Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

[FlyinHawaiian]

thomas the guy who runs advancedtechlighting.com is a asshole and a scammer.
took him 4 months,dozens of dodged emails and phone messages, filed a dispute with my bank/visa and then he contacted me and said he had communication problems, he said he'd offer a $50 refund for my troubles and send my order. I said ok...he sent my order then I had to cancel the dispute and now he's dodging me again and wont pay the refund.

 

[Illumination]

Ok... So now

Ok... So now

I would like to ask for opinions on the following:

4x4x8 well insulated sealed room with co2 2 x 400 watt cmh open reflector, remote ballast, which is mounted outside the room

What btu do the 400 watt cmh emit?
What btu window unit ac to cool and control rh for that area as the room is sealed with no ventilation?

Thank you very much

Namaste'

 

[messn'n'gommin']

I can't say as to the air conditioner, but, HID lamps emit about 70-75% of its wattage capacity as heat. So, that should equate to about a 275 to 300 watt heater.

 

[onehitjake]

Thought I'd come back and post my experience with LightingSupplyCo.
Since I had some pulse start metal halide ballasts and some magnetic
hps ballasts, I would try out both and placed an order. I have recieved
them and they all fire just fine.

I did test them with my kill-a-watt meter on two different s51 ballasts
and the pulse start bulb on it's ballast. I also measured the watt draw
of a new cheap 400w hps bulb. I found that the CMH hps conversion
bulbs draw a little less power than the hps bulb. (at around 415/430w)
The pulse start bulb and ballast ran at 430w with the same slightly audible
hum as a hps bulb and ballast.

So the winner in the watt draw department our trusted and loved s51 CMH.

I should note that the watt draws are subjective to their/your ballasts somewhat.
For instance on my older s51 ballast my watt draw was cmh 430w to hps 460w.
This may nullify my watt winner, I don't know.

I bought this bulb and will at some point do a side by side
with this bulb to see if I want to use the pulse start bulbs in the future instead of wondering what they're like.
(note: the bulb pic in the second link is incorrect on the site. I received the proper CMH one in my order)

I don't have my grow up and running yet, as I'm still making preparations,
but I'll give a thumbs up or down on that pscmh bulb when I am.
I like sativa's and am looking forward to reduced stretch, tighter
internodes with these bulbs.

 

[DEZALB]

I want to get a cmh 250watt bulb. Will i be able to operate it without any issues if im using the htg 250 watt ballast kit?
http://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=45719

And also, which bulb type do i need? thanks

 

[onehitjake]

Dezalb...welcome to ic
You can use this bulb with that
ballast. You can also get them from here.

Some have mentioned that the vertical bulbs can also be used horizontally, I cannot confirm that,
so I'll leave it for others to chime in for you on that one. Good Luck.

 

[DEZALB]

THanks alot onehit, i plan to get that bulb so i dont have to worry about making a veg reflector to house a few cfls. Now i can utilize my diy cooltube during the whole grow!

 

[Strapped]

anyone out there using a 250w remote ballast system and want to share? Most of the pre-made systems I'm finding are enclosed ballasts for the 250. Do the security light conversions (250w) people are doing work with cmh?

 

[DEZALB]

Its way cheaper if you wire up your own light. Check out the ballast i posted earlier, doest get easier than that.
GL

 

[Strapped]

I was looking at that and it's very tempting. You are right about it being way cheaper. I'm guessing you can convert it to a remote ballast by wiring a female connector to the ballast where the power cord would normally go? What do you plan on doing for a housing? If I did do my own I'd want it to be as safe as possible.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Electricity kills...you better be, damn, fucking sure it's, right?

I prefer UL rated ballasts...yea...I said it!

 

[Strapped]

Exactly Wizard. I'm thinking it would be worth the extra money to not burn my house down or get electrocuted.

 

[minds_I]

I was looking at that and it's very tempting. You are right about it being way cheaper. I'm guessing you can convert it to a remote ballast by wiring a female connector to the ballast where the power cord would normally go? What do you plan on doing for a housing? If I did do my own I'd want it to be as safe as possible.

Hello all,

I have done exactly that...it is very convenient and it makes it easy to change ballasts quickly...such as a hps or a MH swap.

minds_I

 

[FlyinHawaiian]

I was looking at that and it's very tempting. You are right about it being way cheaper. I'm guessing you can convert it to a remote ballast by wiring a female connector to the ballast where the power cord would normally go? What do you plan on doing for a housing? If I did do my own I'd want it to be as safe as possible.

Somewhere in this thread some guy had a really great idea for housing, it was 2 meatloaf containers stacked ontop eachother with a lil pc fan ontop.. I copied this design and it worked great, everything fits nicely in there.

 

[DEZALB]

Somewhere in this thread some guy had a really great idea for housing, it was 2 meatloaf containers stacked ontop eachother with a lil pc fan ontop.. I copied this design and it worked great, everything fits nicely in there.

Cool, mind posting up some pics? I would look for it, but my computer/internet is painfully slow.
I was planning on using a small metal tool box or ammo case with a fan in the box.

 

[gumball]

Cool, mind posting up some pics? I would look for it, but my computer/internet is painfully slow.
I was planning on using a small metal tool box or ammo case with a fan in the box.

it is between page 102-104, not sure which one. I was just looking at it cause page 102 has a great diagram for wiring the ballast

 

[Strapped]

These 100+ threads have the best info. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside to think of the collective minds in this community

 

[DEZALB]

it is between page 102-104, not sure which one. I was just looking at it cause page 102 has a great diagram for wiring the ballast

Thanks alot bro, its on page 103. Really helped out, might check out those meatloaf pans.

If i plan to use the 250 cmh bulb through my whole grow, how far should i keep my light from the plant once it sprouts?

thanks guys

 

[Strapped]

Anyone willing to share some pics of a DIY remote ballast? I'm thinking if you wire a female plug where the lamp connects; you'd be able to adjust the cord for raising/ lowering. Would this work the same way as wiring the power cord? Also, do you wire the computer fan before or after the ballast? What cfm would you guys suggest?

 

[someotherguy]

hey man, here are some pics of a couple 150watt HPS
Vapor Tight's i remote ballasted and you can see i did
just what you suggest.

1) open . . .2) closed . . . 3) from inside cab . . . 4) through the back


i've been using these for about a year now without any
problems other than inadequate yields, which is why i
am upgrading to a 400CMH.

anyway, hopefully, my pics will help you out.

peace, SOG