Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

[dojoking]

Haven't tried 'em, but Bolder Lighting offers a 315 setup with a CO made electronic ballast-

http://boldergrowlight.com/latest-news/welcome-to-boldergrowlight/

That was probably offered earlier in this monster thread. I'm not affiliated with them.

Thanks for the suggestion Jhhnn. I checked out the dimensions for this light and its a little to big for my space but I thought I would share them with the forum just in case someone else is interested. 30" (length) x 24" (width) x 16" (height)

Here is a different link to them as well http://www.boulderlamp.com/specs/BLI Grow Light 4 page brochure 6_14_12.pdf

 

[redclover]

Been getting BS'd on the 120v kit...

Think I might jump into LEDs for warm seasons and the 860w CDM in cold.

I'm debating on some LEC 315w kits vs a great deal on some 150w Are 51 LED panels. Pretty much the same coverage and price, BUT the LEDs use half the energy and lasts 10 x's longer. Tough decision coming up.

What would you guys do?

 

[Jhhnn]

Been getting BS'd on the 120v kit...

Think I might jump into LEDs for warm seasons and the 860w CDM in cold.

I'm debating on some LEC 315w kits vs a great deal on some 150w Are 51 LED panels. Pretty much the same coverage and price, BUT the LEDs use half the energy and lasts 10 x's longer. Tough decision coming up.

What would you guys do?

I'm distrustful of the claims wrt LED's, haven't tried 'em, maybe never will. I balk at the price, too. HID lamps of an appropriate spectrum are proven tech- HPS, MH, & now CMH.

Pretty much old school, because it just works. I am, however intrigued by the supposedly lower heat/ wide spectrum output of CMH. It looks like a refinement of very solid old school MH tech.

 

[rives]

I've used both a Lumigrow ES330 and my own DIY leds, and neither could touch the results that I'm getting from my 315s. Perhaps the Area 51 are better than top-shelf 2-year old tech, but they'd have to be one hell of a lot better.

 

[dojoking]

Been getting BS'd on the 120v kit...

Think I might jump into LEDs for warm seasons and the 860w CDM in cold.

I'm debating on some LEC 315w kits vs a great deal on some 150w Are 51 LED panels. Pretty much the same coverage and price, BUT the LEDs use half the energy and lasts 10 x's longer. Tough decision coming up.

What would you guys do?

Who has been bsing you on the 120v kit? I am going to be buying one sooner or later myself.

 

[j78z]

BS'd ? Advanced tech's 120 volt kit will be out in a month or so & DNA lighting's ballast is already available at Growers House but DNA is trying to stuff it right up our collective ass with the price

 

[LargePrime]

Been getting BS'd on the 120v kit...

Why not just order his 220$ kit? Comes with the up transformer and ballast and bulb and cheap reflector. All wired up.

If waiting for a NEW UNPROVEN 120V ballast for these things, well I think that's silly.

 

[habeeb]

Been getting BS'd on the 120v kit...

Think I might jump into LEDs for warm seasons and the 860w CDM in cold.

I'm debating on some LEC 315w kits vs a great deal on some 150w Are 51 LED panels. Pretty much the same coverage and price, BUT the LEDs use half the energy and lasts 10 x's longer. Tough decision coming up.

What would you guys do?

wow, 120 volt kits, who's making the ballast, phillips?

led's are good, but 99% are going to not give you what you want..

I would not buy the A51, as I know the CDM will beat it. I would only consider it for veg, as LED's somehow kill it in veg for watts used.. next you could try and ask if they have any returned / open box panels for cheaper.. worth a shot..

but I have to run, but please do consider LED, as I'm not saying to dump it.. it's already surpassing HID, and say 2 years your really going to see a jump forward in lumens per watt to really make people switch over..

I've got some finishing to tie up.. should be 2 weeks, and I did some more testing against my DIY LED panels.. it's going to be hard for CDM to beat it, but it looks like it might have overtaken the DIY panels.... but the CDM plant was vegged for a very very long time.. so time would have to be taken into consideration.... LED's are good, it all comes down to being on the bleeding edge to get to where I'm talking though..

I'm an LED lover, but I'm also a lover in what works, and the CDM are hard to beat right now... thing I have against CDM is the Mercury in the bulb... everyone know by now mercury just doesn't do anything for the human that is positive, so I do believe if they want to make HID, they should be investing in non-mercury solutions.. if mom's can get drug companies to pull it out of shots... I'm sure if there's a will, there's a way to get away from Mercury

 

[OIBI]

Any specific advantage to T9 vs T12 bulbs? Anyone have a link to a source for the agro spec bulbs? Does anyone know of any experiments using the 315w, 4200k for flowering?

 

[rives]

There is a bit of light loss in the T12 lamps from the double jacket. However, it is that jacket that enables them to be run in an open fixture, whereas the T9 is restricted to an enclosed fixture. CMH lamps run at extremely high internal pressures (up to 2500psi, I believe) and although it is rare, they can grenade in spectacular fashion so it should be considered mandatory to stick with the design specifications.

Growershouse.com has pretty good pricing on the Agro, and eBay sometimes has some at good prices.

I can't help you on the 4200k for flowering question.

 

[redclover]

Any specific advantage to T9 vs T12 bulbs? Anyone have a link to a source for the agro spec bulbs? Does anyone know of any experiments using the 315w, 4200k for flowering?

You could def use the 4200 in bloom. IME, you'll get some very sticky dense nugs (with a slightly smaller yield) using more blue.

 

[acridlab]

What's everyone's opinion on bulbs like solis tek 4000k mh, compared to 4000k cmh..
Worth it?

 

[Midnight Cowboy]

Finally got almost together my micro cmh cab, Osram Powertronic Ballasts and Philips CDM bulbs, one 930 and two 942's currently. Tried to cram 4 lights at first but couldn't cool it, so i settled with 210 watts, which is pretty great in that space and temps are normal.

Ballast+bulb only came 23 eur per piece, reflectors were even few eur pricier because of shipping.

Great to tinker with in small cabs in my opinion, you could probably cram one 70w in a big pc case if you can find proper enclosed relfector or can make one yourself.

 

[Jhhnn]

There is a bit of light loss in the T12 lamps from the double jacket. However, it is that jacket that enables them to be run in an open fixture, whereas the T9 is restricted to an enclosed fixture. CMH lamps run at extremely high internal pressures (up to 2500psi, I believe) and although it is rare, they can grenade in spectacular fashion so it should be considered mandatory to stick with the design specifications.

Growershouse.com has pretty good pricing on the Agro, and eBay sometimes has some at good prices.

I can't help you on the 4200k for flowering question.

Thank you.

It can't be said too often- Use only open rated bulbs in open fixtures. People will do what they want, regardless, but it's important to point them in the right direction when we can.

Have you used the CDM330/U/O/4K EA Allstart from Advanced lighting? I ask because it works in standard 400w mag ballasts, which I have & can obtain more for a song.

 

[rives]

Thank you.

It can't be said too often- Use only open rated bulbs in open fixtures. People will do what they want, regardless, but it's important to point them in the right direction when we can.

Have you used the CDM330/U/O/4K EA Allstart from Advanced lighting? I ask because it works in standard 400w mag ballasts, which I have & can obtain more for a song.

Yes, having a 2000 degree hand grenade go off in the middle of my house has very little appeal to me!

I don't have any experience with the 330w lamps, but Azeotrope had used them for years and loved them, at least until I tantalized him into using the 315w. I know that he was quickly sold on the 315 over the 330, but I don't have any idea how much difference there is between the two. Incidentally, I saw a case of 330s on eBay for a damn attractive price a couple of weeks ago - no idea if they are still there, though.

 

[redclover]

What's everyone's opinion on bulbs like solis tek 4000k mh, compared to 4000k cmh..
Worth it?
View Image

That's a very nice spd. Full spectrum is what got me into CMHs in the first place. Keep in mind CMHs will have a longer bulb life and run cooler than MHs.

 

[OIBI]

So stick with a T9 shape for air cooled reflectors? I could only find the 3kK and the 4kK bulbs on growershouse. Debating between a philips CDM or water cooled LED's for a 2x3' or 2.8x2.8' space. Neither one is very cheap lol.

Where can you find ballasts for the smaller 70watt lamps? That may be a better option than single large bulbs.

 

[Jhhnn]

Yes, having a 2000 degree hand grenade go off in the middle of my house has very little appeal to me!

I don't have any experience with the 330w lamps, but Azeotrope had used them for years and loved them, at least until I tantalized him into using the 315w. I know that he was quickly sold on the 315 over the 330, but I don't have any idea how much difference there is between the two. Incidentally, I saw a case of 330s on eBay for a damn attractive price a couple of weeks ago - no idea if they are still there, though.

Thanks for that. I'm thinking maybe I can squeeze one in vert between the plants in flower, once I work the space over, make the cooling better. I'm just a one bulb personal grower, so I suppose that would move me up into the bigtime of 2 bulbs.

I'd like to get the yield from 6 plants up to the point where I could not grow Jul, Aug & Sept. I don't want the heat in the house & the electric rate jumps way up those months.

 

[Ranger]

damn you guys got high tech around here. i'm still using the bulbs i posted in here about 2 years ago i think. using the 400 watt Phillips CMH conversion bulb in a 400 watt HPS ballast. dunno if that's still decent these days? but it seems to still work well for my grows.

 

[redclover]

damn you guys got high tech around here. i'm still using the bulbs i posted in here about 2 years ago i think. using the 400 watt Phillips CMH conversion bulb in a 400 watt HPS ballast. dunno if that's still decent these days? but it seems to still work well for my grows.

Those bulbs are what introduced me to full spectrum. Ya might need to replace them soon after two years...