LED Grow Light Forum

Hello Everyone,

I`m new here and I Have been reading up on led grow lights and I have come to realize that they are very efficient and seem to actually perform better, so, I thought of doing the same and find that they truly are very overpriced... lets say, and one can substancially lower costs by at least 60% by building your own. So..... The Questions Are:

a) Which is the best wattage led lamp to use? 3w leds or 5w leds.

b) Which degree of angle performs best ?

c) Whats the ratio reds to blues....

I would very much appreciate all suggestions on Led grow lights concerning these 3 questions I have.

Thank you all very much.

Cannabyte

Welcome to the forums!

Perform better than what? Incandescent? Fluorescent? Of course. HID? That's debatable...and doubtful as far as I'm concerned.

a) 3w or 5w refer to the wattage of the diodes not the entire lamp. 3w diodes are slightly more efficient but 5w are better able to penetrate deeper. I would want the higher wattage diodes since that light would be more flexible. I'm hoping to see 7w or 10w diodes soon...

b) Also debatable, it depends on different factors. Some use one, some use another and some use mixed lens angles.

c) Again, that's up for interpretation; different companies use a different mixture and it's been proven that plants use more than just red and blue light. It's kind of up to you and whether you're building for veg/flower/both.

If you want to build your own, I say go for it. You can get specs for different lights as far as how many diodes and what wavelengths they use, etc. Pay attention to cooling the LED drivers though, heat is bad.


SME

Another question I have is should I go for 5mm leds or 10mm leds.... ?

And how can I tell if they are 3 watt or 5 watt since that info I dont see on the sites.?

If they don't give specs, buy them elsewhere. I suggest doing more research, there are a couple of LED diode manufacturers that are considered top-notch and I'd suggest contacting them...

Hi Cannabyte

re your 3 questions ~ hope my info helps :

a Q ) Which is the best wattage led lamp to use? 3w leds or 5w leds.
* Only one I know who uses 5w LEDs is Lumigrow ~ (may be others but I dont know ) 5w is OK but generates lots of heat and needs good thermal management. Would suggest you stay with good quality 3w Single Chip

b Q ) Which degree of angle performs best ?
* 60 degree beam angles gives the best penetration ~ but angle is tight so coverage not so good ~ ( but I would still use). 90 degree is OK - but I prefer 60 ~ smaller area with max penetration

c Q ) Whats the ratio reds to blues....

* truth is there is no confirmed ideal ratio ~ some growers use 6 Band > 440nm and 470nm blues, 640nm and 660nm reds, 740nm far-red ~ others use 10 or 11 Band > 760nm, 740nm, 720nm, 660nm, 630nm, 615nm-480nm, 460nm, 440nm, 415nm, 380nm ~ and all in different ratios.

Personally think 5 or 6 bands is OK > 440nm and 470nm blues, 640nm and 660nm reds, 740nm far-red and white LED
OK ~ with ratios of 5% white, 10% blue and 85% red.

* (To complicate am reading were some are using 75% red, 10% blue, and 15% green (? ) Rgds ~ ER

California Lightworks uses 5w diodes and I wouldn't suggest using less. LED with 5w diodes can't even keep up with HID, let alone with 3w diodes. Additionally, heat is very easy to deal with.

YMMV...