Insane deal on Samsung strips !

[the Falcon]

As the title says I was alerted to this on Bookface , https://www.arrow.com/en/products/sl-b8 ... ZSkAnoFNmU

https://static6.arrow.com/aropdfcon...7 ... 1.0.pd.pdf

on sale for $4.91/each right now usually $29/each. They aren't very efficient per se -but at that price and free shipping we can run them low and then its groovy ... 20 strips total was 154.38$ with all their nice little tariff crap ...heheh These are 8-9000 lumens in 560mm, super intense strips me thinks- looks like 3K , 35K and 4K avail. I can't wait to build with these ~ I'm going to do 4K and 3K on separate drivers so I can tune it to the growth cycle Their typical usage is 66.6 w ( ROFL) at 48.2v and 1380ma - So I'm thinking maybe 5 on a 48v 240w driver. That would put me at 1 amp and 48w per strip -I wonder if thats low enough to get the best efficiency I can. Maybe doing 6 would be better? Then .833ma and 40w. Love to hear what you guys think.

Data sheet : https://static6.arrow.com/aropdfconvers ... 1.0.pd.pdf

[ganjah]

I saw this on another forum and I don't really get the interest. Honestly, I feel like I'm missing something.

On the surface it looks like a good deal because of the price, but when you dive into the really low efficiency, it's much less of a good deal. Those things are extremely low efficiency - like lower than COBs from 5 years ago.

Why would anybody buy those when you can get 2ft bridgelux EB2 or EB3 strips for almost the same price but 25%+ better efficiency? Serious question.

[Li_Mu_Bai]

This is all an old marketing trick. They are not usually $29, they are often $5. They raise the price to $29 when stock is low, and maybe get a few suckers to buy at that price, but the real effect is that everyone is going, damn I wish I would have bought those when they were $5, and now they are $29, I hope they go back down. You see many of these kinds of statements on the forums. And so when they go back to $5 (which they always will), then everyone is like, quick the sale is back we better get them while there hot.

Sorry, but this is the oldest marketing trick in the book. It's like the "one day only" sale. These are $5 items. Like Ganjah said these are low quality. Someone told me that they are LM301A, not sure if that is true. But the efficiency is way lower than LM301B.

[the Falcon]

This is all an old marketing trick. They are not usually $29, they are often $5. They raise the price to $29 when stock is low, and maybe get a few suckers to buy at that price, but the real effect is that everyone is going, damn I wish I would have bought those when they were $5, and now they are $29, I hope they go back down. You see many of these kinds of statements on the forums. And so when they go back to $5 (which they always will), then everyone is like, quick the sale is back we better get them while there hot.

Sorry, but this is the oldest marketing trick in the book. It's like the "one day only" sale. These are $5 items. Like Ganjah said these are low quality. Someone told me that they are LM301A, not sure if that is true. But the efficiency is way lower than LM301B.

So you really think they are not a good deal if you run them soft ? THe Gen3 4 footers are 4000 lumens and run nice around 32 watts give or take. They are about 10$ each at the best price I've found. These at 560mm can make 9k lumens at 66w. Now if we run them soft say 40w or 48w - you don't think for the price we can get a good efficiency ? I think in terms of time its useful for dollars spent and how well it performs. I mean in three years I can give these away or turn into household lighting and buy the LM301b at this price ...lol

I also know a lot of what you're saying is true - just wondering if at the price if run soft it isn't still a good value? Trying to learn not argue

[ganjah]

Nah, falcon, they're not a good deal at any price. You've been around for awhile and you know lumens are for humans, so that is a pretty ineffective metric by which to judge their output.

You're interested in using LED for efficiency and the ability to tailor your spectrum how you like it, otherwise we'd all just be using CMH or HPS still, right?. There's nothing in the datasheet to indicate these strips get much more efficient If you run them low, and you'd have to use a lot more of them the lower you run them.

The eb2 are something like 17% more efficient than these, and the eb3 are something like 40% more efficient on paper. And they're both around the same price or cheaper than this.

Search for eb3 strip part numbers on Octopart. You can find 90cri 2ft 4000k eb3 strips for $6, or 90cri 4ft 2700k eb3 strips for $11 in lots of 20. This gives you killer output for a 4x4 space, full spectrum for both veg and bloom (4k) or high end flowering (2.7k), literally current top shelf efficiency at 90cri, for about $400 delivered if you mount each strip to angle aluminum and then make 2 fixtures.

[the Falcon]

Nah, falcon, they're not a good deal at any price. You've been around for awhile and you know lumens are for humans, so that is a pretty ineffective metric by which to judge their output.

You're interested in using LED for efficiency and the ability to tailor your spectrum how you like it, otherwise we'd all just be using CMH or HPS still, right?. There's nothing in the datasheet to indicate these strips get much more efficient If you run them low, and you'd have to use a lot more of them the lower you run them.

The eb2 are something like 17% more efficient than these, and the eb3 are something like 40% more efficient on paper. And they're both around the same price or cheaper than this.

Search for eb3 strip part numbers on Octopart. You can find 90cri 2ft 4000k eb3 strips for $6, or 90cri 4ft 2700k eb3 strips for $11 in lots of 20. This gives you killer output for a 4x4 space, full spectrum for both veg and bloom (4k) or high end flowering (2.7k), literally current top shelf efficiency at 90cri, for about $400 delivered if you mount each strip to angle aluminum and then make 2 fixtures.

Weellllllll gadddammm,ammmtt ROFL ...it's ok I will run them soft - I tried to call and cancel it and they tried to say it was already shipped -but I check the tracking and it says label created -awaiting package - I tell them that and say wtf basically in the nicest way - after a bit of haranguing the lady says she will refund 1/2 the $ but I have to take the strips ROFL... guess they REALLY want to lose these /............ anyway for the price ..we'll see - the plants know whats up and now they only cost 75$ ...thanks fellas - without you I kept my mouth shut - nice quarantine support system ... THe real problem is my weed is getting so damm good from all the KNF inputs I was stoned out of my head and did what I'm not allowed to do and made an impulse purchase...

[Li_Mu_Bai]

I'm no LED expert, in fact I'm basically a beginner. And I was not trying to make you feel bad about your purchase. I was more pointed out that these are way over hyped by people on threads like Rollitup, and people are buying into the $5 vs $29 thing without thinking it through.

Compare the ones you linked to these LM301b strips: https://www.arrow.com/en/products/si-b8 ... lectronics

These are priced at $11.69, but for the 4000k one only, as far as I could find the 3000 and 3500 are $19 so quite a bit more than yours.

In looking at the data sheets for both these products, the luminous efficiency of the LM301b is 203 lm/w in typical current and 226 in max. The others ones are 137 typical and 165 max. That is almost a 50% increase in efficiency, which is significant. And when you consider that the $11.96 ones are 1120 mm long, and the $4.92 ones are 559 mm. Both have double rows of diodes so I'm assuming the $11.69 ones have twice the number of diodes, might be wrong about that though. Which would make them a pretty good deal compared to the $4.92.

What I'm curious about though is why do you say that running them at a lower wattage increases the efficiency?

[Li_Mu_Bai]

Hey Falcon, don't feel bad, they are still good grow lights, and you'll find a use for them. And they were only $75. I bought some crappy Amazon blurple LED lights for about that price and they are shit compared to your Samsung full-spectrum.

[ganjah]

To echo what Li_Mu_Bai wrote, at half price those are a better deal. Use them for veg or something where you don't need max output or the best spectrum, and call it good. I think you're both right - they were just trying to get rid of them on sales that made it look like a blowout. Rollitup is a great source for LED info, but it's also a great source for LED misinformation and groupthink.

[the Falcon]

Hey thanks you guys - this is really a great forum. IDK why I didn't research more - I never buy stuff like that ( Hello my name is Falcon and I am a LED addict .....)... too damm stoned.... The truth is I don't even really need another light now - although as it warms up I will as the HIDs come down with the temps. So now I wonder if you could suggest what would be the sweet spot to run them at - I have 10 - 3K and 10 - 4K - I want them on separate channels so I can tune it to growth cycle. I think all on one light fixture if its not too insane - pack em in and run them at the most efficient power. Just need help to figure out exactly what that is. Thanks so much ~ Peace love and Toilet Paper ...