Lighting Question about Blackstar EFSF 12

[Red eyed c]

Everyone owns loads of stuff made in china for peanuts and paid a big mark up from a retailer,it's how it goes.most electrical products are made in china,but the good led companies use good manufacturers and quality components.i think £220 for a low cost light that will run for a few years is a sound investment,considering weed costs around £200 an oz you only need one good grow and your in profit :smokebuds:

 

[larkyderry]

I had 5w chips in 2011,3w chips 2012 and my upgrades (due in 2 weeks or so) will have Philips Lumiled 1w chips so I'm going backwards in most people's eyes lol but I think the future is low energy LEDs producing well over a gram per watt. I use Grownorthern lights by the way.

hey jtang i was looking at getting another ms04 from grow northern, what exactly are the upgrades for them? i didnt know they were available yet

 

[TaNg]

hey jtang i was looking at getting another ms04 from grow northern, what exactly are the upgrades for them? i didnt know they were available yet

Hay dude there not out yet should be out next month,there new modules with 1w chips that go into the modular lights. Give them a ring dude.

 

[Man In The Jar]

Red how ya do'in bro I agree ...but $1000usd for a 180w led....:no: not me my budget(read in wife) wouldn't allow it ...lol

Maybe I miss read something..?


MITJ

 

[south]

Greetings south and welcome to AFN :smoke: That light looks deadly (in a good way) but instead of the 12 I'd get two 6's. It'll give you a bit more coverage. Just watch your eyes with these lights, I wear really good sunglasses when I'm around mine, the light will burn holes in your eyeballs :drool: ok maybe not but it's intense and you should wear eye protection. :smokebuds:

LOL thanks for the input rob, I like the way you think. If I don't find a better deal on an LED for my purposes then i'll go that route and get two 6's.

 

[Red eyed c]

Red how ya do'in bro I agree ...but $1000usd for a 180w led....:no: not me my budget(read in wife) wouldn't allow it ...lol

Maybe I miss read something..?


MITJ

All good brother,hope your doing good? and I totally agree there mate that's a complete rip off and you could get 3 or 4 good LEDs for that price bro. :smokebuds:

 

[south]

Hi South,
No just that light would not be able to handle 8 plants as efficiently enough to get an O per plant, uneven canopy problems, etc.
Blackstars are good LEDs but not all that powerful since they are generally on the cheaper end and underpowered. They do not run anywhere close to the advertised wattage... those panels have actual draw closer to 96w for every 180w stated (Gotham Hydro will tell you this is you question them). They have gotten better with the Chrome line but still if you have the money, wayyyy better lights out there. Its best to get multiple lights than just one big one also.
If you wanna stay with 3w diodes (better to upgrade to 5w), try AdvancedLedLights - Diamond Series, waaay better optics and spectrums than Blackstar.

If you wanna step it up and have better penetration and newer led technology....
Look at the 5w diode growlights, 200w SolarFlares (actual draw 186w!) or 400w/800w SolarStorm by CaliforniaLightWorks or the BlackDog leds.

I had started out with a Blackstar 135w 3w UFO that I was told was "so intense"... uhm yea not, it could handle 2 plants (15-25g each plant max), and thats it.
So personally I researched for ages and bought 4 of the 200w Solarflares (for varying plant heights in my 5x5 shed) and now use the Blackstar just for vegging.

3w diodes are soo year 2011 lol put that $1000 to good use bro, you can get some good stuff for that cash!

All LEDs are "intense" to our eyes fyi so always wear sunglasses, but usable Lumens are what you pay for.
Feel free to ask me anything else.

Blessings,
-Verano

yeah I've read similar info that 3watters pull in about 1.5w. What do you think would be enough for my goal of 1oz per plant? I'm thinking of gettting two efsf 6's and adding like 10 26watt CFL's for the boost.

 

[south]

I agree with most of the rest of what you said, but an ounce per plant from 8 plants is a pretty low bar. That light could definitely pull 8 ounces. 5x3 flood drain table with 8 plants would be perfect for that light and I would anticipate a larger harvest than 8 zips. 4-500 Par watts on that area would be awesome. Do a ScrOG and that could really be a haul.
Just my 0.2.
Peace.
Tav

Hey Taviddude nice meeting you, your words are reassuring fo sho but I'm growing with soil in 3gal airpots. I've been reading about scrog now and I think doing that while pruning will help increase my yields. I'm tryina grow a half bo so that it'll last me and my boy at least 3 months, this way as soon as we're through the batch a fresh one will be curing ready to go.

 

[south]

I had 5w chips in 2011,3w chips 2012 and my upgrades (due in 2 weeks or so) will have Philips Lumiled 1w chips so I'm going backwards in most people's eyes lol but I think the future is low energy LEDs producing well over a gram per watt. I use Grownorthern lights by the way.

jtang I've read some of your journals and you've got mad skills, It says currently grow northern ain't shipping outside of the UK so they're just outta reach for me. I'm getting mixed signals here about the Blackstar efsf series. I'll probably end up getting two efsf 6's and adding some CFL's and give them a try.

 

[Red eyed c]

If you can't get grownorthern to ship to you give igrowled a look,they do nice LEDs at at decent price and fellow member adz did a test grow with very nice results..here's the igrowled link http://igrowleduk.co.uk/