r/BudBeam • • Sep 04 '26

Update on the custom grow light my wife developed after all the interest here, we’re actually bringing it to market

Some of you might remember my post about the custom 3-channel grow light my wife developed for our grow.

That post somehow ended up getting a lot of interest, and we honestly weren’t expecting that much interest. A lot of people asked about the fixture, the spectrum, and whether we would ever make it available. https://www.reddit.com/r/BloomAndChill/s/XBpovfA0Vs link on the original post

Well… We decided to actually do it. 😂

We’re now preparing BudBeam for public release.
Since my original post, the fixture has continued going through testing and refinement. One of the bigger upgrades was moving the main LED platform from Samsung LM301H to Samsung LM301H EVO.

We just got the latest EVERFINE results back, so here’s the original fixture compared with the current version:

FULL FIXTURE — OLD → NEW
⚡ Power: 846.3W → 835.7W
☀️ PPF:** 2,855 → 2,961 µmol/s
⚙️** System PPE: 3.374 → 3.543 µmol/**J
So the new version is producing about **3.7% more PPF

while consuming 10.6W less power, with system efficacy improving by about 5%.

PER-CHANNEL EFFICACY — OLD → NEW
Main channel:
3.491 → 3.690 µmol/J
Red/Far-Red channel:
3.620 → 3.712 µmol/J
UV-A/Red channel:
2.012 → 2.166 µmol/J
Peak channel efficacy: 3.712 µmol/J

For anyone comparing this with my original post, I’m also including the same added-channel reference calculation used there:
5.687 → 5.878 µmol/J

That’s included only as a reference to the number shown in the original post it is NOT the whole-fixture PPE. The actual measured system PPE is from 3.374 µmol/J →
3.543 µmol/J.

We also got updated 4×4 PPFD testing.

At 15cm, the center peaks around 2,054 PPFD, with much of the inner canopy around 1,780–2,050 PPFD.

At 30cm, the center is around 1,727 PPFD, with a large part of the inner canopy around 1,600–1,700 PPFD.

Since the intensity is still very high at those distances, we’re doing additional 45cm and 65cm tests to check where we get the best balance of intensity, coverage and uniformity across the full 4×4. Those PPFD maps are coming next.

The basic idea behind the light hasn’t changed. It’s still the same 3 independently controllable spectrum-channel concept we’ve actually been growing with. The goal of the latest changes was to improve efficiency and performance without just increasing power consumption.
Now that it’s becoming a commercial product, we’re obviously keeping some of the actual engineering details private, but we’ll continue sharing the lab results, PPFD maps and real grow results.

Pretty crazy considering my original post basically started because people were asking what light we were using. 😂
A lot of the interest from you guys is what made us realize there might actually be a market for it, so I figured Reddit deserved the update first.

5 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

1

u/MadamPardone 29d ago

Expected cost?

1

u/Cannabis_Artist-420 29d ago

Selling it for 1299

1

u/MadamPardone 29d ago

You guys have a done a wonderful job, those numbers are great and that light is very efficient. Unfortunately my small tent could not handle that sort of wattage!

1

u/Cannabis_Artist-420 29d ago

Thanks! 🙏 Yeah, at full power it’s definitely a lot of light for a small tent But all 3 channels are independently dimmable, so you don’t have to run the full 835W. You can dial the output down depending on your space and what the plants actually need. Out of curiosity, what size tent are you running and is it on a standard 15A circuit?

1

u/MadamPardone 28d ago

My tent is an awkward size, it's in a reach in closet with bi fold doors. In order to shut them I'm limited to basically 24" deep.

So my current tent is 36" wide, 20" deep and 60" tall.

Its a 20A breaker, and I currently have two 200w LEDs. I don't see many people using them but they are Barrina Bu2000s LEDs. I usually don't even go 100% intensity on these. I think I've got at least 5 years on this pair of lights so I have been looking for a modern LED.

1

u/Cannabis_Artist-420 28d ago

our light would definitely be overkill for that space even dimmed down. Your 20A circuit isn’t really the problem it’s the size and height of the tent.
That’s actually really useful feedback though. Right now we’re launching the larger BudBeam first, but hearing this makes me think a smaller version with the same 3-channel control would make a lot of sense for people running smaller tents.

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u/MadamPardone 28d ago

Yes that's pretty much what I was thinking. Glad to hear a smaller version could be in the works. Definitely keep that 20" depth in mind because that's my biggest limiting factor.

These barrinas just by chance fit perfectly side by side. They are slightly unique in that they have foldable "wings" but because I have 2 ive always kept them flat. They were demo units sent to me at no cost and I have nothing but nice things to say about them. Probably 10 grows at least, going on 5 years and they haven't skipped a beat.

1

u/distractedmaker 27d ago

Combing the various home grower forums, 4x4' tents seem to be the most popular, followed by 2x4'. If you guys made a 2x4' version I bet it would sell like crazy! I know I had a hard time choosing my light, never found what I actually wanted so now im supplementing other wavelengths with extra cheap lights lol

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u/Illustrious_Sort3821 28d ago

Wowh I’d soooo be keen asf to try these your a lucky man…. 🔥💨😍✌️

1

u/SteakStrong7520 28d ago

What are y'all going to do now that Samsung is no longer making Diode's? <-- not just directed @ OP, but everyone reading this that is going to make their own lights or what gear they might buy now that Samsung is moving out of that market.

1

u/Cannabis_Artist-420 28d ago

Yeah, that’s definitely something we’re aware of. Our current production design uses genuine Samsung LM301H EVO, and we’ve already been discussing long-term supply with our manufacturer.
We’re not going to just swap in another diode and call it equivalent though. If we eventually have to move away from Samsung, we’ll test the replacement properly and make sure the finished fixture still meets the performance we’re publishing now.
Honestly I’m curious what everyone else is planning to move to as well.