Any reviews on USHIO bulbs? 600w HPS

[ItsGrowTime]

Im a fan of Solarmax 600w HPS bulbs. They're a great HPS product for the price and they last hella long. Ive been seeing ads for USHIO bulbs and at least from the ads they look very well made (NOT CHINESE) and are priced $20-$25 higher than the Solarmax.

Has anyone used USHIO bulbs and able to give a review of them compared to other plant hort bulbs? Thx in advance.

 

[Danknuggler]

I use Ushio bulbs.I didn't know anything about them but when I bought some 600 watt lumateks these are what they recomended.When you slide one out of the sleeve you can tell right away this is a very high quality bulb.German made.It is an enhanced spectrum bulb but still burns very red/orange as they are called "opti-red" it says on the box.So far I have ran 2 bulbs for like 6-7 months no problems.I would recomend them.I run MH too for a good mixed spectrum so I cant say how they perform alone.nuggler

 

[headiez247]

anything other then Eye Hortilux is inferior

 

[opt1c]

i like em better than any other bulb out there; want to see how solid they are? take one out of the box and give it a good shake; no movement anywhere... now try that with any other bulb at the store.... all i run except for the t5's

 

[707Corridor]

I've been using the Ushio 600hps for this bloom cycle. I like'em, they are just as expensive as the Eye but when blooming I prefer a bulb with a little more red in it since I am flowering. Like Danknuggler said it is enhanced. Seems to be that I get denser buds than compared to the EYE.
Like Opr1c said, they are very well made. Made in Germany if that means anything to you. Cool thing is I get mine for $80 since I'm a frequent flyer with my shop.

 

[Lazyman]

anything other then Eye Hortilux is inferior

Used to be true, before there was such a thing as a digital ballast. If you want to blow up a $120 light bulb, use an Eye Hortilux in a digital ballast! I blew up 3 of them in 10 weeks on Quantums. Many report similar experiences.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Yeah same results here with Hortilux bulbs in digital ballasts. Ive never seen bulbs burn out so fast! I barely got two crops out of Hortilux bulbs before they turned bright white and took a shit. Definitely not a good bulb for digis.

Thanks for the reviews on the USHIOs. Sounds like a good product, if a little more pricey. Ill pick one up and run a side by side with a new Solarmax and see which one gives better results.

 

[Alienate420]

Same story, three Horts blown, but in Lumateks. Switched to Ushio, no issues.

 

[opt1c]

Oh yeah; i've ran ushio bulbs in digital galaxys, lumateks, and global greenhouse ballasts all with great results; all 600s... i use both their cmh bulbs and the hps ones; even ran a 1000 and 400; both ushio as well... be warned though; with a new digital ballast a new ushio bulb and a new reflector you run the risk of having light intensity issues; they throw off a lot more lumens than the old ballasts/bulb/reflector combos so sometimes; depending on the strain the hand test isn't the best method; just read your plants and they'll tell u if they want the lights higher

i've also fried multiple lumatek ballasts, which also pulse as well but the newer ones might have fixed it, and one galaxy ballast but i've yet to blow a bulb or fry a global greenhouse ballast

 

[treedup]

My Ushio 600w Super HPS went out yesterday. It lasted a solid 7.5 weeks. Started cycling. I am sure this doesn't happen with all of their bulbs but I am not a happy customer seeing how I didn't even get my moneys worth.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

I found USHIO bulbs for pretty cheap at hydroponics.net. $77 for 600w compared to $100 or more I saw elsewhere. Will run it next to a brand new Solarmax and see what's up.

 

[crippled1]

I have been running 600w lumatek/hortilux combination for over a year without any problems.
I was recently shopping around for new lamps and did a lot of research on this.
The hortilux only has a rated life of 16000 hours.
The solarmax has a rated life of 24000 hours.
Ushio is rated at 19000 hours.

Based on the longer life of the solarmax, that was the lamp I decided to get.

But then I had an idea. I called about a dozen hydro shops in the area and asked this question...
What lamp do you sell the most of and have the least problem with for a 600w lumatek hps ballast?

And the answer was the eye hortilux.

And that's what I bought to replace my first set of hortilux.
Never had a problem at all.

 

[robbiedublu]

Same story, three Horts blown, but in Lumateks. Switched to Ushio, no issues.

Interesting. I've used nothing but eye hortilux bulbs in my digis for several years and never had a problem.

 

[Alienate420]

This is now a very well documented issue with recent model Lumateks and eye hortilux. Perhaps your lumateks are older, but there have been several 'upgrades' to the product over the last year, one apparently a change in ignition temperatures not coordinated with the bulb makers and as a result, many growers experienced a high amount of burn-out. Lumatek issued a press release specifically addressing this and most of the hydro stores started pushing Ushio recently, since it's compatible.

 

[headiez247]

Used to be true, before there was such a thing as a digital ballast. If you want to blow up a $120 light bulb, use an Eye Hortilux in a digital ballast! I blew up 3 of them in 10 weeks on Quantums. Many report similar experiences.

Interesting. I've used nothing but eye hortilux bulbs in my digis for several years and never had a problem.

Same... No issues here and where I buy my Eye Hortis they have a 2 year warranty if they blow up i go get a new one for free.

I use 9 Eye Hortis each on a 1k Quantum.....

 

[Cheeb]

I've had 9 hortiluxes run on 240w lumatek 600w units. 1 blew out of 9 nearing the time they all were getting changes.

Next round went solarmax and all are still working...

Next round will be ushios.

- -

While I never really encountered what I'd call problems running lumateks w/ hortiluxes I do believe the solarmaxes burned more consistent with one another while the hortiluxes varied in burn "look" as they aged.


I've got high hopes for ushios, but may do a half and half garden between ushios and cheap $30 plantmaxes. I'd love to just toss a bulbs after 1 grow.

peace
cheeb

 

[ItsGrowTime]

So far the USHIO and Solarmax look damn near same. No obvious spectrum differences and light intensity is the same. Both of German manufacture so the bulbs themselves look VERY similar. If yall want I can update this thread with my thoughts as the crop progresses (day 10 flower now).

 

[Capn]

Had a Horti before that burnt out in my lumatek after 2 fast grows(7-8months of use). Went ushio and its still working great going on its second grow. looks brand new.

 

[cultiv8]

Good info here, I'm going to have to give Ushio a try myself.

I've always been very impressed with German craftsmanship. Maybe now I won't have to smash my piece of junk digital ballast that explodes everything I put in it.

Still, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with this ballast... it runs way too hot.

 

[ItsGrowTime]

Im at day 30 of flower and Im liking the Solarmax more than the USHIO so far. The reason is mainly that plants a few inches closer to the USHIO are orienting toward the Solarmax bulb. Same reflector, only difference is 120v ballast vs 240v ballast. The Solarmax in the 120v ballast is getting more attention than the USHIO in a 240v ballast. The visible spectrum to my naked eye is the same. They are VERY similar bulbs overall but the initial lumen difference (90K Solarmax to 87k USHIO, IIRC) seems to matter.