LED Grow Light Forum

I'm just starting to learn about LEDs and are setting up my first fully enclosed grow. I've recently moved and are now running my system off one circuit in my Garage. I have a 6x4 cab and 5ft of potential plant height available. Any suggestions on how I can maximize my space? I am thinking about 24 plants either grown with DWC or aeroponics.

As for LED lights I've read a lot and understand the g/w ratios discussed here. I submitted to take the challenge from cLW and thought I would run the SS400 against the HydroGrow Sol6-300w. Any thoughts on the specs for the sol6? Seems to be using high watt diodes.

Welcome to the forums!

I do see potential problems with your system; the 5 foot headroom being one of the bigger problems. Not enough light for the amount of space is another.

24 plants in 24 square feet is fine for a SOG type grow; we have another journal here doing something similar. LED lights perform better with shorter plants and 1 plant/sqft will have to be flowered pretty short to avoid overcrowding so I think you're on a good track there, depending on genetics. I'd avoid sativas since you don't have much headroom.

As far as lighting goes, I think you're going to want closer to 1200 watts to cover a 4x6 area if you want excellent results. The SS400w actually only draws 310w LED so you would need 4 of those.

I wouldn't bother, at all, with the Sol6 because their website contains dishonest claims of 2x-3.7x yield watt for watt (they don't say what crop or growing methodology though) and there is no such thing as a 50w diode. It's an array. If you look at the pictures you can see multiple diodes in each array and LED arrays have been plagued with heat failure problems. Also they claim a power consumption of 300w with 6 x 50w arrays which is very suspect too. Their older Penetrator series had decent reviews but I see a lot of red flags with their website propaganda on the new light. Frankly, I don't trust them at all but it's your grow so buy what you want. I don't tell people what to buy or not buy, I only give my opinions. YMMV...


SME

If I'm gonna shoot for 1200 watts then i may as well go with 2 600w hps right? Considering one circuit maybe 2 400w hps and either reduce the canopy size or add some CFls, T5s or a small LED. How would you set it up?

Also, why is the 5 ft head room a problem?

You could go with a number of options, LED or HID. I wouldn't bother with CFL or the T5-T8 options.

One circuit of how many amps? 220v/110v?

Because cannabis wants to grow tall and you need space for roots, lights, etc. You'd have less of a problem with the headroom with SOG, flowered while they under 10", than you would growing fewer - taller plants.

My plan is sog or reduce the amount of plants and scrog. I'm In the US so I assume 110v but I will check to be sure. This is my first run at SOG. What is the typical g/w yields you see with this method?

1000w HID on a 110v circuit will draw just under 10 amps. You probably have a 15 amp circuit but you don't want to load it to 100% and you have other things to run too. Are you going to also run an AC unit on that circuit for the summer time or a heater in the winter? If you avoid the aeroponics and DWC systems you may be able to get away without using water/air pumps but that means more labor from hand watering. You can also reduce the size of the room and number of plants to reduce the power footprint. If you want high-end results (no pun intended) then you should shoot for over 50w/sqft, imho...

It's impossible to estimate yield, especially for new growers, because there are so many variables (genetics, lighting, environmental, experience, etc) but SOG grows *can* and often do exceed the 1g/w mark.

Thanks for the info. I live in NorCal where temp ranges 50-70 all year. Running the lights at night is perfect when temps drop. If cooler air is needed I have an exhaust extension I made which attaches to a painters bucket. I drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket and place it on the cold cement floor of my garage. It pulls the cooler air from the ground which I'm guessing should work. The inside of the cab I'm assuming will maintain temp even during cool days when lights are off and i keep it shut. if not ill add some heating pads on a timer or something else similar.

I think my system should be able to maintain temp with 2 600w hid running and fans to cool. That's if I can gain access to an additional circuit. If I'm unable to then I'm left with 2 400s which I don't think will cover.

I don't know, I've seen it get pretty hot up north but you live there.

Having an electrician run another circuit now, before you get started, is the best idea. You'll be surprised how fast the amps add up and it'll give you the freedom to run what you want rather than what you can...

I live near the water so much cooler. I'm in an apt. With a prvt garage below my unit. I just found a cable line which is not in use running from a spare room which has a computer running and that's it. Checked my breaker and the spare room has a dedicated circuit. My garage runs off the same circuit as my living room and bedroom but its 20 vs 15 for spare. I'm going to see if I can run an extension through the cable hole into my garage. That would solve everything