Best LED on a budget

[gfdiesel]

Looking at getting rid of my old 1000 watt HPS, 2 Of them. Any suggestions as to what LEDs I could use that would put out as much light? Without breaking my wallet. 7 x7 flower room with 2, 1000wt HPS (currently)

 

[The70’s]

Do you have a ballpark budget ??

 

[waytoofaded]

Take a look at MedicGrow and their fixtures, I personally have the Spectrum X 880w, I'm very happy with it. Dr. Mjcoco speaks very highly of MedicGrow as well.

Theres also the usual brands that caters to the budget/mid-range market like the MarsHydro FC/FC-E series, SpiderFarmer G/SE series, Phlizon FD series. They've been in the game for awhile now, and are generally good with their 5 year warranty, atleast better then most.

You can go even cheaper and go with smaller Chinese brands, tradeoff being the warranty will be non-existent.

 

[Chuckeye]

I just moved from a 600w HID to a Phlizon 640w LED and couldn't be happier

Cheers

 

[Ke0ncp]

I would say try not to budget your self out of a good light. I sort of did the same thing and could have just went with something like @Carcass recommended. Honestly if it takes you 6 months to save up for a proper light then that’s what I would recommend.

A good light will be worth it in the end. There are other parts of this hobby you can cut corners on, lights are not one of them. Just my opinion.

With that said take a look at the sponsors and you can’t go wrong. That light that Carcass got is pretty damn nice!

 

[gfdiesel]

Do you have a ballpark budget ??

Yeah, cheap as possible. With good results

 

[The70’s]

Yeah, cheap as possible. With good results

Hmmmm 7’x7’ is pretty big, i guess you coukd piece it together from parts on ebay or something, without a dollar amount its just too broad to suggest, coukd you affort $500

 

[gfdiesel]

Hmmmm 7’x7’ is pretty big, i guess you coukd piece it together from parts on ebay or something, without a dollar amount its just too broad to suggest, coukd you affort $500

Yeah, I can afford it. Would it be worth it? My 2 1000hps really kick some ass in there. LED is all new to me.

 

[Chuckeye]

Four of these would do it > Mars Hydro FC1500-EVO Samsung LM301H EVO 150W LED Grow Lights - Mars Hydro CA

Cheers

 

[BigBudsBunny]

had a mars hydro fc 4800 evo in a 3x3 (rated for a 4x4) - great results. I suppose 4+ in a 7x7 would be wonderful. I am also a recent hps to led switcher. I also have a new phizon 800w for a 4x4 i be testing in the near future. They say not to use the led's at 100% power to provide longevity - hence the larger wattage led's in smaller tents than the rating calls for.

BBB

 

[The70’s]

had a mars hydro fc 4800 evo in a 3x3 (rated for a 4x4) - great results. I suppose 4+ in a 7x7 would be wonderful. I am also a recent hps to led switcher. I also have a new phizon 800w for a 4x4 i be testing in the near future. They say not to use the led's at 100% power to provide longevity - hence the larger wattage led's in smaller tents than the rating calls for.

BBB

No replacement for displacement
Thats mostly about subwoofers and hotrods

 

[The70’s]

Four of these would do it > Mars Hydro FC1500-EVO Samsung LM301H EVO 150W LED Grow Lights - Mars Hydro CA

Cheers

Sure daisy chain em together. Will you have an issue once the heat of those lamps are gone ?

 

[Phytoplankton]

OK, 7x7 is 49 sq feet, (let's call it 50 sqft) at 35 watts/sq foot (which is about the sweet spot for LED's) your looking at about 1750 watts )1500 would probably do it since you'll need some room to move around in. I'm running about 900 watts (LED) in a 7x7x7 but only use about 5x5. @BigBudsBunny hit it! Agree also with BBB, better to have too much and dim it, than run the lights 100% all the time.

 

[waytoofaded]

Four of these would do it > Mars Hydro FC1500-EVO Samsung LM301H EVO 150W LED Grow Lights - Mars Hydro CA

Cheers

Thats 600w for a 7x7 space, I don't think it'll be enough. That's 150w per 3.5x3.5 space.

 

[Chuckeye]

Thats 600w for a 7x7 space, I don't think it'll be enough. That's 150w per 3.5x3.5 space.

Okay, then four of these

That's $1200 though

Cheers

 

[gfdiesel]

Okay, then four of these

That's $1200 though

Cheers

For $1200 I'll stick with my tried and true.
Thanks tho

 

[Chuckeye]

For $1200 I'll stick with my tried and true.
Thanks tho

Can't beat the cost of HID

Cheers

 

[Phytoplankton]

Okay, then four of these

That's $1200 though

Cheers

That amount of wattage would work!

 

[Chuckeye]

That amount of wattage would work!

It would but two new 1000w parabolic reflector HID kits is half that price

What eventually sold me on LED's was the light spread and the fact I would have to spend about $200 to replace my dead ballast and two new tubes, talked myself into buying a 640w LED for $389 on sale !

Still, for a low budget personal grow it was a tough decision. Good thing I have NO Regrets

The even spread, lower heat and infinite power knob alone have made a noticeable improvement !

Cheers

 

[waytoofaded]

For $1200 I'll stick with my tried and true.
Thanks tho

Are you in Canada?

Amazon Canada has the Maxsisun PB4000 Pro for $200 right now, it's a 400w quantum board with Samsung diodes and Meanwell driver. You'd need 4 so $800. 50 cents a watt is pretty much as cheap as it gets.

If you shop around and wait, there's randomly big sales on Amazon, you can get lights for relatively cheap.

The upfront cost with LEDs will always cost more, but between the increased yields, less running cost, and less maintenance (no bulb replacement), the light pays itself off pretty quickly vs a comparable HID. Migro made a video and has done the math based off of cost vs usable photons, and led fixtures generally pay themselves off in 2 to 3 years off that metric alone.