I’m a first time grower and have a 36" x 20" x 62" tent to light up (5 sq/ft). I plan on growing a single plant mainlined and scrogged to make good use of space.
I ended up purchasing a KIND LED L300 light and paid more than I would have originally liked. I haven’t started using it yet and am wondering if it was the right choice to begin with. I could return it and purchase the HLG 135W QB V2 LED KIT and save a significant amount of money.
My question for you is, is the KIND LED a better performer for my space or do you think I tossed my money away and should go over to the HLG option?
Looking forward to some advice on the topic as my return window is pretty close to shut.
Personally I would return it and go with the HLG. The Kind LED has a max wattage of 210w, whereas with the HLG you’re at 135w, but you will be getting a much more efficient light. I am running 4 of the QB’s and absolutely love them. I think the 135w will be more than enough light for that space, and will perform just as well if not better than the Kind LED
@Aolelon, one more question if you don’t mind. Is there another light other than the 135W QB V2 that you would recommend for my size tent from HLG?
I’m wondering if two of the HLG 100 would be a better option. It would provide me a bit more flexibility in terms of running each half at different heights and overall high wattage. Although perhaps a bit overkill for the space?
You could definitely do 2 HLG 100. Honestly I recommend anything from HLG, all of their lights are quality.
With the HLG 100, you won’t have the option of dimming, like you would with the 135 kit., and you would be at around 40+ w sqft, which is where your at with the Kind LED. It is a little overkill, but I think it’s a good fit still.
In terms of light into your space, the kind light and a qb-135 will have similar ppf. You would draw less power to get there with the qb and not be growing with blurple, enough to justify getting qb as far as I’m concerned.
I also agree 3000k probably what you’d want, and if you have the extra cash two hlg-100’s better. But you could also grab a 135 kit now and do alright with it. The shape of your space would lend very good to doing something with some 560mm strips on an hlg-185 too. If you wanna try diy anyway.
Thanks again for the reply. Just FYI, KIND LED L300 is rated at MAX wattage of 230. But it actually runs at about 172W steady. What would you normally use dimming for? Is it to compensate for young seedlings?
Sounds like all positive things. I initiated the return on the KIND LED. I can’t justify the more than double price tag for something that’ll perform similarly. And honestly, I prefer the thin and low profile design of the HLGs, everything they need and nothing they don’t.
I think I’ll stay away from DIY for now and pick from their kits, currently leaning towards the simplicity of a single 135W QB Kit and feel like if I ran two HLG 100’s I’ll likely be introducing more heat for lighting power I don’t necessarily need in that space. Also, I can always add a second 135W if I increase my grow space next season
Thanks all! Any further comments, information, advice is always welcome. Sounds like I have a plan of attack. Return KIND LED L300 and order HLG 135W QB Kit (v2).
With lights you can either have them running at full power, and either raise them or lower them to your liking. Or keep the light within a certain distance and just dim the light to the brightness you want. I agree in not wanting to pay more than you need to.
I’m a first time grower and bought three of the 135 HLG kits. Best money spent so far. Plants responded within hours. They are also super easy to build. Pic is from a couple weeks ago.
I want to thank you for the advice and recommendations. I ended up deciding to go with the HLG 135W QB Kit (v2) and placed my order today.
I’ve started the KIND return process and there shouldn’t be any issues with the refund since I never even used it, I’ve been sprouting using the TaoTronics full spectrum bulbs.
Amazon didn’t carry the latest rev (v2) so I ordered direct from the site, let’s hope they don’t take too long to ship off and if they do, I have 4 total Taotronics bulbs (22 real watts each) so it’ll carry her for long enough until the HLG setup arrives.
I chose to go with the single 135w even though it’ll likely drop-off a bit at the edges but as I mentioned, I have 4 additional full spectrum bulbs I can always use to fill the 4 corners. The thing I didn’t like about the HLG 100 is that it uses the older less efficient diodes from Samsung and two of them would likely be a bit on the overkill side for my current size tent.
So the way I’m thinking about it, I can use the 135w in the current tent, then when I upsize the tent I can add another 135w. Where the two HLG 100’s would likely fall short when upsizing.
Thanks again! Can’t wait for these to arrive and be rid of blurple days! I just hope they play nice with my lil ladies.
Yes HLG is very fast to ship. Every time I’ve ordered, within 5 days I’ve had my merchandise. Very professional company as well, if you have any issues. Let them know and they will fix them right away.
Thanks for the feedback on shipping lead times all! I actually emailed them today asking for an update and they mentioned it’ll be a few more days to ship since they are out of the driver/power supply for the kit.
