I've looked at Spider Farmer too. Seem very decent.
They're about the same price per watt (a really, like really good way of thinking about lights is the number of watts divided by the USD cost delivered fitted) as Mars tare o me here.
There is no LED nor HPS nor CMH light company that is fully vertically integrated.
Gavita? I'll use them as an example for HPS and CMH - no problem with them. They make/made the best of those lights. Didn't make the bulbs the fitting ever. Mostly you'd want the Dutch Philips making you fittings. Now they get manufactured by a Chinese company based in Shenzhen. Just across the Pearl River Estuary from Hong Kong. Where they make iPhones and other stuff. I know the name the company now makes Gavitas for them. (German firm I think originally?) I usesd/use Gavitas for HPS and CMH but they don't say Gavita. An I ain't telling you who becasue that's commercially sensitive to them.
LED's oh wow way more murky!
So if Samsung or LG started making grow lights? They could do it, vertically integrated. Especially LG
Probably they made grow lights inhouse they'd be the best grow lights in the world.
Like easy. I'd pick LG for the win - especially for organic growers
Said it before and I'll say it again - what I got like 56 hours? I'll bang the drum til then!
LED grow light companies don't make lights
They assemble lights.
Just like "build your own PC"
You pick the parts, the components from a not actually very big list.
Your diodes - Samsung is the leader here. SO they say. We have LM301B in our Mars Hydro FC6500's We have Samsung LM301H in our broken Meijiu 1000w used in this grow. I need circle back to Meijiu in this post. The LM302B that Migro say use in their higher wattage lights?
False economy. They will be failed diodes and their electrical draw way higher - so that light that seems a little bit too good a price to be true? Betcha its using Samsung LM302's They made the number bigger as a sort of trick.
Like CPU's you sort of print diodes. The difference between an i3, i5, i7 and now i9 processor in your laptop or desktop running windows? Just how successful the printing was. Shit ones get tuned to i3's etc.
Diodes the same. They are printed and graded. In the diode business they're assigned "bin" numbers. Like everything in manufacturing really.
So say I want a Samsung LM301H diode at 3000 Kelvin for my banging mid flower period? (I could choose in about 100-200 kelvin increments between 2800 Kelvin and 6000 Kelvin) Higher kelvin generally held to be better for veg - like a CMH and lower better for flower like an HPS) I can then coose between say ten "bins" the standard or higher quality.
Honestly - I posted this way back when maybe like June 2023 when I had lots of meetings with light companies.
Now Meijiu have on their limited website "top bin LED's 'cause I wrote it for them. Why I'm particularly annoyed about my broken light!
I actyually love the Electrobridge diodes in the Mars FCE series for veg.
We get mpre space and go bigger I'd probably just get a bunch of them for veg - just seem so kind on the planst. We have one looks like its gonna die? Those FCE4800's so good.
So that's the diodes covered in as basic as I can make it - I actually designed a light. I could sell you a light called "The Nick Hardy 5x5 Light" I need 2-3 months get it delivered to North America. and you need pre pay me I dunno $500 USD.
I will have top bin LED's, a sick cool logo and a pretty box. It would for a 5x5 run at like 650w, a clicky twisty knob for granular , be whatever colour I fancy on the day. Probably orange. The driver would be designed to be detachable and the connectors the best quality of any light.
Hey Meijiu make nearly every light home growers use! Everything beginning with V I think, Spider Farmer, Phi one!
They make I'm pretty certain all of them. I've met the owners of Miejiu. Flirted with the owners daughter in a Thai hotel room whilst wearing grow light eye protection sunglasses.
There were 6 other Chinese people in the room at the time, we already had a room! But yeah! Nah not my cup of chai!
So the diodes we got covered apart from LG - they make some more interesting type of LEDs called OLED's Now Samsung make them now too - along with micro LED's - Organic LED's I make this point more as half joke about them being more organic! You spend more than say $100 on your phone? Or $200 your TV? You're using Samsung or LG diodes. The only games in town. You spend more than $500 your phone or $1000 your TV/ only question these days is it LG OLED or Samsung Micro LED?
Some Medicgrow or whatwver? Whatever company you want to name? They do not make their own diodes.
If they could they'd be selling TV's not grow lights.
Now the Second Bit
The driver.
Like old school? Think of it as the transformer? The power brick.
You can choose these too. And guess what no grow light company makes these either!
Mars sort of kinda claim they do but they don't quite say it full on in the literature. Anyone owns a Mars light made post 2019 or so will tell you it says like Apple style "Designed by Mars made by LG Lighting Solutions" or similar. I'll take a phtos of one tomorrow. - this is why I think a full grow light solution made by LG would be amazing - but then Samsung would be incredible too - I just like LG for the OLED thin for organic!
The best drivers most use? Meanwell. But when you design you own light you can choose as well. Its just a menu - and how many you want. I'd go separated drivers for warm light at 2800k or so for flower, and another driver at 6000k for veg. The reds you'd do with a profile between the nears and fars that tie into both dimmers. You want the reds in veg and flower but honestly?
You're growing in a 5x5 tent! You don't need to think about your red light spectra blend!
Finally! the third and final bit!
Aluminum bars to hang it all off.
That's how LED grow lights and a bit on HPS and CMH are made.
The best light is in order of importance:
#1 The safest light
#2 The best watt per dollar - and you need to think about your OpEx here as well - like the difference between LM301's and LM302's the 2's cost more electrons for their photons
#3 The best customer service and reparability for where you are. It varies - the more home grow/promsumer brands that sponsor here seem like they can offer really good service in North America -if you're in I dunno! Columbia - there is a grower here on the site growing weed in the elevated mountains of Columbia btw! Yeah probably you might want to think about growing outdoors rather than risking need an LED grow light customer service! Plenty people here can fix stuff with LED lights. Got skills.
@Absorber plus many more. BTW - after the power leaves the drivers in our 1000w light to the light bars? Those aluminum bars the diodes are glued to you're only looking for 50-55v - volts.
#4 Did I say the safest light yet?
#5 The prettiest light
"The Nick Hardy 5x5"
No joke - I could do it!
I really can't be bothered to - unless I was ordering 20 for me! Its the MOQ - minimum order quantity. 20 lights.
I'm a ways out from ordering that many lights! Oh and if I did? I'd actually veg under CMH and flower under LED.
But that's because I'm a bit fancy and the CMH helps add heat which I like in veg with Co2.
But yeah.
There is no better brand light.
Anyone wants to build their own light company I'll hook you up.
Diodes
Drivers
Aluminium bars.
You don’t believe me? On the above!?
Look I ran detailed A/B testing on a Mard Hydro FC 6500 light bar before I finished this post.
I documented it too.
Pics or it never happened?
Fair call.
From the man lives in an Eames lounge chair.
Btw - that bar runs at 97v.
But its a single driver light. So halve it?
Where so you get?
‘Bout my voltage given above for two drivers actually 3 because that has UV too which is only 150w - so I realise you probably want 40-45v from driver to light bars
That - tremendously amuses me.
The Universe delivers, again.
Anyone but anyone, Buelller! Struggled over the finish line with me on that posy?
I probably owe you a 650w light!
But yeah - that's like as good knowledge and from real world experience you will read from anyone about grow lights - that isn't actually trying to sell you anything
56 hours to go?!
Night,
Nick
