Thoughts on LEDs

[Cannaficionado]

I am a new grower and just purchased my first tent and light from ac infinity

I bought their 1st gen s44 (400w) light as their newer ones are unavailable for purchase as a single item. I went with this light because the one that came in their 3x3 kit seemed a little underpowered at 240w. The PAR rating seemed a little low for a plant in the peak of flower. Unfortunately my tent isnt here yet, it actually comes tomorrow. I wont be able to post pics until I move next week.

I figured it would be nice to share some pics of the unboxing and the light itself since a lot of people havent had much expirience with ac infinity lights. But its bright, has the every spectrum range including far red and IR. Its also dimmable as most are and the dimensions of the light is 24"x24". Im aware that the photo of the light on doesnt provide much info, I just wanted to show people how the diodes are laid out.

 

[jdm61]

The Migro guy, who many on here feel is a fairly reliable source of info, said that if you have the hot white/red LED lights using top bin diodes, etc, you may only need 20 watts per square foot for autos.2That assumes 2.4-2.5 output He said 25 per sq foot for GOOD white only lights in the 2.0+ range. That seems low, but you see folks getting crazy yields with "fewer" watts. 240-260 LED watts is fairly common for a 3 x 3. What this recent info suggests is if you have a real flamethrower like the latest Migro array setup or one of the HLG Scorpion QB's 200 watts might be sufficient.

 

[Cannaficionado]

The Migro guy, who many on here feel is a fairly reliable source of info, said that if you have the hot white/red LED lights using top bin diodes, etc, you may only need 20 watts per square foot for autos.2That assumes 2.4-2.5 output He said 25 per sq foot for GOOD white only lights in the 2.0+ range. That seems low, but you see folks getting crazy yields with "fewer" watts. 240-260 LED watts is fairly common for a 3 x 3. What this recent info suggests is if you have a real flamethrower like the latest Migro array setup or one of the HLG Scorpion QB's 200 watts might be sufficient.

According to ac infinitys specs its efficacy rate is 2.75umol/j/sec which i found phenomenal. Its made with all samsung 301b diodes with a "400w" driver. I plugged in my draw meter today, according to the math at full power its drawing a lil over 500w. The PAR spread info they provide seems pretty accurate but I might get a meter just to make sure everything is accurate. But im not too concerned and since its dimmable i can turn it down to 300w if it is too strong. Also right now i plan on focusing on photo period plants because I know more about them

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

Don't LED's normally have a "draw" of less than the spec rating?.......I remember my TS1000's being 150 watt light but a draw of 90 watts...

 

[Cannaficionado]

Don't LED's normally have a "draw" of less than the spec rating?.......I remember my TS1000's being 150 watt light but a draw of 90 watts...

I have seen it lean both ways actually. Well at least on youtube. This is my first real led light though and before I never paid any attention to actual draw, efficacy rating, par or any of that stuff i just bought the cheapest lights i could find. Ill have to look more into that though, i suppose it all depends on how everything is soldered and the materials on the inside though. Now that I think about it i just watched an in depth review of common 100w grow lights and the ts 1000 was on there. That guys light actually drew 160w instead of the 150 it was labeled at. Im sure you could buy 5 of the same light and they will all be slightly different.

 

[Cannaficionado]

I have seen it lean both ways actually. Well at least on youtube. This is my first real led light though and before I never paid any attention to actual draw, efficacy rating, par or any of that stuff i just bought the cheapest lights i could find. Ill have to look more into that though, i suppose it all depends on how everything is soldered and the materials on the inside though. Now that I think about it i just watched an in depth review of common 100w grow lights and the ts 1000 was on there. That guys light actually drew 160w instead of the 150 it was labeled at. Im sure you could buy 5 of the same light and they will all be slightly different.

He also stated that only one of his lights was labeled accurately the marshydro light he reviewed actually pulled about 12w/hour less than the label.

 

[Cannaficionado]

Don't LED's normally have a "draw" of less than the spec rating?.......I remember my TS1000's being 150 watt light but a draw of 90 watts...

I just realized its also possible that maybe i got the wrong driver installed on this unit. Their newer s44 and t44 lights are 540w maybe they put that driver on this board? Idk if thats even possible as im not an electrical wizard in the slightest

 

[Bill.de.Cat]

Hell, I don't know...I just plug it in and grow. Mine run at 100% most the time anyways.

 

[Cannaficionado]

Hell, I don't know...I just plug it in and grow. Mine run at 100% most the time anyways.

Thats the plan my man. Nothing ever functions exactly as labeled...unfortunately the times we live in

 

[jdm61]

Don't LED's normally have a "draw" of less than the spec rating?.......I remember my TS1000's being 150 watt light but a draw of 90 watts...

I have seen tests of the HLG 135 where it actually drew around 150W at the wall. That is with a 120w labeled driver. In one of the tests, perhaps by the Migro guy, the HLG 100 drew 97 and the HLG 65 drew like 68.