Lighting Grownorthern LED lights

[ograndeviado]

yes Red Eye I see what you mean they are exactly the same panels, I never saw those before when i was looking,but then i stay away from chinese sites. As you say they are a lot cheaper ( probably dont have the right spectrums and dont have Bridgelux LEDs like the growNorthern ones. I wouldnt touch those with a bargepole!!! mental casings???????????????) I get the impression that grownorthern is more horticulture than weed based technology. Its really not good enough, not saying what the draw is, its like buying a car when they wont tell you the MPG and the size of the engine! Still at least you can now ask questions like that , before the internet it would be a nightmare.......CAN YOU IMAGINE!!!!

 

[ograndeviado]

perhaps we should draw up a list of technical questions to ask companies about their products? That way we could pool our knowledge and even noobs like me could ask the sensible serious questions that need to be asked. Perhaps put it in the articles section for easy reference.And create a AFN LED consumer section with ratings and comments for the individual units, ilike something from Which magazine or What LED lol. So people would know which are the best and the worst.

 

[Red eyed c]

perhaps we should draw up a list of technical questions to ask companies about their products? That way we could pool our knowledge and even noobs like me could ask the sensible serious questions that need to be asked. Perhaps put it in the articles section for easy reference.And create a AFN LED consumer section with ratings and comments for the individual units, ilike something from Which magazine or What LED lol. So people would know which are the best and the worst.

Great idea mate..
#1-actual wattage drawn by the panel,it's an easy question to answer for companies who
Build there own or have input into the build.Companies that just buy and sell will fill you full of marketing talk without giving a proper answer.i think iv read you need about 50w per sq foot.
#2 what degree lenses are being used,I only have a small tent so a panel with 120 degree lenses would be a waste of light,I want a 60/90 for my core are..
#3 ask the company if the have any reviews or grows from customers that can be viewed
#4 if buying from abroad ask for a discount.i got my blackstar shipped from America and got a discount,which helped cause I then had customs tax to pay
I wouldn't get too technical with the questions,we can keep it nice and simple so people can understand the basics

 

[astronomy420a]

og, as coop said very hard to talk to the manufactures about there products, and they all, blackstar included streches the truth about there panels.
it is easy for me to say a 240w blackstar isa better choice i paid $250.00 us for it. so i studied it up for months and was frustrated with misleading info
from all the manus. yes there are better panels than a blackstar,but they are all more expensive. so at that point i started to look at forums for some
answers, after checking out many different grow logs on different forums, including afn the BEST results for the DOLLAR (not the pound)the blackstar
had the best results for the money spent! modular can be a double edged sword. if one diode in a module fails do the rest of the diodes still function?
all the manufacturers are scrambling to come out with the latest idea, like 40,60.90,120 degree lenses, every time you put the light thru a lens it will run hotter. the same with 5watt diodes they will run hotter. the manus. dont know how long they will run because they are jumping the gun on new models. so 50.000 hours may not be the case.

 

[Red eyed c]

modular can be a double edged sword. if one diode in a module fails do the rest of the diodes still function?

When u spoke to grownorthern they explained that on there modular series if one breaks down the others all keep functioning while that one gets sent off for repair. He also said that these are upgradable,they currently use 3w chips but in the future the can produce 5w ones to fit straight in at a cheaper cost than buying a complete new panel,which is a nice idea imo

 

[astronomy420a]

so the whole module has to be replaced? not just one led? ok what about down time while your waiting for the manu. to ship your new module i guess that if your in the u.k. turnaround time may be better. also there was a question about veg/clone or flowering models, i use two flowering models, and for autos they are best because of the short vegging stage of growth, but i have some 5ft photo girls flowering after tremendous vegging growth. so flowering models are the best for autos. here is a pic of photo girls. to show that the flowering model works for both.

 

[ograndeviado]

yes it does make life easier doesnt it and being able to upgrade so it is future proof. From what they said the 5w are more for the vegetative growth than the flowering, in their other non modular 5w panels at least. Being able to change the light angle from 120-60 degrees for individual models is also a big plus. The casings themselves are obviously, from Red Eyes posting, a standard chinese one, but the drivers and LEDs are not (they are Bridgelux). I dont understand all that psycho-babble on their blurb for the drivers, but it doesnt sound like it is standard chinese stuff and they do say that it is their own development.
if anyone else has any ideas for other questions to ask (thinking Ninja mainly here) please keep them coming!!

Once again thank you to everyone for getting involved and helping me out, hopefully it is not just me who is being educated and I do think there ought to be some sort of LED section to the forum so that the information and postings are pooled in one place and not spread all over the forum. With the different requirements of LEDs for soil, nutrients and whatever else, it needs consolidating and being easily available

 

[Red eyed c]

Yeah the module has to be sent off for repair,but the panel will continue working with the remaining modules in untill you get the other one back..and I havnt seen anyone using a veg model led and your photo plant looks dam fine mate and proves that only a flowering model is required to grow with autos or photos
One point that's been made by many led growers is that with using led cal/mag is a must have,you may not need it every grow but it will be needed at some point..were all on a learning curve with led and if we share our knowledge and experiences we can improve our growing

 

[ograndeviado]

Astronomy - Those are looking great,
so that removes one of the potential advantages of the GN modulars (which are growth and flowering combined)
Although autos are at the moment my major interests I would like to do some photo types too in the future so thats good

 

[astronomy420a]

og, i dont want to mislead you, i have a confession i am using two cfl bulbs down low to reach the bottom parts of the plants. they are in reflectors lights and reflectors 30bucks u.s. they do help to fatten up those little popcorn buds under the canopy. "you can never have to much light".............:smokebuds: