I'd actually consider the four 80s to be better than one 320, simply because they can be spread out to suit the grower (and/or the grow space, if its area is not square in shape).
one 320 equals 800 watt of HPS
Here's a grain of salt to season that meal with
.
They might be right, IDK. I just get suspicious whenever I see a seller state that one form of illumination "equals" another. Have ever since CFLs came out and such advertising confused a lot of people (perhaps intentionally).
That's the data I've been relating too since I bought the pro-series, so I think it would beat a 600 watt HPS, but not a 1000 watt
I'd tend to... tentatively agree with your opinion. But that's just a guess.
Here's the data for the 320. Mars-Hydro don't lie on the wattage like many others. I am certain many others would have advertised the 320's as 1500-1600 watt or so. The LED business is ridiculous
Yes, I'll give them points for that. Not sure if it makes up for the deduction caused by products such as the Mars 300
W that's actually a ~132-watt device, though.
Compare to HPS/MH/HID:800watt
Draw power:110V:Growth:350W±5%|Bloom:740W±5%
THAT I'll give
extra points for, lol. Seems much more realistic.
Hanging System:Seedling:24”-30“ Growth:18”-24“ Bloom:12"-18 "
Here's something I've always wondered: If you hang one of those things @ 12" - or even 18" above the ground, and measure the footprint, is it actually a 4'x4' pattern? Or somewhat smaller? I've often thought that manufacturers/sellers were a little off on their footprint estimates (this is NOT specific to
Mars-Hydro, BtW, but a general opinion about LED sellers).
To be honest with you, the kinds of specifications I'd really like to see for lighting products are "maps" of how much light is actually hitting the ground (as if it were the top of the canopy), across the entire advertised footprint (and in a room the same size as that advertised footprint, with reflective walls), at the recommended flowering height. With data points every 6" or so, and expressed in PPFD / μmol per m² per second, etc. This kind of thing is still all too rare in the LED grow light panel marketplace (although it does seem to be getting better).
What kind of light are you growing with Tortured?
I'll have to answer that via PM, because the company used to be a sponsor but (I think) no longer is - and I don't wish to take the time to refresh my knowledge of the "LED
Guidelines," to break same, or to go on a rant this early in the day.
I want to tell you why I like the Mars-Hydro company. Everyone can sell you a light. That's the easiest thing in the world. It's how you deal with the customers when the lights break down - that is what defines a company. And LED lights have many parts, so they do break, it happens. Most companies would tell you to send your lights away to some service center - perhaps in a country far far away.
Now - Mars-Hydro also have this option - And that's cool, but I wouldn't want to have a light I could not fix myself and here's where Mars-Hydro shines. They let us open the lamps (ask them for permission first or else you void warranty), they make videos on how to repair the lamps and they send you parts express. They have your back throughout the grow and they don't charge you shit for the parts the first two years. The third year they expect you to pay postage yourself
Err... That's called a
warranty . I find three years to be somewhat short for a product that has an advertised lifespan of 50K hours, since even if the owner plugged the product in
and never unplugged the thing, that's almost 5¾ years running 24/7/52. And it think it's pretty lame for them to charge the customer shipping on
warranty parts that third year (maybe the company also sells tires and batteries, lol?), especially since - by sending you parts - it means they don't have to pay some kid to do the repair for you. And about that... Don't get me wrong, I consider it to be a
feature, too, because it ought to mean less down time for one's light (which seems rather important, all things considered). But it
does tend to save the company money, so it's not exactly an altruistic move on their part; more like something that benefits BOTH the company and the customer. Which is good, of course. Yeah... Points for that one. Anything that'll decrease down time gets extra points.
BtW, my light has a
five-year warranty, lol (and, yes, they also make the customer pay shipping towards the end of the coverage period - years four and five). I can't honestly say how good it is, whether or not they'd allow me to self-diagnose and agree to just send me parts, et cetera - because I haven't found any real discussion of product failures via web search, lol. Mine has only been running... IDK, a year and a half? Something like that here, but it was also used for a few grows by one of the "company reps" before that. IDK its actual age; it's about three generations behind current, now, and I have a suspicion that it might have been a prototype for
that. Whatever its age, it's old enough that it has Cree
CXA2530 COBs - which were advertised at the time as "next generation" technology. And the ten individual monocolor LEDs that surround each COB are "five-watt" class; IDK what class the newer ones of those would be these days. "Ten-watt" class? I don't guess it really matters, since no manufacturer drives them at power levels which match their "class" designation :rolleyes3 .
PS! I do know HPS is MUCH cheaper than LED. I used to grow with them myself and I honestly think you're wrong in regards of penetration. The 5watt chips penetrate very deep. The old 3 watts didn't
It's been my experience that a proper canopy of cannabis (deep in flower) will block just about any useful amount of
artificial light from penetrating below it. I used to grow almost exclusively using the "scrog" method and I had one of those headband flashlights that I'd have to use for reservoir maintenance and such, because there wasn't enough light below the screen to see what I was doing.
Speaking of penetration and such... does that new M-H hybrid light you won have a removable lens below the COB? My panel came with six of them and it turned out that at the height I could raise the panel to in the setup, they gave me bleached tips (well, more than just the tips, actually). Just too much focused intensity, I suppose (IIRC, they're recommended when using the panel for "medium- to high-bay applications). So if it does come with a lens for the COB, you might want to experiment both with and without it in place.
All in all, I think more highly of
Mars-Hydro than most Chinese LED manufcaturers/sellers. I kind of remember when a rep from the company first joined the forum. They weren't selling product then, IIRC - they were
asking members what was wanted in a grow light. Yep... more extra points for that, lol. And they've been a faithful long-term forum sponsor (more bonus points
) that has done more than just cut a check each month; they
donate prizes for the
contests (I think...?) and I've seen the rep participate in other threads than just the ones created by that rep. I'm a big fan of
sponsors who actually
participate in the forum.
