Solar on seperate controller with wind generator

[Fused]

Sounds like pure fun.
Not sure which way I will connect it yet.
I have a bunch of the regular 3w led's and a bag of the big 5w leds.
Still waiting on solder.

Thanks

Doug

edit
I have built a dozen of led lights and led plant grow lights.
At least I have a bunch of small resistors!

[Bruce S]

Fused;
Though I've been following this from the first posts, You got my full attention about building the grow lights!!
What colors are you using? and what plants are these for?

Bruce S

[Fused]

Hi Bruce!
I use 50 and 100 watt Led's.
I run a power source made for these lights
and assemble fans above for cooling.

What I have found that works best is simply warm white LED's.

I grow figs. I have a 80+ tree fig orchard.

Fig cuttings will root under LEDs.

IMG_20161026_213830 by Doug B, on Flickr

IMG_20161026_215029 by Doug B, on Flickr

Doug

[Bruce S]

Nice setup!
I use the bright whites for similar rooting We use them for Basil plants and re-rooting tomato clones.
Mine are the little 3W units.

80! sure beats our single Chicago hardy fix plant!
 
Cheers

[Fused]

I started tomato, bell pepper and cooking herbs(only)
last winter using a walk in closet and 1 light with 2-50 watt warm white,
then I built the 100 watt light just to prove what a $28 total cost
LED could do.

It's just fun and occupies my boring winters.

Doug

[george65]

Some months ago I was reading about aeroponics and went out and set up a Blue plastic Drum.  Heat and cut it to make pockets for net pots and put a little Diaphram pump on it with an arduino for a controller and all running of a small solar panel and a battery.

I have since bought a few different cheap ( read completely fictionally rated ) LED 4WD bar Lights and run them off a battery charger at night.
I also got about a Dozen Home LED type lights I think were about 12W each and sunk them into a board. Quite a bit of wiring up with all the mains plugs and power boards required but it was just something I did  when bored one night and has been effective for a few things. I actually haven't tried them on the grow tower or propagation box as yet because I can't put them under cover and don't want the lights destroyed by water.  You can get the Fitting complete with transformer for $10 each in qty so they are also a cheap and easy lighting solution. The ones I have may go in the new house though to replace some of the "interesting" fittings that are there now.... or I might buy something new, not that the ones I have are very old.

I'm pretty stoked with the the growth rate I'm getting out of the lettuce, Rocket and Broccoli in the Aero system just using off the shelf hardware store fertilizer and a couple of add ins ( epsom salts,  rabbit dropping tea) out of the setup. I found some PVC pipe and screwed that onto the top of the Drum and added another sprinkler off the same pump. This increased capacity while only taking up vertical space which is an advantage of these vertical towers.

I had a look at these LED's on flea bay but am a bit confused and wary of ratings and outputs.  I thought the red/ purple lights were best for growing as that's what I have seen touted as grow lights but also not sure if they are just white LED's filtered and would in fact give the same usable output as the white ones?

When I move in about a month I want to set up a greenhouse at the new place as well as make a large grow wall. I'm thinking about 10 Columns about 2 M tall.  Not sure how many spaces that will give me but probably around 200.  I'm already drawing up plans and getting quotes for a rather large outdoor entertaining are complete with a full on outdoor kitchen with Pizza oven, Charcoal BBQ Grill, underbench refrigeration and the full catastrophe. I think a grow wall of fresh herbs and salads would be the icing on the cake for that sort of area.  the crappy old drum out the back and bit of PVC pipe actually looks really nice with all the fresh greenery coming out of it so I reckon a whole grow wall would have a huge WOW factor.

I saw a Vid on YT about a guy who does landscaping with vegetables and I'm really keen to give that a go as the front yard and driveway garden areas will be significant.  Mrs has Vetoed the idea calling it stupid but she said the aero Drum and tower was more junk she didn't ant on the back patio at first. Now she brags to people how she can just walk out the back and pick all this lovely fresh and very tasty produce so I'll give the landscape veggies a go without telling her and see if she comes around on that as well. 

 I'm not sure what the ambient light will be like at this stage in the area I want to put this. I was thinking of putting in a lot of translucent plastic sheeting on the roof but worried about the heat in summer. Further thoughts made me realise the roof will be perfectly orientated in the optimal direction for solar panels and I can even have the roof pitch made to near the optimum angle for where I will be. More to be gained using panels on that roof and just using artificial light on the plants I think.  I do have thoughts of really running with this and seeing if I can produce enough to supply a local restaurant or 3.
I'll see how I go in the scaled up version but for commercial production as such, no doubt having good lighting would be a significant advantage.
The roof will have the ability to support 4Kw of 250W panels potentially giving 16Kw of power every day. Much more than any lighting setup would use.
I also want to look at Boxing the underside of the panels in for air heating which could be another significant energy advantage.

For the greenhouse I'm thinking of heating elements in drums or an IBC full of water as a thermal mass in winter to keep it warm over night. It could be frosty where we are going. Alternative may be to use a veg oil fueled heater but electrics would certainly be a lot less hands on. If I can come up with a small veg heater that is reliable and could even be left running, I'd have the advantage of an increased CO2 supply as well.
I have thought about batteries for storing power for lighting at night but at this stage given I'll have the ability to back feed to the grid and run the meters in reverse, I'm thinking of just setting up arrays and then powering everything back from the grid as the easier and far cheaper solution.

If anyone can point to a good supplier of these LED modules I'd be interested in ordering some and making a panel or array of them.
The LED barlights are pretty inexpensive now although you never know what you'll get but you can guarantee it's not what they advertised.
Last lot I got had 224W on the box and all my multimeters tell me they are actually 32W.  Supplier wanted to know what electrical qualifications I had when I complained. I asked him what qualifications he had to question mine?

I Prefer to at least get what I paid for and I like a bit of DIY so be interested in making something up with these modules.

[Bruce S]

Fused;
We seem to have veered off track of what you originally posted.

Apologies

Perhaps we need to ask the owners to add yet another field for gardens 
Bruce S

[Bruce S]

I had a look at these LED's on flea bay but am a bit confused and wary of ratings and outputs.  I thought the red/ purple lights were best for growing as that's what I have seen touted as grow lights but also not sure if they are just white LED's filtered and would in fact give the same usable output as the white ones?

George65;
The reds and purple lights are the real ones. The ambient lights were actually harder to dope in the early days, which is why they were higher in costs.

I'm like Fused; I use the white lights for root growth, I keep them directional to keep algae growth down as much as possible.

When purchasing LEDs for long trem growth look for people who show the NM numbers, those are the wave lengths and take to power number with a grain of sand.
The plants like the Reds for vine and leaf growth and the blue to purple for fruit/veggie/flower production.
My ratio is 8 Reds to 5 blues to 1 purple.

BUT that's what I built for tomatoes and leafy greens.

The Green lights will work (some say they won't) it's just that plants will only absorb 1/100th of what they will get from the other wave lengths.

OR merely  buy the bright whites , they're made of the full spectrum  .

Cheers
Bruce S

[Fused]

I had great vegetative growth along with root growth using the 100 watt led chip.
The warm white I use is different than the bright white I think.
Next fall I will build another 100 watt trying the bright white.

It is off topic but I do not care.
I started it, lol.

Doug

[Bruce S]

Fused;
I went with Bright White , mainly for whiter blues and they were the same price as the warm white ones.
When it's deep in to the nasty grey skies here in St. Louis , coming home to see leafy greens and a nice bright light just makes the winter a little less "yucky" as the grandkids say.

I noticed the nice heat sink in your picture, are you using a speed controlled fan to keep it healthy?

George65;
I've been using 10-10-10 for a bunch of years, sure it's not the greatest I could go with. Missouri has one of the best online resources available when going with "soiless" growing methods. However, the stuff I got cost $2USD for a whole box that has lasted me 3 winters now. It does cause a bit more Vine growth on the tomatoes , but not a biggie for me when it comes to cherry sized types.
You can certainly add supplements, like epson salts, ground-up eggs shells and the like.

One other thing you'll notice (if you do this out doors too) is bugs. Aphids and White flies are the scourge around here.
I'm currently testing an aspirin/baking soda solution to help keeping those off, BUT feeling the squish of those little thieves between my fingers as it's own satisfying moments.

Cheers
Bruce S

[Fused]

Bruce, I had a goal of building a cheap grow light.
This one came as a kit with fan and heat sink.
I just assembled with thermal epoxy and end plates
from a old florescent fixture.

Nothing special here, although they could last
many years I just build another one each season.

Kinda fun.

Doug