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).
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).
I'd tend to... tentatively agree with your opinion. But that's just a guess.
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.
THAT I'll give
extra points for, lol. Seems much more realistic.
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).
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.
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 .
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.
