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Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 4:11 am
by Powerwiz
Just got this baby today actually. Its the Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED made by California Lightworks. Paid 449 bucks for it and about 20 dollars I think for shipping.

The specs on this model are: 200watts; 165watts actual power draw. It has 40 5 watt LEDs

I bought this to put it in my 2x2x4 tent. For that it will work perfect. I have a fair amount of LED growing experience, well I think so considering most have never owned one. Ive had a 90w UFO, 240w Blackstar LED Panel, and in my big tent I have a 800w California Lightworks Solarstorm. Those other 2 LEDs I sold. 90w UFO sucked ass, and the 240w Blackstar was decent for what it was.

I chose the Solarflare firstly because already own another of there product and it kicks ass, the other its actually a good deal if not better then the competing LEDs out there and I’m pretty sure its going to make for a kick ass grow compared to its competators.

470 dollars is 470 dollars is alot but just glancing at the Solarflares competition its a good deal.

One reason being is most LED panels out there run at only 50% power usually. A example is Advanced LEDs 180w Extreme LED Panel for $ 539 . It was 119 LEDs if you count and divided by what they say is its total draw 180w you get 1.5. So every LED on that panel is running at 50% of its rated maximum. They have a new one that says it uses 10w LEDs for 549 dollars. Very deceiving...it has only 4 10 watt LEDs, and 64 other unrated LEDs. The average power draw per LED is 2 watts a piece about. There not very forthcoming on that units stats as well. I would imagine the cost of 10w diodes is prohibitily high so to hit a price point the LEDs on there are 2 or 3 watters. Go to the Magnum 357. Pretty popular as well. Its 799 bucks! It has 119 LEDs as well...I notice that most of the panels out there have the same number of LEDs which makes me believe the rumor that they all get there panels from the same place and slap another name on them. They do this in the laptop world. Companies like Foxx Conn and Quanta make virtually every PC laptop all thats different is configuration and shell. Anyway Magnum 357 draws 180 watts which means there 3 watt diodes run at half power.

Now moving on to my unit the Solarflare its power supplies are 200 watts with a actual power draw of 165 watts but only 40 LED Diodes. Thats a little over 4 watts per diode. The unit itself also draws much more then the standard 50% in terms of wattage..making this a very efficent unit as well as a good value for its class.

It only has a single fan on top and its pretty quite. On heat not so sure yet as I have not installed it in my tent.

On a side note all of California Lightwork’s LEDs are 100% American Made and from what I read 90% US Parts and like 10% from the EU. They also have great customer service. Every email and theres been a lot is promptly answered. Anyhow any questions feel free to post and here are some pics!


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Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 10:06 am
by SisterMaryElephant
Is $449.00 the retail price or the discounted price as part of the temporary Growers Feedback Program?

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 12:26 pm
by Powerwiz
SisterMaryElephant wrote:Is $449.00 the retail price or the discounted price as part of the temporary Growers Feedback Program?


Full price..then tack on shipping. I believe there growers program only refers to the 800w Solarstorm.

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sat Aug 11, 2012 8:41 pm
by SisterMaryElephant
The model offered for the program changes, I'm not sure which one they're currently offering. Good to know though... ;)

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2012 6:19 pm
by Powerwiz
Well set up the light in the 2x2x4 tent that I have. Temperatures are excellent with this light. I have a variable switch on my 4 inch inline fan and its on low and Solarflare makes it about 78-79 at pot level and right under the light about 82. Very pleased.

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 3:30 pm
by Mj84
Any updates. Seriously considering the purchase myself. Also looked at the kessil 350 magenta, and hydrogrows penetrator 21x. Any info or personal experience would be greatly appreciated

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:03 pm
by trainWreck
Under the Solar Flare 200W they have three categories: Bloom Booster, Full Cycle, and Veg Master. Which one is best for a complete grow cycle star to finish?

Well I should have clicked on it. Now I know the difference.

Re: Solarflare 200w Full Spectrum LED review

PostPosted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 7:27 pm
by Bagsworth
Under the Solar Flare 200W they have three categories: Bloom Booster, Full Cycle, and Veg Master. Which one is best for a complete grow cycle star to finish?


trainWreck, I would have to say that a full cycle is your only option if you are going to go with the Solar Flare model and be able to complete a full grow, if going with Solar Storm you could choose if you want to run veg mode or flower mode. I have 3 Solar Storm 400w in my flower room, but now I have decided to invest in 2 Solar Flare 200w Veg Masters to put in my veg room. Are you growing in only one room or tent?