Reefkid88 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I know its really not that much of a comparison,but for budget purposes,with LPS and Zoa's in mind how efficient are the newer Semi's ? Comparing them to the specs Steve's supplies on their website,they're not all that bad,and coming in at about half the price of Luxeon ES I'm lead to believe they're stats are pretty decent for not being a high end led... What're your guys thoughts ? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 When in doubt, compare the datasheets. SemiLEDs C35-L http://www.semileds.com/system/files/C3535L-xxL1.pdf Philips Rebel ES white http://www.philipslumileds.com/uploads/265/DS61-pdf Philips Rebel ES color http://www.philipslumileds.com/uploads/265/DS68-pdf Also, FYI there is no such thing as 'Luxeon ES'. There are Rebel and Rebel ES. The white, lime, and royal blue Steve's sells are Rebel ES, blue, cyan, red, deep red are all Rebel. Maybe someday Steve's will move to the Luxeon T for white and royal blue. From what I understand they're a fuzz cheaper per diode. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 I'd personally stick with the Luxeons, more lumens at 0.7 from them than the SemiLeds at a full amp. I guess it was a really tight budget build the SemiLeds would work. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Still the same as any 'budget' LED build - figure out how much output you need and purchase according to that. With less output per diode, you just need more of them. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Lol, I completely agree with you. Which is why I love my K's. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Yep, the K uses the Luxeon T diode, which are quite a bit more efficient than the Rebel ES. That all being said, SemiLEDs chips are on the 'more reliable' end of the budget diode spectrum. Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Right, same diodes in the M's. Back to the OP, what size tank are you planning to put this over? Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 When in doubt, compare the datasheets. SemiLEDs C35-L http://www.semileds.com/system/files/C3535L-xxL1.pdf Philips Rebel ES white http://www.philipslumileds.com/uploads/265/DS61-pdf Philips Rebel ES color http://www.philipslumileds.com/uploads/265/DS68-pdf Also, FYI there is no such thing as 'Luxeon ES'. There are Rebel and Rebel ES. The white, lime, and royal blue Steve's sells are Rebel ES, blue, cyan, red, deep red are all Rebel. Maybe someday Steve's will move to the Luxeon T for white and royal blue. From what I understand they're a fuzz cheaper per diode. But when boiled down,its still a Luxeon,and boiled down even more,still a Phillips. I should have worded this differently... Damnit . I know theres a considerable gap in performance between the two,but I was speaking on the pricing principle alone really. I know for certain performance at different strengths in current,diode choice ect ect ect ES (Phillips) are on top,but for people in a budget and still looking for performance is where I was trying to take this lol. Right, same diodes in the M's. Back to the OP, what size tank are you planning to put this over? No size in particular,just opting to show peoples there is a cheap but "performing" diode out there. Really wasn't speaking for my own use,but for use in general. Especially for people on a "budget" whom don't want to break the bank with Rebel's or Cree's,is all. Link to comment
farkwar Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 A K 16 up is $16-21 depending. Thats like $1-1.5 a diode. Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 A K 16 up is $16-21 depending.Thats like $1-1.5 a diode. What colors are able to be used ? For some reason I was thinking it was only NW,WW & Royal Blue. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 But when boiled down,its still a Luxeon,and boiled down even more,still a Phillips. I should have worded this differently... Damnit . I know theres a considerable gap in performance between the two,but I was speaking on the pricing principle alone really. I know for certain performance at different strengths in current,diode choice ect ect ect ES (Phillips) are on top,but for people in a budget and still looking for performance is where I was trying to take this lol. No size in particular,just opting to show peoples there is a cheap but "performing" diode out there. Really wasn't speaking for my own use,but for use in general. Especially for people on a "budget" whom don't want to break the bank with Rebel's or Cree's,is all. It is difficult to break a budget using Rebels, especially for what Steve sells them for. He has to be making almost nothing off of them. When you consider that you need more of the lower output LEDs, the difference starts to become a wash in price, add in that these diodes use 3.6w to do the same work that Rebel ES or Luxeon T can do using 2.5-3w, you start using more power in a hurry, needing more drivers, etc, driving the cost of the fixture up more. Usually it's not a good deal. What colors are able to be used ? For some reason I was thinking it was only NW,WW & Royal Blue. The K is available in white and royal blue, and in packages from 4up to 16up. If anyone wants to buy some of these SemiLEDs chips and send them to me, I'd be happy to test them out, of course Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 So pretty much 2 Semi's are equal to 1 Luxeon in regards to lumens/output is what I'm gathering,correct ? Hypothetically,say I want to make a light for my 2 gallon cube housing Acan's and Zoa's instead of using say 6 Luxeons I'd have to use about 8-10 Semi's to get nearly the same "strength" of a light ? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Basically, but you still have to factor in the potential need for more drivers (assuming you use Steves drivers seeing as you would be buying LEDs from him also), and a larger DC power supply if that is what is required. Where does that save you anything at that point? Link to comment
CrazyEyes Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Moral of the story, "cheaper" isn't always cheaper. Link to comment
Reefkid88 Posted October 28, 2014 Author Share Posted October 28, 2014 Basically, but you still have to factor in the potential need for more drivers (assuming you use Steves drivers seeing as you would be buying LEDs from him also), and a larger DC power supply if that is what is required. Where does that save you anything at that point? Personally,I don't like his drivers. I had them in my old light,and switched to LDD's. And if anyone is like me,which most of you are,you'll have extra drivers laying around along with a PSU. Even with a average of 3.6 (just giving a high number for voltage) you could still run around 10 on each LDD,correct ? Moral of the story, "cheaper" isn't always cheaper. For a Pico tank,I'd say yes. For anything bigger than say 5 gallon,I'd say absolutely not. Link to comment
evilc66 Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 More than that with the right power supply. They can output up to 52v with the right supply. But still, it's down to your setup. With a larger array, if you needed 14 Rebels on a single channel, that requires 20-ish from Semiled for the same relative output. That requires an additional driver, and a larger power supply. Anyway, I'm not arguing that there is a place for LEDs like this. You just can't make a blanket statement that these are cheaper to set up without factoring in the additional costs required to run them. Link to comment
farkwar Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 The K is available in white and royal blue, and in packages from 4up to 16up. They make a 12 and 24. May not be availble to us, kinda impractical, 24 would need a 72 volt power supply. Link to comment
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