Broad spectrum grow light teardown

[@Conservator.]

I very much like the usual “One moment please” The only one who has to “wait” is the good man himself. For us viewers there’s no wait at all. For Clive there’s no ‘wait’ either as I suspect the photos and reverse engineering don’t just magically appear. Your effort and excellent production quality is very much appreciated!

[@theTeknoViking]

Yes! This! The man is a treasure!

[@jmargarson]

Vent holes in the clear cover, to let the smoke out when it goes bang.

[@oldarchillies163]

Moisture weep holes. :)

[@badeadrian]

Ohhh yeah 👍 Definitely 😁

[@StreakyP]

I thought the smoke came from what was grown with these

[@soundspark]

@@StreakyP Maybe it''s designed to "flavor" the smoke.

[@JamesChurchill3]

How serendipitous, I have literally been looking at grow lights today. Not for anything nefarious, I'm getting some seedlings going to give my veg plot a head start in the spring, you've got good timing!

[@SirBoden]

A mix of warm white and cold white fluorescent tubes work very well for your needs. LED grow lights alone are a bit narrow band for seedlings.

[@RT-qd8yl]

What would a nefarious use for a grow light be? 🤣

[@esecallum]

it also helps to grow hair.. on your head

[@merlynsfire1275]

aliexpress (other cheap Chinese outlets exist) round or square 36w led lights that slide on to a contactor as shown here recently are great. MUCH cheaper than grow light when not on offer they are about £10 but on offer can be as low as £5 each with free P&P

[@pompeymonkey3271]

@@SirBoden Indeed, a touch more blue is needed.

[@oasntet]

I built my own linear grow lights using luxeon star clones thermal-pasted to some leftover aluminimum extrusions and some cheap led drivers. Initially I just did burple ones, but I discovered they kinda hurt my eyes when I'm trying to work on the plants under them, so I added one row of 'broad spectrum' leds just for me. Broad spectrum isn't really for the plants, but a little bit of white or green light mixed in helps the humans.

[@ExploreRepairRestore]

Christmas day Santa brings Clive a bicycle One moment please..... Boxing day the bicycle is all in pieces 😂

[@iandeare1]

😂

[@markmiles2955]

Watch your eye's please... As he engages the dynamo...

[@bigclivedotcom]

That's how many kids' future careers started.

[@2down4up]

I used 15 of these in a small raised bed garden that was heavily shaded. The lens fell out of some of them but they still work. 2 years outdoors and quite surprisingly they’re still doing well.

[@Nono-hk3is]

Clive, warm white is absolutely yellow.

[@TheSpotify95]

I only buy 4000K cool white and 6500K daylight bulbs. IMO 2700K and 3000K is too yellow for my liking, so I for one agree with the Chinese way of marking warm white as yellow.

[@TomCee53]

It’s at least relatively yellow. Better than referring to cool white as blue. 😅

[@Conservator.]

@@TheSpotify95 Just out of curiosity: Do you use 6500k lights for example in your living room in the evening?

[@Alacritous]

It's due to 100,000+ years of being around camp fires in the dark. We like warm white because it's safety.

[@frogz]

@@Nono-hk3is wait until you see first Gen external phosfor 2700k Phillips bulbs, if i had the money i would buy one for Clive to tear down, it has an egg yolk inside a translucent white diffuser dome over Royal Blue LEDs, i should buy some while they still exist lol

[@RonLaws]

The science behind grow light spectrum selection is a very interesting rabbit hole to fall down. more recent studies I peeked at out of morbid curiosity suggest that broad spectrum is better than 'Burple' because while plants may not use all wavelengths for photosynthesis, they do use other spectra to trigger certain growth factors that indicates things like competition (Shadowing), dawn/dusk (blues/reds) and of course season (UV concentration) There's also the human factor... It's difficult to see issues in the plant such as fungus or damage under Burple!

[@phils4634]

That's a very aesthetically - nice light! It would be pretty good for even general lighting purposes, however it's probably great for getting seedlings going in the winter and early spring months. This sort of thing would have been a godsend back in the day when I lived in the UK, with my 10' x 8' greenhouse and "significant" gardening hobby

[@MrSlipstreem]

Just a minor correctioni: 5000K isn't cold white. It's about as close to neutral white as an LED can get as it's approximately the standard photographic white point. Cold white tends to be more up around the 6000 to 6500K range and has a distinct bluish hue to it.

[@petersage5157]

5000K can come off as extremely cold if they skimped on the phosphors in the red to yellow part of the spectrum, which a lot of low CRI lights do. Part of the problem with fluorescent tubes was that they had similarly rubbish CRI, which is why paint swath desks used to have buttons for incandescent, fluorescent, and "daylight" (the last one was just both lights), and a lot of the early "daylight" LED bulbs had the same problem. Fortunately, high CRI phosphor blends are more common now, but I wouldn't be surprised if LEDs with the more rubbish blends are being liquidated in fittings such as this, because the warm white phosphors help fill in the gaps. Also, I promised myself that I wouldn't get into the pedantics of higher color temperatures being "colder," but I guess I just broke that promise, so in a nutshell, the hotter a star's photosphere, the bluer its light.

[@thomasneal9291]

No... 5k is 5k. It's the packaging that lies, not numbers.

[@petersage5157]

@@thomasneal9291 No, not all 5K are created equal. I remember having one of the earlier "daylight" bulbs in my bathroom that made my pale-ruddy skin (typical for a ginger) look ashen because of gaps in its emission spectrum.

[@NicolaiDufva]

Interesting detail with the shunt across overvolt protection. Essentially changing it to an overvolt guarantor.

[@chrishartley1210]

I'm glad you posted this, I'm going to plant some tomato and chilli seeds soon and you reminded me that I needed to buy a couple of these lamps. I've chosen the burple ones as those colours seem to be best for photosynthesis.

[@oasntet]

Yeah, plants are green because that's the color they reflect and don't make much use of.

[@TheSpotify95]

I'm glad you posted this comment 3 weeks ago, despite the video only being out 25 minutes, meaning us regular users don't have a cat in hells chance of buying this at the same price as Clive did, assuming this is even in stock. Which is a shame given that the color looked OK and this also looks like the style of a UFO Frisbee object!

[@chrishartley1210]

@@TheSpotify95 They current price is almost exactly the same as I paid 3 weeks ago, the difference is probably due to currency variations.

[@pwapwap]

I love how I can recognise the scars on Clive’s desk from videos I have watched (most recently the mini angle grinder)

[@Crimetvuk]

I want to see your store room 😳

[@askjacob]

Haha "store room" - if Clive is anything like me, the store room is a giant, unstable mountain of tat just out of shot on every available surface :D

[@phonotical]

Nice to see a differently coloured set of capacitors for a change

[@amorphuc]

Super interesting Big Clive. Thanks. Not bad for less than six bucks. I like the color. I've got a High Bay light for my ficus in the living room. It has a dimmer that I can dim down - currently at 40 watts / 117 volts. I could put four of these up for greater coverage and maybe spectrum.

[@robindeputy]

I learned a new word today: "Burple" Thanks Clive!

[@winklethrall2636]

Now we need to hear him try to say Burple Purglar Alarm!

[@grantrennie]

Thanks for the great video Clive 😊

[@terrym1065]

Merry Christmas Clive. Hope all your packages arrive on time and in good condition. This light would make a nice "outside" temperate zone area light for a small location, say a corner or alcove. Not sure of its abilities to actually grow anything but the color is nice. Thanks for the tear down and explanation.

[@moofree]

The violet LEDs are good to see. The similar cheap ones from Lowes don't have violets.

[@Bauks]

I grow 'herbs' inside. I prefer to use the normal LED bulbs you can get at any hardware store in the daylight and warm spectrums. Then, when they get bigger, I prefer to use a 600w high-pressure sodium lamp and ballast. Works great ;)

[@dcallan812]

I dont care how many lights you buy, you are not going to grow any taller 🤣 Interesting light be even more interesting with the housing referenced to ground. 2x👍

[@robboinc1]

Love that you clarified the earth symbols, ground as a convention in electronics is confusing, it being named 0 potential is more intuitive, personally i blame the yanks they love a good ground.

[@Broken_Yugo]

Pretty good broad spectrum mix for a cheapo shock hazard light. That said if one really wants to grow anything with screw in lights I'd recommend whatever the cheapest 1500 lumen general purpose bulbs you can find in whatever quantity is necessary.

[@mojonojo3]

Little gadget that you might appreciate - OPPLE Light Master It measures the light Illuminance,Color temperature(CCT), CRI, CS, EML, R1- R14, DUV via bluetooth on your phone - ive been using mine for about a year and has been accurate - plus its about $30-40 from the usual sources

[@badeadrian]

Where is the FLIR camera... you should check how hot 🔥 is going to be

[@badeadrian]

Do you think it is worth carbonate left over beer after a day? I always have some unfinished beers on Saturday mornings... Should I keep it... carbonate it back? I do have an alcohol meter , but I never checked the alcohol level...

[@bigclivedotcom]

You can recarbonate it, but release the pressure very slowly as it may foam up.

[@JonnyMudMower]

I still run a 1000w metal halide and a 1000w hps. I have friends that get good grows out of leds but I say there’s no replacement for displacement lol 😊

[@hermannschaefer4777]

Made my own grow lights for my winter garden plants (Citrus × limon and Nerium oleander) with those pinky cheap DIY 3W star shaped chips "380nm-840nm". They work fine and my plants seem to like them (last winter no problems). Put a bunch of them on alu heatsink-leftovers from no-idea-what combined with an older MeanWell power supply.

[@cortanajpn]

3:01 Is that what that is? I’ve been wondering for ages why I get a slight tingle that makes the hairs on my hand stand up when I touch the metal case of the (unearthed) DVD player!

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's very common and quite an annoying feature of the modern high frequency power supplies. Not just capacitive coupling between the winding layers, but also via the capacitor that is supposed to provide a route back for that coupling to reduce the radiated electrical noise.

[@David-jx4gw]

I got about 300 watts of t5 aquarium lights in a clearance sale, for 20% of the original price. Im going to get some seedlings going on a couple of garden centre style trolleys with adjustable shelves.

[@badeadrian]

How about Salin plus? Can you please make a review? I have bought one in 2012..i could feel the difference... but now... looks like i have nothing...My lungs should tickle kinda... feel the salt..

[@bigclivedotcom]

I wonder if there's a build up of salt inside.

[@frinkemon]

Did I miss something? What happened to the proper HOPI?

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's fine. This one has a better resolution for lower loads and ultra bad power factors.

[@AuTo69420]

I love you m'man, you provide so much entertainment for me

[@richardwernst]

Forgive my non-electronic knowledge, but how can this actually handle anything from 110v to 250, or did I misread the ad info?

[@chrishartley1210]

Standard switch mode type power supply, they can usually handle 85-270V. The simple version: first they convert to DC, then switch the DC on and off at high frequency (for efficiency). The ratio of "on time" to "off time" determines the output so if the input voltage is halved the on-off ratio needs to be doubled to achieve the same output (approximately).

[@KJ6EAD]

The main features are: poor current balancing, poor heat sinking, token numbers of UV and infrared LEDs and of course, a power supply flailing on wires. It's essentially a reading light with a few oddball emissions. Don"t buy one but if you were forced to use one, it would be good to attach an earth ground lead to the aluminum housing to provide a modicum of fire and shock prevention.

[@FerdinandFake]

The capacitive coupling is crazy with these cheap led drivers, one particular brand of cabinets likes to glue the metal cased 80w led drivers to a metal backplate, of course they dont come with an earth wire. When you touch a screwdriver to short it makes almost a continuous spark

[@gertjanvandermeij4265]

*It really looks likes SUNLIGHT !* I Like it !

[@thomasneal9291]

Measured lumen output? Spectral analysis? How do we know this lamp is doing what it says on the box, given the source?

[@bigclivedotcom]

That would need specialist test equipment.

[@abavariannormiepleb9470]

What’s the most energy-efficient way to create a lamp that really has the entire spectrum of ground-level sunlight, from UV to IR?

[@bigclivedotcom]

That could be a mixture of lamps.

[@samham3408]

Would it work as well?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Only the gardeners will know that.

[@markedis5902]

It would be interesting to find out the colour consistency if you had several of these operating together. And I bet there is no photometry for it

[@addman]

I got a set of lights on Amazon a few months ago that looks identical to those lights with string plugs. The listing was called: "Yidasyn Outdoor Grow Lights for Outdoor Plants Waterproof, Full Spectrum, 22FT Adjustable Cord, Daisy-Chain String Grow Lights for Seedling,Veg,Flower in Greenhouse Garden Backyard Farm(6 Lights) "

[@andic6676]

Do you think the insulation around the PSU is sufficient, given there is a metal shade?

[@bigclivedotcom]

I don't trust the insulation of any of these metal cased lamps. I recommend not touching them while powered.

[@MasterBakerVideos]

Thinking how much money I spent and effort to control heat in the old days of using ballast driven halide and sodium lamps to do closet grows. When LED lamps came out, so many problems with heat disappeared but it meant buying all new equipment and it wasn't cheap like now. Of course, it's not illegal to buy swhank now, so there's little profit in closet grows. But I'd have given a nut to have a lamp like the one you're showing.

[@phonotical]

Don't plants pretty much just respond to the sort of rwd and blue combination though, the warm white one might be ok for cress... Or mould 😂 but beyond that, it's a light populated by the wrong colour leds for my liking

[@frostedbvtts]

I build my lights with only warm white LED COBs. Seems to work just fine, my cannabis plants grow big and strong. The 100w COBs and drivers are very cheap to buy compared to any legitimate grow light with comparable output.

[@mxslick50]

7:43"Let's open this little Christmas package"....it's been far too long since I got a nice package (big or little) for Christmas. 😮😅 This was another great teardown of terrifying tat, thanks for doing it. Merry Christmas to our favorite Manx bear!❤😊

[@stefanmargraf7878]

Not bad. As plant lights use a lot of energy, their light color is useless to lighten a room. That item seems to fulfill both needs

[@airattoz]

Could you please leave a link to this product? Would be nice to use these for indoor lighting

[@bigclivedotcom]

Here's a link. vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005006931284494.html No guarantee of safety or lifespan.

[@Legomanfred]

Good way to "grow" your channel.🤔 Although id have the extinguisher at the ready. Great video. 👍

[@twocvbloke]

Then it gets mildly moist and goes bang, cos I remember a similar light you took to bits some years ago having had a case of death by wetness... :P

[@Indiskret1]

I like this one, will order! Thanks!

[@MrKillerno1]

I am still amazed that 2 line inputs connected by two diodes (of the ful bridge rectifyer) does not give a short out!

[@bigclivedotcom]

They are in opposing directions.

[@andymouse]

Keep this up and you will 'need' a spectrometer (Cheap USB one will do ) because you can't be sure the wavelength details are correct.

[@Bob-d6g]

I reduced the need for gingerly touching with 110 isolation transformer just a small toroidal one Being as the string led lights outside were full on 240 at each bulb and saved having to use dimmer:) Actually the dimmer had died after a year out in the rain and buggy dank undergrowth under a bucket wrapped in a bag, so safe:)

[@MrRelevance02]

Even my high end Belkin charger still has a noticeable tingle on the back of my iPad

[@STONEDay]

17 watts. Impressive.

[@oscars4107]

Did you say "Butt Regulator"?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Buck regulator. Not as exciting.

[@merlynsfire1275]

@@bigclivedotcom Still never seen one actually regulate a buck though🤔

[@paulprosser1289]

Why are you filming 50Hz powered equipment at 30 FPS so it flickers?

[@bigclivedotcom]

The flicker is more an issue with the rolling shutter effect in a well lit area.

[@JoseSilveira-newhandleforYT]

Very interesting, particularly for the price, even though it was a Black Friday price and should be now doubled.

[@bigclivedotcom]

Just checked and still around the same price.

[@LawpickingLocksmith]

AliX Australia: Before logging in: $1.68 free freight. After logging in: $9.89 plus $15 freight!

[@bigclivedotcom]

That's excessive. Probably caused by local politics.

[@peter.stimpel]

Clive, do you offer ways different from Patreon to become a supporter of your channel?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Patreon is the best, since it does allow me to share videos before release. I don't use KZbin's membership system as it risks that if they pull the plug on my channel for being "dangerous" I lose everything.

[@peter.stimpel]

Thanks for answering, Clive. If I am leaving your supporter crew it is never about you and your videos, but the way Patreon is acting. Sorry ...

[@bigclivedotcom]

@@peter.stimpel Patreon is definitely capable of improvement.

[@TomCee53]

I occasionally wish that I lived next door to Clive to take advantage of his leftovers. I could live with the dents in such a lamp.

[@Erdie5]

Orange capacitors! Well, that's exciting.

[@kenmercer2721]

Non isolating PSU + metal housing = "should be grounded" IMHO. Thanks for the heads up!

[@bigclivedotcom]

Not so easy with a bulb/lamp.

[@ketas]

vent holes are so you don't up with lamp filled to the brim with water. i wish more lamp and bulb makers did that

[@DelticEngine]

Nice video, Clive, and an interesting lamp. I wonder how safe the light output would be for humans, although with no UV LEDs it would likely be safe for humans. I'm not into growing things and don't know what kind of light spectrum is good for what. Maybe a grow light comparison would be interesting? I did note that when looking at the physical circuit board you described an inrush limiter being present, yet on the circuit diagram you drew out there was a surge suppressor across the mains input rather than an inrush limiter in series with it. Which is correct? Is it an inrush limiter or a surge suppressor?

[@bigclivedotcom]

It's a MOV surge arrester. the light output is safe for humans, but not the housing.

[@calummcconnell7313]

Yeah, I don’t like that LED driving circuit, because both rails are living at a mains difference from neutral

[@benbaggen2375]

We need a new let's build video. My ghost detector is getting lonely on the windowsill above the work bench.

[@Ole_CornPop]

Looks like a HPS color output, perfect for flowering bud.... i mean flowers. 😂

[@DerBeinmann]

6:29 😅😂😂 yeah sure its the software update THX 4 ur vids. Have a nice Xmas time 🎄☃️🦌🛷🎁🎅 Ps: 8:03 😂😅

[@gbmewada]

I think you miss Hopi a lot, because you used Antai and said "Let me grab Hopi"😃

[@frogz]

heh my stepfather accidentally ordered a burple lamp when just browsing amazon, it has a bracket/cord instead of edison base but looks nearly identical to the reflector, never seen a grow light with UV and IR before!!

[@smalcolmbrown]

Thanks :)

[@a64738]

I bought three 60w and two 120w daylight flurecent photo bulbs 10 years ago. For 8 years now they have been on 12 hours every day (expept in middle of summer) every day used as grow lamps. 1/6 the price of grow lamps and did the same job ;) Also used them for color accuracy when doing photo editing and inkjet photo prints, gave a nice 4200k color that is nice when you work late and need to stay awake (works better then coffee to keep you awake).

[@bigclivedotcom]

I use 4000K for my video lights.

[@grantrennie]

Anybody in Glasgow this week?

[@bigclivedotcom]

Well I definitely am. Drop me an email.

[@TheSpotify95]

Black Friday? That was ages ago! Chances the price has gone up way higher since then, presumably all the people who pay-to-view have nabbed the cheap orders? 😂

[@bigclivedotcom]

There's a link in the description to check.

[@qtrax100]

YOU LEGEND!

[@TheSpotify95]

Cool white = white = W Warm white = yellow = Y

[@lemagreengreen]

I feel like this could be useful for more than just growing jazz cabbage, nice colour

[@Ben-says-you-are-AWESOME]

LOL "Jazz cabbage" Is that related to 'Devil's Lettuce'?? 😉

[@AppliedCryogenics]

This seems much more tolerable than the red + blue grow lights. Those things make my eyes go funny.

[@williamkane]

Good enough I guess, even without the OVP and lack of proper insulation.. I mean what can you expect for 5 bucks..

[@bumpedhishead636]

The problem with the LED "grow lights" is that they really aren't "full spectrum" in the same way as sunlight. They *simulate* sunlight by creating sharp peaks at various wavelengths. You might not *see* the difference, but the plant's photosynthesis won't work the same way. Different species of plants have different needs of intensity, duration AND spectrum.

[@nicholaspratt7934]

Headphones and clicking noises no problem.

[@m9ovich785]

I have a matching Shower Head to that Housing HAHAHAHAHAHA

[@RichGardens]

That light is only good for 27cm X 27cm grow area. For 99% of people 3000K white LEDs will produce great results.

[@mikemines2931]

Sometimes it pays to keep a car mechanics tool kit to hand, a big hammer and a wrecking bar.

[@tncorgi92]

I have a Stanley hammer to which I attached, long ago, a sticker that reads "Windows Compatible." Just last month I used it to disassemble an old 8mm camera that gave me grief.

[@theinfernalcraftsman]

I'm pretty sure that's just a repurposed shower head mold.

[@jrsc01.]

misread this as a beard growlight lmao...

[@marcse7en]

I hope you're not using that light to grow things you shouldn't, Big Clive? 💡🌱🤣

[@piconano]

Is it true that you guys don't have speed limits in Isle of Man? It was in an old episode of Top Gear from the early 2000's, I was watching this week.

[@zeusapollo8688]

They were a good show back then

[@bigclivedotcom]

I think that may apply on specific roads.

[@pgScorpio]

Do they also work for breast growth? 😅

[@bigclivedotcom]

Only if you buy two, remove the electronics and attach a vacuum cleaner to them.

[@deadangel03]

1,088 views with 800 likes is an INSANE like ratio, and i’m glad to be one of each ❤

[@siypic]

I wonder if they would show on police thermal image cameras they have in their helicopters.......... asking for a friend who has 120 of these lamps on order for his "farm building" in Essex.,

[@volvo09]

A miniature pie dish grow light

[@V8-friendly]

Perfect lights to grow some pot, which is here legal now? 😶‍🌫️😵‍💫😎 Cheers from Ohio. 🇺🇸

[@candidmoe8741]

18 Watts Grow Light? Enough for growing parsley in a little tinny pot I guess. Not sure, really.

[@MattyEngland]

I'm old skool, can't beat a 600w HPS with an adjustable digital ballast.

[@leetucker9938]

I will buy 500 lights , then I will buy 500 more

[@Conservator.]

Warm white refers to a lower colour temperature and cool white to a higher temperature. 😂