There is some criticism that I included an acrylic cover on the fixture. Here's why I did it: 1. Very few grow lights are sold without covers, even the cheap ones. Why is this? Running LEDs in a grow room without a cover risks dirt, mositure, bugs, scratching/banging ertc. damaging the LED surface over time. Manufacturers supply covers so they do not have excessive warranty claims and the risk to users of exposed LEDs causing fires, shorting out etc. 2. The reduction in light transmition is only 3%, this is a very small cost for protecting your LEDs. I tested the HLG QB288 with and without the cover and the difference was only 3%. I have tested the same with HID reflector hoods with glass on/off and the difference as 3% also so I am happy it's accurate. 3. This is a DIY fixture and the HLG guidance on how to install includes an acrylic sheet link here: horticulturelightinggroup.com/pages/qb-optics-and-connectors
You didn't use optically coated acrylic, which literally nobody on the entire planet does. They fucking sell one with acrylic lenses on it, and you could have just used that. You're committing fraud.
"Approximately 4% of the incident perpendicular rays are reflected at each air surface interface of colorless Plexiglas sheet, giving a total reflectance loss of approximately 8%. As the incident beam deviates from the perpendicular, the surface reflectance increases. " As the angle of incidence increases, the light transmission drops to ZERO and all of it is reflected. Since these LEDs have no lenses (literally the only difference between this and your light, other than it's efficiency) most of the light is being reflected. You are lying. www.plexiglas.com/export/sites/plexiglas/.content/medias/downloads/sheet-docs/plexiglas-optical-and-transmission-characteristics.pdf
because of the large amount of variables that can affect a crop, the amount of testing needed would be extensive to actually get a good result. so i can understand why he doesn't, the cost would be high to do it "quick" or the testing time would be long if you just used the single light to run single tests. I think if you've ever grown before, you could compare your lights par with his results and get a good idea of how well each light will work. for instance, seedlings and newly vegging plants only need around 200-400ppfd, if you look at the par map of this light you can get a good idea of how many plants you can veg off it, or how many lights you need to achieve what you want.
@@JJN603 I always used random lights for growing buds and everything was perfect i didnt need no specs bro. Trust me. I was just looking at wattage number.
It would be interesting to see you test one of the chinese Quantum Board knock-off like Kingbrite or Meiju just to see if there's a real difference with "legit" QB "made in USA". Thanks for all the informations you make public and free, cheers!
@@PoliticallyCorrectPolice you should still order legit quantum board. Look at his newest video he reviewed chinese copy, its not nearly as efficient as original
Rapidash1 not sure what you've been watching? The newer video is a completely different type of fixture. There is no comparison to be made between the two.
@@alexndrmstd fair point, I was going off of MIGRO calling it quantum board in the title,but I agree with you. Do you think those chinese copys use legit lm301b diodes?
Rapidash1 i certainly wouldn't put it past some Chinese manufacturers to use cheap alternatives but i know the Meiju & Kingbrite use Samsung LM301B's. I agree with zumbaladin, it'd be interesting to see how the Chinese perform as there isn't much difference on the face of it. They use Samsung diodes and Mean Well drivers, just like the HLG.
Anything in between is gonna slightly decrease your efficiency, but maybe not significant and you be the judge if you like them to be protected :p. EDIT: the video even says 3% difference with or without cover. So measurable, but not a lot.
Great video Shane. One light I'm very very interested in seeing the spectrum and PAR for is by ChilledLEDgrowlights. Their 226 diode gen2 PCB. It would be soooooo cool if you're also the view that one in like a 2 by 2 space as well as open.
Nice review. I like how you asses your competition honestly and fairly. Does the plastic cover effect the PAR rating? Edit: just noticed you noted the 3% adjustment for PAR. Thank you!
He asses the competition? HAHAHA Thank you for that! I'm picturing dude with pants around his knees sitting on the leds of a Mars Hydro with blurple light shining up between his legs and casting a cock shaped shadow on the ceiling. Your misspelling wins the internet for today. XDDDD
It affects it way more. He is lying. www.plexiglas.com/export/sites/plexiglas/.content/medias/downloads/sheet-docs/plexiglas-optical-and-transmission-characteristics.pdf
I started my LED journey with the SF-1000. I ended up returning in to amazon after 20 days and bought KingBrite's version of the QB288 2 Panel system for a little cheaper than the sf-1000. I did get to confirm with samsung that they did sell KingBrite LM301B LEDS. The PCB and LED's are set by machine's so everything been gravy so far! I"ll update this if anything happens.
Good night friend, I'm Brazilian, I saw your videos and I really liked it, thank you for the information. I would like to know which Led would be better, the HLG V2 R Spec that uses the Samsung LM301B or Samsung LM301H chips. Does it make much difference whether or not to use UV IR on plants? Thank you very much, hugs.
I run hlg boards, love them. The plate isnt a bad idea. I had a Colorado Cookie jump about 4 inches out of the blue and almost grew into the panel. Your score wall reminds me of top gear lol!
Do you think the wires being in front of the LED’s would get hot and Melt ? Also, if one of those diodes stop working for some reason, how hard is it to replace ? Ive been staying away from quantum board lately because it seems to me that it might be difficult to fix if you aren’t tech savvy like you are. I’ve been running COB cause it’s so simple to change out if I need to.
But have you consider some of the lights are water proof, and some of them are not? Also, the spectrum plays a big roll in the equation, just saying, you are doing great, maybe should consider a tent, which would be more accurate than open space for ppf
Fraud? In one test he had a migro.100 vs an optics led I think it was, the migro lost and he clearly said he was beaten by the other light, in fact he seemed disappointed and surprised at the same time. If he was a fraud he would have hidden that result. He is given me lots "oh and his associates" lots of good, solid advice, which has funny enough later been mentioned by others in different youtube vids later on. So I would say their fair and honest
When All 4 288V2 board's are together they put out the best par in the corners than any other LED,s and much less heat being so many mid watt LED, s on each panel but the same as a single finger it's weak until balled up in a ✊
Strange comments on here saying Shane is committing fruad?!?! His testing is very consistent, he's clearly told people why he's using the plexi to protect the lights. If you understand all the factors in growing plants under grow lights you would know that 3% efficiency is tiny enough to be lost to heat, dirt, height, pests, reflectivity, soils mediums, fertilisers, etc. If Shane comes to your house and insists you place a cover on these lights then that might be why you could consider that fraud but that not real. Buy the lights or don't but please try to be objective like he is. He gives you the facts and standardised his testing. His lights are NOT in first place on his leader board and he's by far the most honest when it comes to showing facts. Buy it or don't but don't hate on someone who is giving you real world tests vs others who make claims about their lights that are far from the real facts such as 300 watt lights that are really only 100 Watts lights, ebay is full of them!!! Well done Shane for not responding to these dumb comments by the haters.
Private Stash I don’t think he is fraudulent but nobody and I mean nobody ever uses glass with them including myself. He did a good job but it would of done much better without it. Samsung chips are ahead of everyone and that is facts
Great video. I'm looking into building my own low profile light fixtures, and I've been looking at the quantum boards. You've just sold me. I'll be buying 4 for my build
Awesome video thank you sir! I can’t wait for you to test the elite boards. I believe they use all lumileds on those boards, white and red. Can’t wait👽
Curious........... He mentioned that he had to raise the light further than the last measure. How much did you raise it? Is this not important to u as far as data? Personally I think you could have easily taken measurements at 1' 2' and 3' light-canopy. I own a qb 324 and its low profile allows for a myriad of mounting positions that a migro couldn't dream of fitting in. Migro has the profile of a brontosaurus/ HPS hood. In 2019 I want my light to be wafer thin w/remote ballast. Cree are a helpful supplement to larger grow boards.
How does this compare to CFL, MH and HPS when it comes to wattage, lumens, efficiency etc? I want to try LEDs but I can't tell if it is really worth it, as I don't really understand the results... Sorry I'm not good with elctronics. Great with plants though... Or is there any recommened info I can study and research to help understand the results of such comparisons?
Great video! I'm surprised you only lost 3% through that thick acrylic. I thought it would be double the loss you measured with the substantial thickness of that acrylic.
Acrylite themselves state a 8% loss in the visible spectrum with nearly 0.5% more loss for every inch of thickness of their clear acrylic. Even if is was 1mm thick, the surfaces of the acrylic lose 4% each for a total loss of 8%. IDK, man, 3% seems too good to be true.
@@deluth4638 The losses increase with angle of incidence, and since these LEDS put out light in all directions, most of it is not transmitted. It's being light-piped out to the edges of the plexi like a fiber optic cable, and hitting the walls of the tent instead of the sensor. He's tested HLG lights 3 different ways so far, each time he just does whatever he has to do to fake the numbers. It wasn't "unsafe" without plexi the last two times he did it. Suddenly now that he's testing a more powerful light he has to do something new to get the numbers he wants. HLG makes a version of this with 90 degree lenses, but he didn't test that one, because it would be a fair comparison to his lensed fixture.
Could you explain why the lamp draws 125W while there are only 288 LMH301B LEDs? Are they running at about 0.4W each? I am wondering because Samsung mentions 0.2W/0.3W on their website or their datasheets.
@@LarsLarsen77 Perfect! Got a dude doing the same size with QBs pulling 240 watts from the wall (30w per sq foot). He used to do 2x304 for aprox 300 watts, but this round without heatsink 4 boards. Check him out. Great grow serie :) ru-vid.com/show-UCSjBsN5aB1FPd3zUHvr01tw
Another great thing is that the Original 480H-54A driver with internal pot can push out 2400mh as the 480H-54B with the External pot can only drive the LED,s to 2100mh max that's why the Orginal 4x288-V2 is called the HLG-550🤓
Are the Mylar walls a new thing you're doing Shane? Don't remember them from previous videos. Usually just the flat board when testing 2'x2', right? Really made a difference! Great example of reflective walls, and like always, a great video!
The light spread from the Quantum board is very wide and you need reflective walls to keep the light in. 7% increase in light to the grow for €5 of mylar seems worth it to me :)
I was waiting for this one, thanks Shane, there are more and more being sold on ebay from uk independent sellers pre built with dimmer for around a £per watt which makes them far more cost effective than the HLG boards with the same components (apparently) Samsung and Meanwell have all ready done the hard work and are still covered with the same warranty periods.
@@lightworker17 as per sellers description "650umols in the centre of 1m sq and 300umols around the sides at 20 inches" @250w from the wall. unfortunately all tests are not created equal and would like to see the boards up against the HLG in the same test conditions.
My friend went for cheap led from e bay ...... He knows his stuff and has done for many years .....he doesn't use them any more .....they took twice as long to finish
Hi shane could you please help me out. Do you think this set is somewhat the same SAMSUNG LM301B s6 LED chip 3000K, with 660nm LEDS. powered by a MeanWell driver HLG-120H-54A It pulls 120 watt from the wall. Ordering those fseries strips and making them myself seems like a hassle for these prices
As per the videos of Dr watt in the monster gardens channel... If the light engine is a HPS 1000w... The photons come with more energy and therefore they can reach deeper bids sites down below... When comparing the hps to the black dog 1000 they end up confirming something i already noticed with my 3watt diodes... They work great... If your colas are no more than 20 cm long... Here the importance of an even canopy... While my friend with hps got nice buds on top and down below in an untrained plant... When applying this logic to COBs vs boards... I tend to believe even though same wattage is used... The QB might be using 10 times more diodes than a cob... There fore each diode produces light 10 times weaker (the distance photons can travel and still be usable by the plant) and this is why I'd guess a COB can be placed higher than a QB... So far i have only used 3watt chips... And these new "10 watt" chip boards (run at 2 watts each) and i have noticed a healthier vegetation grow with the "10 watt" diodes...
I think that you are totally right. Many people know those QB Style LEDs vs HPS videos where they compare them with same conditions? Guess why they always choose to grow with a SCROG in a closed tent? - it's because they lack deep penetration as the small diodes simply are not powerfull enough to penetrate more than 30cm down the canopy. QBs are only good for smaller indoor growers who choose to grow with an even canopy, but thats not the way cannabis naturally grows. Everyone knows the canadian grower Urbanremo right? In his growroom he chooses to grow with spectrumking sk602's (not intending to advertise here), when we (obviously) know that HLG/MIGRO/OPTIC 1 are more efficient, the reason why? -Light penetration and the way he chooses to grow. The HLG QB/MIGRO/OPTIC1 have their optimal hanging height @~30-35cm, (max. 1000 umol/s in the center), the sk602(or High watt HPs like 1000w DE) have to be ATLEAST 60cm away (max 1000 umol/s in the center) So @ canopy level (30cm away from lightsource for the MIGRO/HLG/OPTIC1 and 60cm for the SK602/High watt HPS) we get 1000 umol/s. The inverse square law says at double the height we only get 1/4 of light penetration: So 30 cm below the canopy (60 cm below light fixture) the leafes below the MIGRO/HLG/OPTIC1 only get 1/4 of the light so 250 umol/s (30cm is optimal height so 30 below the canopy is double the height so 1/4 the light). Compared to the Sk602( or High power HPS) where 30cm below the canopy (90cm below the light fixture) is only 1/2 of the height more from the light source meaning 30cm below the canopy the leaves still get 500 umol/s. So @120 cm below the lighfixtures @center the leafes get 250 umol/s(sk602) and 62.5 umol/s (hlg/migro/optic1). So if you want to grow natural BIG PLANTS with a height of 2m or more (like urbanremo) you cant use QB'S/MIGRO/Optic1 as their penetraion is too weak. with MIGRO/HLG/OPTIC1 The leaves of a 2m tall plants would only receive enough light (atleast 250 umol/s) 30cm from the top . Below that the light would be too weak, and thus 90cm height of your plant is wasted. In a small grow (e.g. tent) your height is limited so you better grow with an even canopy to get good results and therefore the light penetration of 30cm is more than enough.
Yes it would work fine. They are amazing little lights. I guarantee you will be impressed. 1 great pro is that these hlg Quantum Boards are so low profile, maybe 1.5 inches or 4cm thick with the heat sink. I think they are the future of growing since they are modular and so versatile. I used to grow with 1k watt HPS and I bought the HLG QB 324 165watt led and was blown away on a vertical light mover it is covering 2.5'x5'
@@Imarida2 Thanks Mark! I've got a single 90W Luminus cxm-22 Gen 4 3500K in a 80x80x160cm tent for autos, and have ordered a 100x100x200cm and a 120W 288 quantum board 3000K + 660nm, was hoping it would suffice for photos, and wouldn't need to buy much more, on a strict budget over here.
Good work Shane, I think a few of us have been waiting for this one. Have you considered entering the DIY space yourself? it's pretty dead in Europe. Lots of importing. 1.5ft x 1.5ft QB white, red, blue channels optional UV , no heat sink, 150w, make my dreams come true. Peace everyone.
Hi Shane, I notice on the hlg qb tests you casually state because the light intensity was over 1000umol centre point you had to raise the fixture. This renders the test COMPLETELY UNFAIR. Either raise all other fixtures to that height and give us the readings or just release the data at normal height for qbs please. Plants can and often do benefit from over 1000umol especially in increased co2 concentration environments anyway so the only reason I can see for you doing this is due to the fact the figures demolished other light sources. And that's not even mentioning the plexiglass.
Alexander. In the absence of data from the manufacturer I calibrate the light height to under 1,000 PAR at dead centre same for All lights not supplied with setup information or a manual. It's fair. What's unfair is selling a DIY grow light and not supplying an operations manual to go with it..
Can anyone help me. I have a vivosun 600watt led. And a hlg 260 v2 rspec in a 3x3x6. If I can keep the temps down will this increase my yield? Or will the plants just not use all the light? I'm having trouble understanding exactly how much light plants will use and if having both in there is just a waste of energy
For "A" drivers, #1 phillips screwdriver fits the plastic adjustment screw perfectly. I have 4 of these QB288V2 boards & very happy with them. Fast shrubbery growth
@@maxlevett7474 He used a B driver so he'd get less output and could claim lower PPFD. The actual kits sold by HLG come with an A driver. It's just deception after deception with this asshole.
Exceptional review Shane, I always appreciate your videos. I run HLG lighting, but would guess the Migro 100w would penetrate better with it's focal light pattern concentrated more than HLG. Either way, you are becoming the go to guy for light information!
Hi. The light penetration from The HLG is excellent. Photons are directed to the grow area from the QB288 as it is large and the light source spread out. You do need to hang them low and use reflective walks though as the light goes everywhere. What do you think of using a cover. Is it required in your view?
@@MIGROLIGHT This is the first that I have seen a cover was recommended. My grow area is very clean, and I have no issue using my HLG without such covers. Since most dust seems to settle on top of surfaces, I would imagine that dust working it's way between the cover and light would settle on top of the cover. That would diminish light intensity over time, and be difficult to clean. With your test environment, I personally would not use it. Regarding the use of the HLG quantum boards, I do see value in the 2' x 2' tent which captures some of the light lost along the edge of the board and reflects it back onto the plants. Great idea in using the reflective frame in your test.
Anything between 3000k and 4000k is fine for all stages. Pay attention to CRI ratings. a 90 CRI 3000k LED has a lot more deep red than a 70 or 80CRI. It makes a difference since plants really enjoy deep red during the last few weeks. In my opinion, the best designed combine high CRI 3000k LED with some additional 660 deep red....just to fill out the spectrum. Long story short, try to mimic the sun....give the plants a full spectrum. They love it.
Can you run this again without the cover on it so that people can stop complaining about the fact that you did the test with the cover on it. So once again do the test with no cover over the board to do a retest of the board with no obstruction in the way of the light.
I really want to see you test the HLG 135 V2 r-spec of your able to, I haven't seen anyone actually test that specific light out or grow with it, and as you know HLG doesn't send instructions, a manual, nothing but 1 HLG sticker Haha so it's hard to know what its doing without any info I can trust, or anyone growing with one, plus it has 2 different dimmers which makes it very very confusing on how to dim it properly ya know... if you could I guarantee many people would thank you, I know I would!!!
Hey Shane awesome video. I finally got the micro 400 set up but I thing you sent me the wrong output fitting for two of the drivers on the last micro 200 you sent me. I will send you an email with pictures
But I understand what he says about the internal pot screw being plastic which will fuck up in time I have destroyed many internal plastic pot screws but being able to push the diodes to 2400mh I'd take the risk any day over the external 480H 54b at Max 2100mh🤐
Umol/Joule or PPF is most often quantifying the light radiated from the bulb. PPFD in units umol/m2/sec is the light reaching the grow area. It's often about 25% less than PPF due to reflectance losses. Divide PPFD by watts to get total system efficiency.
@@MIGROLIGHT Thank you! I wasn't aware of such measurements, especially about the 25% part. The loss in the value occurs not because of the reflectance but simply because of the inverse square law (if you measure the PPF on the canopy surface). We normally go by mmol(umol)/j when a luminaire is characterized. The PPF density is what we aim for in the garden (usually, a proprietary ratio is maintained in relation to the VPD factor and the amount of CO2 in the garden). I am pretty drunk so correct me if I am wrong. Cheers!
Hey I love these videos. Can you get any thing from alibaba? They sell the quantum boards too but they are less than half the price but some say that they bought them and they work just like hlgs and others say they wouldn't trust it that they're not the same parts but it clearly tells you all the parts and it exactly the same ass the hlgs. Let know thank you
@migro Hello!! Last time i ask you about testing the Quantum Boards from China , they should also use Samsung 301 b Leds but for the half Price!! Regards
Is a cool light, use it yourself. Your posts are really interesting I often get tips from your Chenel. Top performance from you! I have a question to you and goffe you answer me. What kind of app do you use in this post? Lichtspecktrum ec. ? Kind regards. DE. germany
