Cheap Dual Arc bulb - Taking one for the team

[ToughGirl]

Although not a popular thread, I figured I'd wrap it up. Over 3 months have gone by and that bulb is still burning pretty bright. However, I can obviously tell that it's lost some of it's power. The new plants aren't exploding with growth like the last batch. Don't get me wrong they are doing a-ok, but the previous plants went wild, like what you see from a strong LED in the veg state. The leaves were almost twisted and tight shoots were everywhere, this batch seems a bit more sparse. The worst thing about the bulbs is the heat they produce, one 400w dual arc lamp produces way more heat than a 600w hps. If heat is an issue for you, I would stay clear. I'm going to wrap up one more veg cycle before bidding the bulb adieu.
All and all I'd still say it was well worth the money ($25-27), and I'll be ordering a few more. They are way better than cheap HPS bulbs, and easily match expensive hortilux bubs but at a fraction of the cost. Having multiple grow rooms is a god send btw since the Dual arc bulbs are only run for a month and half at a time, then they get a rest. I go through 600w bulbs faster since they burn for 2-3 months at a time.

Let's review, Good initial cost, good initial performance, standard lifespan, High heat issues for some. I hope I've helped someone out there

 

[Guest 16149]

I think it was a good thread, I enjoyed the info Thanks

 

[ToughGirl]

Actually, upon re-reading my intial post, this was technically my third grow with that lamp (over 4 months). I forgot all about those original plants. So, really the lamp had an pretty average lifespan.

I also ordered a bunch of enhanced spectrum 600w hps bulbs from the same guy. I was told the Dual-arc didn't work well with digital ballasts (all my 6's are digital). The new batch of plants will be the first time I try them. I have 4 NY diesels, 2 pineapple express (which sounds like bullshit to me), and two mystery bag seed plants from some stunning bud a friend had (I stole the seeds since he wasn't into giving them up, he lied and said their weren't any seeds in a 1/2lb he had, but I found 2 in one bud) I'll update this when I get a good idea of how well the 600's work

 

[Rushoe]

Good luck with that man.Just an fyi They got these bulbs @ ur local home depot from philps.Works great.they got 250's 400's 600's and even 1000's 20-30$$$$ usd... all for s51

 

[overbudjet]

on 3 bulb 2 blowup

 

[ToughGirl]

I've heard about that from people, but everyone of them was using a digital ballast. I figured mine lasted because it was in a magnetic ballast. I'm curious, are you using a magnetic or digital ballast? Since your bulbs are 1000w, I assume digital. I didn't buy any for my 600s because other people told me that they would blow up

 

[smoke1sun]

thanks for the info

 

[Bulldog501]

i know Poorboy wasnt very impressed with them or satisfied as to the yield at harvest
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=139361
from what ive read i think i would rather use some hps with increased bluelight spectrum like Osram Plantastar, Sylvania Grolux or similar

 

[B-roni]

one thing yall may not be factoring in is the gasses inside the bulb...it affects life and spectrum. yer gonna get what you pay for...not to be critical or anything but...there is a reason we all use eye hortilux...you may not see it in initial growth but when you break up those nugs or have a bulb fail on you earlier than it should...just know...at least you could afford a backup i guess. either way...not gonna get the quality....those bulbs are not designed for the spectrum you are looking for. hortilux says it i the name

 

[simon]

...there is a reason we all use eye hortilux...

<grin> Not all of us. Personally, I'm not very impressed with Hortilux lamps. I also don't think it's wise to judge a product by its price or pedigree. I've tested a number of Chinese lamps and they were shit. Had I not continued testing, I wouldn't have found 400HPS Plantmax (Chinese) lamps that put out more light than any other 400HPS bulb I've come across.

Simon
`

 

[ToughGirl]

I'm not downing Hortilux bulbs by any means, I have 6 of them in my 600's now. But I wanted to try a dual-arc bulb without dropping $150-175 on it. It seems to me that the dual arc bulbs are like a bastardized 200w hps soldered to a 200w mh bulb, regardless of the brand, they're not going to last since half of the bulb burns twice as hot as the other side. However, for the initial $23 I spent on it, I could replace it every single grow and still save money compared to using one Eye Hortilux bulb for 6 grows.

Personally I like Hortilux bulbs, but they are over-priced because they know what we use them for. Everyone that sells equipment to growers likes to sting the hell out of us for money; soil companies, nutrient companies, lighting companies, you name it. Although I appreciate good quality, I don't like having a pot pimp that I have to hand all my money over to after the jobs done.

 

[ToughGirl]

i know Poorboy wasnt very impressed with them or satisfied as to the yield at harvest
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=139361
from what ive read i think i would rather use some hps with increased bluelight spectrum like Osram Plantastar, Sylvania Grolux or similar

Yield to harvest is something I could not tell you about with these bulbs, I used them only for the vegging phase. They probably sit under that lamp for about 1-1.5 months then they get moved to the blooming room under 6-600 watt hps lamps (all hortilux so far, until I try this one new bulb). Blooming under metal halide never worked well for me, and usually produced weird leafy buds that didn't amount to much in the end.

But please keep an open mind people and don't count something out because one person said it didn't work for them. If that were the case, no one would be using LED's anymore, and the technology wouldn't have advanced to where it is now. The only person I trust 100% is myself, and if something fails, it's because I made it fail. It's easy to blame a light bulb, or some nutes, but usually it's user-error that causes the failure, not the equipment (unless it explodes like the pics above!)

 

[overbudjet]

I've heard about that from people, but everyone of them was using a digital ballast. I figured mine lasted because it was in a magnetic ballast. I'm curious, are you using a magnetic or digital ballast? Since your bulbs are 1000w, I assume digital. I didn't buy any for my 600s because other people told me that they would blow up

Magnetic

 

[B-roni]

i hear ya guys. from the grows i have seen with dual arc bulbs...they dont really make to big a difference. i personally cant bring myself to drop the extra 100 bucks to get one. i use 1k and havent seen anything good as far as inexpensive bulbs go for that wattage. yeah horti jacks prices up...they know what we use em for....wait....they know what we use em for...........that says a lot to me. hopefully the 23 dollar bulb turns out to be awesome...but i would like to see some spectrum stats