Register  |   | 
 
Encanto Farms Nursery > Topics > Search > All posts by SCfigFanatic
 
 


The search returned 458 posts

Only find topics started by SCfigFanatic
   
Topics  |  Posts
Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Here are some of my LED lights I have played with over the last few years.


http://s298.photobucket.com/user/Southbuck7/library/LED%20lights?sort=3&page=1


Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
here is more information on color choices of LED and why I choose warm white for
winter growing.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1150438/


To each, their own. Im just showing what has worked for me.
This is also how I start cuttings in december then plant in ground first week
of march and most all try to fruit their first year.
Figs flowering in winter are my least concern.

Doug

I wish one of the experts would have wrote this thread.
My only purpose to be here is to try to help others.
Critics should show how they build their LED lights, or do they even build them?

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
This light Im building uses 30-36VDC.
You can touch wires without it doing much of anything to you.
My house has a circuit that runs from 24VDC through a inverter and
powers a 120vac outlet in my living room.

On the fan...the resistor won't be cheap. Or efficient. Going to waste around twice what the fan is actually using.
Better off getting a 12v fan and power supply.


Doug

Drew if you want to go by cost alone, go buy $40 worth of flo bulbs and ballast.
We can compare once I build this.
Apples to oranges.
This kit is not for everyone, I would say most any teenager could do it.

Subject: One more time/last time good Ebay sellers/members Replies: 85
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 7,519
 
Thanks.

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Thanks Saxonfig.
It seems I have a few of your figs in my orchard from years ago when
you offered cuttings.

Thanks again.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400W-36V-11A-Single-Output-Switching-Power-Supply-AC-to-DC-SMPS-S-400-36-for-LED-/222167566598?hash=item33ba380906:g:TZkAAOSwepJXcPAt

this is the driver I'm most familiar with and use on my other 50 watt and 100 watt lights.

I was looking for a simple way to introduce LED lighting to people so they can
dig into learning more about led lighting on their own.

I build wind generators from scratch, winding my own coils all the way to carving 6-8 ft diameter
blades of wood. I do not know everything about led's, I only know what has worked by reading
and trying.

If this helps anyone who would enjoy a DIY LED light, then Im happy.

I'm not out to be a know it all.
I'm only wanting others to see how simple LED's really are.
If I learn something, great.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
I never have used the lens.
I ordered it only to test it myself.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Thanks, I understand the option of using the resistor.
I was going to keep the build as simplistic as I could think of for first
timers. Keeping the soldering to only the led. The 12v 2a power source I was going to use
has 2 screws to attach fan wires in to. Wire nuts could be used elsewhere.
I need to test the driver to see if I want to draw fan power from it.
Chances are it's already under driven.
Parts have not arrived.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
"Just my personal preference but then I have been fried once or twice in my career! And did not like it! Please be carefull with DIY projects using lethal voltages. Even 120vac household current will kill you, I lost a very dear friend to 120 vac house current. " (was a quote from jmrtsus but got edited out)


Had you shared your knowledge with your close friend, maybe he would not have got electrocuted??

Your right, I do not want some idiot messing with 120v.
Sorry for starting this thread.
It was not for my benefit.
I do not want to risk someones life.

Sorry all.....


Doug


edit
I will delete this thread tomorrow.

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
jmrtsus, I have bought many 50 and 100 wait LED's from china that have lasted 4 years so far.
I am no expert at electrical, if a led is being over driven simply add a cooling fan running the same or slightly higher voltage.
No more over driving the led. Many power packs I use have adjustable pot to let me set the current where I want it.
I do not like buying from china, it is the cheapest option. Even if I do get a burnt out LED it's like $7 to replace.
If someone else has more experience than I, feel free to finish this thread.


Doug

Subject: i'm back.. sort of.. Replies: 42
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 688
 
My KB produced a bumper crop this year, it's second year in ground.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
100 watt chips are not built like 1/2 watt LEDs.
If I blow a 100 watt LED, it's $6 to replace.
I have not had one burn out yet.

Doug

Subject: Jesus cursing the fig tree. Warning: Religious Content ;) Replies: 34
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 610
 
So, if something does not go your way, you just curse it to die?

Jesus did. The tree died.

If he created all things, why would he not just put fruit on the tree he needs to eat from?

I am a born again christian, but many things are very confusing.

This is one of them.

I'm glad Jesus does not have such a temper with us!


Doug

My take on it is that Jesus had to display his power to his disciples to show he was not from this earth, as we are.
Without power, he would just be another one of us.

Subject: Sealent.... Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 313
 
liquid electrical tape

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
here is information on the usable light spectrum for plant growth.

https://californialightworks.com/light-spectrum-and-plant-growth/




I use warm white 3000k because it is in the most usable wavelength for vegetative
growth. If I want to induce flowering I will add more red to my spectrum with a different led light.

I have 4 or 5 grow lights I have built in the past years,
I'm only passing on my experience from what I have learned by doing.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Seller of parts just today told me the fan is not included. But they show it in the description with the kit.
Anybody else may want to hold off buying from this seller until I see what they send and if I have to file
a dispute with them. You cant show a description of what your selling without including what is being displayed.
Its hard to deal with people who do not understand english. I will do my best to get this straightened out.
At worst I'jj buy a cheap muffin fan and a 12v 2a power pack. (wall wart) to complete this light.
It will still be under $40 total by time its plugged in to a timer.

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
CFL bulbs are great until the bases get hot.
After the plastic discolors to a light brown I would consider it unsafe to use.
Keep an eye on it.


Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
6200 lumen vs 9000 lumen with 100 watt LED.
LED's use drivers, not ballasts.

This will be fun to compare plant growth come spring.
:)

Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Once I get the kit in my hands, I will show step by step how to assemble your own LED
light.
LED's are the least expensive to operate as they use far less power than other
grow lights like Metal Halide, High Pressure sodium. They also produce very little heat.

The grow light industry are switching to LED's as lights of choice.

Follow along and build your own.

I have no guarantee of the quality of these kits, but I have been running
cheap Chinese LED's for years without a problem.

to be continued.....



Doug

edit
while ordering parts, I recommend getting some Gnatrol in preperation
for trees being brought inside.

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
Drew, I'm building a versatile 100w grow light.
9000 lumen.
$30
using the light spectrum in the middle of the high and low ends only make sense to me.

Your single bulbs alone would allow me enough money to assemble a 300 watt 27,000 lumen light.
Not much comparison.
But thanks for your input.


Doug

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
How many pictures of grow rooms have you seen with cool white or bluish tint?
None, because the blue spectrum is not enough by its self for
healthy plant growth.
Blue light alone is not even used in commercial grow lights. They use a ratio of 4-5 red LED'S to every
single blue bulb. The blue spectrum will not work well past seedling growth.


Doug

http://www.integral-led.com/education/warm-white-or-cool-white

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
You all need to do some reading on color spectrum and what is usable for plant growth.
Cold white will put out a blue hue. Great for seedlings. Warm white has a more yellow tint that matches the summer sun best and used for vegetative growth
and potential flowering.
If everybody knows more about it than I do, please show your proof before giving out bad information.
The nice part about these leds is after you learn you have the wrong color, you can change the led.



Doug

edited to correct wording. I said it backwards

Subject: Buildng a cheap 100 watt LED Replies: 74
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 1,122
 
First, parts must be ordered.

I just ordered this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/100W-100Watt-High-Power-White-LED-Light-Heatsink-Cooler-100W-LED-Driver-/221992627350?var=&hash=item33afcaac96:m:mnRhShhcQmf9D_2yJFdRdEA

In the drop down I selected WW with heat sink plus driver and lens.

I use WW warm white because it uses the color spectrum that plants
use most for photosynthesis and leaf growth.

After parts arrive, I will assemble the unit and plug it in.

Not sure if I will hang from ceiling or mount to a old light.

to be continued.....


Doug

Subject: dormancy or grow lights??? Replies: 38
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 520
 
A ionizer running in the room eliminates any odors.
I have one and had good results.
They can be found online fairly cheap.

Doug

Subject: dormancy or grow lights??? Replies: 38
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 520
 
Ok, have contacted seller of parts with specifications request.
Will start a thread after his response.

Doug

Subject: dormancy or grow lights??? Replies: 38
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 520
 
The fact is that you can start cuttings, transplant and grow a bush
before march in my zone where I then plant straight in the ground.
I've been doing this over 5 years and I have 73 fig trees in my orchard as proof.
Figs grow in areas where they do not go dormant, but they thrive.
When I grow indoors it adds months to it''s first year growing season.
Many many cuttings try to grow figs their first summer.
Winter growing has great benefit, if you use the right lights with
the right color spectrum.
Stay away from HPS lights as these put out a color used for flowering plants
not growing. Although some have used them, they just produce leggy plants.
They have the real orange fall type lighting color.

Soon I will show how to spend $30 and assemble a 100 watt LED light.
Nothing extra needed to produce 100 watts of LED power.
Just assemble parts already made.

Doug

edit
If there is no interest in making a LED grow light, I won't bother.
I have been growing indoors for 15-18 years total. It will not help me any.

Subject: dormancy or grow lights??? Replies: 38
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 520
 
White light is not just white light.....
There is what is called cool white and warm white.
Both put out different colors from the color spectrum.
One is bluish tint one is more orange tint.
I build my own LED grow lights from parts easily found on ebay.
They have them so simple now that you can buy the LED chip
and the driver to go with it.
No special training needed.
Just common sense and follow directions.
This year I'm running 2- 100 watt LED chips that
produce 24,000 lumen each.
This winter I plan on building another LED grow light assembly.
Using and assembling from only cheap parts on ebay.
I may put up a thread on how to do it yourself and safely.
I'll see how much time I have...

Doug

http://www.bestlightingbuy.com/color-difference.html

Subject: Desert King - I challenge You on breba yield ! Replies: 16
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 444
 
Get a Mead, they produce like that all season. Mine has.

Doug

Subject: Obervation of pruning effects on fruit production & size Replies: 11
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 281
 
The 1/3 removal when pruning is quite normal procedure on peaches plums and apples and grapes.
Something my grandfather taught me as a kid.
On figs I get the largest production leaving only 3 main trunks per tree.
When suckers grow from the base it slows down fruit production and size of fruit produced.
My best producers have been kept at 4-6 feet tall. I'm nearing 40 pounds
of picked figs this year. Less than half of my orchard was mature enough to
produce this. I'm going to be over run next year.
Not sure if I am even taking cuttings
until spring, not to give away, just that pruning in very early spring has shown best fruit size
and earlier fruit picking.

I have been picking figs since july 4th this year, nice long extended fruit season.

Just what I'm observing this year.

Doug

Subject: Bird scarer Replies: 32
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 442
 
use pvc, sold in 10-foot lengths. 1.5" should hold something like that. 2 sections at 20 feet should do.

Bury it 3 feet or more deep. Pole will flex its self.

Just what I would do if needed.


Doug

Subject: Bird scarer Replies: 32
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 442
 
http://s298.photobucket.com/user/Southbuck7/media/Hawk%20vs%20cat/3-20150206131200.mp4.html


I talk about our hawks, here was one lucky kitten



Doug

Subject: Bird scarer Replies: 32
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 442
 
No, but we have a pair of hawks that fly over and nest in the woods behind our place.

They have been around for years.

Not sure they helped with the pests as much as the air rifle.

Doug

Subject: Bird scarer Replies: 32
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 442
 
Rayrose, If you concentrate on getting rid of the pests at the beginning of the season your
battle is only a pop up problem to keep them gone.

Worked a charm this year for me.
I haven't had one problem with pests all season.
I know I have picked 12 pounds of figs so far.
I weigh after each picking of figs.

It is nice to not worry about netting, pop up toys, cd's hanging from trees ect.

Doug

Subject: Super simple fig jam Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 193
 
I like those jars to share with family.
I'm going to be making more of this so I have some for winter.
It really is good stuff.

Doug

Subject: Super simple fig jam Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 193
 
I don't use vanilla with fruit. It hides too many natural flavors.


Have fun

Doug

Subject: Super simple fig jam Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 193
 
The lemon juice is used on all non acidic fruit to preserve.
Lemon juice also helps the figs keep their color.
It looks brownish in the jars but spreads out in a nice purple color.
The light fig chunks can be seen when spreading it on bread.
Damn, it's good.

Doug

Subject: Super simple fig jam Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 193
 
Brent that is called the cucumber fig. I got it from BLB years ago here.
Jdsfrance I used a potato masher while cooking it. I only removed stems.
I like it chunky too.

Doug

Subject: Super simple fig jam Replies: 13
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 193
 
This uses 3 ingredients.
3 pounds fresh figs
2 1/4 cups sugar.
2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Cook ingredients in sauce pan at simmer with lid for about 1 hour.
I used a potato masher to chunk up the soft figs. (edit)
Remove lid and stir frequently as it thickens.
Put in sterile jars an process under water boiling for 10 minutes.
Bam, fig jam.

It sure tasted great before canning it

IMG_20160821_180537.jpg 

IMG_20160821_205535.jpg 

Have fun, enjoy.

Doug

Subject: OT - "Figcentric" Homestead for Sale Replies: 14
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 395
 
Eric, with 1200 watts of solar, the future owner could really build that battery bank up.
Nice place.

Doug

Subject: Looking for free cuttings Replies: 27
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 685
 
Ebay may have people selling cuttings or trees.
Worth a look, vs just asking for free cuttings.

Doug


http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2055845.m570.l1313.TR5.TRC2.A0.H0.Xfig+cuttings.TRS0&_nkw=fig+cuttings&_sacat=0

Subject: Fig Varieties with a long harvest window Replies: 8
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 244
 
fig varieties have a longer harvest window where the flavor and quality remain good.



Mead, Salem Dark, Brown turkey, improved celeste, Florea.


Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
Hi Frank,
your right there is no comparison to store bought newtons.

I just went out and picked 1.4 pounds of more figs.....
and I have a bunch from yesterday yet....

now what?

Take care man

Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
How cool.
That Mead has been my number one producer for the last 2 years.
I pick 8-10 figs every 2 days. One of my favorites in taste too!
The way to keep the flavors is to cook the figs as little as possible
but tender.

Thanks! I need to go pick her today.

Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
Thanks everybody.
I love using the fruit I grow for something good.
This year, I'm hunting down ways to use them.
I'm getting way more figs than we can just eat fresh.
I'm going to dehydrate some for treats for my dogs.

Doug

Subject: OT - "Figcentric" Homestead for Sale Replies: 14
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 395
 
What type/ storage capacity batteries do you have?

Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
Sure!


Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
LOL
no problem, it happens.
thanks

Doug

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
Dough?
Your welcome Lassie

:)

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
I took the 2lb (split in half) figs added 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup brown sugar in a pan. I heated the figs till soft and
ran that through a chopper to cut it up but not puree. I simmered it until it got slightly thick..
That went into the refrigerator to cool off.

In a bowl I put 1 1/2 cup flour, 2/3 cup brown sugar, 1 egg, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 stick of butter (10TBS) and 1 teaspoon baking powder. I stirred it with a spoon till it was mixed and sticky.

I put parchment paper on a 13x9 cookie sheet and spread the dough over the parchment paper
until I ran out of dough.

I took the cooled thick figs and spread it over only half of my dough leaving clean edges
to seal the top.
Then I took the parchment paper and folded the top over the fig coated part and pinched off
the edges so juice does not leak out.

cook it at 325 15-20 min until edges brown and top is not sticky.
Let cool and slice.

Tasted a mix of berry, melon and peachy.
Super good with vanilla ice cream or by it's self.

This is just a variation of different recopies I threw together for a try.

Doug.

Subject: The fig Newton solution. Replies: 20
Posted By: SCfigFanatic Views: 231
 
Here's my variety of a big fig newton.
2 pounds fresh figs.
ect.

IMG_20160817_230836.jpg 
IMG_20160817_232254.jpg 
IMG_20160817_232307.jpg 

Dang yummy.

Doug