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Old April 14, 2017   #1
Durgan
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Default LED's Off the shelf

LED Lamps have some new terms for most. I have been digging up relevant information.
PAR 38 means Parabolic Anodized Reflector. The 38 means, thirty eight times 1/8 inch diameter bulb so a PAR 38 means 38 times 1/8 inch for a diameter of 4 and 3/4 inches. No seller bothered knowing this. So my LED flood lamps are 4.75 inches diameter with a built in PAR reflector. Simple.

Spectrum for growing may be of interest. The bulbs are rated as 3000 Kelvin or 6000 Kelvin which indicates blue at 3000 and Red at 6000. Use the Blue 3000 for seedlings, but my experimenting indicates that either is suitable. This area is mostly sales hype at the present time.

Power consumed should be around 25 watts.

Lumens or light intensity should be around 1000.

So for a bucket lamp choose PAR 38, 100 lumens, 25 watts, 3000 Kelvin. The bulb screws into a typical socket. They should cost around $40 and supposedly last forever.

There are some fancy types in a frame that cost in the $300 to $400 range. They are good bulbs for large deep pocket producers not the typical home grower.
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Old April 17, 2017   #2
tsipgolf12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Durgan View Post
LED Lamps have some new terms for most. I have been digging up relevant information.
PAR 38 means Parabolic Anodized Reflector. The 38 means, thirty eight times 1/8 inch diameter bulb so a PAR 38 means 38 times 1/8 inch for a diameter of 4 and 3/4 inches. No seller bothered knowing this. So my LED flood lamps are 4.75 inches diameter with a built in PAR reflector. Simple.

Spectrum for growing may be of interest. The bulbs are rated as 3000 Kelvin or 6000 Kelvin which indicates blue at 3000 and Red at 6000. Use the Blue 3000 for seedlings, but my experimenting indicates that either is suitable. This area is mostly sales hype at the present time.

Power consumed should be around 25 watts.

Lumens or light intensity should be around 1000.

So for a bucket lamp choose PAR 38, 100 lumens, 25 watts, 3000 Kelvin. The bulb screws into a typical socket. They should cost around $40 and supposedly last forever.

There are some fancy types in a frame that cost in the $300 to $400 range. They are good bulbs for large deep pocket producers not the typical home grower.
Interesting...could you show a picture of your lamp set up?

Thanks RWG
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Old April 17, 2017   #3
slugworth
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I thought blue was 6000k?
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Old April 17, 2017   #4
dmforcier
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The bulbs are rated as 3000 Kelvin or 6000 Kelvin which indicates blue at 3000 and Red at 6000.
You got this backward. Higher temperatures are bluer. 3000°K is quite red.
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Old April 17, 2017   #5
Durgan
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You be correct. I have both 3000 and 6000 and the seedlings have excellent growth under either. Most amazing light I ever had for growing and economical. In con★★★★★★★★ with some sunlight it appears an ideal set up for a small scale home grower.

3000K is red, 6000K is blue.
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