Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
Anyone used the new LED grow lights?
On Mar 18, 10:00*pm, "gunner" wrote:
"Bobo Bonobo®" wrote in message ... I'm trying to get a head start on tomatoes and chiles. *I've heard that incandescent lights, while not worthless, are not really adequate to grow the seedlings for transplant. *The LED panels out there look promising. *Comments? Thanks, --Bryan Bryan, I bought 4 of the *LED *EBay model grow lights as an experiment last year to supplement the CFLs in the nursery. *I was not impressed. *15 x 15 on a square foot *panel, blue and red spectrum, each panel is about 12-15 *watts total, *they appear older generation LED, which despite the proper spectrum, *do not have the horse power to be of value except maybe as supplemental light. The newest generation LEDs are coming in at about 10 watts a piece, very spendy as yet but offer the best promise of the technology. *What you see on EBay and some of the Hydro stores appear unused Christmas lights from China, *repackaged as grow lights and at very Starbuck prices. *I would wait a while yet to see when the prices are going to come down on LEDs with real HP. For nursery starters, I would stay with 40W fluorescents, but w/ *6500k tubes, *about 10$ Where do you get 40w 6500k tubes for $10 a pair? for pack of 2 vs. 4$ for2 of the 4000Ks at Home Depot. *The CFLs in the range of 85-150 watts are nice, *but again you are back at more watts/lumens. Watch to ensure overlapping area coverage in any light system and think about the law of inverse square . *I would again consider 6500K bulbs in as high a wattage as you can in CFLs. *Then turn them out to play in the sun to save $$$s.. The 54w *HD T5 link below is a nice *system for starters and growing to term for even most flowering plants.http://www.fullspectrumsolutions.com...g_fixtures_35_... these are 2-3 times less than similiar setups at the Hydro and Gardening stores. If you do buy them, *please *let me know the particuliars and how you do with them. I'm using the 14w, 12" x 12" one to raise tomato and chile seedlings. The first thing I noticed is that under that light, while the surrounding area is illuminated, the cotyledons appear almost black, as if they are reflecting almost none of the light. Above, you mentioned the inverse square law. That is an advantage because you can put the plant 1/2" from the panel, as they put out very little heat. A coworker gave me a 4', 2 lamp growlight, and another that just has regular tubes in it. They are standard fixtures. Replacing those with the above mentioned 6500k would be nice if I really could get them for ~$10. If I could just grow tomatoes for my own household in Winter and Spring, I'd be pretty happy. Is this what I need? http://www.1000bulbs.com/F40T12-Full...inition/33923/ Thank you. gunner --Bryan |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
LED lights | Orchids | |||
Coast LED Lenser LL7590 Write Light Gift Boxed White LED pen light flashlight and Pen | Edible Gardening | |||
LED lights | Gardening | |||
Compact Fluorescent and LED grow lights | Orchids | |||
Commercial LED Plant Lights | Orchids |