Less expensive bulbs

[Señor Chang]

I'm going to limit my budget for 400W HPS bulbs.
I am feeling that there isn't as much difference between the brands as the cost variable warrants. (until such time as I have my environment dialed in)
I am wanting some extra blue light though and wanted some opinions about the less expensive bulbs and their lighting spectrums.
Do any of them compete with the high $ bulbs marketing the blue spectrums?
I'm talking the ultra cheep Home Depo bulbs til about the $40-$50 range.
Thanks for your opinion!

 

[geopolitical]

Nope, they won't compete with them at all. That being said they still veg just fine. If you're having a problem with the plants elongating too much with the red light try petting your plants once or twice a day very gently. The touch alone will change growth characteristics. Crazy, no?

We veg just fine with the super-ultra cheap generics (generally less than $10-15 per bulb). Would they grow faster/better with a more expensive bulb? Possibly. Cheaper bulbs do however have the advantage that they allow those on a very modest budget much more frequent bulb changes, the ability to have a few backup bulbs without breaking the bank, and the ability to drop a bulb without having to curse too much.

If I had an unlimited budget I would buy the better quality bulbs, as it stands yumcha is working just fine.

 

[Irie_Lion]

1000bulbs.com...check the hid section for some good decent priced bulbs.

 

[Señor Chang]

Good info both of you, thanks!

 

[I.M. Boggled]

ULTRA SUN LAMPS

ULTRA SUN LAMPS

The "Ultra Sun" brand of spectrum enhanced bulbs are afford-ably priced and perform very well.
These high-output super HPS lamps are specifically engineered for plant growth.
They claim that their spectrum and output rival lamps that are three times the price, and having used these bulbs before I agree with that assessment.
The 400 hps bulb online can usually be had for under 20 U.S. dollars and the 600 and 1000 watters can be had for under 40 bucks a piece.
I see that they have a new line-up of HPS bulbs available that are specifically designed for digital ballasts that cost a bit more but in most cases are still still much less than "the other guys" enhanced bulb line-up.
It's always a good thing for optimum results to keep ones bulbs as fresh as (economically) possible.

IMB

 

[Bobby Stainless]

CMH are about 50 bucks I think.

 

[Señor Chang]

Bobby, thanks for the suggestion.
I run digi so I can't experiment with the CMH.
I.M. Boggled, thank you for the very direct response!
I will certainly take a good long look at the Ultra-Sun's.
In addition I am also looking into the Ushio HiLux and the Digilux as alternatives to Hortilux.
It's good to have others anecdotal evidence in order to make my selections.
This site is amazing for that!

 

[GanjaPharma]

i use the factory clear 1000w from 1000bulbs

switch em out every other grow (4-6 mos)
seems to me i am better off with fresh factory bulbs, than 1 year old hortilux.

a few grows back i found two hortilux's that were new in box, put em in one corner of the room....saw zero difference in the plants.

 

[187020]

430w philips son agro hps, horticultural spectrum...cheapest online about $38 access discount online

peace homie

 

[Rouge]

Hold on a minute!
I thought every 150 watt hps bulb puts out about 15,000 lumens and every 250 watt hps bulb puts out about 30,000 lumens and every 400 watt hps bulb puts out about 55,000 lumens and every 600...........about 95,000 lumens and every 1K .......... about 130,000 lumens. Are the more expensive bulbs "better" than those at Casa Depot or Econolight? By better I mean more lumens and a longer lumens-maintenance life OR.........most important: bigger plants and (more potent) buds, of course. Who makes the best bulbs? Anyone ever put a lux meter to these things? I'm gonna search again but this site's search feature sucks. Great question Senor Chang. I hope I'm not thread jacking.

 

[rick shaw]

The more expensive bulbs are similar to the more expensive nutrients,in that they are designed for growing marijuana.
'Designed for growing' is one of the razzle dazzle (I'm doing jazz hands) advertising terms designed to part you from your $$$.
A big part of running a farm or business is cost of production.

 

[Phaeton]

Plusrite makes a blue/full spectrum aquarium bulb for under $30.
The replacement life is 5000 hours, about the same as other HID's rated at 20000 hours.
I am happy with them, almost no stretch at all in the vegroom. 30000 lumens each, about the same as regular MH, more blue though.

 

[spunion]

Check out the Ultra Sun MS400 7500s (they also make a 10000 but that is more of a aquarium spectrum). $37.95 MSRP for a blue enhanced metal halide with 32,000 lumens.