Lighting TOPled The Manual.

[medic grower]

They did lower the Price for the old 300w Model excatly 24 hrs after i ordered the 180w Ufo which was then sadly only 3-4 euros more expensive....well i will Order that one next week. Just checked the track n trace of my ufo ....man it was already in more asian countrys than me lol But Really funny to see what way it gets through in that few Days.

 

[Dr. Frog]

How big of a price hike? I was wanting to order another light, just don't have the loot for it right now

I just went to the 420mag link. Apparently, the company rep said 15-20% price raise, eventually, depending on region. Bit of a bummer, but they'll still be incredibly cheap for the quality.

I wanted to mention something about Topled. They make a range of lights and continue to sell their older models from years past. While it'll save money, I can't really speak to their performance. Mars II is their newest and most powerful line, with 5 watt chips. I only have experience with Mars II.

Kay nah i meant the 300w panel draw was round 170-200 watts. but im anyways not using the whole tent max 2 Ladys in there. just want the proper power for thoose 2 girls. im aiming on a big panel for my homebox xl but that will be when i have selected my keeper mommys and go on with clone runs. small tent then gets 2 autos each run.

Medic Grower, you bought their UFO light, and I'm assuming it's for your 2'x2' tent. From the Topled website I found these specs:

LED Output Power: 60*3watt

Draw Power:90~120W

It is not a 180 watt panel. That's its potential power. To get the most efficient usage out of LEDs, they are tuned down a bit. So at max, this unit will draw 120W, and at a minimum, 90W. So if you're running that in a tent with 4 square feet, you're only getting 22.5-30 watts per square foot. In this case, especially with more than one plant, you will need more light.

 

[ThaGreenBandit]

I just went to the 420mag link. Apparently, the company rep said 15-20% price raise, eventually, depending on region. Bit of a bummer, but they'll still be incredibly cheap for the quality.

Agreed. A price hike sucks, but, as you said, for what I paid, the quality is awesome. Couldn't be happier with my Mars II 400w. Great price and performance.

 

[Dr. Frog]

Speaking of news... has anybody peeped that 1600 Mars II panel?!

LED Output Power: 324pcs*5watt

Draw Power:110V/780W, 240V/736W

Dimension:*520*520*90MM


780 actual watts! What a monster! I don't know how practical it is though. I'd rather have 4 separate 400/700's in a grow space that could warrant such power. Pretty cool though!

 

[medic grower]

Seen it but i think this is really for dudes who want to replace their 600w hps setup(mentalwise ). Jokes would be for the Growers that normaly do 9 big girls under a 1000 w Hps i think they aim such type of guys with that panel.

 

[Bilbo]

Speaking of news... has anybody peeped that 1600 Mars II panel?!

LED Output Power: 324pcs*5watt

Draw Power:110V/780W, 240V/736W

Dimension:*520*520*90MM


780 actual watts! What a monster! I don't know how practical it is though. I'd rather have 4 separate 400/700's in a grow space that could warrant such power. Pretty cool though!

The temps in that panel from the 324 5w chips would need a big space and good ventilation. Stick to 3w for now until GN or somebody turns their attention to nextgen 5w chips, they're already on the way with the nextgen 3w's running cooler and more efficiently

 

[Dr. Frog]

The temps in that panel from the 324 5w chips would need a big space and good ventilation. Stick to 3w for now until GN or somebody turns their attention to nextgen 5w chips

Well yeah, it's definitely a panel intended for large spaces with adequate ventilation, but the same applies to all light sources of that caliber. Bigger power will mean more heat and requires more consideration. It's similar to the 3W vs 5W debate. The 5W's produce more heat, but that just means they need larger heat sinks and casings. I personally don't mind having a thicker/heavier case. It's up in my tent, not in my pocket. My light is overkill for the small tent I have and the temperature only goes up ~2F with my fan on the minimum speed. 5W diodes may run hotter than 3W diodes, but remember, they make more light so you don't need as many, so it roughly evens out when comparing panels of similar draw power.

I will say that GN does make some nice lights, and I like their use of Rebel LEDs. The thing is, they are in another tier of the market as far as price is concerned. They are much more expensive.

 

[medic grower]

Doc i will still use the 200w cfl beside till the 300w Panel arrives over here. And Powerfull doesnt always mean the best. I heard a lot from my Friend over here wich runs a own Led Company and thoose 5 w chips are not the best solution as the really really fast Burn Thru. Also Talked to a few Peeps which are still using the Old Models and they said that the Old ones have a better Penetration thatn the reflector Series which was my first thought to buy. Friend uses the 48*3 w Reflector light in his Dr 60 and he is stimm managin without extra lights to get a 60-70 gr per lady dry. And his Panel has a draw of 70-80w. Thoose Mars Untis were never a Option for me cause in that Price range i can Shop at my Guys Brand which is Imho one of the Best Brands out there u can get but Freaking Pricey....dont have 400.- euros for a 300w unit atm.

 

[Torched]

What is burn through? Could you point me toward this info on 5w diodes?

 

[Bilbo]

I've no problem sticking vast amounts of light in a tent from any wattage bulbs, overkill is my byword too!

What I do like, however, is to spend the least amount of energy to produce as much useable light in the most efficient manner possible. At the minute that's why led makers are concentrating on using the current 3w bulbs and using different methods to distribute the light with cobs, reflectors, etc. A lot of manufacturers did release 5w panels but their newer models are generally back to 3w bulbs now.

Once the next gen bulbs arrive, I'm under the impression they will be 3w bulbs at first and we'll be getting panels that actually produce the same output as current panels for around 60% of the current power used.
It's down to which semiconductor is used for each spectrum and the lab grown compounds used with the sc to produce a much tighter band gap so requiring much less power to produce purer light.
I'm guessing the same upgrade applied to 5w bulbs will make large scale commercial led grows much more efficient since they would benefit more from the higher penetration lights than the 5ft penetration that 3w bulbs currently give.