Homebox XS w/ digital ballast and independently vented cool tube

[growMEDS]

I don't have any experince with the HTG tents but the new 36x20" version "Silver" just came out not too long ago and does look better compared to the old one with PVC inside.

I like that it's wider and less deep - It seems like you could reach and arrange the floor better.

 

[toastyspade420]

let us know how cutting ur tent works out

let us know how cutting ur tent works out

thier tents look pretty decent ive never had any problems with anything ive gotten from them and i know they take care of any problems with anything you buy they just need to fix their damn site cause i need to buy some damn pl T-5 bulbs and not many places haven them in the 3000k

 

[fatigues]

I would add that going with a 400 in that space will hurt you. Your vertical space is too limited. Even with a cool tube, you'll have to pull the light further up from your plants, decreasing intensity - else you will burn them.

At the same time - you don't have much vertical space there to begin with. That extra five inches or so you will have to keep the light off of the plants (as opposed to the distance you could use with a 250) will be precious inches in a grow tent your size.

Might I suggest you leave yourself some expandability in the following fashion? Don't get just a 250 ballast. Get a DUAL 250 e-ballast from Galaxy. That same ballast will support running an additional 250w off of the same ballast at the same time.

So if for some reason your grow space expands in the future, you can run 2x250. And yes, you can run 2x250 lights running in the same 24" cool tube with some ingenuity.

The increase in cost of the 2x250 Dual e-ballast over just a single 250 is rather modest. That way, you cover your bets, leave room to expand in the future should you need to - and still fit within the constraints of your current grow space at a modest price premium over a single 250 e-ballast. If you double up on a cool tube, all you would have to shell out in the future to run a second light is another socket+cord and a bulb. Voom - off you go. (Cost - about $40 plus cost of a bulb.)

Faced with a similar choice - that's what I did. I picked up a Dual 250

 

[Hella THC]

thier tents look pretty decent ive never had any problems with anything ive gotten from them and i know they take care of any problems with anything you buy they just need to fix their damn site cause i need to buy some damn pl T-5 bulbs and not many places haven them in the 3000k

Hey Toasty, thanks for stopping by!

So I'm assuming you have experience with this retailer, HTG? Are they usually pretty good? Are you in the US?

I wish their site would get up and running so I can look at this damn tent!

If I got the 36" x 20" I could easily get everything inside the tent, even the cool tube with ducting. (Not the ballast... those bitches run like 130-140 degrees!! ) And I wouldn't have to worry about cutting a bunch of holes in the tent.

Would that larger tent possibly be big enough to hold a 400w? Or am I still living in la-la-land?

 

[fatigues]

So I'm assuming you have experience with this retailer, HTG? Are they usually pretty good? Are you in the US?

HTG is widely recommended on ICMag. They are currently moving their server - should be up later this week.

Horticulture source is another oft recommended site.

http://www.horticulturesource.com/

 

[toastyspade420]

hey

hey

that tent has like 6 port holes for ducting,they recommend anywhere from a t-5 up to a 400 watter,i picked a few lights from them also looked at thier tent cause i couldnt seem to find a way to run a air cooled reflector inside the homebox xs,i have a dark room tent also and im gonna get a 250 watt for it.you can take a look at the sunlight supply super sun reflector that will work inside a homebox xs cause the cooling flange is in the middle of the reflector and wouldnt cause any problems.the only bad thing i think about the htg tent is its the same height as the homebox xs im not positive about that though cause i havent looked at one in awhile

 

[Hella THC]

that tent has like 6 port holes for ducting,they recommend anywhere from a t-5 up to a 400 watter,i picked a few lights from them also looked at thier tent cause i couldnt seem to find a way to run a air cooled reflector inside the homebox xs,i have a dark room tent also and im gonna get a 250 watt for it.you can take a look at the sunlight supply super sun reflector that will work inside a homebox xs cause the cooling flange is in the middle of the reflector and wouldnt cause any problems.the only bad thing i think about the htg tent is its the same height as the homebox xs im not positive about that though cause i havent looked at one in awhile

YOU, sir, are made of WIN!

I took a look at that Super Sun Reflector http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=625 and it looks like an absolute winner to me! That's one of the first hoods I've seen that would fit with air cooling. It even supports glass (might have it included) which I guess the older models didn't

This thing will hold any size HPS, right? just as long as its ballasted correctly? FUCKING WIN!

 

[growMEDS]

You could run the 400 in the 36x20"

HTG is good as well as HortSource and hidhut, 4hydroponics, & bghydro --- lol

edit - I have the same reflector and got it from them too!! haha

 

[fatigues]

YOU, sir, are made of WIN!

I took a look at that Super Sun Reflector

This thing will hold any size HPS, right? just as long as its ballasted correctly?

Yup - any size HPS bulb.

There is a special on the Super Sun 2 right now on that site as well. $106.00 or so? Great deal. The SS2 won the prize on Pico's thread here at ICMag for "best reflector". (Pico tested a half-dozen of the more popular reflectors and it had the highest overall lumens produced on the same ballast/light. Quite a significant advantage too, as I recall.)

And yes - the SS1 and SS 2 ship with the glass and the aircool fittings and flanges.

The original SS1 is a great unit too, I think it placed second in Pico's tests. The main advantage to both is in the pebbled aluminum surface on all 4 interior sides of the reflector.

NOTE: All the Sun Systems reflectors also ship with a Sun Systems proprietary cord and socket built into the unit. In order to use the SS1 with an e-ballast without buying an adapter cord or new socket/cord assembly, you'll have to purchase a Galaxy e-ballast. Nearly all the larger hydro mftrs' pull this same bullshit with their sockets and cord assemblies. It's annoying as hell. *sigh*

 

[Hella THC]

NOTE: All the Sun Systems reflectors also ship with a Sun Systems proprietary cord and socket built into the unit. In order to use the SS2 with an e-ballast without buying an adapter cord or new assembly, you'll have to purchase a Galaxy e-ballast. Nearly all the larger hydro mftrs' pull this same bullshit with their sockets and cord assemblies. It's annoying as hell. *sigh*

God, it seems everything these days is proprietary. Ever bought an Apple product?

I was just looking at the Galaxy line and it seems like the way to go as far as ballasts go. Might even get that dual ballast in case I want to upgrade in the future

Well, I'm set then. I just need to decide if I actually want that other grow hut. It is a whole foot bigger as well as being a foot taller than the Homebox XS.

I really owe you guys. Every question gets answered, every time! I've been trying to give you all rep, I'm really sorry if I've forgotten about anyone. I'll get to you! I'm here to stay!

Stay safe, smoke fatties,

- Hella

 

[growMEDS]

My SS1 cord worked with my htg digi ballast. I would suggest a galaxy ballast actually though haha

 

[foolish fool]

I have the htg tent you're thinking about and I'm happy with it. I got mine for $75 so it was definitely more than worth it but I have the old white walled one, it was on sale to make room for the silver walled ones. I would love to see you squeeze a 400w in there.... CMH bulbs are supposed to run cooler but i dont think you can run them in digital ballast....a guy named SummitToker on here has the same tent and I think he was going to run a 250w CMH. I've been meaning to see if he has posted any more about it. The tent is a perfect 5sqft so the 400 would give you 80wper and the 250 a perfect 50w per sqft

 

[ugmjfarmer]

YOU, sir, are made of WIN!

I took a look at that Super Sun Reflector http://www.horticulturesource.com/product_info.php?products_id=625 and it looks like an absolute winner to me! That's one of the first hoods I've seen that would fit with air cooling. It even supports glass (might have it included) which I guess the older models didn't

This thing will hold any size HPS, right? just as long as its ballasted correctly? FUCKING WIN!

Also is probably one of the most efficient grow reflectors as tested on this site I think.. by somebody. perfect square reflection.

 

[Hella THC]

I have the htg tent you're thinking about and I'm happy with it. I got mine for $75 so it was definitely more than worth it but I have the old white walled one, it was on sale to make room for the silver walled ones. I would love to see you squeeze a 400w in there.... CMH bulbs are supposed to run cooler but i dont think you can run them in digital ballast....a guy named SummitToker on here has the same tent and I think he was going to run a 250w CMH. I've been meaning to see if he has posted any more about it. The tent is a perfect 5sqft so the 400 would give you 80wper and the 250 a perfect 50w per sqft

If I go with the bigger tent, I'll for sure be running a 400w

If I go with the Homebox XS, I'll use the 250w in the SS2.

Either way, ditch the fuckin dealer, am I right?!

Best,

- Hella

 

[growMEDS]

I think the SS2 would be great for the wide tent but the SS1 for the 2x2 tent.

 

[fatigues]

I think the SS2 would be great for the wide tent but the SS1 for the 2x2 tent.

Agreed. The SS2 is simply too big for a 2x2 tent:

Dimensions: 26.25" long x 13" wide and 8" tall

I make that to be 2.25 inches too many

(And that's without addressing the problem of the hot aluminum edge in direct contact with your plastic tent. In other words, it's more than 2.25" inches too long.)

In contrast, the SS1 will fit:

Dimensions: 21” L x 11.5” W x 6.75” H.

That's only about 1.5 inches clearance either side. Not very much clearance at all - but perhaps just enough clearance for an air cooled reflector to not melt your tent

If it isn't enough clearance, I have a feeling we will all hear about it soon enough.

 

[Hella THC]

Ahhhh, I wasn't aware that the SS2 and SS1 were different sizes, I just thought it was like an updated model or something

Dimensions: 21” L x 11.5” W x 6.75” H.

That's only about 1.5 inches clearance either side. Not very much clearance at all - but perhaps just enough clearance for an air cooled reflector to not melt your tent

If it isn't enough clearance, I have a feeling we will all hear about it soon enough.

The more I try to fit shit into the homebox, the more I can see that it just may not work. Do you really think the heat from either end of that reflector would be intense enough to put my tent at risk?

 

[growMEDS]

A 250w in an SS1 should be really nice. I use that in my DR80. There's no hot spots on the reflector at all.

 

[jawnroot]

So what'd ya end up going with?

 

[BLUNToPOTomuss]

Ive been running a 400w HPS cooltubed in a 2x2x4 for 3 cycles now and I LOVE it! I figure if I can push the eges of diminishing returns, WHY NOT! 12K lumens, and 98wpsf kept at 75* has been fantastic.


Ohhh and DITTO^^^, What did you end up going with?