Indoor Need some advice with my new lighting, LED or HPS?

[Truu]

About to buy a new grow tent 4x4x6.5, will have a carbon filter and a fan big enough to vent both lights.

I am planning on either getting 2x240w LED blackstar lights, they say they cover 3x2 area, which souns like 2 of these lights wont cover a 4x4 area.

With the HPS I am looking at a 600w cooled panel. It will easily cover the whole area, and everyone knows HPS grow great bud. Downsides are heat, having to cut a whole in my wall for exauhst, having to run my AC more.

I guess the only thing stopping me from getting the LED is the fact that im worried about it not covering my whole area. I want to have my tent full of plants, no extra space.

Any opinions and advice are welcome. Help me make my decision!

 

[agito]

well you need an exhaust on either option anyway

 

[lykaboss]

I to have a 4x4x6.5 grow tent and i use four 240 watt blackstar LED's and it more then covers the entire area, Me personally i stay away from HPS

 

[agito]

I would go for a hps as the floor print would be ideal square and its proven its worth time and time again
i dont think the led would cover 4ft maybes a 3x3 which is an odd shape
you could even get away with a 1x 400w if heat was an issue

 

[Truu]

Thanks guys, lykaboss if I could afford 4 of them right now I would go with that hands down. But do you think 2 would cover the area? Also, how do your plants like the blackstar?

Agito the reason Im leaning towards led is so I don't have to cut a whole in my wall. With hps I would have to vent into my attic, as opposed to led I could just vent into my room. But I agree hps has obviously proven itself to be worthy in a tent like mine.

Starting to lean towards hps because I don't want to spend 1200$ for full coverage leds.

 

[Muddy]

I switch from HPS to LED because of heat issues. Best thing I ever did. I'm using two Blackstar 240s in a 3' x 4' area and they are doing well, but I can see I could use 1 more. Four of them would probably be best for a 4 x 4' area.

When figuring the comparative costs of LED vs HPS, don't forget to factor in the electrical savings with LED. Also, the cost of replacement HPS bulbs. Over the rated 50k hours of an LED you would probably need to replace the HPS bulb about 3 times at $100+ per bulb for good ones like Hortilux. While the LEDs may cost more up front, they are cheaper in the long run.

If you decide to go with HPS, get the 600 watt. A 400 really won't cover that space very well and you will need to raise it up to cover the whole area, decreasing the intensity of the light reaching the plants.

 

[The Medicine Man]

the LEDs are going to give you enough coverage and you'll have just a little less intensity at 6 inches from 2 sides. If it were me, I'd work the LED's, personally. Now, that being said, if cost is an issue, then by all means grab the HPS. I'm just really loving what my blackstar is doing lately.

 

[TshirtNinja]

since your on AFN i assume you are growing autos which paired with led is perfect sollution for you. I have 4 240w blackstars and love them. I will be expirementing with a watercooled 600w HPS soon as i grab a digi ballast, a 50 gallon drum locally and a decent bulb. Might home depot special the light just for testing. I have not had a lot of people to talk to about this but I've seen a couple commercial grows with these but they use like 40 1000w monsters in closed watering loops and like 20k worth of trays and whatnot alone so its hard to predict it on a smaller scale. I will run uncooled water through the light. Actually I picked up a used watercooltube yesterday from my hydro store locally as he knows tons of people that need to get rid of gear. these units were used for over 3 years and they look solid even after all that time. just some food for thought.

---------- Post added 11-10-2011 at 07:40 AM ----------

oh also dont forget if you start adding more than 3 of those panels the heat will start to build a bit just a heads up if your in a warm climate like me

 

[Truu]

Alright guys I think I'm sold on the leds. I may have to sacrifice a little coverage but maybe ill do a scrog to help with that. And ill just buy 2 more when i can afford it. Thanks for the input and help. Ill be starting a mi5 and onyx after mysetup is done.

AFN is a great community!