Can I use this light?

[420Forever]

Hey, bro, nice to know I'm not the only one, haha. I just know that you don't need 30 different nutrients, 1000w grow light, huge mylar tent with 2 carbon filters to grow a decent plant as a past time, that's why I'm keeping it simple. I've seen people over complicate things and hugely overpay only to get results you can get from decent soil, good genetics and some simple home depot nutes.

i fully agree ghetto growz for the win! ppp

 

[JSH1973]

I don't think you could grow bean sprouts with that light to be honest

 

[Olderfart]

Here's another option. Screw in LEDs, "tent" out of scrap bits and leftover extension cords:

Total cost was ~$60 Cdn for the "tent" and light. I had the wire, aluminum plate,screws, and scrap plywood hanging around, so all I had to buy were the 9 100 watt equivalent bulbs, the screwin bases and two 8 foot 2x4 boards which I ripped in half for the corner posts. The white liner/cover is a free lumber cover I salvaged from the local lumber yard. One could use Panda or Orca film if one wanted fancier, but as you can see, the lumber wrap works just fine. If zero light leaks were needed, fancier cover would be required. Since I am running auto, this is no problem for me.

Here is the Northern Lights grown in this 2x2 as of a few days back:

In my opinion, you can't do cheaper than screw ins if you have the DIY skills and inclination.

Upsides of screwins:

Cheapest by far compared to pre-mades of comparable wattage, cheaper than DIY made with higher end components.​

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All components are usually available locally with no shipping costs and easy replacement of failed bits.​

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Better light distribution, in my opinion, than single COB's. You can space the array however you like for the space being lighted.​

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A mix of 5500K and 2700K bulbs seems to work perfectly, and in my opinion will watt for watt likely out grow any of the old blurple designs. Spectral distribution can be adjusted by swapping out different Kelvin ratings. Intensity can be adjusted by loosening bulbs - no potentiometer failures possible.​

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If the grower is inclined, he/she can swap out one of the bulbs for a UVB screw in to finish off flowering - rumour has it that the UV stimulates higher cannabinoids. There are even far red screw ins if that floats your boat, but the 2700K bulbs produce lots of red.​

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Distributed ballasting - each bulb has its own ballast. A grow will never be compromised by failure of a single ballast unit. Even Meanwells die once in a while, and if you can't replace it locally, the grow could be hooped.​

Downsides:

You have to wire the array, and wiring ain't everyone's cuppa. However, I will note that no wiring tools other than a screw driver, a knife to remove insulation, and wire cutters are required, the bulb bases allow all necessary connections without soldering or wire nuts. You will need whatever tools are necessary to make the platform to attach the bulb bases to, but material can be plywood or a wood frame, so all you need is a saw to cut the size, and a drill to make holes for the wires if using plywood.​

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Efficiency will not match the highest end lights/components, but according to my calculations a small home grower would take many years of power savings to pay for a more efficient light.​

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If the grow is done under hot conditions, the heat from the lights inside the tent can make controlling temperature harder than with lights fed by an external ballast outside the tent.​

If I missed anything, jump in with all fingers. All this is just to identify another option for a really cheap but effective grow, not to persuade anyone one way or another. As the saying goes, different strokes...
Happy growing all.