Which Grow light is better: Spider Farmer or Mars ...

Spider Farmer.

*those sf lights could be closer to 2.5umol/J range if not best bin diode used for each CCT type. the mars is a true 2.8ish range even if tehy don't use best bin for diode types. if spending that much, i wouldn't take a "maybe" ... lying or being unclear on spec sheets is a big red flag.

The FC series by mars is probably better. the other models i'd go with SF. FCE, too... just a tade less efficient than the FC models. if lm301 base diodes (b or h, but not 'd'), you can simply see which is closer to 0.25watts per diode to see which is more efficient. below that is diminishing returns... i wouldn't pay exra for alight bragging about a diode count that goes below 0.25watts per diode, in other words. https://www.spider-farmer.com/products/sf7000-foldable-led-grow-light/ -- this is their QB they are rounding up dubiously... 2.747... to 2.8.. minor infraction... fairly accurate spec sheet. if this is lower quality bin diode, it's probably lower than "2.75" because it is also running them at 0.36watts per diode... this is a bit warm. it would require the sj or sk diode for the warmer whites at least. (1786umol/s / 650w = umol/J) i'd guess tehy messaged the efficacy upward, but only slightly. going to assume other lights in same SF series are built in same proportions, otherwise do the same math over and over and over.. it's easy. https://www.spider-farmer.com/products/spider-farmer-upgraded-se7000-730w-commercial-led-grow-light/ -- this is their 'bar' style light again, up around 0.36w per diode. can do better, especially for upper end price range.. probably lower than 2.8 umol/J advertised, again... unless tehy are using sk or sj diodes for the warmer white led. this can make up to a 10-15% difference between top bin and worst binning in 3000-3500k cct diode choices. if you are spending "that" much, go with the FC-series by mars hydro. they actually do have the build to justify a "2.8umol/J" or higher... runs teh diodes at the coolest 0.25watts per diode that match the spec sheets from samsung.. so that info becomes apples to apples for those diodes. i'm not up on the bridgelux diodes.... have to check efficacy is up near 232lm/w or 3.10 umol/J for the cool white diodes -- they show the best one on spec sheet, and all others will be lower than that. this is why anything much over 3.0umol/J is either all top bin 6500k diodes or lying their fucking assess off, bwahahah. i saw one light indirectly saying it had a 6.0+ umol/J light... which is utter nonsense. this is where knowing the math helps avoid the trash dick sellers. both SF and mars fib a little bit on their high end lights but not to the point of losing respectability... i would not trust the numbers on the cheaper lights by mars though.. not without double checking and comparing to samsung or bridgelux spec sheets. i think there's a new "1w" bridgelux that is comparable to the samsung lm301... instead of 0.25w per diode being the point of diminishing returns, it is 1w with that larger diode... but same concepts as above as far as cross-referencing bridgelux spec sheet, accounting for proper bin range, then see if the spec sheet you are lookign at makes any fuckign sense at all, lol... i bet the "G" series is fairly accurately rated, but i wouldn't assume, either. on 2nd look -- "151368Lm±5%@AC120V" the g860w is only 176lm/w .. .that's going to be much lower than "2.8: advertised. i'd guess 2.5-ish umol/J is actual efficacy. they didn't use the bridgelux i was thinking about qsonix 1w'er? they are up around the same 230lm/w range as lm301 and same cct/sfd etc. 1.76 is 76% give or take .76*3.1 = 2.35umol/J ... because the spectrum flux densities are so similar, it's going to be virtually proportional. ... and that;s probably asusming top bin diodes again, which may or may not be true. the con for mars... i'd say their CCT is a bit high... though i've been using some 3200k alibaba lights and don't notice a huge difference with my 2800k diy lights. if comfortable with the math and specs.. check out alibaba.. can get similar and save 200-400 USD... negotiating with manufacturers isn't so fun, imho. i actually got some low-bin diodes but a shit-ton, so 2.8-2.9 efficacy (just 3500k and 660nm reds), even so. 370 delivered. was a little worried about higher cct in flower, but naked eye couldn't tell.. my lapk formed rock hard buds.

Spider.... hands down.

Ich persönlich favorisiere keinen dieser Hersteller, tendenziell gefällt mir Spider Farmer etwas besser. Spider Farmer verbaut bereits in den günstigsten Modellen Samsung LED's. Sogar die LM301. Die Treiber sind von Meanwell, während Mars Hydro keine genauen Angaben zu den verbauten LED'S macht. Samsung LED's werden da nur in den preislich höheren Modellen verbaut (SP 3000 etc.) Dazu kommt, dass ich vor Jahren mal eine defekte Mars Hydro Reflektor Lampe geöffnet habe, in der Hoffnung diese reparieren zu können.(Ich habe einen Master Abschluss in Maschinenbautechnik) bin also technisch nicht ganz ungeschickt... Nun ja und was ich da gesehen habe hat mich wirklich schockiert 😱 Die Verkabelung, schon bei der Verlegung angefangen war gruselig. Ohne irgendeine Logik oder Ordnung. Von den Anschlüssen fange ich gar nicht erst an. Es damals sind zwei "Sicherungen" im Panel verschmort . Wäre nicht die Hauptsicherung rausgeflogen, hätte das ein Desaster geben können. Das ist aber nur meine persönliche Meinung auf Grund einer schlechten Erfahrung. Jetzt zu Spider Farmer: Ich nutze ein SF 1000 zur Anzucht und für Stecklinge. Wie bereits erwähnt, es sind Samsung LED'S verbaut. Das finde ich gut. Der Treiber ist auch gut. Meanwel baut eigentlich keinen Mist. Generell ist der Aufbau des Boards simpel und die Verarbeitung ordentlich. Aber absoluter Mist ist die Wärmeableitung! Zwar liegt Spider meiner Meinung nach auch hier etwas vorne, Aber das dünne Aluminiumblech von 6 oder 8mm dicke ist definitiv keine passive Kühlung. Das Ding wird viel zu Warm. Somit wird die Lebensdauer der LED'S deutlich verkürzt. Und die des Treiber ebenfalls. Der sitzt nämlich direkt da drauf... Aber ich glaube über LED'S allgemein kann man regelrecht Philosophieren, von daher setzte ich jetzt mal einen Punkt 😄✌️

From my research spider farmer is more energy efficient where mars hydro provides more PAR. I have only used quantum board's and not used any of the new bar style.