this was the most thorough review I've seen on these, very nice job. Loved all the science that was going on with every number these lights could possibly put out...A+
Have not caught too many videos from you, but wanted to say that I really liked this one. Nice breakdown and stats on the lights, most everything a grower would need for setting up indoors. Nice job!
I have 6 mars hydro ts1000 lights. I get fantastic results every crop. I run a perpetual setup, always plants in veg, and always plants in flower. Love these lights
That's good to hear. They're both good lights but having a bit more power with the Mars is nice depending on how it's being used. I might start some stuff inside soon cuz I'm not having much luck trying to start it outside in this heat.
@gapey although veggies aren't what I use my lights for, I do get everything for my garden started usually late March or early April. I'm in west Virginia so it frosts up till late may most years. My tomatoes and cucumber plants went crazy this year. We have them coming out our ears it seems like.
As always great detailed review Paula. Thanks for doing it! I am wanting to add some more better quality lights to my grow shelfs (currently using a hodge podge of T8s and so older model lights).
I still use a ton of T8s in my grow room. The LED panels require more space so only the tall stuff gets put under LED's. I'm going to post an update on the temp test hopefully next week as the temp readings in this video weren't accurate. They're both great lights and honestly, I'd just get whichever one is cheaper at the time you want to buy. I'd still go with mars hydro for a grow tent application though. For a shelf either one will work great.
Excellent test and comparison. I see as you stated that you have an old ts 1000. The new ones have been improved. Mars should send you one of the new lights so you can review it and compare it to your old one. They send out lights to other you tubers whose reviews don't come close to the quality of yours. They send out lights, tents, fans, controllers and more. You should look into that.
I recently bought the upgraded version of the mars hydro R1000. I notice the spider farmer in the 1000 model doesn't have a dimmer. Vipar spectra has a 1000 series that is about 20$ cheaper than the mars hydro. Currently mars hydro r1000 is 70$ Viper is 50$ And spider farmer is 75$ Philozon (a copy cat of spider farmer) is only 40$
Nice comparison. I guess your version of the SF1000 is newer than mine. I bought mine late 2020 (for $152), and it has two switches. The one next to the daisy chain sockets just says on and off, and it is the actual on and off. The other one just says 1 and 0. Toggling that has the same effect as your switch. And I guess the par readings would be a bit different if done in a grow tent since more light would be reflected in general 🤔
Interesting. I know they do change a bit. Some of the older ones I've seen videos on had the dimmer in a strange place that was not easy to use. Would definitely get different readings in a grow tent, especially around. the edges.
The connector on the Spider Farmer is just there to allow them to make one LED unit (which operates on 100-277Vac) with a short cable. The longer fly-lead is then attached by them to suit the requirements of its intended destination country. May be worth mentioning that the new SF1000 is only 100W compared to the TS1000 150W ---- two thirds of the cost to run.
Yeah I mentioned the wattage difference between the two lights when I did the watt readings at 11:28. That makes sense about the cable. Would be nice if they made it more easy to disconnect the cables like the Mars Hydro.
@gapey Cool. Sorry, I missed a bit of my comment off LOL It may be worth *ME* mentioning (to you) that the new SF1000 is only 100W compared to the TS1000 150W ---- two thirds of the cost to run. The newer model also gives out nearly half as much light as the old version. And yes, it is a pain with the cable! I had to unscrew the connector and unwire it to pass the cable behind my bench!
@@DigwellGreenfingers The SF1000 That's in this video is 100W. Did they have an older version that was 150W? It may be a little unfair comparing a 100W light to a 150W light but people do use them both for the same purposes. They both have dimmers so the 150W light could be dimmed down and would then use about as much power as the 100W light. The extra power does put out a lot more light and I do have to turn the power down more on it to get the same light output as the other one.
@@gapey No, the older SF1000 (yours) was 100W but it was less efficient then the new SF1000 with its EVO chips. I did find a lot more waste heat with the MarsHydro, which isn't always a bad thing as it can help to keep a cold greenhouse etc warm. I hope this chart works, it shows the three LED grow lights, least efficient to most efficient: umol/j LEDs HPS Eq LED MAKE TS1000 2.3 354 250W BridgeLux Old SF1000 2.7 218 250W Sam LM310B New SF1000 3.14 184 200W Sam. LM310H EVO
I haven't heard of those LEDs. Looks like they are more pricey. They look similar to Mars' FC series and Spider Farmer's G/SE series which are really expensive.
just let you know im not 100% but im pretty sure the black twisted connection on the power wire is set up for having access to change power outlet for different countries rather than have to manufature indavidual light fixers with different connects
Great video! From using them for a while, you feel either light has lost anything (in terms of LED burnout or degradation) over time? I have heard others recommend the SF1000 over the Mars Hydro based on it's Samsung LEDs being more reliable and consistent in quality than the no-name ones? Was leaning towards the SF1000 (would also be getting other bits from Spider Farmer) in a 2.6x2.6ft grow tent (80x80x200 cm) but now I'm debating if I would need that extra 50watts... Cheers!
I've been using the Mars Hydro for a couple seasons and only one with the Spider Farmer. Haven't had any issues with either. If you are going to use it in a grow tent application I would go with the Mars. I think you will find that you'll need the extra power.
I wouldn't call Bridgelux a no-name LED. They've been around for quite awhile. The main difference between Bridgelux and the Samsung 301 series is that the Samsung diode can be run at a higher wattage. If you have a board with more lower wattage diodes your not really losing anything and perhaps gaining something. With more diodes spaced over the same area you should get a more consistent coverage pattern.
@@RichTeaChannel one thing that I forgot to mention is that the Samsung 301 diode is a little bit more efficient. I'm not sure how much that would actually save you on electricity consumption but if that is important to you then look at a light that uses the Samsung diodes. The 301evo diode is the latest and greatest. You pay for that though. 301h diodes were the best last year and 301b were the ones the year before. As far as an 80cm tent, I'm in the U.S. you know that's inches. We have to be different, but I think that's about 30 inches. It really depends on what you intend to grow. If you are growing house plants or maybe starting garden plants indoors it really doesn't matter. Any good named light 100 to 150 watts would be good. If you are growing plants with a high light demand You need more watts. In that instance I would look for a bar style light whose dimensions are as close to your 80cm tent that you can find. Minimum 200 watts. I would even go as high as 400-500 watts . You can always run it at less than 100%. The lower wattage you run it the more efficient it will run and the longer the diodes will last. But the most important thing to remember is that this advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.
Picked up the SF1000 - LM301H EVO for $130 Canadian on March 1 2024 with the 8%off -discount . I was looking to buy 6 of them in total. I just wanted to check out One to see if if I liked it. I was satisfied !! I was going to pick up Five more today March 16. To my surprise The price went up !!! $ 189 minus the 8%off -discount . For a grand total of $173.88 . Almost $ 45 bucks more in 15 days !!! 45 X 5 $ 225 bucks more. Come On. Is the price going to come back to earth In the next month or what ?? Thanks ! Love your videos. Keep up the good work !!
Oh wow that's a big price jump. I would definitely wait it out a bit. I've seen the prices go up and down quite a it on both Mars site and Amazon. Sometimes one is higher than the other so check both places and if it's high both places and you can wait. They might just raise the prices at this time of year since this is when more people are probably buying them.
Your review is damn good. Did you do the 3x3ft review at 12inches high? Also, what Samsung LED model is the SF1000 using? The newest model uses LM301H Evo. Maybe yours is LM301B.
Sorry, that would be a much longer video! 😀I grew fig cuttings under both lights and they both did equally as well. So there wasn't much to compare since they looked the same.
I have more ideas about the cable but my english i think is not realy good enough to translate perfectly to understanding me, in germany we have sometimes a left-right-(thread) google say thread, in germany we say (gewinde)=sometimes with both screwing left-screwing and right-screwing = like a shugar-sweet in germany we say bonbon ( werther's original= its a caramell shugar-bonbon..... thread like: you pull the golden paper of these bonbon left and right and the shugarbonbon can open. So what i mean: perhaps you can pull the small thin skinny middle screw to cet the cable seperatly in two!? Sorry for my broken english, wish i can live in usa/canada to learning better speaking🤷!!!
I make my words so complicated😵🤦🤣!!! Sorry, what i mean, its marketing, 1 brand in china build the led- light without plug, 2. brand build the plug with cable, and 3=spider farmer was fix it both for us or eu!!!
Hi !! Can one tell to me whhat means " four by four squares ->-> which seems to be 16 squares " ... you dont have to think i was ?? ... i am just european -> so my laguage is IN-sufficcient -> " my " metrics is called " metrisch " / what means :: I all think in cm / cm 2 / cm3 regards to you
@@gapey OH: OK, i was asking myself if it was 4 feet by 4 feet // because often the ppfd of light is given for an area ( 2 ft by 2 ft ... and so on ) thanks
When you used a temp gun on bare meatal items you will NOT get a ACCURATE reading! Wich is exactly why your readings were prolly all over the place. However, if there is a sticker on the metal use that as a place to take your reading from and you will get a much more accurate reading. Jus advice for future reference..........
Interesting, had no idea. Spider Farmer doesn't really have any stickers on it. Not sure if putting one on it would be bad or not since it does seem to get much hotter. I didn't see much variation in temp on it across the whole panel. It was the Mars that was showing a lot of difference. It is noticeably cooler to the touch than the Spider Farmer though.
@@gapey 'High Pressure Sodium' it's the most common lighting for commercial growers in the world and has been for 50 or so years.. Yet you have never heard of it?? It get double the yield that LED gets and them some. You don't sound like you have enough knowledge to be advising others how to grow indoors to be honest. I have around 3 decades experience myself but I don't consider myself a true expert.. I know what I'm doing though & that's why I know LED's can't compete with HPS. If LED and organic growing was good for large yields than all commercial food producers would be using them.. They only use LED and CFL for Rooting Clones though, Everything else is HPS. Link here > ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-XOLd44PO_aU.html
Hps, compared to led is not very efficient, generates a lot of heat and the bulbs need replaced quite often. They do produce a nice spectrum though especially for fruiting/flowering plants.
@@Just___me_ I still use fluorescent T8s in the spring for a lot of seedlings. They produce some heat and is one of the reasons I like using them because my grow room is pretty chilling in spring when I start my peppers and they like heat so I use heat mats and T8 fluorescents for them. Not sure HPS is any more efficient than fluorescent though.
Yep, I was surprised how much difference 50W makes. The Samsung diodes I've heard are more energy efficient so was wondering if they might produce more power with less Watts compared to the Mars but it didn't seem to. I am curious how they would compare if Mars didn't have that hood on it. I have a feeling that hood makes a big difference.
@@af5070Yeah well I will say this much the number's she got on her par meter DONT LIE! However, I know for a fact that spider farmer along with other several grow light manufactures inflate numbers and LIE about the Efficiency/Efficacy ratings 🤷. And that has been PROVEN by several diff content creators, so yea. Spider farmer says the SF-1000 has a Efficacy rating of 2.7 umols/j yet Shane from Migro found the light to have a TRUE Efficacy rating of 1.9 umols/j Wich doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out, is a HUGE difference. Sooooo, not so sure your statement is as true and as accurate as you would like to believe there friend........🤷
It's all fine and dandy but mars hydro surely don't communicate on their inflated PPFD numbers that don't match in reality (in a professional integrating sphere, and by the way who places his led light at 8" of the apex of plants, maybe strawberry hobby growers but not professional growers^^), their bogus yielding g/watt (of what ? bananas ? Tomatoes ? They know they can't provide a theoric number on that, that's really a goofy move on their part, but hey it works on the sheep mass who doesn't know about leds right ? ), nor the case occured in less than 2 years ago of product safety report in uk and europe about clients receiving electric shocks while connecting the FC-E 3000 led panel to the electric plug and manipulating the panel (great chinese manufacturing standard to be proud of, and i'm sure good working conditions for the sl*ve workers there). , but it's nothing compared to the flat out lies about PPFD and efficiency of their older models, when a PPFD map was available, no complete info on the led chips used, and some miraculous modifications of efficiency numbers on the same version of a led panel model quickly after another brand commercialized a same effective or better led panel. I'm not even gonna talk about their copycat strategies, this brand should be renamed "lazy-copycat-opportunistic liars". If you want the truth, just type "Spider Farmer, Maxsisun, Mars Hydro - Entry Level LED Grow Light Comparisons, Test Reports & Reviews" and look at this interesting video from AlboPepper, it exposes shady tactics and lies from these brands. Shout out to Gapeys Grub though !
Are these basically good but only really for one plant 2x2 ? Ive got the very similar Phlizon 1000 and thats good but you need 2 for every three plants. Strangely i also use an old phlizon 1200 alongside and thats much better for flowering for some reason, its only one of the old blocky ones with two fans and no daisy chain or dimmer but extremely potent for one plant. Im going to get more Phlizon lights they really do seem good for the budget grower and comparable to these with the same samsung diodes.
