Air cooled reflector testing with Digital footcandle meter

[louie]

Tons of info!!! So how often do your change bulbs (only used during flowering)? I'm switching every 3 cycles (60-70 days a cycle), debating if I should change them sooner or wait another cycle?

 

[draco]

Hey pico

Great work dude!! On the strength of this I bought a ss2 to replace one cooltube - wow what a difference - so now I am replacing the other cooltube with another ss2. One note: the ss2 runs cooler than the cooltube - some thermodynamic principle perhaps - but an noticeable difference.

thankyou thankyou thankyou!!!

 

[odin_]

well i read this whole thing


does anyone know of a test where light outputs were tested with digis vs coil?

i dont think pico got to it yet and my "tests" of running both showed no difference

i think the coil ballasts may not be as efficient, but they do put out the same amount of
light (meaning a coil ballast fluctuates, going dim to bright sometimes and may take more energy - use 1100 to make 1000 where digis use 1020 to make 1000)

like i said i didnt notice any difference in light output using digis (i didnt really notice much which would make me use them again to tell the truth, they werent a hell of a lot cooler, though probably slightly quieter) i used 4 of them vs 6 coil types

 

[blister]

good job pico lots of hard work here

 

[flipwithit]

thanks for taking your time and doin all this pico.

looks like they came out with another one for you to test
http://www.sunlightsupply.com/hort/...BLOCKBUSTER_6IN&title=Reflectors&type=product

that magnum looks tough to beat.

 

[UNREGISTRD]

WOW... I just spent an hour reading this thread....

Dam PIco and Darth GREAT WORK!!! mad props.....

Know my question is out of all your experiments what would be the best hood to run over a 3x3 tray. NON air cooled... 3 1ks side by side?
I was thinking the daystar but looks like the radiant really has some impressive numbers??

 

[Gimme]

One hour?

I've spent the last 2 days reading this thread.

Still can't believe the cooltubes were not tested, lol. I'm sure they would not compare favorably.

Would love to see some numbers with vertical lamps and no reflectors. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Props to pico and the rest of the guys who tested.

 

[onegreenday]

This one right?

It would be interesting to see if it does score better, as the design is very different from the air cooled reflectors that had the highest scores here.

Are they designed for specific applications? Wondering what to attribute the shape too . . . .

My light meter died and I can't give any specs sorry.
It's a decent reflector but you have to stay 24" away to get good coverage.

It spills a lot of light to the side which some won't like but
works good in a closet; reflecting off the sides.

In some cases the side light spill may help but I think
I'd prefer their MIDI reflector over this DELTA.

 

[Ninja420]

Pico was that the 6" or 8" Magnum you tested?

 

[pico]

6", I don't see the need for 8" cooling. Bigger ports only reduce the reflected light and I think you can get the same amount of cooling using a plenum and not having too many lights cooled per inline.

 

[Ninja420]

Thanks Pico. I have 3 1ks in a row over a 10ft. space. 2 of the 6" Magnums and a ss2. What size fan should i use to cool them? Is getting an 8" fan worth it or is it to restricted by the 6" ducting? I was looking at the 6" Vortex and the 8" max fan(those new can fans).

 

[pico]

I think a 6" fan should do the trick as long as you don't have a super long run of duct you are pulling everything through. 8" max would probably be overkill.

I do really like the Can Max fans. I have a 14" and it is a beast. Moves a lot of air, and it is quiet. I have the 10" as well, but it almost sounds louder than the 14".

 

[HenDokuYaku]

6", I don't see the need for 8" cooling. Bigger ports only reduce the reflected light and I think you can get the same amount of cooling using a plenum and not having too many lights cooled per inline.

Pico,

The size of the 8" ocho magnum is quite a bit different than the 6" version. I wonder if that would affect your results at all. Also, any impressions on the new SLS blockbuster?

 

[pico]

Interesting, you are right, the 8" is quite a bit larger than the 6". I would imagine it would certainly affect the results.

Haven't seen the Blockbuster first hand, but it looks like a good design.

 

[Zealious]

verrrrrrrrrrrrrrry nice pico excelent work here. Done like a proper controlled experiment should be done...

I say u put up a web site and take donations to apply this method to newer reflectors on the market to help us consumers...

maybe u could even SPILL it into other products as well..

Hek man u got something here. Some skill indeed. Im surprised you havent been nabeed up by some greedy corporation yet.. or maybe u have..

=D

Sorry so late.

 

[Matanuskan Flo]

pico, ur the man. excellent & thorough analysis. even though you own most of the subjects tested, i was highly impressed with your unbiased & impartial reviews. i enjoyed how you made it clear that companies my try to make the numbers lie by manipulating charts etc. kudos to u man. +rep

 

[whazzup]

i read in lumatek's ad that dimming the ballast to 50% or 75% will not reduce electric use. i like the dimmable feature for early plant growth but i don't know if i can deal with a 1000w electric bill with a 50% light output which is why i haven't upgraded to the dimmable ballasts. i also read of sun pulse's website that they recommend their bulbs to be ran for 15mins at 100% before dimming. have you been running the hortilux's with the ballast dimmed?

I came across this thread, I am usually not that active on IC. Nice topic, hard work, I know all about testing

About the lumatek power not being reduced: in this topic I published the actual measured values of the input and output of the Lumatek 600 watt dimmable (can run 400 watt on 75%). Dimmed it performs as efficient as any tested ballast, even a bit better. Output power is exactly as specified.

No problems with the Lumatek. I prefer it because it is solid state: it makes no noise, has no fans. The super lumens switch is a great asset. We never use lamps long enough to get to the point that they really reduce in output.

Interesting to see your measurements. It might be nice to calculate % uniformity on the chosen distance (or at least the distance the producer of the reflector recommends for optimal use). If I look at the tested hoods results the uniformity is not very good at all.

I have been at Gavita Nederland a few times now to learn about their products and do some light and ballast tests in their darkroom with the Ulbricht sphere. They test a lot of reflectors as they also develop reflectors for professional horticultural use. In greenhouses they make the reflectors as small and efficient as possible, as they don't want to block the sun and efficacy is one of the key factors. They make reflectors that bring down 96% of the light and have a great uniformity. The closer you get to the light, the more difficult it is to remain that uniform light. It really takes smart reflectors. Lamp temperature is another major issue: cool lights don't get to their optimal working point. We are testing that at the moment in the same series of tests.

Do these reflectors you test use Miro aluminium for the reflective plates?

Keep up the good work!

 

[bs0]

Pico and others:
fantastic. Great Great Great thread! Empirical comparative results... Someone I know is getting 4 SS2's next thursday

 

[bish]

Excellent thread. Lots of hard work and attention to detail benefits the entire community. Thanks so much.
I got here googling for reviews of the xxxl.
I have one 2x4 table and want to add another. If grown side by side thats a 4x4 once I get another patient.
(aquamist)
Do you think the two 600s I run will cover with the xxl and fit considering those side rays are so important?
I really appreciate your opinion.
Thank You and Happy Holidays.

 

[Wariat]

Hello everyone. First, I would like to point out that I come from eastern europe, and my eanglish is poor, so i use google translator. Sory for any mistakes.

I have a big request to you. In my country you can not buy any profesional air cooled reflector. Delivery to Europe costs $ 180 which misses the target. I decided to build my own, but have not found anywhere sufficiently detailed pictures.

I am a perfectionist, and I want to do it really well

If any of you could share with me pictures of his reflector, preferably with some technical drawing of the details, I would be really grateful.

I also think that not only me, it helped to increase the efficiency of its lighting.

Simple Cooltube is not the best when it comes to light reflection.

Most interested me super sun 2, which looks fairly sophisticated design.

Thanks for the help