Best LED on the market?

I have learned with LED lights unless you have money to burn. It doesnt pay to buy more light than you need to get the job done.
The Spider lamps are top quality but it is not nescesary to spend that much to get results. I agree the best bang for the buck is the Mars lights. The best source of information are the grow journals, because you see the results or the lack of.
 
roughneck 102 said:
True ehhh fuck it I think I'll just get the 1600 unless I start dealing then I might consider it :nomo: but now I know what is top of the line...thanks guys!
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As mentioned by some one...... More lights is better. Since you don't mind a few extra $.... Get (4) Mars 400w vs the 1600w. Better par foot print not to mention redundancy.......
 
wizgrow said:
As mentioned by some one...... More lights is better. Since you don't mind a few extra $.... Get (4) Mars 400w vs the 1600w. Better par foot print not to mention redundancy.......
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yes, I agree, more lights is better, coverage better.:high-five:
 
LED's don't look as bright, but a wide spectrum has more useable 'plant light'. I'm happy with mine. About 3x better than flourecent.
Big advantage-less wasted power.
Safer for home electrical systems. Always verify your power source safety.
The Watt listings are off. If it has 100 6Watt LEDs it is callled a 600Watt, It typically uses about 2/3 the listed power.
The prices are going down quickly, I got my 900w (650 actual)
on Ebay(auction, buy it nows are available, and, a great source of info) for under $200
I am using about 5 amps on a 15 amp breaker in my home wiring.
Stay away from the red/blue lights and get wide spectrum. R/B's cause a lot more stem growth/less flowers.
Price: they are all made in China. Almost all are guaranteed for 50,000 hours. I think mine arrived in about 2 weeks.
Reflective Mylar is a big plus.
 
Med Man said:
Big advantage-less wasted power.
Price: they are all made in China. Almost all are guaranteed for 50,000 hours.
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^This, nearly 100% accurate.


Dr Fish said:
I'm about to order a DS 200 from Advanced Led.. It has a 3 year warranty and is made in USA... It seems to be the best. Not the cheapest, but the best I can afford for the money i can spend....
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I have two Advanced DSXML 350's I'm currently using from my brother. Hope you enjoy that 200!


The big thing I've noticed just by the amount I've read on LEDs in the past few weeks is you get what you pay for in most areas involved in an LED, but not all.

Now do I think that a $2,000 is worth the ~350% increase compared to the Mars II 1600w you can get for 600 bucks shipped to your doorstep? Not quite, but there may be some other things to look at. My XML350s run extremely cool while I read that a lot of the Mars run pretty hot (I use hot casually, not nearly as hot as a 450 or 600 watt hood). 2014/2015 are suppose to run extremely cool.

Many Mars reviews say that they've blown LED drivers within the first six months but at the same time I see some of the older reviewed LEDs (assumed they're the same company from 2013 to 2015) with similar issues and have also seen rumor that they as well come out of China. Not so much the case as the recent ones but it's too early to tell in my book.

Who knows what to believe? Not really sure what I believe up to this point as far as true USA made or not. I took my XML 350 apart and they clearly use Chinese made LED drivers but state CREE 10w XMLs which are USA produced and 3w or 5w Bridgelux diodes (not entirely sure about Bridgelux being made state-side or not). Saw a thread where a guy called and a rep told him they outsourced all their products but just built them in the U.S. Don't really see how that's beneficial to pay 2 grand for a product that isn't that complicated to wire while some Chinese guy or gal is doing it for a quarter of the cost.

Who really knows what to believe at this point. There are so many rumors floating around about companies I think it's impossible to know what's real and what isn't. In the next few months I'm hoping to get my hands on a few different LEDs (including a legit homemade one) and see what is prime. Sick of the bullshit where even expensive companies use cheap LED drivers and just drive their price up cause they use one state-side made item or hand make them in the U.S.

Long story short, I think the Mars products (especially the 1600w Mars 2) are decent for the price as far as I'm concerned. If I were to blow a driver and lose a bank of lights in a panel I would replace it myself without waiting the 3 weeks to get one back. They're not hard to wire, in fact the wiring is almost as basic as it gets. Still trying to figure out why some companies have such a high markup on their products.
 
Don't take my word on everything, that's my take on everything I've read while trying to cut the bullshit and sponsoring opinions out of it. What I would really do is invest in multiple 900w or 1200w Mars instead of the 1600w, or two 1600w and keep one on backup just in case you have one malfunction and need to quick swap one in until you fix the other. How big is your grow space? A 1600w will do a 5x5 tent just fine.
 
Stevio, There is a product revue along the side of Advanced Leds main page that may have led me into thinking it was American made. Posted Jan 28 by a customer going on about how happy they were to get such well made American product..... It's certainly not American made... To leave that up is a little more that misleading...
They say they are a USA based company, and that's true... NW Arkansas.. I figure that's where the containers are trucked to, unloaded, tested and sold.... That's just how it appears to me, I'm open to a different view on Advanced Led.. I see all LED dealers as just buy and sell operations, no real makers.......
Platinum Led has an almost identical 100X3 watt light.... 2 year longer warranty, and $150 cheaper... It's customer support that'll help weed out the overpriced and unreliable sellers...
 
I do believe you have read a lot Stevio, thak you very much. We are working very hard on improving our driver qulity,. we have changed driver supplier at the end of 2014, so we are checking if the new driver sppplier is great. I am worrying I can not read all the topic here on 420magazine. so if you read anyone who has driver problem, please send me the link, I will check their order details ASAP, then forward the message to our factory. I know we can not keep the defect rate at zero, but we would like to keep it lower and lower.:) Thanks for your help.

We have different drivers stock in our warehouses.Usually it will arrive at your home in a week after you request one from us, and you can replace it yourself very easily, we are using male-female wires in the light. Because we are doing international business, and we know after service is a problem, so we are trying to consider all the things in, and make it easier and better.

Thank you again Stevio:high-five:
Steviodaddio said:
^This, nearly 100% accurate.




I have two Advanced DSXML 350's I'm currently using from my brother. Hope you enjoy that 200!


The big thing I've noticed just by the amount I've read on LEDs in the past few weeks is you get what you pay for in most areas involved in an LED, but not all.

Now do I think that a $2,000 is worth the ~350% increase compared to the Mars II 1600w you can get for 600 bucks shipped to your doorstep? Not quite, but there may be some other things to look at. My XML350s run extremely cool while I read that a lot of the Mars run pretty hot (I use hot casually, not nearly as hot as a 450 or 600 watt hood). 2014/2015 are suppose to run extremely cool.

Many Mars reviews say that they've blown LED drivers within the first six months but at the same time I see some of the older reviewed LEDs (assumed they're the same company from 2013 to 2015) with similar issues and have also seen rumor that they as well come out of China. Not so much the case as the recent ones but it's too early to tell in my book.

Who knows what to believe? Not really sure what I believe up to this point as far as true USA made or not. I took my XML 350 apart and they clearly use Chinese made LED drivers but state CREE 10w XMLs which are USA produced and 3w or 5w Bridgelux diodes (not entirely sure about Bridgelux being made state-side or not). Saw a thread where a guy called and a rep told him they outsourced all their products but just built them in the U.S. Don't really see how that's beneficial to pay 2 grand for a product that isn't that complicated to wire while some Chinese guy or gal is doing it for a quarter of the cost.

Who really knows what to believe at this point. There are so many rumors floating around about companies I think it's impossible to know what's real and what isn't. In the next few months I'm hoping to get my hands on a few different LEDs (including a legit homemade one) and see what is prime. Sick of the bullshit where even expensive companies use cheap LED drivers and just drive their price up cause they use one state-side made item or hand make them in the U.S.

Long story short, I think the Mars products (especially the 1600w Mars 2) are decent for the price as far as I'm concerned. If I were to blow a driver and lose a bank of lights in a panel I would replace it myself without waiting the 3 weeks to get one back. They're not hard to wire, in fact the wiring is almost as basic as it gets. Still trying to figure out why some companies have such a high markup on their products.
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SmokeSara said:
I do believe you have read a lot Stevio, thak you very much. We are working very hard on improving our driver qulity,. we have changed driver supplier at the end of 2014, so we are checking if the new driver sppplier is great. I am worrying I can not read all the topic here on 420magazine. so if you read anyone who has driver problem, please send me the link, I will check their order details ASAP, then forward the message to our factory. I know we can not keep the defect rate at zero, but we would like to keep it lower and lower.:) Thanks for your help.

We have different drivers stock in our warehouses.Usually it will arrive at your home in a week after you request one from us, and you can replace it yourself very easily, we are using male-female wires in the light. Because we are doing international business, and we know after service is a problem, so we are trying to consider all the things in, and make it easier and better.

Thank you again Stevio:high-five:
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No problem Sara. I'll be totally real, I'm still not entirely sold on your product but then again I'm not entirely sold on Advanced's either so it's definitely not you. I am more than willing to give yours a shot over most, especially for the price. While I wish there were certain areas that were refined a little better, it's safe and true to say you make a solid product for the money that comes out of pocket. It is understood that there is no such thing as a perfect anything, especially in electronics. I do think that in some cases you do get what you pay for and if buying from certain state-side places or higher reputable makers worldwide you may receive a higher quality item but I can't say this about LED drivers which I know very little about. Even with these items there will always be a defect rate, some higher than others. I haven't seen anything but quality reviews about you and your own personal customer service work which is a breath of fresh air for all companies, not just international. Keep up your hard work, it really shows.

Dr Fish said:
Stevio, There is a product revue along the side of Advanced Leds main page that may have led me into thinking it was American made. Posted Jan 28 by a customer going on about how happy they were to get such well made American product..... It's certainly not American made... To leave that up is a little more that misleading...
They say they are a USA based company, and that's true... NW Arkansas.. I figure that's where the containers are trucked to, unloaded, tested and sold.... That's just how it appears to me, I'm open to a different view on Advanced Led.. I see all LED dealers as just buy and sell operations, no real makers.......
Platinum Led has an almost identical 100X3 watt light.... 2 year longer warranty, and $150 cheaper... It's customer support that'll help weed out the overpriced and unreliable sellers...
Click to expand...

I agree, I hope you didn't think I am defending Advanced LEDs because I said everything regarding them as well. Unless you are just mentioning their website and I misunderstood your reference! I took mine apart and know for a fact they use Chinese made drivers with American made CREEs (although you can buy them from China too, so what's the real story behind these?) and Bridgelux diodes for the other spectrums.
 
Steviodaddio said:
No problem Sara. I'll be totally real, I'm still not entirely sold on your product but then again I'm not entirely sold on Advanced's either so it's definitely not you. I am more than willing to give yours a shot over most, especially for the price. While I wish there were certain areas that were refined a little better, it's safe and true to say you make a solid product for the money that comes out of pocket. It is understood that there is no such thing as a perfect anything, especially in electronics. I do think that in some cases you do get what you pay for and if buying from certain state-side places or higher reputable makers worldwide you may receive a higher quality item but I can't say this about LED drivers which I know very little about. Even with these items there will always be a defect rate, some higher than others. I haven't seen anything but quality reviews about you and your own personal customer service work which is a breath of fresh air for all companies, not just international. Keep up your hard work, it really shows.
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Thank you very much Stevio, I just read that you want to make your own LED grow lights but you just not know all the details. If you need any parts or help, please let me know, I will try my best to help you. I know you can not buy all the things on ebay or other stores, actually you can only get some small parts from factory. so I would like to help, the only problem is we have to ship from China for you :)please do not worry if we can not do business, I know you will be very excited if you can make one LED grow light yourself, I would like to help people like you:)
 
SmokeSara said:
Thank you very much Stevio, I just read that you want to make your own LED grow lights but you just not know all the details. If you need any parts or help, please let me know, I will try my best to help you. I know you can not buy all the things on ebay or other stores, actually you can only get some small parts from factory. so I would like to help, the only problem is we have to ship from China for you :)please do not worry if we can not do business, I know you will be very excited if you can make one LED grow light yourself, I would like to help people like you:)
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Much appreciated and I will definitely send people your way with issues with your products, which will hopefully not be often! I actually have a question right off the bat if you say so. Where might I find the PCB board for the LEDs in a large size or customizable sizes? I can only find small boards or strips that have extremely limited areas to place a diode. I also seem to be having a hard time finding the dimmable PCB boards as well if you would know of a place for those. (A Current control potentiometer?)

I won't ask for all your secrets, have to keep you guys still in business! :laughtwo:
 
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