Need more watts per sqft

[coste]

So, y'all know I'm running some weak blurples. A pair of growstar s600 LEDs. One worked great for starting seedlings under, and with their features, they're a decent micro-scale light. They've even done well up to now in veg



I'm running two in a 4ft x4ft x 76" tent.

They're rated at 140W actual watts each. So, that gives me a total of 280 watts. 280w / 16sqt = 17.5w/sqft

That's obviously nowhere near enough for anything respectable, and I'm seeing the growth rates suffer. The plants above should be 2x - 3x the size they are for their age.

I want to stay under $200 for another light, so that rules out a 315w CMH (dreamed of those for years, but they're still not reasonable -- I'm already ~$700 deep into just the indoor). Keep in mind, I'll continue running what I have in combination with the additional light.

Searching amazon for hlg qb132 turns up a ton of shit, and the LED market has exploded with a ton of cheap Chinese shit. My goal is to hit as close to 50w/sqft as possible, within my budget for now. Anything above 1000w (*cough*mars*cough*) isn't super transparent on their actual wattage.

So that brings me to the whole reason for another post.

What are some recommendations? I don't have the time to dick around with figuring out the right drivers, etc. so I'm looking for all-in-ones right now. Throw me some links, I'll reciprocate somehow once the above plants show their gear

 

[jaguarlax]

this is what im running in the closet... i am happy so far and cant beat the price unless you go the alibaba route...


Amazon product ASIN B07N45BM25

 

[coste]

Amazon product ASIN B07N45BM25 this is what im running in the closet... i am happy so far and cant beat the price unless you go the alibaba route...


Amazon product ASIN B07N45BM25

Those look decent enough, aside from being split panels. Plus, with the actual wattage it still puts me at 32w/sqft. Was definitely avoiding alibaba as I don't have two months to wait on the shipment. Bookmarking these just in case, they look respectable enough and would play well with the two I have hanging right now.

Could get all fancy with angling lights and shit lol

 

[jaguarlax]

Those look decent enough, aside from being split panels. Plus, with the actual wattage it still puts me at 32w/sqft. Was definitely avoiding alibaba as I don't have two months to wait on the shipment. Bookmarking these just in case, they look respectable enough and would play well with the two I have hanging right now.

Could get all fancy with angling lights and shit lol

i have 4 panels hanging on individual yoyos... it lets me raise 4 sections of light... and yep... play with angles... I like my sunboards just because it gives me more versatility... but for what u are looking for this is the way to go imo

 

[coste]

I'll sleep on it, and probably take the plunge tomorrow. I gotta do something. The babies are struggling, and it's pissing me off knowing they aren't where they should be right now.

Appreciate the input! I'll hit you in the dm!

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

So wait, why not a 315 cmh?

Amazon product ASIN B07RPKT58L
Well within your budget. Also my all time favorite lamp. Not that particular one, just CMH in general.

Gonna spend way more on LEDs with the equivalent wattage and you'll still have less penetration.

That being said, with decent COBs or QBs 35w/sq ft is fine imo. 50w may even be excessive.

 

[coste]

So wait, why not a 315 cmh?

Amazon product ASIN B07RPKT58L
Well within your budget. Also my all time favorite lamp. Not that particular one, just CMH in general.

Gonna spend way more on LEDs with the equivalent wattage and you'll still have less penetration.

That being said, with decent COBs or QBs 35w/sq ft is fine imo. 50w may even be excessive.

Oh shit... I haven't found any that cheap. All the CMH's I've found are still $300+. I'd be OK with 37w/sqft with a CMH. That just means real frosty shit is in the future haha

 

[Jewels]

Where you at @coste ?
@Uncle Rom had a good link on a cmh.
I remember similar price ?

Shopping tip of the day.
I dont know LED sooo,
- No context whatsoever.

The best model of a crappy brand will never touch the crappiest model of the better brand.

 

[Jewels]

Cant w/p sq/ft across different tech.

 

[coste]

But you (@Gentlemancorpse) also bring up a hard point of argument.

LED wattage is not equal to HID wattage. It seems LED's bleach easier, albeit the heat savings are real. The trich production is also on point. Nevermind the power savings -- that just reduces overall cost per gram. BUT it also seems under LED's people run smaller plants.

I'm not looking to be harvesting 2ft tall babies. With allowance for head room, I figure i can veg to about 24" above soil line with aggressive LST and scrog, then flip which I can estimate harvesting ~2lbs conservatively with fuck ups.

HID's are obviously where it's at, but there's the heat tax, which means I'd most likely have to get a dedicated room AC, even though the room the tent is in is maintained at ~73 with central air (tent shares a room with a few servers - don't judge).

@Jewels I'm in the PNW. The non-grow-your-own-rec state. So I'm still guerilla to an extent. I don't care about power (I have two toddlers, and an ol lady that leaves all the electronics on ALL THE TIME), nor do I care about water cost (see previous bitch).

My biggest concern is heat. Sure I can kick on the central air, but then the room the tent is in will still run 10+ degrees ambient the rest of the house. So now I'm looking at minisplit, or window mount unit, which just looks unsightly. Plus, we're looking at more financial cost.

I've been digging into that lagavulin again, so imma quit typing before i write a novel. thoughts? some good feedback here.

 

[JL2G]

But you (@Gentlemancorpse) also bring up a hard point of argument.

LED wattage is not equal to HID wattage. It seems LED's bleach easier, albeit the heat savings are real. The trich production is also on point. Nevermind the power savings -- that just reduces overall cost per gram. BUT it also seems under LED's people run smaller plants.

I'm not looking to be harvesting 2ft tall babies. With allowance for head room, I figure i can veg to about 24" above soil line with aggressive LST and scrog, then flip which I can estimate harvesting ~2lbs conservatively with fuck ups.

HID's are obviously where it's at, but there's the heat tax, which means I'd most likely have to get a dedicated room AC, even though the room the tent is in is maintained at ~73 with central air (tent shares a room with a few servers - don't judge).

@Jewels I'm in the PNW. The non-grow-your-own-rec state. So I'm still guerilla to an extent. I don't care about power (I have two toddlers, and an ol lady that leaves all the electronics on ALL THE TIME), nor do I care about water cost (see previous bitch).

My biggest concern is heat. Sure I can kick on the central air, but then the room the tent is in will still run 10+ degrees ambient the rest of the house. So now I'm looking at minisplit, or window mount unit, which just looks unsightly. Plus, we're looking at more financial cost.

I've been digging into that lagavulin again, so imma quit typing before i write a novel. thoughts? some good feedback here.

Figured I'd add my input here too. Lol.
Imho you'd be good in the mid to high 30 range with quality leds.
I run a 315 cmh, 740 watts of qb's, and 540 watts in cobs in my flower room currently.
1595 actual watts total. It heats the room about 10* above ambient temps.
It puts my watts per sq ft at 46 and change. It's overkill for me really, but I keep them up a bit high for great coverage and penetration.
Even the larf makes solid ass buds. Lol.
As for led growing small plants, I beg to differ, its really grower dependant.
Lol. I've had some pretty decent sized girlies under nothing but led.
Not like outdoors, but only due to lack of room. Lmfao.
A few pics. Lol

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

But you (@Gentlemancorpse) also bring up a hard point of argument.

LED wattage is not equal to HID wattage. It seems LED's bleach easier, albeit the heat savings are real. The trich production is also on point. Nevermind the power savings -- that just reduces overall cost per gram. BUT it also seems under LED's people run smaller plants.

I'm not looking to be harvesting 2ft tall babies. With allowance for head room, I figure i can veg to about 24" above soil line with aggressive LST and scrog, then flip which I can estimate harvesting ~2lbs conservatively with fuck ups.

HID's are obviously where it's at, but there's the heat tax, which means I'd most likely have to get a dedicated room AC, even though the room the tent is in is maintained at ~73 with central air (tent shares a room with a few servers - don't judge).

@Jewels I'm in the PNW. The non-grow-your-own-rec state. So I'm still guerilla to an extent. I don't care about power (I have two toddlers, and an ol lady that leaves all the electronics on ALL THE TIME), nor do I care about water cost (see previous bitch).

My biggest concern is heat. Sure I can kick on the central air, but then the room the tent is in will still run 10+ degrees ambient the rest of the house. So now I'm looking at minisplit, or window mount unit, which just looks unsightly. Plus, we're looking at more financial cost.

I've been digging into that lagavulin again, so imma quit typing before i write a novel. thoughts? some good feedback here.

So I think the power savings on LED vs CMH is slightly overblown. In the long run, watts are watts. My CMH tent doesn't really cost much more than my LED tent to operate. LED tends to be more efficient than older HID tech largely because people run lower wattage with LED than say HPS.

It definitely runs warmer though. But it's not insurmountable. I run the CMH in a 32"x32" tent and the heat is manageable in a room with an ambient temp of 75 degrees so I think you'd be fine in your setup.

I love LED and I think it's the future, but in the here and now it still pretty expensive compared to CMH or other HIDs.

Then again, if you switched from Lagavulin to Evan Williams you could afford any light you wanted

 

[Capt. C]

Figured I'd add my input here too. Lol.
Imho you'd be good in the mid to high 30 range with quality leds.
I run a 315 cmh, 740 watts of qb's, and 540 watts in cobs in my flower room currently.
1595 actual watts total. It heats the room about 10* above ambient temps.
It puts my watts per sq ft at 46 and change. It's overkill for me really, but I keep them up a bit high for great coverage and penetration.
Even the larf makes solid ass buds. Lol.
As for led growing small plants, I beg to differ, its really grower dependant.
Lol. I've had some pretty decent sized girlies under nothing but led.
Not like outdoors, but only due to lack of room. Lmfao.
A few pics. Lol
View attachment 13975 View attachment 13976
View attachment 13977

That Jenny is such a show off

 

[JL2G]

That Jenny is such a show off

I do love her. ???
Only one of the three was Jenny though. Lol.
Purple Chem was the top one, and Roadkill in the bottom pic.
I've been trying to keep them all smaller lately, makes the moving things around alot easier, and the trimming is so much faster. ???
The yields are a bit smaller per plant, but I can run alot more plants if they're not 3 ft around.
???
So in the end the yield is still pretty much the same.

 

[horribleherk]

I hacked a vipar spectra using the heatsinks , fans , wiring & housing then went to cob kits & bought 6 luminus 50v. cobs & holders then e-bay for the 240h-54 b drivers total cost about $215 e-bay also sells used led lights as well as other lights another route I was considering they had amare California light works , timber & rapid LEDs used for various prices the deals change daily I ended up with 480 w.

 

[coste]

Then again, if you switched from Lagavulin to Evan Williams you could afford any light you wanted

That's blasphemy! Jk, Lagavulin is for special occasions, lately I've been doing Southside from Total Wine and More for the weekly whiskey. Jim Beam is a close second, but Southside is like $11 a fifth, so it's budget friendly.

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

That's blasphemy! Jk, Lagavulin is for special occasions, lately I've been doing Southside from Total Wine and More for the weekly whiskey. Jim Beam is a close second, but Southside is like $11 a fifth, so it's budget friendly.

Total Wine and More ... are you another Masshole? Or do those exist elsewhere too?

 

[coste]

Total Wine and More ... are you another Masshole? Or do those exist elsewhere too?

Nope haha I visited Boston once though. I'm on the west coast, and there's only one I know of in the city I'm in. People from Oregon come up here to stock up.

 

[Gentlemancorpse]

Nope haha I visited Boston once though. I'm on the west coast, and there's only one I know of in the city I'm in. People from Oregon come up here to stock up.

They're all over the place here, and somehow they're almost as cheap as New Hampshire, which has state run liquor stores and is usually way cheaper than MA!

 

[coste]

They're all over the place here, and somehow they're almost as cheap as New Hampshire, which has state run liquor stores and is usually way cheaper than MA!

That's how Oregon is. State run liquor stores that are on average 30% cheaper than Washington, except for Total Wine. I think they're just lining the right pockets.