Medic Grow Mini Sun-2 320w Review

The Mini Sun-2 is the first light from Medic Grow that is made for smaller coverage areas. They offer a 150-watt version, which should be ideal for a 2’ x 2’ grow space; a 240-watt version; and the 320-watt version that I tested in a 3’ x 3’ space.

Medic Grow Lights are among the best deals in horticultural lighting. They offer unmatched value with high efficiency fixtures at incredibly low prices. It has been almost two years since I first reviewed the Medic Grow Fold-8. The Fold-8 and the EZ-8 have been very popular with home and commercial growers. In the last year, the Smart-8 has become a very popular option for home growers. The feedback and results have been excellent. The only issue is that until now, Medic Grow has only offered large lights over 700-watts!

The Mini Sun-2 is a dual panel light with an integrated heat sink. Medic Grow uses 4000k Sanan Full Spectrum Diodes and Osram 660nm diodes. On the 320-watt Mini Sun-2, there are 1350 Sanan diodes and 24 of the Osram diodes. Overall, that is 4.3 diodes per watt or about 0.167 watts per diode on average. This is an excellent number, which will lead to good efficiency and longevity.

The Mini Sun-2 comes with a built-in timer. It has preset options for 24 on – 0 off, 12 on – 12 off, 16 on – 8 off, 18 on – 6 off, 20 on – 4 off, and 22 on – 2 off. The cycle will start when the light is first put into that timer mode. This timer has built-in memory and will not lose track of the cycle time in the event of a power outage. You no longer need to plug your light into a separate timer or controller.

The Medic Grow Mini Sun-2 320-watt light performed brilliantly in my PAR and ePAR tests. I set it up in a 3’ x 3’ test area at full power. It hit a maximum PPFD of 1000 µmol/m² at a hanging height of 54 cm (21.5 in). It is a higher hanging height than LED bar style fixtures, which may be something to consider in short spaces. However, the distribution of light is excellent. In the PAR range (400-700nm), the edges are all above 700 µmol/m², and the lowest corner is 640 µmol/m².

In the ePAR range (400-750nm), the density values all go up by almost 5%. There are no Far-Red diodes, but the Full-Spectrum diodes emit a portion of their energy in the far-red wavelengths. The maximum ePPFD was 1040 µmol/m², and the low corner was 687 µmol/m².

The average PPFD in the PAR test was an impressive 791.5 µmol/m². That converts to a Usable PPF of 641.1 µmol. I measured a power draw of 318 watts, which gives the Medic Grow Mini Sun-2 a Usable Photon Efficacy of 2.02 µmol/j. The average ePPFD in the ePAR test was 832.3 µmol/m². That converts to a Usable EPPF of 674.2 µmol, which is a photon efficacy of 2.12 µmol/j.

The performance of the Mini Sun-2 is excellent. Although the Photon Efficacy may seem low relative to the leading LED bar fixtures, it is actually better than competitive quantum board style fixtures. Ultimately, when you are buying a grow light, you are buying a PAR map. The Mini Sun-2 packs plenty of power to create an exceptionally good PAR map.

The Medic Grow Mini Sun-2 has an on-board dimmer with preset positions at 100%, 80%, 60%, and 40%. It would be nice to have settings lower than 40% for seedlings, and more granularity, however, the dimmer is accurate and should provide enough adjustments for most growers.

The surface temperatures of the Medic Grow Mini-Sun are warmer than most LED bar fixtures, but in line with other Quantum boars style lights. The heatsink hit a top temperature of 62.7 C (144.9 F) The driver, which is mounted above and between the LED panels, hit a high of 60.8 C (141.4 F).

The features are cool, and the build quality is great. Of course, the biggest selling point is the price. The 320-watt Mini Sun-2 has a list price of $239, but they frequently run sales. You can always use our discount code CCFC for an additional 10% off the sale price.

The larger Medic Grow fixtures have been very popular. I know growers with smaller tents have wanted to take advantage of the tremendous deals that Medic Grow offers. Growers with small spaces rejoice! There is finally a Medic Grow light less than 700-watts. It is every bit as good of a deal as the larger Medic Grow fixtures!