Light upgrade

I have several AC Infinity lights and the work great. Cant speak about the others.

I'd trust numbers on their review of lights, its their thing they do. also do a ruff breakdown on Watts and price point. one of the 320w seem better. but even getting a bigger 400-600W and useing it dimmed down is a good thing to. Thats what I do. I have a big ass light and never use it over 60% dim setting. its great.

Ahh... mars is fucking up again with their spec shee. FC4000 has 765 diodes.. if this is accurate, this is not a high end light. This means the 2.85umol/J is unlikely accurate. their ppe/ppf is therefore off too, because multiplying efficacy by watts gives you umol/s of the light. (1w/s = 1J/s). so, their previous Fc models didn't lie like this.. definitely get the total diode count from each company. Looks like they might be cheapening up what once was a really good product. otherwise, they all have decent heat sinks, drivers and diode distribution. Therefore, efficacy is what will set them apart. Don't let a few hundredths or even a tenth or two of umol/J justify a huge cost increase, of course.

AC Infinity is lying. Out of principle you should not buy from them. 280 watts / 840 diodes means they are running those diodes at .33watts per diode. This is 50% above what the spec sheet at samsung.com uses to test their diodes and provide accurate umol/J ratings etc. So, fuck the liars. I am so glad they lied, because admittedly, i do not like AC infinity. This is based on facts and not bias. they fucking lie. Unless they've changed something in newer models, Mars is running them at spec or much close .2 or .25watts per. I cannot speak from experience with the SE4500 from spider farmer. I do not see specific information anymore on their website in this regard, nor on spider farmer's site. Again, if it's .2-.25watts per diode you can actually expect to get 50,000 hours of life out of the diodes before they dim below 90% intensity (compared to out of the box levels) You can actually expect a 2.8-2.9umol/J give or take a few tenths. If they are not run at that wattage, then their longevity will be shorter and it's efficacy will be lower than stated. All of them referencing 3.14umol/J is fucking stupid too. that's the rating for the 6500K CCT "top" bin chip. that was be a retarded grow light and simply not accurate to what the product is. Small lies are ok, but running the diodes at .333watts per diode and claiming spec sheet performance (samsung data, the one you can rely on) is a fucking lie from dubious characters. It is common amongn light makers, sadly. The FC series by mars has always been accurately spec'd before. I'd still do due dilligence to ensure they still are by sending a quick email and asking about diode count. simply divide watts / number of diodes... .2-25 is the answer you want for any high-end light... not .33w/diode and bullshitting the customer about efficacy/longevity, lol. That's trashdick behaviour by ac infinity. URL references: https://www.mars-hydro.com/smart-fc4000-samsung-lm301h-evo-led-grow-light https://www.spider-farmer.com/products/se4500-430w-led-grow-light/ https://acinfinity.com/hydroponics-growers/grow-lights/commercial-grow-lights/ionframe-evo3-samsung-lm301h-evo-commercial-led-grow-light-280w-2x4-ft/ samsung.com spec sheets for the LM301 variants is the only place for 100% accurate information on the diodes. Any deviation from how they are tested will reduce longevity, increase heat per photon produced and decrease efficacy.

I’d buy the most efficient one out of the three. Whatever has the best ųmol/J number. 2.8-2.9 ųmol/J is considered to be some of the highest efficiency lighting. Also the light with the highest PAR/PPFD output coupled with the best ųmol/J rating. (I’m sorry I don’t know how to get the proper sign of the ųmol so I’m using this ų) Atulip also makes a great point about customer service after purchasing. Some companies leave you high and dry. I run HLG lights and I am very satisfied with them. Some people on here will say that they’re too expensive but HLG has some top notch customer service after purchasing with any issue you may have. I bought a Scorpion Diablo in 2021 through a dealer and it was stated that it would come with a pair of eye protection. I never got the eye protection. One quick call to HLG to say I never received them and they said “no problem we’ll send it to you right away.” I didn’t get just one pair of glasses. They sent me seven of them. I haven’t experienced issues with my lights thus far. Take a look at what HLG has to offer if you haven’t already. Good luck on your decision.

They all look like they use the same chips. The Mars hydro has more than the AC infinity, so you shouldn't be sacrificing efficiency for those 40 extra watts. I don't see the spider farmer listing their chip count. I believe SF also had some customer service issues a few years back... I'd go with the Mars hydro.