LED grow lights

Clkeiper
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LED grow lights

#1

Post: # 8398Unread post Clkeiper
Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:44 pm

has anyone retrofitted a fluorescent fixture for LED 4' bulbs? where have you found the bulbs to be the most economical to purchase at?

zendog
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Re: LED grow lights

#2

Post: # 8401Unread post zendog
Thu Jan 30, 2020 9:12 pm

I've done it with a few different fixtures. All the bulbs I've bought have been from Amazon, averaging around $8-12/bulb for 18-20 watt or so LED replacement tubes. It depends partly on how many you buy at once.

That said, if I had it to do all over again, I might just go with the single bulb complete units like these:

I did this for one shelf of plants where I mounted them on a PVC frame and I like how I can space them more evenly and also raise and lower all of them together at once.

Clkeiper
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Re: LED grow lights

#3

Post: # 8416Unread post Clkeiper
Fri Jan 31, 2020 8:00 am

thanks.
I picked up led grow bulbs at menards this week to try one fixture. the bulbs were 15.00 a piece and thats the best price I have found so far. I probably will just pick up a few more bulbs to do a couple more fixtures at this point. I do like to support local business as long as the prices aren't insanely different.

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SQWIB
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Re: LED grow lights

#4

Post: # 8438Unread post SQWIB
Fri Jan 31, 2020 12:42 pm


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pepperhead212
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Re: LED grow lights

#5

Post: # 11201Unread post pepperhead212
Wed Feb 19, 2020 9:02 pm

The best price so far on some 4' LED lights is Harbor Freight. 1 bulb is about equivalent of 2 T8 fluorescents, with 5,000 lumens, @5,000k, and supposedly 30,000 hours. This is the regular price on this link, but they have sales all the time for $19.95 with coupons. I even got them for $16.95 one time.
https://www.harborfreight.com/4-Ft-LED- ... 64410.html

Only problem is that I can't hard wire them into systems, but that's minor.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

dfollett
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Re: LED grow lights

#6

Post: # 11377Unread post dfollett
Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:09 am

Clkeiper wrote: Thu Jan 30, 2020 7:44 pm has anyone retrofitted a fluorescent fixture for LED 4' bulbs? where have you found the bulbs to be the most economical to purchase at?
I retrofitted a bunch of T5 HD fixtures with direct replacement LED tubes and they work great - and use about 1/3 the energy. Their site is down right now so I can't get a link, but the lights I used were "LUNERA-10042 5000 Kelvin - 3200 Lumens - 25W - LED - F54T5/HO Replacement - 120-277V - Works with Compatible Ballast Only". The cost was about $10 per tube.

Setec Astronomy
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Re: LED grow lights

#7

Post: # 12353Unread post Setec Astronomy
Sat Feb 29, 2020 10:26 am

dfollett wrote: Fri Feb 21, 2020 12:09 am I retrofitted a bunch of T5 HD fixtures with direct replacement LED tubes and they work great - and use about 1/3 the energy. Their site is down right now so I can't get a link, but the lights I used were "LUNERA-10042 5000 Kelvin - 3200 Lumens - 25W - LED - F54T5/HO Replacement - 120-277V - Works with Compatible Ballast Only". The cost was about $10 per tube.
Lunera went out of business a year or two ago. Bees Lighting used to be a good place for the kind of bulb you are mentioning, but they mostly sell in case quantity now. 1000Bulbs still sells in smaller quantities. However, the bulb you show and what is available from the sources I mention are 5000K, while from what I see most of the grow bulbs are 6000/6400/6500K.

There are 3 kinds of LED retrofits, Type A, which works with a compatible electronic ballast (commonly referred to as "Plug and Play"), and Type B where you have to bypass or remove the ballast (also referred to as "direct wire"). Then there are hybrids, which will work either way.

FWIW, Gardener's supply sells T5HO LED retrofits that seem to be 6500K Plug & Play, and there are some on Amazon.

Clkeiper
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Re: LED grow lights

#8

Post: # 12368Unread post Clkeiper
Sat Feb 29, 2020 11:55 am

I found some at Menards for 15.00 each. wow. so, I bought all that were in the bin.

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arnorrian
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Re: LED grow lights

#9

Post: # 12489Unread post arnorrian
Sun Mar 01, 2020 6:26 am

Would 40W of LED be enough for 4 sqft setup?
Climate: Cfa
USDA hardiness zone: 7a
Elevation: 140 m

Clkeiper
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Re: LED grow lights

#10

Post: # 12542Unread post Clkeiper
Sun Mar 01, 2020 4:27 pm

its the lumens that are important. you need to be up at the 6000 area.

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arnorrian
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Re: LED grow lights

#11

Post: # 12590Unread post arnorrian
Mon Mar 02, 2020 2:45 am

I have a 40x120 cm chamber (15x45 inch) with 4 bulbs 6400K 9W 805 lm, and 4 grow bulbs of 6W (don't know the number of lumens). Last year I had a bit smaller chamber, but only 3 grow bulbs. The plants grew nicely until they passed 15 cm (5 inches), when they started being leggy. Some of the plants started losing bottom leaves, and some lost them all and died. The rest I planted outside and grew well. I was afraid that the light was too weak, so I increased the number of bulbs.

I used my phone as a lumen-meter, the app says the light is between 2500 and 7000 lx, dependent on the placing, at the level of the cups. I can adjust the height of the bulbs easily (clothes pins hold the cables at the holes). I will also put up reflective foil on the walls too.
Climate: Cfa
USDA hardiness zone: 7a
Elevation: 140 m

Clkeiper
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Re: LED grow lights

#12

Post: # 12592Unread post Clkeiper
Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:13 am

in my small mind it sounds like it should work. I have grow shelves with a foil drape around three sides but I also have greenhouses and I am able to move them from the grow lights to daylight when they are big enough to touch the lights. I have a friend who has LED grow lights just in her basement hanging above counters and they are nice sturdy dark green compact plants.

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arnorrian
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Re: LED grow lights

#13

Post: # 12593Unread post arnorrian
Mon Mar 02, 2020 5:35 am

I'm not sure about these grow lights I got from Ali Express. They should be 6W, but if I look directly at them even for a second my eyes hurt, and heat up quite a bit. They suppose to have 7 blue, 15 red, 1 IR, 1 UV, 2 cool white and 2 warm white diodes.

Image

Image
Climate: Cfa
USDA hardiness zone: 7a
Elevation: 140 m

Cajun-Hydroponics
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Re: LED grow lights

#14

Post: # 12594Unread post Cajun-Hydroponics
Mon Mar 02, 2020 6:38 am

I won a grow light last night from hidden valley grow lights.

Gonna post some pictures when I get it. Not sure all the ins and outside of the size and stuff of the light.

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asaump
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Re: LED grow lights

#15

Post: # 22234Unread post asaump
Thu Jun 11, 2020 12:38 pm

I have a couple set of these I have used for my seedlings over the last 3-4 years. I've had great success with these. I always get complimented on my seedlings when other people see them.
Ken

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wykvlvr
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Re: LED grow lights

#16

Post: # 30874Unread post wykvlvr
Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:26 am

So my conditions are a bit different. I am not growing seedlings to plant outside. I will be growing my Micro Tomatoes through the winter under lights. Will the shop lights mentioned in this post work for that? If not what should I be looking for when I buy my new lights to expand my growing area...
Wyoming
Zone 5
Elevation : 6,063 ft
Climate : semi-arid
Avg annual rainfall = 16 inches

DirtTherapy
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Re: LED grow lights

#17

Post: # 31484Unread post DirtTherapy
Mon Sep 28, 2020 11:35 am

wykvlvr wrote: Sat Sep 19, 2020 10:26 am So my conditions are a bit different. I am not growing seedlings to plant outside. I will be growing my Micro Tomatoes through the winter under lights. Will the shop lights mentioned in this post work for that? If not what should I be looking for when I buy my new lights to expand my growing area...
I kinda did the opposite, grew some micros inside when it was basically too hot and wet to grow them outside in Florida this summer. I have two Sunblaster T5's, and they managed pretty well. When my fall seedlings got to be too much, though, I booted some of the micros to a sunny window or outside in partial shade. I've still got some going on the windowsill.

Ann

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wykvlvr
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Re: LED grow lights

#18

Post: # 31488Unread post wykvlvr
Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:00 pm

We had an inch of snow on Sept 9th and last night went below freezing... hence the desire to grow inside. But yep when we lived in "Southern Alabama" I would have been growing inside in the summer...
I would love Sunblasters but the cost ouch. I will probably end up with the shop lights posted above and hope for the best until I can afford better.
Wyoming
Zone 5
Elevation : 6,063 ft
Climate : semi-arid
Avg annual rainfall = 16 inches

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pepperhead212
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Re: LED grow lights

#19

Post: # 31490Unread post pepperhead212
Mon Sep 28, 2020 12:56 pm

Harbor Freight has gotten some better LED fixtures now. One is 5500 lumens, and only uses 50w! And one is 10,000 lumens, and only 100w. These are linkable, so you can place them next to each other, and plug one into the next, only plugging one into the outlet.
https://www.harborfreight.com/lighting/ ... 56780.html

I noticed that, like the one bulb fixture, the 5500 lumen fixture has $10.00 coupons on their app. Maybe the larger one will some day.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

DirtTherapy
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Re: LED grow lights

#20

Post: # 31558Unread post DirtTherapy
Tue Sep 29, 2020 10:57 am

Yes, Sunblaster and Sunblaze can get expensive, especially in bigger sizes. I was looking for small, compact fixtures I could rig up on top of a dresser or move about. Sounds like you want a larger setup. I was lucky enough that, at the time, a local place near me had a pretty good price on the smaller Sunblasters, and now they are not carrying them.

On other site, a fellow posted about a good deal on a "good enough" LED light from Walmart, that now looks like it's not in stock anywhere: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tough- ... /713072660 But you can mark to be informed of back in stock.

I made the cheapest of setups including using that wire cube modular shelving to make a frame with zip ties, and lining with white foam board from the dollar store, which does help reflect the light a bit even though it's sort of a matte.

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