600w to 1000w...Questions

[RedDemon]

Ok,im going to upgrade from my 600w (600w Thunder dimmable ballast with 6" cooltube and xl wing) to a thunder 1000w dimmable ballast with the same 6" cooltube and xl wing.My questions are:

1.How much does it cost monthly for a 1K light 12 hours per day?

2.Is there a big difference in yield going from a 600 to 1K?

3.Is it even worth it

Currently this will be for a space thats about 5x5

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[tokersmoke]

A 1000w watt light def will help yield.Your power bill should raise 20 per month depending on electric charges in your area.A 1000w will def raise the temp a few degrees.You will have to have the lights further from the plants.You could buy another 600 and be ahead of the game with better coverage then just 1 1000.

 

[hush]

1. Hard to answer without knowing your cost per kwh. But at 10¢ per kwh it would cost $36 every 30 days. That was just for easy math. Now go look at your bill and see what it costs you per kilowatt hour.

2. Depends on plant genetics and grower technique, but yes there is more light which would allow for more photosynthesis, and larger yields.

3. I'm a big fan of the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" rule of thumb, so I always default to that. But that being said, if you are looking for a way to increase your yield, then this would surely be a way to go. 5x5 is plenty of room for a 1000, so anything less than that would be underlit, in my opinion. I have a 1000 in a 4x4.

 

[intotheunknown]

Hush pretty much said it.

I will add that between a 600 and a 1k, there will be heat difference. 1ks produce a lot of heat. Be prepared for that as well if you do upgrade.

 

[RedDemon]

Thanks for the replies guys.my exhaust is pulling air through the cool tube right now and i have zero issues with temp.Will i still be ok with that setup as far as keeping it cool..I believe i have a 400cfm fan pulling air through the cooltube now

 

[intotheunknown]

Well, depending on a few things like duct size, ambient air temps being pulled into the space...

I grow in a 5x5 with a 1k, 700cfm blower through 8" hood/ducting with a speed controller.
depending on ambient temps, I am usually able to keep it cool enough.
Ambient temps occasionally need adjusted during the summer.

 

[RedDemon]

Well, depending on a few things like duct size, ambient air temps being pulled into the space...

I grow in a 5x5 with a 1k, 700cfm blower through 8" hood/ducting with a speed controller.
depending on ambient temps, I am usually able to keep it cool enough.
Ambient temps occasionally need adjusted during the summer.

6" cool tube and duckting...the room im using is 12x5 with an 8ft ceiling ,the reason i say 5x5 is i using the back half of a closet.The room has central air and stays constantly cooled and im also using a 18' oscillating fan

 

[tokersmoke]

RED you should be OK temp wise..

 

[Drek]

Waste of time and money for that size of space, imo. 600 watts is fine.

Focus on other yield increasing factors, like everything else. I like Heath Robinson's suggestion, that the worst performing factor in a chemical process affects that entire process. In your case(amount of space), I don't think that low factor would be the amount of light that you have.

2 x 315 watt Phillips Agro CMH bulbs (3-4k) in the same space is what I would upgrade to.

 

[DrFever]

Waste of time and money for that size of space, imo. 600 watts is fine.

Focus on other yield increasing factors, like everything else. I like Heath Robinson's suggestion, that the worst performing factor in a chemical process affects that entire process. In your case(amount of space), I don't think that low factor would be the amount of light that you have.

2 x 315 watt Phillips Agro CMH bulbs (3-4k) in the same space is what I would upgrade to.

bottom line 2 CMH 315 watts will not even come close to penetration power of a 1000 watt bad boy yields will pretty double i average 1180 dry grams per 1000 watt that is 4720 + - wet grams you think 2 315 CMH can compete ??? so with out a doubt your yields will increase large bigger nugs through out the plant just get er done lol

 

[Drek]

bottom line 2 CMH 315 watts will not even come close to penetration power of a 1000 watt bad boy yields will pretty double i average 1180 dry grams per 1000 watt that is 4720 + - wet grams you think 2 315 CMH can compete ??? so with out a doubt your yields will increase large bigger nugs through out the plant just get er done lol

Penetrating power. Half the grows you see with 1k lights have all the lower branches removed anyway? In a horizontal configuration that is. You'll get far more PAR useable light from a 315 watt Phillips Agro bulb, and you'll get more power per square foot with two lights vs one and you'll still be at 630 watts of total power output for a small 5x5 space.

1k HPS lights honestly aren't that great, imho. If I was a plant, I wouldn't want to grow in an orange parkade.

Besides, there are so many more factors influencing yield that a few hundreds watts of limited spectrum.

 

[tokersmoke]

LOL people are pulling TWO lbs off of 1ks..The cmh is a great bulb but not comparable to a 1k hps..

 

[Drek]

So what happens if I run three 315 watt vertical lights and grow a huge tree, resulting in 3lbs (or more) of product?

I have tokersmoke and dr fever at my doorstep.

The weed will be better quality (under a wider spectrum) stinkier and better. Why? Because light can be equated to food, for a plant. Because a wider spectrum = healthier food. Limited spectrum = chips and chocolate bars. Healthier food equals a healthier organism.

Yield, depends on strain and skill. When it comes to HID, wattage doesn't have nearly as much effect as people fall into thinking.
It's about time people got over what I like to call....wattage syndrome. Naturally more power equals more, right? Wrong.

How about 4.5 lbs off of a single plant...under 3 - 600 watt hps lights? What does that tell you?

It ain't the light.

I like lights that are like sunlight, because I like healthier plants. Plants grow in sunlight. 2 of them would be even better for power, per coverage.

 

[tokersmoke]

Drek i do have a halide mixed with my hps so im there with you.They make 1000k bulbs in 6400k spectrum which is more like the sun.The halide i run has 7200k spectrum i have used this light all the way through with SPECTACULAR results.IM def not knocking cmh just saying hps works great and can be just as good with bigger yeilds.I seem to remember hearing about a 750 w cmh?

 

[Drek]

It's actually 860w, I think.

Imo, HPS sucks for anything other than an amendment to a wide spectrum HID, during bloom only, that's if you need the HPS at all!

 

[blissfest]

It's actually 860w, I think.

Imo, HPS sucks for anything other than an amendment to a wide spectrum HID, during bloom only, that's if you need the HPS at all!

What is better than a 1000 watt Super HPS Hortilux?

I would really like to know, I would switch if there is something better.

 

[newtothiscoco]

Currently this will be for a space thats about 5x5


if you have a space of 5x5 and a 600watt hps in there now why would you go up to a 1000watt hps ?,

tell me what you yield right now when you are harvesting, dry weight ?

 

[tokersmoke]

I have yeilded an lb in a similar sized space off of one 600.I hope to get at least 2 a piece with 1ks

 

[newtothiscoco]

It's actually 860w, I think.

Imo, HPS sucks for anything other than an amendment to a wide spectrum HID, during bloom only, that's if you need the HPS at all!

^^" hehe. so you say that the 860w is better then a 1000watt hps?
do you know what intensity is ? the intensity from what you are telling is better. will never come close to a 1000watt, sorry to give you the news dude **" but i think you need to read some suff up if you think that -

but it aint worth to go buy a new ballast and socket and a bulb just for 5x5. when he already have a 600watt in the room. after my opinion with a 600watt in that space you can get some crazy yields

 

[KONY]

All depends on your footprint that you will have plants, 600 with buds from wall to wall (nice even canopy) does perfect in a 4x4 area.... 1k is overkill for this area and would not see a big increase in yield. However if you put a 1k over a 5x5 or even 6x6 area, you will see a big difference.

edit: just noticed you said its a 5x5 space, I would definitely upgrade, a 600 is not enough for that much space.