Viparspectra P1500

Indoor Growing
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Ok… so, I’m new here, but an old grower, it’s just been about 20 years…

I have lots of experience in hydro, drip, ebb and DWC.

I use to use a 400w MH for veg and a 400w HPS for flowering. I’m starting using LED, it looks as though that’s the way the industry is going, and has been for a a bit. But I always had fantastic results.

Ive purchased a Viparspectra p1500 not knowing a lot about LED after some research, it seems like it’s a full spectrum light. And the wattage looks like it’s comparable to a 400w lamp. I’ve read some reviews that praise that particular lamp and it’s the best one they have according to them.

My set up:

6-3 gallon buckets with HTG lids, standard clay pellets, high velocity air pump, with adjustable proportional valve, 1/8” hose. 2” grodan cubes.

Space is fairly large but I’m using around 3’x3’ space. Jungle juice nutrients at 15ml per 5 gallon (micro and grow at first)

Seeds are I49 LA confidential, Death punch, White rhino, grand daddy purp, and Queen City genetics strawberry patch and bluey gooey. (These last two are auto) all 6 are feminized.

Times during initial grow is 18 on, 6 off… then I go 12/12 (a couple of mine are auto, I’m gonna give those to my sister)

My questions :
Should I get another P1500? And use them side by side? I have as much budget as I need (realistically) … or should I just get a 400w or 600w MH and HPS?

I like the LED concept with low heat and low power, no spikes, etc.

Does anyone have any experience with the P1500? I’ve read some of these posts about the viparspectra’s with the predominantly blue light, these aren’t those, these should be full spectrum, with IR.

Thanks!!! You guys rock, digging the reading material, the pictured and the info!!

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Welcome to the forum, @Maryjaneblidge.

If it were me I would return the Viparspectra and choose a light that isn’t a “burple.” Sticking with MH, CMH, or HPS are good choices, or you can get a far better (though more expensive) LED such as those from Horticulture Lighting Group or similar. The Amazon burples are known for misrepresentation of their capability and they don’t produce big, dense flowers.

Here is an example: a 1200w Viparspectra actually only draws 250 watts from the wall, which is really only sufficient to flower maybe 1 plant.

Viparspectra
Viparspectra1106×903 299 KB

Here’s my favorite burple photo. I call it “the best place for a burple light.”

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I second returning that light and doing some further research. If you continue to grow after this you WILL be replacing that fixture. Horticulture Lighting Group (HLG), CHILled Logic, Spider Farmer are the 3 you should look at with emphasis on the first two.

Wattage with those China Lights is 50 watts per square foot to flower out a plant. Around 30 watts/sq ft. is in line with these more efficient lights. No fans, no high heat dissipation. The only downside is they are still kinda pricey. But my electric bill went down $60 the first month after replacing my Blurples with DIY lights.

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I don’t have the “blurple” this is the lamp I have. I just read the specs on the lamps mentioned above, and they look about the same… am I missing something?

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Specs on your model:

Viparspectra P1500
Viparspectra P15001117×895 94.8 KB

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Aren’t we looking for efficiency? What am I missing? I looked at the 20000 spider farm, which the specs say replaces a 600w MH/HPS and it draws 200w from the outlet, so for this replacing a 400w MH, wouldn’t it be relative? Or no? The light output is relative to the spider farm… but I’ll take your advice… which models are you guys using?

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The claims of sq. ft. coverage by these burple manufacturers (Viparspectra is one of them) is dubious. Honestly, at 150 watts you would be lucky to flower even one plant. You could handle a 3x3 just fine with a 600W MH/HPS.

I recognize that yours doesn’t look like a burple, but the power draw says it isn’t any better. Power draw is one thing they can’t misrepresent. It is not a direct replacement for a 600W MH/HPS. It just isn’t. Honesty isn’t the company’s strong point. Many of us here have learned the hard way, including me.

I run HLG 260XLs, but @Myfriendis410 made some other good suggestions as well.

Search on burple on the site here. You can read of others’ experiences with them.

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Fair enough, switching back to MH and HPS!! Thanks for the info guys!!

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A lot of good cannabis has been grown under them. If you are looking for the lights to use look at Light Emitting Ceramic (LEC) or Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH). These maintain spectrum better when turned down and are similar in price. You will want to get cool-tubes for all of your high-discharge lights as they put off a ton of heat.

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I have uses 2 Viparspectra PAR600 and if you only have two plants in a 4x4, you should be good. But for that cost I would look at a HLG light. You won’t regret it. :+1:

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I’m also sticking with MH/HPS at this time. No doubt that the latest tech LED lights from HLG, Gavita, and others are amazing and finally better and vastly more efficient than MH/HPS but they are also really expensive for the good ones. It’s hard to beat the bang for the buck you can get with a 600 watt digital ballast that can run both MH and HPS bulbs and is switchable from 250/400/600/overdrive for different stages of growth, with a cool-tube reflector and a 400+ cfm exhaust fan makes it easy to control the temps.

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So… the question is now… that you mention the LEDs again, the 260xl’s are fairly cheap. 200$ each… should I go there or just spend the money and hit some 1000w MH and HPS… again, budget really isn’t a big issue… I’m not rich, but I got plenty of $$…

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HLG 260XLs generally run around $370 for a V2 Rspec. You would want the Rspec as it is good for flowering, though some people buy the 3500k and do fine. I’d recommend the V2 Rspec, even though it does cost more.

I have 3 260XL Rspecs and I love 'em.

I checked HLG and they are out of stock. Growerslights has them. Where did you find a 260XL for around $200? I’ll take a look.

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I was looking on ebay… see if you can find one for me? They have the 320 v2 r spec for 4 something

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@dbrn32 I’m seeing Rspecs on the HLG website that say “Slate 2.” I don’t recall seeing that before. What are they?

@Maryjaneblidge Dbrn32 is the resident lighting expert.

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@Maryjaneblidge Here is what I run. HLG seems to be out of stock. I’ve bought from both Growerslights and HLG. They’re both good suppliers and both ship fast.

Neither is an ILGM approved supplier, so I can’t post the link for you.

Growerslights Rspec
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The 320 V2 Rspec is $485 at both HLG and Growerslights (and in stock at both.)

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I’d get the HLG 550 v2 rspec for $850 if budget isn’t a problem.

https://www.amazon.com/Horticulture-Lighting-Group-Full-Spectrum-High-Efficiency/dp/B07R5C4CKR/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=26E6H1HUCPRVA&dchild=1&keywords=hlg+550+v2+rspec&qid=1584914224&sprefix=hlg%2Caps%2C215&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&smid=A3OJY9E0ZY1FCH&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzNTBUQzlGQVJJMzFYJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTU1MjU5MVhDQ0pYR1hBTkpBOSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTE5MjY2M1RTOUMxOTBMSVA3SCZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

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I can’t brag the HLG lights up enough. Having used Viparspectra lights, I understand them all to well. I wished I would have known about HLG when I ordered my first HLG 260xl rspec. I got 1.5 lbs between 2 plants. :+1::+1::+1:

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" I call it “the best place for a burple light"
But the best driver is in there too

1 Like