Lighting LEDs direct from china

[Bromeo]

You guys don't find it weird ordering from someone with repair instructions on their main page?

I currently have a led from a u.s. distributor purchased of eBay that is not working. I have no clue how to fix it and its out of warranty. They want my to pay shipping both ways plus repair charge. I would much rather know how to fix my led's if something goes wrong. I would much rather pay shipping of parts as opposed to whole units.

 

[Scott817]

That is one of the things I look at when making a purchase is if the vendor has loaners or what their repair policy is. I pay more but I am usually covered should anything go wrong. I havent had any lights go bad from any of the vendors I have used in the past so I guess I am lucky in that regard.

 

[bud head]

hey romeo, whats the grow area on the green one also it says it has two switches does that mean your only using 1/2 of the light at a time...

 

[gradolabs]

You guys don't find it weird ordering from someone with repair instructions on their main page?

:roflcry: Agreed man, but the quality control or lack thereof isn't too discouraging if you consider these lights are cheap, powerful, and to be honest pretty basic - you shouldn't be afraid to open up the case. It's a printed circuit board with some leds on it backed by an aluminum heat sink with fans blowing air over them. The fans and the LEDs each have a dedicated power supply and there may or may not be switches for veg and bloom, oh and some lenses to focus the light.

If the LEDs get too hot, they'll fry like all semiconductors, and power supplies fail from time to time for various reasons. You can test the power supplies with a multimeter though - it should be pretty easy to troubleshoot the circuit.

 

[bud head]

thinking about getting an led ...I don't see too many pictures so here's some I like...I like the long phantom 300 watt one...my plants average 30" across so two of them apx 5' so I need one to cover both... is 300 watts enough for two? also the red one on ebay the guy said grow area 16 sq ft will that work for 2-3 plants...any thoughts folks.. also having a hard time finding out the coverage

 

[wg]

If you're going to deal with a Chinese LED vendor, I recommend Cidly or Bysen - no one else. Most others are copy cats or trying to 'produce the next big thing'...
Also, no way that 9 spot is going to cover a 4x4 perimeter to perimeter..

It will do great in a 3x3 though.. I use a 6 spot in a 2x3 and and it cover 2x2.5 pretty damn good, after that if I put little ones in the skirts they lean inwards - so I know the light isn't powerful enough at the edges. That light would be great for 2-3 plants. Probably 4 nice sized ladies before you had "issue".. otherwise, keep 'em small and keep 'em zerging...

 

[bud head]

can't go small!....trying to get a price on the 300 watt phantom... think that would be enough? I'd like to cover any area 3' x 5 ft any suggestions ..can only afford one lamp (I think)... or if it had to be two how many watts each should I get them?

 

[bud head]

just got this email on this light...The dimension of the 600w light is 440x280x70mm, and this light can cover almost 2 square meter area. Hope this information can help you.

 

[gradolabs]

can't go small!....trying to get a price on the 300 watt phantom... think that would be enough? I'd like to cover any area 3' x 5 ft any suggestions ..can only afford one lamp (I think)... or if it had to be two how many watts each should I get them?

100-150w per sq ft is nominal. But there are a ton of variables to consider, so that in no way should be taken as anything other than an approximate ballpark. If you're tight on funds just use CFLs, but WG pointed you in the right direction with Bysen and Cidly. Helios makes some sweet leds too, also a chinese direct manufacturer. Do yourself a favor and check out ali-express for grow lights in your budget and we can defo help you sift through and make an informed decision.

 

[gradolabs]

just got this email on this light...The dimension of the 600w light is 440x280x70mm, and this light can cover almost 2 square meter area. Hope this information can help you.

View attachment 216390

lol, that a lot of stuff to go wrong. All yer eggs in one oem basket. Uh... look thats prob not a great light. The heat sinks and pcb are probably crap. It's an old model that's all. Powerful and decently priced, but there are better options. Look for leds with lenses and pictures of good heat sinks.