out more so that ain't gonna happen now.

More to follow, and if this is successful (using the calculator linked to previously I'm still on a DLI of around 25 mol/day) then a grow journal shall be started with the photo Acapulco Gold sitting next to her (which is another story after the seedling stretched WAY too much thanks to my stupidity) or with whatever I buy when I go on a trip to Amsterdam next week just so I can use up some cheap rail tickets before they expire.