I am trying to buy another light that will give me thick sexy buds, my budget is 1k. and I’m looking at this Refurbished Scorpion® Diablo – Horticulture Lighting Group
and
what do yall think are these worth my time, will I be able to DIY these lights and save on money and time?
HLG is a decent brand, I don’t have experience with that particular light though. I’d personally stay away from refurb units just to be safe. I’m going with this for my next light:
It’s a little less wattage than your pick (500w vs 600w) but is still enough IMO for a decent yield in a 4x4 since it’s spread out well. There’s a larger Aray 12 that is 750w but you would need a 5x5 or larger space as it’s 54" wide.
I currently have an Amazon 630w 10 bar light that’s done well for a few years but it runs hot, isn’t dimmable, and one bar isn’t lighting anymore. Mars Hydro, Spider Farmer, and Vivosun are some of the bigger names for lower priced Chinese lights (even USA made uses foreign components). I run a 200w Vivosun quantum board in my 2x4 veg tent and it’s usually under 50% power @ 3’ away from the canopy. No issues at all with that light.
Honestly most LED lights are similar these days provided they’re using Samsung agricultural LEDs which is pretty much industry standard. Outside of that all you’re really paying for is a solid power supply. Most are Chinese reprints without anything that differentiates 95% of LED lights out there
I think there’s one or two other companies finally stepping up and making actual good Light Emitting Diodes for agriculture but Samsung has been the leader for a minute now
To be honest spider farmer seems to be doing really well with the newer setups they’re putting out.
I’ve always enjoyed luxx leds but they’re green taxed.
If you know what you’re looking for and the canopy you need to cover/penetrate you can build out a light setup of your own for half the cost and still perform just as well.
I suggest anything with low heat driver or removable though. The gavitas & hlg I used to setup would output 135°f-155° at the light, so always ensure you have a high enough spacing and proper air flow in order to keep a good relative atmosphere between the lights and canopy of course, but also ensure your par is up to well… par haha
The best light depends on the objective. If you want frost, increase UV. Deep red speeds growth. Both are great, but they don’t fatten buds, optimum light intensity will do that, provided everything else is ok. I spent my money on supplements, because I am not a commercial grower trying to maximize yield. It just depends on what you want to accomplish.
Meiju or that other chinese one. Alibaba. Thank me later 
50% cheaper for a product 99.9% as good. A diode is a diode. 2+ grams per watt is easy, no reason to pay over the odds when you dont have to.
For a single light I would push the budget a little and get yourself an Agnetix. You can thank me later.
I’m a big fan of Grower Choice ROI line. Im pulling 2 lbs out of a 4x4 tent easily. Outperforms my Fluence Spydr-X plus side by side easily.
Spectre Phaser x660 Pro LED Grow Light Full Spectrum
someone came to my dm saying they got this light for a good price what do yall think? is this a good investment?
so check alibaba for them? do you have a link for me, I don’t wanna wait 3 months to get my lights
I have been using HLG since 2017. They are great lamps but for the money I would go spider farmer as suggested. They use the same samsung diodes so save yourself some money.
Biggest thing you are looking for in a lamp is the diodes (samsung, osram, phillips) and the driver (inventronics, HLG the driver company) followed by features you want. For a single unit I would look to get something in that 500-800 range depending on build and features. You could look on ebay, FB marketplace and get a used lamp from a commercial grow for like 400-500 bucks. Lamp would probably last you 6 years to a decade for your use.
I have used the china lamps like Meiju from alibaba as well but sold them after using them for a couple years as they are not dlc and ul rated for a commercial setting that gets inspections as well as insurance if a fire happens.
Refurbsihed rspec 550 shipped
HLG
These have some of the best actual diodes on the market. (Mint white series)
This is the best LED fixture on the market.
Either of these is your best choice IMO, and will give you an advantage over every other solution mentioned.
Just spoke to mammoth yesterday morning. 6-8 week lead time on the new joints. But great option as well.
If you’re looking for a more cost-effective option, I would highly recommend checking out Chinese brands like Meiju or Alibaba. These brands offer products that are just as good as more expensive options, but at a significantly lower cost - sometimes up to 50% cheaper. At the end of the day, a diode is a diode, and it’s possible to achieve great results without breaking the bank. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see yields of 2+ grams per watt with these kinds of lights. So, if you’re looking to save some money without sacrificing quality, I would definitely consider going down this route. Trust me, your wallet will thank you later!
What’s everyone’s thoughts on chiled lights?(the brand)
“A diode is a diode” is a load of fucking shit.
Cheap lights typically use mixed and low bin diodes. Crappy off brands, low efficiency power supplies etc.
Even the same diode from the same manufacturer and the same run are not the same. It’s like popping cannabis or apple seeds. They get graded after.
This is the dumbest fucking thing i’ve ever read in relation to lights site and this should be hard proof that whoever is in control of this profile is just posting AI generated shit - see previous post about Samsung being the industry leader in ‘diodes being diodes’ (do you even know what a fucking diode is???).
