Icemud LED Grow Featuring The All New Budmaster COB Technology - White Full Spectrum

[Icemud]

Hello and welcome all you Cannabis growers, smokers, tokers, enthusiasts, fans, followers and even gardeners

If you are not familiar with me, I am Icemud and have been a member here at 420 Magazine since May of 2011, when I started my very first grow. I knew absolutely nothing at the time about growing and I became to love the 420 Magazine community for sharing so much valuable information, for the helpful and kind members and sharing our love for the beautiful Mary Jane

Over the years I have tried numerous techniques, explored many ideas but found my main interest in the growing process is plant lighting. I started out using a HID experimenting with different HID bulbs, spectrums and even daylight color shifts by offsetting timers and multiple HID bulbs being used. A few grows later I decided to moved on to LED and eventually became a sort of household tester for new LED technologies for different brands. I have put literally years into researching plant lighting and love to share what I learn with the growing community as well as show off new LED brands lights in actual real world grows. So far have used 3 different HID light bulb types as well as testing 4 different LED brands consisting of 7 different LED models.

One thing I do want to notate is this: I am very transparent and honest when it comes to Light testing. My goal is to see if a light works for growing our beloved plant, give as much information about the product I am testing to the community, clear up any misconceptions about plant lighting as well as educate those that are interested, and show the real world grows using new products to see how well they do. I am extremely blessed to be given the opportunity from sponsors here at 420 Magazine and I am grateful, but I want everyone to know I will report exactly what I know to be true, and even though I am sponsored and may get excited about using a product, I do not mislead, falsify, or intentionally post anything other than what I know to be accurate. The fact I am sponsored has no bearing on the results, information posted or my contributions to this community. If a light works great, I will say it, if a light performs poorly, I will say it, and if a light has issues, breaks or otherwise, I will say it, if the company is misleading I will say it. I want everyone to know that I am here for the growers and the community with what I do.

I've always been a soil grower, and started out with organics on my first grow. I've dabbled in High Brix growing, and now do a combo of a high brix based soil (mineralized) with additional bottle fed organic nutrients. I love how a soil grown organic bud tastes, and I am the type of grower who loves the terpene's and flavors that a bud can promote which is why I choose to grow organic soil. Lately I have been using a recycled soil in which I use, dump into a huge rubbermaid bin, re-amend, cook and then reuse, and I think currently my soil is about 2 years old, maybe longer.

I am very excited to be doing another light test for the community, and also to be running some new strains this grow that I have yet to flower.


NOW PRESENTING !!! Budmaster COB-X-4 all white, full spectrum COB led technology 3500K!!!

I am extremely excited to be test growing with the ALL NEW BUDMASTER COB-X-4 LED grow lights! This journal is a sponsored test grow by Paul at Budmaster, and I am extremely happy to be chosen to show off these lights capabilities. We will be starting this grow off with my Tangies that were on day 30 of flowering when I added the new Budmasters to the tent.

I want to mention that since I started this current Tangie grow with other LED's and added the new Budmasters on day 30, the first part of this grow will still show a good idea of how the Budmaster LED's will finish, but does not give a full idea of the total capabilities of the lights. Therefore, after this grow is finished I will also be doing a full grow from clone to harvest with the COB-X-4 Budmasters. I debated whether to wait with this new journal until the tangies were finished, or to start it now and after going over this for about a week I decided that because it is a sponsored grow by Budmaster, I should make a thread/grow journal that is dedicated to their lights and not mixing it with other lights. I just wanted to mention this to all of you so that you know that the current grow will show their capibilities somewhat, but it was started with other LED lights and so for a 100% accurate representation I will continue on in this journal after the tangie grow is over from scratch, so we all can see the full process using only the Budmasters. I just didn't want to be misleading so I had to mention this.

Here are the grow journal details and specs:



What strain is it?
This grow will start off with my 7 Tangie phenotypes in which were on day 30 of flowering when I introduced the new Budmaster lights to my grow. These plants were grown from seed, gifted to me by a norcal buddy. I will be finishing out this grow on this journal and then doing a complete grow from clone to finish to show off the full capability and grow ability of these new lights.

Tangie Lineage: California Orange (Cali O) x [Skunk #1 x Unknown]

My next grow after the tangies are done will be consisting of: Black Diamond OG, Area 51, Blue dream, Fire OG, and the 2 best tangies from the current grow. I will start it from clone so that the full grow can be witnessed and help show the performance of the new lights.

Blue Dream Lineage: Blueberry X Haze Genetics: 80% Sativa / 20% Indica

Fire OG Lineage: San Fernando Valley OG F3 x OG Kush: (60% indica, 40% sativa)

Area 51 Lineage: (snowdog x space queen x smurfberry) (source was another grower familiar with the breeders) I can't find any other info on this strain so we will have to run with that supposedly a sativa dom with a very fruity taste and lots of trichomes

Black Diamond OG lineage: Blackberry kush x Diamond OG (supposedly its a indica dominant offspring of OG Kush, 70% indica)

Tangie Lineage: California Orange (Cali O) x [Skunk #1 x Unknown] Sativa Dominiant

I may decide to replace the Blue dream with my Ogiesel last minute because I always use my Ogiesel with new light tests as a sort of baseline of how it turns out with each one. Still undecided though because I have not flowered my blue dream and I want to know how good the cut is so I can keep it or cull it.




Is it in Veg or Flower stage?
Currently my Tangie grow is on day 37 of flowering (from the flip), The budmaster lights were installed in my tent on day 30 of flowering.



If in Veg... For how long?
Not currently in veg, but usually from clone I go about 2 months of veg time before flowering.


Indoor or outdoor?
Indoors.


Grow Area Description and equipment
Each grow tent is a Hydrohut silver edition 2x4' tent. Actual measurements are larger and each tent measures approx 2.5'x5'x7'. Each tent is equipped with a large carbon filter (Can-filter), 6" fan on a manual variable speed controller. Intake air is sucked into the tent by the negative pressure and let in the lower portion of the tent on each side. Also the flowering tent is equipped with 2 circulation fans...one on an intake hose at ground level, and the other on the roof of the tent blowing downwards. The lights are by Budmaster and I am running 2x COB-X-4 led grow lights at 400w total draw.

Lighting type used?
This grow is a sponsored grow by Budmaster, and I will be showing off and growing with their all new COB-X-4 all white, full spectrum LED grow lights. These lights feature the new Citiled S4 High CRI COB's at a 3500K color temperature. Each light draws 200w at the plug (+/-5w) for a total of 400w for my grow tent (I'm using 2 of these models. I will go into the light details later in a separate post:



Is it aircooled?
The lights are cooled by individual fans to disperse the heat given off by the Citizin LED COB lights. A pin style heat sink is used on each module. The case has plenty of holes and openings for ventilation.

The tent is cooled by a 6" hydrofarm fan hooked to a large carbon scrubber mounted at the top of my grow tent.


Soil or Hydro?
Soil.... recycled and reused soil.


If soil... what is in your mix?
I am using a recycled soil which is re amended every time a cycle is finished and dumped into my soil bin to cook until needed. Most of this soil is probably 2 years old or more. The basic ingredients/additives are below


The Base Soil Mix:

ProMix HP
Worm Castings
Volcanic Pumice
Alaskan Forest Humus

The Amendments:
Azomite (trace minerals and micronutrients)
Calcium Carbonate Powder 97%
Soft Rock Phosphate (Collidal Clay with high phosphorus and CEC value)
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate)
Crab Shell Meal 2-3-0 23% calcium(also a P source and source of chitin a hormone/growth regulator)
Fish Bone meal. (3-18-0) 24% Calcium
Lava Sand (adds trace minerals and supposedly adds paramagnetic value to the soil)
Kelp Meal (also has growth hormones and PGR's, plus trace minerals)
Alfalfa Meal. (2-0-3) (contains Trichontinol which aids in plant growth and health)
Powdered Humic Acid (Adds Carbons to the soil as well as trace minerals and aids in chelation of minerals)
Humboldt Myco's Maximum (Beneficial Bacteria and Mycorrizae Fungus)
Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate)
Greensand (0-0-3) (Trace Minerals)
Dry Molasses (1-0-3) (Energy for the Microbes)


If soil... What size pot?
I currently am using 5 gallon square plastic pots with my tangies. For my next grow I will be starting out in the same 5 gallon square plastic pots.

Temp of Room/cab?
usually my ambient temps stay between 75F-85F (during the current summer months the upper portion of the tent can reach 93F while the canopy stays roughly 85F.

RH of Room/cab?
my RH typically stays right around 50% but sometimes (rarely) the winds come off the desert and dry the RH down to 10% or less. Usually in the winter months of October, November, December and January we see a lot of offshore breezes and low humidity.

PH of media or res?
I don't check PH..

Any Pests ?
Nope...none
I do use a few preventative measures to make sure it stays this way..
I grow high brix, so typically pests don't go for high brix plants.
I spray in veg with spinosad which pretty much prevents any pests from wanting to breed
I use yucca extract in soil and foliar sprays which also seems to be a great pest deterrent.


How often are you watering?
This depends on the portion of the cycle I am in, but typically I water about 1x per week in early veg, in late veg about 1x every 3-4 days, In early flowering about 1x every 3-4 days, late flowering about 1x per 5-6 days.


Type and strength of ferts used?
All nutrients and pest products used are 100% certified OMRI organic with the exception of my silicone additives (armor SI and bulletproof SI)

My main nutrients (bottled): (all organic/natural)
Earthjuice: Grow, Bloom, Meta K, Microblast, Catalyst
Humboldt nutrients: bloom, equilibrium, humic acid, deuce deuce
Thrive alive B1 organic
Terpenator (potassium in mid/late flowering)
Yucca Extract

Other nutrients on hand include and may be used:
occasional additive:
Advanced Nutrients: carboload, organic b, fulvic acid
General Organics: hydrolyzed squid, florablend tea,
Bonide: liquid fish 2-4-0...love this stuff!
Armor SI (potassium silicate) (non organic)
Bulletproof SI (silicone dioxide) (non organic)

On hand for pest/disease prevention, treatment and eradication if needed:

Thrips and Spidermites
Captain Jack's Deadbug (spinosad)
SNS 209 Systemic
SNS 203
Blue sticky cards
Bonide BonNeem (mites only)
Bonide Mite X (mites only)
Bonide Insecticidal soap

Fungus Gnats:
Yellow Sticky Cards
Mosquito Dunks

Powdery Mildew/other fungal disease
SNS fungicide 244
Bonide Liquid copper fungicide
Serende (biological)

I hope all of you enjoy this journal as I test out the all new Budmaster COB-X-4 panels. This IS a sponsored grow by Budmaster, so I do have a few guidelines that I hope everyone can abide by to keep the peace and allow for a great test grow journal:

-Please keep all LED discussion strictly to Budmaster products. Mention of other brands, promoting or comparisons of other brands will be not allowed in this journal and will be removed.

-If you are sponsored by another company other than Budmaster or showcasing another product, please turn off your signature when posting in this thread as the 420 Magazine rules state.

-This grow is to give the community information on the Budmaster Products and to show a real world grow using these lights, but I will not discuss comparisons, LED shootouts or anything related. This is strictly to show off these lights and how they grow, not to get into any comparisons or pissing contests

General LED questions are ok relating to PAR, spectrum and other General LED topics, but please refrain from asking me about other brands in this journal or specifics about another company as its unfair to our paid sponsors which is what brings in revenue for 420 Magazine to operate functionally

Most of all keep it positive! no trolling, bad vibes, negative nancys or anything else.. Let's have fun, lets take lighting research deeper, lets explore a new sponsors product and enjoy our time!

Thank you everyone!!! Lets get into it, what do you say?!!!

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Let's Get into the lights, shall we

On this grow I will be running our sponsor, Budmasters brand spanking new grow lights: COB-X-4. Budmaster has been a 420 Magazine sponsor for quite some time now. I was originally introduced to Budmaster from Big Irish Doode as he was one of the original Budmaster sponsored growers, and a dear friend to myself and many of the members here. I would actually like to dedicate this sponsored grow to BID, Seth and Big Irish Doode, the man of a huge heart, laughter, fun and always knew how to brighten everyones day. Rest in Peace BID! You are remembered and appreciated This ones for you buddy as you always expressed how you loved your Budmasters, hence I dubbed you the BIDmaster!

Budmaster Company Information

Budmaster LED Grow Lights Manufactured in the UK - budmasterled.co.uk

A little about Budmaster UK: (some of this info is copied off their website with permission) Budmaster panels are made 100% in the UK and here are some of the details of their company and affiliated manufactures.

As many of you know we are always striving to make a better light, grow better plants and save more energy while doing so. With this in mind we use only the highest quality components and materials in our build and endeavour to manufacture as much in the UK and Europe as possible.

We work with several UK factories to provide our metals, plastics and electronics and assemble the complete units at our base in North Wales. This gives our lights an incredibly low carbon footprint and our waste materials are next to none compared to the past when we used to import more component parts and complete units. For example making our own heat sinks and lens here in North Wales within 1.5 miles of our base means a reduced cost on fuel and packaging waste.

Since souring and manufacture in the UK was complete we were pleasantly surprised to see that we can make things here in the UK at a competitive price to the Far East but of course with completely protected IP and guaranteed ROHS materials. One of the many advantages of UK manufacture is that we can always have our finger on the button and inspect local factories and the materials used at very short notice.


A2B Plastics
A2B Plastics have been a family run business in North Wales for decades now and we were delighted to find that they had all the machinery and skills in house to produce our lens moulds, end caps and several other items.

Medical grade plastics for our optics with quantifiable materials and rugged hard plastics for our strip lights and other items, they can do it all.


Fox Metal Design
Fox Metal Design based in Flint North Wales (about 30 miles from our base) provide accurate and efficient CNC and other metalwork services.

A wealth of experience and all the latest machinery give them a competitive edge and a great finished product, everything is done in-house so the carbon footprint is very low.


Mark Water Pumps
Mark Water Pumps next door to our base in North Wales have been manufacturing car parts and many other mechanical assemblies for decades now and were the obvious choice when it came to forging our heat sinks.

Excellence is second nature to these guys who have been providing parts and components to big names such as 'Landrover', 'Jaguar' and 'Toyota' for decades.

The quality of their work and skill shines through in everything they do and we were delighted with the end product they have provided us.


Citiled the Light Engine
This year we have embraced the C.O.B but not just any C.O.B but of course only the best available will do for Budmaster so after meeting Citiled a couple of years ago we started on a little journey together.

Citiled are the inventors of the C.O.B and hold patents on the most efficient arrangement of the led dice behind the phosphor layer add this to their superior C.O.B engineering and year on year they win the highest Luminous Efficacy award for their C.O.B's.

We are now offering 50w Citiled S4 High CRI C.O.B in our Budmaster units and this will shortly be followed by a horticultural C.O.B from Citiled, yet another world first for us and also for Citiled


Marl International
One of the reasons we picked Marl to manufacture our PCB is simply that they are the best that Europe has to offer. With highly skilled and conscientious staff at every level of their business they truly work as one large family all focused on led perfection.

Every step of every process is documented and tested thoroughly to comply with ISO 9001, CE, ROHS and CUL / UL legislations ensuring a 100% safe and quality end result. For example every single board that is produced for us is then tested in a purpose built jig to ensure high quality standards and then each board in each batch is allocated and assessed individually before being signed off by an experienced operator.

Introducing the Budmaster COB-X-4

Light Details:

For this grow and the one following it, I will be using 2 of the brand new Budmaster COB-X-4 LED grow lights:

What are the light dimensions?
Dimensions: 48 x 49 x 9cm or 18.89" x 19.29" x 3.54"

What is the actual Draw wattage of each light?
195W-202W

What type and brand of LED chips are used?
Citiled S4 High CRI COB (4 per panel) on the COB-X-4. Each is rated at 50w per module.

Citiled are made in Japan with highest possible quality standards and are all UL / CUL certified and have many benefits over other COB including:

Luminous efficacy has been improved by about 15 % over that of the current model and the world’s highest level of luminous efficacy has been achieved

Color rendering is improved while high efficacy is retained

Three types of high color rendering products pursuing quality of light: "Ra 90 on B.B.L.*" "Ra 90 below B.B.L.*" and "Ra 97."
* B.B.L.: stands for Black Body Locus.

UL standard (UL 8750) certification has been obtained

LED dice are placed to generate uniform light in consideration of optimizing the light distribution design of luminaires.

The product covers a wide range of luminous flux.

The products has reduced variation in the chromaticity range and are compliant with 3-step MacAdam ellipses.

What range of input voltage can they accept?
Input Voltage: 100 - 240v

What frequency do they operate at?
Frequency: 50 - 60hz

What is the operating Current of the unit?
Current: 600ma

What is the warranty period?
Warranty: 3 Years (see website for details)

Product Weight?
4kg or approx 8.81 lbs

What is the manufacture recommended coverage area?
Coverage: 80cm x 80cm or approx 31.5in x 31.5in, 2.5' x 2.5'

Is the light a modular build?
yes, 4 separate modules make up 1 COB-X-4

What is the manufacture rated lifetime of these lights?
50,000 hours

Is there Daisy Chain capabilities?
NO, I asked Paul the reasoning on this and he said it is to prevent people from plugging in other devices (fans, lights, etc) and/or overloading the power chain which could cause damage to the panels.

Where can this light be shipped to?
UK Delivery 1 - 3 days.
USA & Canada Delivery 7 - 14 days. Import duty is almost always due upon receipt of your parcel and is typically around $40.00.
European Delivery 5 - 14 days.
Worldwide Delivery 14 - 42 days. Import duty is almost always due upon receipt of your parcel and is different for each region, we cant give any estimates on this.


Can the modules be removed and replaced with other Budmaster Light engines?
Yes, Budmaster panels modules can be swapped out to make a hybrid COB and /GOD/OG/XD/ panel. I asked Paul, the owner the specifics and this is how it would have to be done.

Yes any module can be put inside budmaster that we currently make, with the cob however you have a different driver (same dimensions and connectors) to all the other drivers.

So now that I am done with the company information and product specs, lets get into my personal experience with the lights, the unboxing, and testing of the lights

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Alright, now the part I love doing for everyone... The actual LED first impressions, Unboxing, Testing and more...


The reasons for my testing/Unboxing/review

-To give you an idea of what to expect if you order a Budmaster

-To verify and/or check real world data against company advertisements:

-To give information that is hard to come by or that you as the grower may be concerned with or curious about.

I always make a video that contains the full unboxing and testing process so you can watch from start to finish and witness the tests and inspections being done. Here is that video Filmed and edited/rendered in 1080p

My First impressions, unboxing and shipping details:
I am in the US, and the LED's are obviously shipped from the UK. The time it took to ship was exactly what was stated on the website, and took at total of 10 days to receive. The Budmaster was shipped by FedEx and the delivery man came by when I was not home, so instead of leaving a package, they left a pick up slip which was a really nice thing so I could ensure nobody runs off my with new lights, a big plus for me.
The package itself had no markings or indication on the outside showing anything relating to growing, LED lights or what was inside which was good for anyone concerned with being private or discreet, another big plus.

Inside the large box, was 2 smaller boxes which each contained 1 of the Budmaster COB-X-4 LED grow lights and each light was surrounded by thick foam corners, and foam panels covering the top and bottom of the light, making sure the light was nice, secure and wouldn't rattle around inside the box through shipping.

The contents of each box was: 1 budmaster COB-X-4, 1 powercord (for US plugs), 4 wire hangers with a rubber/plastic coating and a carabiner for hanging.

Overall I was very impressed with the packaging of the lights and noticed no scratches or damage to the lights out of the box Good news especially for the long journey it took to get here

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

My first impressions on the Budmaster COB-X-4 LED grow lights build, case design and other details:

So after unboxing the new lights and removing them from their packaging my very first thought and impression was wow, what a beautifully designed light. I immediately took notice of the modular design which allows for very quick replacement of a part or component if something were to go wrong, without having to ship the light anywhere, and with fixing it as simple as unscrewing a few screws, unplugging a module and plugging it back in. I definitely am a fan of modular builds so this was a very nice thing to see.

Each module contains:
-a plastic lens/cover for protection of the COB chips and internals as well as to help focus the light for a nice even coverage
-a PCB board with Citiled S4 High CRI COB, 3500K attached, plug for easy connect/disconnect to power supply, 4 screw holes for easy attach/removal
-a pin style heatsink (not sure of the material) built specifically for these panels and 4 screw holes for easy attach/removal
-a fan, probably an 80mm fan size, very very quiet running and made by Sym Bang which is a Mfg that makes all kinds of fans. D8015V12M-K model at 1.3W, 3100 RPM and at max 33.1 CFM each. (source Mfg website).

The case and light design itself was very beautiful to my eyes and I was extremely impressed with the aesthetic look of it all I love seeing the metal working with the nice logo and Budmaster II UK name cut away from the case. I know that many may not care about the actual look of the case, but I found these to have a very beautiful case and for me I really enjoyed seeing this

I also really dig the "yield ahead" sign logo they have as a sticker on one of the sides of the case, with a foil and hologram type printing. Very awesome looking which I liked seeing, and I hear that it even has super alien technology built into it to increase yields.. (LOL just kidding about the built in alien tech) ahahha I do like the look of it though and is a nice accent.

One of the first things I took notice of was how many holes in the case were drilled and milled in to allow for very good air exchange within the light to aid with cooling. These holes are on every face/side of the panel and even including the side facing down towards the plants which I haven't seen yet on any previous models I've used. Very cool design.

With LED technology, one of the "killers" of longevity and causes of LED chip and component fails is heat and so it is very important to have good thermal designs for not only the heat sinks, but also for the case itself.

The case on the COB-X-4 is what seems to be some type of aluminum metal as it seems thick enough to be durable, but not too thick to bring a lot of weight to the light. (each light weighs about 9lbs). The LED Lenses themselves are made specifically for budmaster and are beautifully designed to help focus the light evenly but not with too sharp of a angle to cut coverage and each lens has a budmaster logo on it as well. Nice touch according to the Budmaster Website these are built by Fox Metal Design in Wales.

The COB-X-4 light features 2 on/off switches on the same face as the power cord plug and for hanging includes 4 (brass?) looped hangers on each of the 4 corners, mounted on the top plate/face to be used with the included plastic coated/rubber wire hangers and aluminum carabiner. NOTE: these lights do not have daisy chain capabilities and the reason was explained above, to prevent circuit overloads from too many lights added and to keep people from pluggin in other devices like fans and such. Therefore a decision to preserve longevity and prevent any mishaps.

The Lenses on each module are beautifully designed and serve 2 purposes. The main purpose is to protect the COB chips from getting bugs, any sprays, dust or grime on them to protect longevity, and the 2nd purpose is to help focus the light properly and slightly increase the penetration. These were made by A2B Plastics based out of the UK in Wales, and even feature a nice custom Budmaster Logo on them.

After inspecting the Panel and all its beauty, I quickly plugged in the lights to see how they looked all lit up. My mistake for not wearing protective glasses as these lights are extremely intense, after turning them on for a quick few minutes and just looking at them, indirectly. I turned them off and for about 20 minutes after that I had shadows in my vision and it took a while for me to see ok again. I highly recommend using some sort of glasses with shaded lenses when working with any plant light. I usually wear mine and was so excited to try it out I forgot to put them on and payed the consequence.

I also noticed when I turned on the lights that I could hardly hear the fans, there was a nice breeze flowing out of the case, but the fans were pretty much silent, or at least I couldn't make a noticable distinction between the unit being off or on with my other fans going in the room. Therefore, extremely quiet and stealthy.

Well that pretty much wraps up my 1st impressions after the unboxing. At this point I was super excited, and also pleased in what I received from Budmaster, so I got to hanging the lights and prepping for the light testing... to be continued in the upcoming posts.


Here are a few photos of the unit turned on before I hung the light in my tent for testing.

 

[Graytail]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Initial impressions and testing continued:....


So after getting my tent cleaned out and hanging the new Budmaster COB-X-4 in the middle of the tent I hooked up my handy dandy Kill-A-Watt meter to do some wattage draw tests. I always do these draw tests to give the grower/potential customers a look at what a LED light will actually draw from the wall. This way you can either estimate your power bills correctly if you choose these lights, and you can also know the current/amp of the unit so you can look at how many can be used on a particular circuit in your home/office/warehouse..etc.. most homes in the US usually have a 15A Fuse at your power box so if you near this or exceed this, no bueno.

I didn't take photos of the actual tests as I have done in the past, since I figured if you wanted to see the actual tests, you can watch the video which shows me testing these lights live.

Actual Draw Test results:
Manufacture rating: 204W
Actual wattage draw: 202W initially, but after it warmed up and ran for a while the draw ranged from 194W-196W.
Actual Current/Amp: 1.71A
Actual wattage 1/2 power (one switch on, one off): 100w
Actual Current/Amp, 1/2 power (one switch on, one off) .88A
Actual Draw at no power (both switches off): 0W



Case Temperature tests:
Next after doing the draw tests I focused on the case temperature tests. With this test I shot the case temperature using a IR thermometer and took readings at different locations of the Budmaster light. Readings were taken on the middle of the right side panel, center of the top panel, directly above the power supply/driver.

Right side panel in Fahrenheit: ranging from 97F-102F
Top panel dead center in Fahrenheit: 97F-98F
Top of the driver, top panel in Fahrenheit: 105F

***ambient temp of room at time of testing was: 78.6F


Noise Test
The next test I did was new to my testing process, but thought it would be a good metric to start doing from here on out. I had a audio spectrum analyzer from my recording engineer days that I pulled out and used to give an idea of the noise or SPL sound pressure level that the lights created during operation, measured in DB. The test itself was done with most of my fans in my room off, however there still was a lot of ambient noise so it was hard to tell exactly the SPL of the lights but did give a decent indicator of the lights noise.

With light on: 54dB (including room noise)
With light off: 52db (including room noise)
Difference about 2db (very very quiet)

The fan specs say that at full speed, each fan would add 34dB in SPL, at 1M, but I don't think these fans are running at full.

Flaws with my personal test. This test was more for just a general idea as many things effect the readings I was getting from position of the sensor, to my body's position, to the acoustics of the grow area, to the other sounds blended into the readings. I just wanted to notate that even though I saw only about a 2-4dB increase in noise, if lab grade tests were done in a quiet room, I would probably say that you would get a higher reading due to isolating only the unit noise. this is more of a test for reference.

So all this test shows is that if you are concerned with being stealthy or someone such as myself who has their grow tents where they sleep, these lights are whisper quiet, and you can hardly hear them running at all.

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Testing and initial review results and findings continued:

For the last and final test I wanted to test the PAR measurements (fluency rate) of the lights using my Apogee Quantum Meter MQ200. Now before I get into the test and the results I wanted to talk a little about PAR measurements, what they mean, why are they important so that for those that don't understand it can benefit from this test.



Understanding Light

Let's say we are looking at the sun, we can see visible light, but there is also a lot of other types of energy or rays we commonly call them released as well. We all feel the sun on our bare skin warming up and this is mainly due to visible light and Infrared light. Or we have all gone to the beach or a pool and put on sunscreen to block the UV rays that can harm our skin and cause cancers. We know that putting food in the microwave can also warm it up and we know that gamma waves from nuclear waste are very very harmful to anything living. We even go and get X-Rays to look inside our bodies in search of broken bones.

These Rays that we refer to are groupings of Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) and are measured and ordered by their "wavelength", in the units of nanometers. EMR is released in Photons, which show characteristics of a wave and a particle at the same time. If we were to look at a photon, it would have properties like an ocean wave, with peaks and valleys. We measure the "wavelength" of EMR by measuring the distance between the crests(peaks). For EMR, this is measured in the unit Nanometers most of the time when relating it to visible light, and the longer the wavelength, the less energy the photon has, where as the shorter the wavelength, the more energy it has.

Now these groupings "rays" we were referring to above are ordered by wavelength in this order:

In order from High energy to low energy here is the order:
Gamma rays, X-rays, Ultra Violet, Visible Light, Infared, Microwaves, Radio Waves.

Now by knowing this, notice how all High energy, short wavelength light is harmful to things like humans and plants (UV, X-Rays, Gamma Rays). The reason for this is that they contain so much energy that it can damage living tissues. On the opposite end of this, notice how all long wavelengths like radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared and Visible light are virtually harmless to living things, this is because they contain low energy.

Now that you understand this, let's explore PAR:

What is PAR?
PAR or Photosynthetic Active Radiation is the range of wavelengths that drive and influence photosynthesis. Just like we have the groupings of X-Rays and Microwaves, PAR is a grouping of EMR that specifically drives plants photosynthesis. This grouping or range is measured between the 400nm wavelength (deep purple) and going to 700nm wavelength (Far-red) generally, but some scientists argue that it actually can extend from 380nm(UV-A) to 780nm (Infrared). Generally most light manufactures in the horticulture world and even most research I've read deals with 400nm-700nm range when referring to PAR.

Here are the general wavelengths and the visual names we represent them by.

UV Light
UV-C: 100–280nm, (Very harmful to skin, eyes, microbes and bacteria)
UV-B: 280–315nm,
UV-A: 315–400nm

Visible Light:
Violet: 380–450 nm
Blue: 450–495 nm
Green: 495–570 nm
Yellow: 570–590 nm
Orange: 590–620 nm
Red: 620–750 nm

Infrared: 700nm-1mm (1 millimeter)

So even though PAR light is pretty much the same as the light we see referred to as visible light, the abbreviation PAR is used because it specifically deals with the range of light that drives photosynthesis.

(in this photo, the blue range is the PAR range)

So why is PAR important to measure for plants?

By now you probably have heard the terms Lumens, Lux, PAR, footcandles, candlepower. Well what is up with all these measurements, why are some important, some not. You probably have also heard the term "Lumens are for humans, PAR is for Plants" Well why is PAR so much more important than these other measurements when dealing with plant lights?

This is an easy question to ask, but much much harder to explain. I will do my best.

Since PAR is the range of light that drives photosynthesis, we know as wavelengths from 400nm-700nm (violet to red), when EMR or Light is emitted in this range in comes in little packets called photons. When these photons fall upon a plant leaf, some are reflected, and some are absorbed. Now when we look at photosynthesis in general, when approximately 8-12 photons are absorbed into a leaf, this will split up one molecule of CO2 (photosynthesis). Once absorbed, these photons releases electrons which then go through a complex process and eventually split this single CO2 molecule apart. So now that you know this, you can see how the amount of photons a plant absorbs, will directly effect the rate of photosynthesis.

Now like I mentioned, once a photon is absorbed, the wavelength/color doesn't matter much. Importantly noted though, before a photon is absorbed, when it first hits the leafs surface, it can be reflected. Now commonly you may have heard this is the reason that plants are green, because they don't absorb green light, they reflect it, but this is only partly true. Plants actually do absorb green light, just not as easily as other colors like red and blue. So those that say "plants don't absorb green light" typically believe they don't absorb any green light and this is false, and actually the graph below will show the wavelengths of light that plants reflect, and the amounts. You will see that all light in the PAR range is absorbed, and the difference between blue which is absorbed nearly at 100% vs Green absorbed around 80%, there is only a difference of about 20%. The common believe that plants don't absorb green light is why the LED market originated by offering lights with only 2 bands, red and blue, however as more research came into play it was realized that all wavelengths of light are absorbed which is why you see many full spectrum panels on the market now.

So now that you understand how Photons directly drive photosynthesis (in general terms), you can understand why measuring PAR is important...Plants are pretty much photon counters, the more photons available, the more photosynthesis occurs.

What is a PAR measurement, and why is it useful?

A PAR measurement, known in the lighting world as PPFD or PPF

PPFD is Photosynthetic Photon Flux Density, and this measurement describes how many photons, fall on a square meter, every single second. PPFD is a useful measurement when determining how high to hang a light, how far will a light actually cover, and what size light you need for a certain type of plant and grow area. This is a directional measurement in which readings are generally taken on a surface that would represent the canopy of your plants.

PPF is Photosynthetic Photon Flux, and this measurement is used mainly to compare lights for their Photon efficiency. What I mean by this is PPF is a omnidirectional measurement and irregardless of direction, it measures all TOTAL photons emitted from a light. PPF is usually measured in an integrating sphere or Ulbricht Sphere which is a huge reflective sphere that measures light coming from a source at all angles and directions. This measurement is usually used more for HID bulbs than LED but can be used for both when comparing how efficiently a light source creates photons per watt, many times measured in the units Mols/Joule. Other than comparing light sources for photon efficiency, this measurement of PAR light isn't used much. PPF is much more usefull for comparing HID bulbs, so you can see at a same wattage and same ballast, which bulb will product more photons in the PAR range vs another. Being that the bulb would go into a reflector and shape the output, PPF is used to compare the actual bulb's photon efficiency, but also could be used to compare one LED panel to another at a Same wattage. It wouldn't show you anything about coverage, or hanging height, just which panel at the same wattage produces more photosynthetic active photons.

When we are looking at picking the right grow light we are typically using PPFD. We want to know on a flat surface (our canopy) how many photons are falling here every second. As we described above, plants are photon counters, and so the more photons that are falling on a surface, the higher the rate of photosynthesis. This is why its very important for grow light manufactures to list PAR data, usually in the form of a 4'x4' grid, where at each 6" or 1' mark a PPFD reading is taken. This lets us know when a light is hung at "X" distance, then we can expect "Y" amount of PPFD to be available for the plants.

Now to measure PAR, you probably have seen in my video by now the Apogee Quantum Meter I am using. This device uses separate photodiodes to sense photons and basically counts them. As plants are photon counters, my quantum meter also counts photons, and this reading is displayed in the units Micromoles/Meter squared/every second, and usually written like this " 500umol/m2/s-1.

I do want to notate that the PAR meter I am using is fairly accurate, but there are much better ways to measure par. There is a Li-Cor brand PAR meter which is much more accurate than the Apogee one I have because it is more sensitive to blue/red light than the one I use, however for reference and general purpose testing this pricey $360 Apogee fit my needs and my budget. The Li-Cor is up over $1000. The most accurate way to test for PAR is using a Spectroradiometer, but those cost $3500 on the low and and can go as high as $20,000 or more for lab grade ones. The reason that Spectroradimeters are more effective is that they break white light into tiny little bands just a few nanometers in range, and have individual sensors for each little band, where most quantum meters use photoelectric diodes and usually have 3 or 4, so their sensitivity is less than a spectroradiometer would be.

Apogee MQ200 error range... notice on the chart the boxed in area is the PAR range and an ideal PAR meter would be equal across this range in sensitivity, therefore you will see in the deep red and deep blue it is less accurate.

Here is the Li-Cor quantum meter error range and response chart. Notice it is slightly more accurate but still not perfect.

OK, so you now showed me your photon counter is 500umol/m2/s-1, but what does this mean to me?


So we have these PAR measurements, now what do they mean when talking about plants. The best way to look at this is that a plant has a certain "requirement" of the amount of photons it needs during the daylight period of growth. Each plant species has its own light requirements and you may even remember mom talking about this gardening when you were little, planting tomatoes in a sunny area of the yard where other houseplants didn't need as much light and would do fine in a windowsill. In bottany related applications this "light requirement is known as Daily Light Integral or DLI.

What is DLI

DLI is the amount of photons a plant need per day to be in optimal light for growth and photosynthesis rates and as I mentioned above each plant species is different. DLI is typically measured in Mols per meter squared, per day (very similar to PPFD) but instead of each second, this measurement is totaling all photons per daylight period.

A low light plant such as a fern only needs 6-10 mols/m2/day of photons to grow which is why ferns are commonly seen in dense forests under the canopy.

A high light plant such as Cannabis needs a minimum of 22 mols/m2/day of photons to as high as 65 mols/m2/day which is the range of optimal growth. Yes if you don't have that much light, cannabis will still grow, but you will typically see lower yields, less dense buds, lower THC percentages because the plant isn't operating at its best.



Converting DLI to PPFD
Now how do we get from DLI Mol/m2/day to PPFD or micromoles/m2/second.

The formula to convert this would be:
You would use this formula...

PPFD x 0.0864 = DLI
OR
DLI / 0.0864 = PPFD

So lets look at cannabis, knowing that cannabis needs at least (Minimum for optimal growth) 22mol/m2/day DLI at minimum for optimal photosynthesis lets break it down.

22 / 0.0864 = 254.6 micromoles/m2/s-1 (PPFD)

This is the amount of photons you need every second, averaged over 1 square meter, for the whole 24 hours if usuing a 24/0 daylight schedule (no dark period).

So what happens if you are using a 18/6 veg period or a 12/12 flowering light schedule... simple...

If using a 12/12 flowering schedule, you are only using 12 hours of the 24 hours of the day, which means you would take the 254.6 Micromoles/m2/s-1 and multiply it by 2, since you are reducing the amount of daylight by 1/2 (12 hours), then each hour of the daylight period you need double the amount of photons... so in this example you would need 509.25 micromoles/m2/second.

If using a 18/6 schedule, you are using 3/4 of the amount of daylight with 18 hours on, 6 hours off, therefore you would multiply the 24hr PPFD by 1.5 because you are using only 3/4 of the day, or 1 1/2 times the 12 hour requirement. In this example a DLI of 22, under a 18/6 schedule would amount to 381.5 micromoles/m2/second.


So for cannabis, bottom threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of DLI of 22 would be:
****Going lower than these numbers will still grow cannabis, however yields, bud density, potency and THC percentage may suffer.
24/0 schedule: 254.6 micromoles/m2/s-1
18/6 schedule: 381.5 micromoles/m2/s-1
12/12 schedule: 509.25 micromoles/m2/s-1



For Cannabis, the Top threshold for optimal growth and photosynthesis is a DLI of 65 moles per day.
***extremely important notice, only go up to these amounts if you are using supplemental CO2, do not go this high if you are not using supplemental CO2 as you will actually slow down photosynthesis and waste energy.

24/0 schedule: 752.31 micromoles/m2/s-1
18/6 schedule: 1128.465 micromoles/m2/s-1
12/12 schedule: 1504.6 micromoles/m2/s-1


The generally accepted guidelines for artificial light PPFD in flowering are this:
in a 12/12

PPFD of at least 510 micromoles/m2/s-1 for the low end of optimal intensity
PPFD of at least 800-1100 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting without additional CO2.
PPFD of at least 800-1500 micromoles/m2/s-1 for perfect optimal lighting WITH additional CO2.


So now that we know what all these numbers mean, how to we interpret these PAR charts or 4'x4' grids with PAR readings?
Typically if a Lighting company presents a PAR chart "4'x4' grid" with measurements, you will see a bunch of readings all over the place.
Even though PAR measurements are in micromoles/METER/second this is with a constant and even light source what the average would be... grow lights, especially LED's do not have an even footprint and intensity can change rapidly over just 6" or 1" away from the center of the light. This is why these 4'x4' PAR grids are important because the light source is not even, it shows us the Actual area that will produce the OPTIMAL amount of PHOTONS for driving photosynthesis at each point of the grid.

So now knowing for flowering you need to see a grid with a bunch of 510's all over it or higher for flowering, you can see exactly how far a light will spread to OPTIMALLY drive your plant. Also, usually when a company makes these grids, they do it at heights of 12", 18", 24" and 36". By comparing the charts, you can tell at what height a certain light will spread providing 510's or higher and at what height would be optimal to hang the light. The closer the light is to the canopy/or meter, the higher the amount of photons that will be hitting it, but the narrower the coverage area will be (less light is scattering). The further away you move the light, the more photons that scatter leaving less to hit the canopy resulting in a larger coverage area but less Photon Density (PPFD).

Now if you don't see 510's or higher across your chart for your light, does that mean it wont work...NO.. it will just produce less photosynthesis which typically results in more airy buds, less potency and THC, and lower yields.

You can also look at these charts to see how you would hang multiple lights, by combining 2 charts together... lets say 2' out from the center of your light, the chart is only reading 250 micromoles/m2/s-1, well you know if you added a 2nd light and combined their outputs, with them spaced apart 2 feet from each other, then that center point between them (the 250 micromole/m2/s-1 mark) would double, now making that area optimal for flowering in a 12/12 schedule.

This is why it is important that companies provide this information, so we can all make accurate decisions on plant lighting for our plant species, photoperiod usage, and making sure to have a even light footprint over our canopies.



So all and all the things you will want to remember from this are:

*Light plants use is in tiny packets called photons.

*Plants count photons, this count directly drives photosynthesis.

*Only photons with a wavelength of 400nm-700nm matter for photosynthesis (some say 380nm-780nm)

*All colors of Light/wavelengths in the PAR range will absorb, at 80% or higher rates

*PAR measurements are taken with a quantum meter or spectroradiometer and are measured in micromoles per meter squared per second (umol/m2/s-1)

*When choosing a lights by PAR measurements we are looking for a PPFD of 510 umol/m2/s-1 or more across the entire canopy for optimal flowering results, less will still work but not at optimal levels for best results

*Having a 4'x4' grid with PAR measurements at different heights is the best way to judge a plants actual optimal footprint/coverage area based on plant type and photoperiod. Also aids with hanging height and blending of multiple panels/lights.


I hope this gets you on PAR with PAR, I tried to explain this complexity in the most simplified manner possible. If you have questions, ask, I will be happy to answer them.

 

[Dr Bob]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Oh boy oh boy. What a bunch of great writing. This isn't a journal, it is a straight up sweet book! I could just save this page as a pdf and load it up on my ipad for permanent reference.

This is going to be awesome!


Bob

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Alright, so now that I have explained briefly what PAR is, how its used, why its important to plant light measurement, lets get back on track with the Budmaster COB-X-4 PAR testing and results.

Budmaster COB-X-4 PAR TEST process:

To conduct this test I dropped a penny directly from the center of the Budmaster Panel to my grow tent floor and marked it, this was directly under the center of the panel (I repeated this 3x to make sure the center was off due to a poor drop). I marked this place with a piece of black electrical tape. After doing this I measured with a tape measure 1 foot back and 1 foot in front of the mark and put another piece of electrical tape. I then did the same horizontally measuring out 1 foot from the center and placing a mark. I did this across the entire 2.5'x5'x7' tent bottom, in a 2'x4' grid showing 8 equal 1' squares.

To conduct the actual PAR measurments I used my Apogee MQ200 quantum meter which is fairly accurate but does have some error percentages as I described above. The actual lab grade way of doing this would be to use a spectrometer and a photogoniometer for the most accurate results, but for the sake of not spending 10's of thousands of dollars on those, I will rely on my $360 Apogee which is still great for reference.

Here is a photo of the Apogee's error margin based on spectrum.

According to Apogee's website, for measuring warm white LED's, the meter is actually off by -9.9% which means you would have to consider adding almost 10% to each number I measure to get a more real world accuracy. So remember this when looking at my readings.

With each test at 12", 18", 24" and 36" I measured from the very bottom of the Budmaster Panel to the floor of my grow tent, making sure each reading at the heights mentioned was accurate.

Each of these readings was done in real time on video, each place measured for the best reading and logged onto a paper graph I made for reference, as well as documented on the video. After doing a reading at each corner of the 2'x4' grid at multiple heights I pulled out some quick graphic charts on the computer I was able to make (not very good at graphic design programs) but it gets the idea across.

I would have done a 4'x4' grid, but I don't have a 4'x4' tent, so these will have to do, and I'm not sure if Budmaster has their PAR measurements or not, in a grid but I will ask and if they do I will post them for everyone's reference. So unfortunately the grid that I made is only 2'x4' but still gives a very good idea of the coverage of the lights.

***The only flaw with my test is the light may not have been 100% perfectly level since I don't own a level but visually from multiple angles and directions it looked right, so it should be very close.



Here are the charts for the 4 different hanging heights of 1 of the Budmaster COB-X-4 panels.
According to Apogee's website, for measuring warm white LED's, the meter is actually off by -9.9% which means you would have to consider adding almost 10% to each number I measure to get a more real world accuracy. So remember this when looking at my readings. (I did not adjust for the error percentage on the charts, the numbers reflect the exact readings off the meter)



At 12"

AT 18"

At 24"

At 36"

So By looking at these charts based on the known lighting need for cannabis and with the error percentage of my meter being considered here is my conclusions:

Budmaster rates 1 of these COB-X-4 panels at a 80cm x 80cm coverage area.. which is about 31 inch x 31 inch or 2.5' x 2.5'.

-COB lighting produces much less narrow beam light than traditional 3w and 5W diodes, so the rate of photon scattering occurs earlier which accounts for a much larger coverage area but much less PPFD directly under the panel.

-If used as a single panel, the COB-X-4, for FLOWERING in a 12/12 schedule would only Optimally illuminate approximately a 1'x1' to a 1 1/2' x 1 1/2' area at 18", but if used with another panel I could see the coverage actually stretching because of combined light to approximately a 2'x3 1'2 foot area for optimal lighting for flowering.

-At 18", one COB-X-4 would optimally VEG cannabis in a 18/6 schedule, the coverage area would increase to approximately 2'x2' to 2 1/2' x 2 1/2' for optimal VEG lighting, and 2x of these COB-X-4's would definitely give me optimal lighting for my 2'x4' tent. At this height you could space the lights about 2'-2 1/2' apart from light center to light center which would give for best even coverage and optimal light levels.

-Ideal spacing of more than one COB-X-4 light at a 18" hanging height would be 1' 1/2 to 2' apart from center of the light to center of next light.

-At 12" this light puts out an adjusted center PAR measurement of 1296.82 umol/m2/s-1 which is borderline too much light without added CO2 for the very center of the panel.

-Based on the PAR readings, I would not recommend having the plants closer than 12" and for optimal use for flowering I would suggest keeping the hanging height from canopy to 14" to 18" for best of optimal PAR light above 510umol/m2/s-1 while maxing the area within this range.

-At a 24" height, using 1 COB-X-4 Light could cause photosynthesis to occur across my entire 2'x4' tent, but the levels would be very low as far as photosynthesis rate that it would be far from optimal along the outer edges, 2' away from the panel, but would allow for good coverage for seedlings and clones under a 24/0 schedule if used for that sole purpose at that footprint.

All of these findings are based off the DLI for cannabis and the measurements I took, again they are only for reference and not for scientific level measurement due to me using "reference grade" gear and not spectroradiometer and photogoniometers, so the actual footprints might be larger than I estimate due to those reasons.


So with all this said, we won't really be able to tell the capabilities of these lights in flowering until my next grow, since this current one was started under other LED lights, but my next grow which also will be in this journal will give us a good indicator of how they perform in my 2'x4' tent

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Hey Graytail!!! Glad to have you over here! looks like you popped my grow journal comment cherry! hahaah! This should be a really fun grow journal excited to see this new technology in action!

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Oh boy oh boy. What a bunch of great writing. This isn't a journal, it is a straight up sweet book! I could just save this page as a pdf and load it up on my ipad for permanent reference.

This is going to be awesome!


Bob

Hey Dr. Bob!!!

Thank you so much for the compliments, I've pretty much been at it for about 10 hours today, wanting to fill in each detail with information, and each time I proofread there is more that I want to add. I tried to keep it all as simple but accurate as possible which is tough because one can go soo deep into plant lighting topics.LOL especially me haha

I really am happy you joined in and I'm very excited to see these lights finish off my current grow and then get started with the next one

 

[KidGrow420]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

I'm defiantly in for this ride. (Making me realize we all learn something new everyday ) Good job meng, and so far good writing skillz. You def deserve people's attention. I have learned so much already (about lighting mostly) and I'm stoked to see what's to come with the journal. Cheers brotha!

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

I'm defiantly in for this ride. (Making me realize we all learn something new everyday ) Good job meng, and so far good writing skillz. You def deserve people's attention. I have learned so much already (about lighting mostly) and I'm stoked to see what's to come with the journal. Cheers brotha!

Hey KidGrow420!! Welcome... grab yourself a nice comfy seat and some medibles of choice and join in the fun You made me laugh about the (about lighting mostly) line...still laughing, as its pretty obvious this is where my main focus of cannabis research resides I appreciate the honesty and humor in the same lol

I'm really happy you joined along, as I will be finishing current grow within the next 30 days roughly and then on to 4 new strains plus the two best tangies from this grow I'm excited to have ya here for the ride as I test out these new lights capabilities

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Bring the Ice, bring the mud but most of all bring the nug for I am subbed! Sitting next to KidGrow and sharing of my Firefly vape.

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Alright so I'm sitting here taking a break from my Budmaster Lighting novel... smoking and I was just thinking, someone going to come in the new thread and start reading and think to themselves "very interesting read and review so far, but where are the damn plants!" LOL!

Currently I am enjoying a nice pipe of some 6month old aged GSC (so sad to have lost this cut). Wow it tastes amazing still Here is the actual grow update:

So today makes Day 38 of flowering in my Tangie Tent. For those that are just joining in, these plants were started and flowered up to day 30 with another LED light, and once I received my new lights from Budmaster, I removed the old ones and put in the new lights. I didn't want to do this without asking the community here should I wait out the grow or put them in immediately, and it was a unanimous vote to put them in right away. I just want to mention that so all that are new to this grow and weren't watching the other one knew that I am finishing this current grow with these new Budmasters, but it's not an accurate representation of the lights full potential. After this current grow is done I will be doing another grow, from clone, right here showing the full potential of these new COB lights.

So since I just watered the girls yesterday, they won't be needing any water for the next 2 days, I started by getting my next feeding ready. I filtered 5 gallons of Reverse Osmosis water and into the water added:

about 40ml of Humboldt nutrients Equilibruim
About 30ml of Humboldt bloom natural
about 20ml of Humboldt naturals Deuce Deuce
40ml of Earth Juice Grow
Yucca Extract
Earth Juice Catalyst
a dusting of Biovam

This mix will be bubbled for 2 days and then fed to the girls.


I noticed that the tallest plants in the tent are showing some nitrogen deficiencies in their leaves. I'm not sure as to why as I have been giving them nitrogen with most of the last few feedings so I think I may have slightly overwatered over the past 2 waterings which is why if the plants aren't dry in 2 days I will wait until they are. Its only the 2 tallest plants that are showing this so hopefully with the added Grow in this next feeding it can reverse any issues. I know its normal for this to happen in flowering but I feel its still too early yet to see that as I still have about 30 days to go.

I re positioned some of the colas and branches last night to allow for better penetration on the buds, and to move some buds that were too close to the lights and getting bleached (like 6-8" away or less). Hopefully this will allow for the underbuds to really thicken up as well.

Well without further delay... Here are the Tangies on day 38 flowering!!!

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Thickening up nicely Icemud. Really seeing a difference now. Such long connected colas! Love it.

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Bring the Ice, bring the mud but most of all bring the nug for I am subbed! Sitting next to KidGrow and sharing of my Firefly vape.

Hey ShiggityFlip! Thanks for joining the party! I will pass around some of my black cherry soda from a previous grow I have sitting around

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

Thickening up nicely Icemud. Really seeing a difference now. Such long connected colas! Love it.

I'm definitely stoked on how these are turning out, I knew when they stretched for flowering but kept their tight nodes I was in for a treat, and its definitely showing now that these plants are going to be some beasts! I love the little short one as the bottoms of the buds are already about soda can size in diameter

 

[ShiggityFlip]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

I'm definitely stoked on how these are turning out, I knew when they stretched for flowering but kept their tight nodes I was in for a treat, and its definitely showing now that these plants are going to be some beasts! I love the little short one as the bottoms of the buds are already about soda can size in diameter

These are definitely going to shine as a SOG once you get the chosen pheno. It is just going to be like a lightbrite set made of nugs.

 

[Icemud]

Re: Icemud LED grow: Featuring the All new Budmaster COB technology (white full spect

These are definitely going to shine as a SOG once you get the chosen pheno. It is just going to be like a lightbrite set made of nugs.

I'm really glad I only topped them one time as it allowed for much nicer looking plants, less branching of course but also much fatter main colas I'm curious how much larger they are going to get because right now they are getting ginormous in girth daily

My next grow after this will feature my 2 top phenotypes of this grow, along with 4 other strains I haven't flowered out yet so should be very interesting watching the tangies grow from clone this next time. I am going to try to do everything the same as last grow so that I can sort of compare them from this current grow to the next. should be fun I can't wait to get the next one started already.