HLG comes in 4k, 3.5k, not sure if they still make 3k but maybe with and without 660nm far reds and they have top bin diodes so they are great lights pretty much all their stuff is now 301H and they don’t deal in 301B’s anymore which is good considering the price.
Kingbrites comes in 3k, 3.5k,4k
Option for 301H or 301B chips (301B allows cost cost savings)
Option to add 660nm epistar or Cree (price difference)
Option to add UV & IR (LG chips)
Option for IP65 waterproof system or not (doesn’t cost much extra to be honest)
They also have high doide bins on the best options.
And like said above the potentiometer’s are sooooo much nicer
Mine is external too on my 260 XL…. But it’s exposed wires. Doesn’t make a difference to me, I threw the driver outside my tent, but the encased one KingBrite gave me sure is sleek.
Good to know hlg is improving. I just think for the cost they should be doing a much better job on the details and options. Like if they were producing kingbrites lights I would be a fan boy but they are always a couple steps behind kingbrite.
Why?
Because kingbrite is the Chinese manufacturer for MAJOR led systems. They only sell grow lights on Alibaba but if you look around your industrial areas and see all these led’s kingbrites head office is supply those they are a huge company.
Think of the led parking lot lights, those type of things.
HLG has a contractor in china make their products they, quality control them and then sell them in their boxes with heatsink and drivers they all get from different places all from China.
Go to the source is my goal, it sucks that China is the source and I get hlg started the trend but until our governments revamp the system I’m looking for best bang for my buck. Those earning 10 million + can figure out the way to run the world because my purchases don’t matter.
My scorp diablo has an encased dimmer but it also comes with inventronics driver not mean well. New HLG lights with diablo or XL versions get the new drivers as the boards burn up drivers faster if they r mean wells so they changed according to the warranty ppl which were the best by far to talk to got a replacement driver less than 3 days actually was like 29 hrs after I hung up phone it was at my door does it whites change colors after u flip switch
I run a bunch of smaller boards myself but if I had to do it all again I would run a bar system. Meanwell has always been amazing, they will warranty stuff straight through them don’t even have to talk to kingbrite or hlg or spider farmer or whoever but it’s Intresting to hear that development it may mean a change in the future where Meanwell and inventronics have a completion war because for the last 4 years Meanwell had dominated the market.
I used one before, it will do the job on 1 single small plant.
Far, far from ideal lights, but it will veg a 3x3 and flower a small 2x2…
I think its one of the least crap of the cheap chinese old blurples.
I just bought my 260 XL (a month ago now maybe?) - I ended up with a Meanwell anyhow. I’m not mad about it, it’s a great driver and once I wired it up outside my tent, heat is a non-issue.
Warranty and customer service is absolutely a reason I’ll come back to HLG again. Right now I’m getting my hands on one of every light I see being used around the forum - excepting blurples and brands that are too difficult to discern the “good” from the “bad” (spider farmer and Mars hydro among others). ChilLED Tech is next on my list but my immediate lighting need is SO small, I’m probably going to be buying a 135w HLG or an couple KingBrite strip lights to make my own tiny bar system.
Even my HLG 550 that’s over a year and a half old now came with an Inventronics driver (and nice dimmer, no screwdriver needed), they’ve been using Inventronics drivers on their larger lights for a while now, after having over-heating problems with the Meanwell drivers.
to the OP, someone just a few comments above said they think they’re the LEAST “worst” of the chinese blurples. I would have to agree. Most see they’re “blurple” and turn the other way… They ARE dual chip, and 10W each instead of 3W or 5W like HLG and most other manuf’s LED chipsets. It DOES make a difference. I got the 1500 DC series (2 of them) with a total of 390W (195W each fixture) hanging over two plants and as you can see by the pics, they WILL flower it out nicely. If budget is a thing for you right now, like it was for me, do what you can with the BestVA lights man. LATER, you can save and upgrade and keep the BestVA as a seedling/clone light, or veg light in another setup. I’m not unhappy with what they’re doing so far for 2 plants at all.
Not sure where you’re getting this information as it’s not true.
This is not what HLG says. Before I bought my first HLG light, I asked them where their lights are made (as I won’t give money to China when I can help it), here is their response.
We manufacture our fixtures here in TN. We use a local CNC company for the heatsinks, we use a local powdercoat company to paint the heatsinks, and we even use a local printing company to make our manuals, boxes, etc. When it comes to the boards, we build them ourselves here at the manufacturing facility. You can even google the location of our facility. 3505 Maynardville Hwy, Maynardville, TN 37807.
-Brock
So they have a local company do the heatsink, great option better quality and probably just as cost effective considering Canada supplies the USA with a ton of its metals.
The chips, a boards are made in China to my understanding and they assemble them and quality control them before boxing them up in locally printed boxes and sending them out.
The technical components are not made in North America is sort of what I’m trying to say in a nutshell.
Being that they use Samsung “boards” I don’t know how they could make them in house.
