I have approximately $300 to spend on a LED grow light. The growing area I need coverage for is 2ft x 2ft x 4ft tall. I have looked at 63W Penetrator LED Grow Light and 90w Advanced UFO Grow Light - 1w LEDs, and Illuminator UFO 90W... The problem I am having is there are tons of knockoffs and I cannot tell the good from the bad. Any advice would be most appreciated...
Since you only have 4' headroom to work with you'll be limited to shorter grows and that means you can use the 1w LED lights which will save you a little money and gain a little efficiency. As to which lights, I can't help you there (I'm still a HID guy) but maybe one of the others will be able to make a suggestion based on your budget. LED is pretty expensive so hopefully 300 will be enough.
Good luck...
Disclaimer: I still use HID and I'm NOT an LED expert. All of my LED knowledge is from other parties or research so I can't say from first hand experience one way or another. I also run a medical grow consulting business in SoCal.
Yeah, you can probably get it cheaper going direct through the manufacturer but then you have no recourse should something go wrong. Picture this . . . lets say you get the a 90W directly from a Chinese manufacturer for $150. 2 Months later it dies in the middle of your grow so you contact the manufacturer. They say to send it back to China (at your cost . . . about $50) for repair. Perhaps 3-4 weeks later you get your light back . . . in the mean time, either your plants have died because of lack of light or you had to go out and buy some CFLs to keep them alive (cost $50-100).
Total cost: $250-350 +stress
This is the best case scenario - i.e. that the Manufacturer even responds to your complaint. I have heard so many times that Chinese companies offer pretty much no support.
Its a case of pay me now or pay me later . . . don't fall for the false economy of buying direct from China.