Lighting You Are Buying a New LED!

[DirtyN0rth]

Man that Purple Alien 350w is sexy

EDIT: The Mars II 400w is nice what is the deal with the three different spectrums. Aren't most LEDs able to switch between the three?

 

[Trapper]

There are many that are full spectrum all the time and some that are selectable veg or veg and bloom (like the Reflector Series) and some that are veg or bloom or both.

 

[medic grower]

Yeh the Purple Aliens are Bad ass they also have Uv included which makes the Resin Production going Maad. Friend of mine uses 2 of the 350 in a 4x4 tent

 

[DirtyN0rth]

Well...I've found that you can read about grow LEDs until your eyes bleed. The number of manufacturers and the price range from one unit to another is astounding. It is nearly impossible to find any real consensus on specific products due to owner bias and the fact that it's an evolving technology applied to a half-illegal (depending on residence of course) trade. I was in an expiring coupon situation as well so I was under much hated time constraints (not usually a good thing for financial decisions).

Anyways... I ended up buying two lights.

Mars II 700w $263.92 - Brand New - eBay

Pro Grow X5-300 $450 - Used for one grow

I think overall I made out pretty well, and I ended up spending much less than I planned. My grows are staggered so I won't be able to use one of these for about a month and a half. Note that I paid nearly $300 less than retail for the PGX5-300, but it will be interesting to see if the Mars II makes me look foolish for spending more on the Pro Grow. They are both 5w, but the actual power draws are closer than the numbers would lead you to believe (MarsII: 300w-380w | PGX5-300: 275w). Regardless, I couldn't resist the savings on the Pro Grow.

Thanks for the info guys. I'll be sure to create some sort of thread in regards to how the two perform.

 

[TaNg]

Best advice to give or be given regarding buying new LED units is look at the actual results on the forums NOT what they claim on there site hell I looked at 3 site just yesterday that claimed to have the best and brightest grow lights in the world.....forum diaries are an incredibly good resource for growers and manufactures.

 

[bigdevil]

personally
I'll try budmaster 1200 xg (led osram) http://www.budmaster.co.uk/budmaster-ii-1200xg-led-grow-light.html
and maybe the new spydr 1000 (led osram) http://www.bmlhorticulture.com/spydr-600-grow-max-spectrum/

 

[DirtyN0rth]

personally
I'll try budmaster 1200 xg (led osram) http://www.budmaster.co.uk/budmaster-ii-1200xg-led-grow-light.html
and maybe the new spydr 1000 (led osram) http://www.bmlhorticulture.com/spydr-600-grow-max-spectrum/

I was looking at a Spydr 600 they are really a kick ass design. In the end if my funds were unlimited I liked the Spydr, Apache, Grow Northern. Apache is very expensive but their tech guy got back to me immediately and had tons of info on their new A200. But wow are they pricey. I liked the Area51 stuff but the move to all white with these units is something I'd like to see more on before I could commit.

 

[DirtyN0rth]

Best advice to give or be given regarding buying new LED units is look at the actual results on the forums NOT what they claim on there site hell I looked at 3 site just yesterday that claimed to have the best and brightest grow lights in the world.....forum diaries are an incredibly good resource for growers and manufactures.

Well TaNg you're Grow Northern AutoXtreme and AutoUltimate grows were much to blame for sparking my LED interests. Thanks and great job BTW just shows with Autos you can have your cake and eat it too. Living in the states and being that they're in between new product releases removed GN as an option.

Anyways. The Mars II comes highly recommended on Grow forums for its performance at such a great price. In the journals I found it pumps out results like units twice the price.

The Pro Grow has a week to week video grow on YouTube that seemed legitimate so between that and the price I took a bit of a gamble.

Like I said I still cannot believe the variety of manufacturers and prices. And as you said TaNg they all claim to be the best. So, for now we're left to wade through the internet feces.

 

[DirtyN0rth]

The Culmination of My Research

It's funny how things work out. I was looking hard at Apache and Area 51 because I wanted to keep the ordering within US borders. Ultimately, Apache's products are similar but they cost twice as much and offer an inferior warranty. I was all about GN's new unit as well, but I didn't want to deal with the risk / hassle of a voltage converter. I was close to saying "screw it" and getting one anyways but our electric is already sketchy.

Area 51 kept in contact with me and their dude Jeff was great. This guy was going back and forth with me via email late at night on the 4th of July (which was also a Friday). Between the current sale and a discount he hooked me up with I ended up buying 2 Area 51 XGS-190s.



I'll be keeping the Pro Grow X5-300 as a backup (electricity makes me paranoid, I currently have 4 spare HPS bulbs in case of blowouts). I can't wait to see how these perform. I've seen nothing but positive things about Area 51's quality and results. I was sketched out about the all whites but Area 51's research is supposed to be top notch and they're high quality Cree LEDs. You can also find a few GJ's here and there showcasing their results.

I'm still doing one grow with the PG X5-300 so that I can compare the two. The actual draw of the X5-300 is about 275w (the 190s are 190w) and they both use 5w LEDs. The big difference of course is the spectrums and LED's used. I'll have to do a couple of review / grow journals for both lights. I've already got a World of Seeds Northern Lights x Big Bud going under the X5-300. I'm thinking the XGS-190 will end up with a Dutch Passion AutoUltimate underneath it.

Anyways... I'll do some sort of an update at some point. Wish me luck! I still wish I could do a direct comparison to GN's upcoming unit...maybe someday.

 

[DirtyN0rth]

The XGS-190 is going. I explain why in the latest post of the journal. I'll just throw up a link for anyone who's interested.

Dark Devil Grow