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The 600w vs. 1k Lighting Battle

tenfeetofganja

tenfeetofganja

Member
In the ever current and cold climate we are forced to live in as cannabis consumers, I am forced into a life of privacy and discretion simply to maintain my freedom while enjoying some fine homegrown cannabis. Unfortunatly, living in discretion does not leave much room to compare results with other people of growing experience. I have always used 1k watt lights, as they seem to produce the highest levels of lumens (lumenisence?) and therefor produce the thick dense colas that I have grown (pun intended) so lovenly accustemed to..

However, I was reading an article about cannabis growing and read that some growers only use 600s and drop the light real close to plant to increase lumens, yet it produce less heat so it can be closer without burning, am i to believe correct?

Can anyone speak to experience on such ? with such high electricity use it would be great for have lights that would work (in reason) just as well as a 1000 yet use nearly half as much energy??

appreciation much for any thoughts wisdom or guidance..

peace love and unity..

10FGP
 
TGT

TGT

Tom 'Green' Thumb
Veteran
In my experience I have found that if your growing plants that end up taller than three feet tall a 1000 watt is the way to go because of its penetrating ability. If your use to growing higher numbers of plants and smaller than three feet, you might be better off with 600's as you can distribute the light better with multiples. If using only 1 light though, I would go with the 1000 regardless. Just my experience and I am sure others will say differently, but this is what I beleive to be true. Good luck!

TGT
 
NiteTiger

NiteTiger

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright...
Veteran
THe thing about 600s is that you can spend about the same in wattage and get a better/wider footprint.

In my situation, I built my room to fit my light - 4x4 for a 1kw light. Now, most people are not in a position to build to the specifications of the light.

600w vs. 1kw, IMHO, is a matter of coverage and growing style. Some maintain that 600's are more efficient in a lumen per watt faceoff, but lumens aren't the goal, getting light to the budsites is the name of the game.

The best light for that is going to depend on your situation, not on the light itself.
 
chosen

chosen

Active member
Veteran
I do the same. I have a 4' x 6' with 2-600's for that very reason. Each light covers a 2'x 3' x 4' area. I sometimes use a light mover as well in order to keep the plants nice and even without the stadium effect. I like having the light from different points and angles.
 
N

NZjay

Nitetiger: 100% agree. wanted to give you rep for the post, but i guess i need to share some more. lol

i run my room with 2 x 1ks, and a single 600 HPS in the middle off the one side as a red light additive.

ive thought about this alot, and im thinking the optimal setup for my room, would be to get rid of the 1ks, and go with 4 or even 5 600's.
i really think it would be a more efficient lighting footprint.
 
R

riverrat

Member
I used to run a single 1000 watter, then went with a 600 watt and a light mover and I think Im getting just a good of yelds as I did with the larger light. Lighting cost and heat issues are lower too. Plus it's cool to watch the light move back and forth.

RR
 
G

Guest

i grow with a 600 and a 400 and im about to add a 1000...but if you think you cant get fat ass nugs with all three your wrong...i have gotten some huge rock hard buds with a 400...but in the end it doesnt matter what you go with because you will definitely want more...or me anyway...im a weed addict and have no problem supporting my habit for the low cost of just $2.00 a day
 
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tenfeetofganja

tenfeetofganja

Member
normally i run multiple 1k's over a high flow dwc bucket system...i believe it is called "bonsai" method since we do 3-4 mos veg... all clones from mothers... in a single cylce setup...

however from the time it takes from veg to harvest (approx 7-8mos) is entirley too long.. and i believe that strategically placed 600s would better the yield than 1ks...

i is going to run a sea of green setup in dual cycles w/ 6x 600s.


the room im using is exactly 4'2" x 8'2" x 7'. which puts me at nearly 112w per sq ft :headbange

120 indica clones. 60 per cycle. given 2 wk veg.

using a short flowering indica (50-65days) and a very well cycled veg and mother room i hope to be able to at least harvest six ounces every 30 days.

which should provide me with enough smoke to not have to fret about supply. stay tuned for updates. :rasta: -10FGP
 
Q*Bert

Q*Bert

Member
The cost per lumen is the only real benefit in the 600 vs 1000 arguement. If cost isn't an issue then a 1000 wins. I feel that the room and environment are primary considerations in light selection. If you can tolerate the heat, a 1000 cant be beat. This is like the old horsepower wars. Bigger is better if you can make it run. The bottom line is a 1000 gives off more lumens. Period! You can get similar results with a 600, but a properly set up 1000 will flat out do better. Unfortunately we don't have turbos or blowers in our lights to make a smaller bulb more powerful than a large one. Yeah, I like to go fast too, but thats another topic alltogether. I debated back and forth, 5 1000's or 8 or 9 600's, gross power consumption about the same, lumens similar but with less penetration, it came down to did I want to buy 9 complete setups or 5? There is that cost/benefit thing again. GO BIG!
my .02,
Q
 
G

Guest

I just changed out 3 x 1000W for 4 x 600W. The footprint on the SuperSunII hood with 600W HPS is 3' x 3'. I am using the SCROG method and all appears to being doing just fine. The SOG would also work great as both have canopies of around 18" or less and the light penetration is up to the task.

My SCROG is 3' x 12' = 36 sq.ft. 2400W divided by 36 sq.ft. gives 67W psf. I still have 2 x 1000W left and can throw them into the mix, alternating with the 600W's.

It is also nice to be able to really get close without burning the girls and the 600W allows that. So far I am pleased with the growth.

happy growing and peace
 
T

testpilot

Member
If I had to choose ;) I would hang 3 x 600W over each 4x8 NFT table. Ends up 'round 56W/ft^2. Then I'd copy it on the other side of the room and flip them all with a 6 outlet relay w/delay.
 
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G

Guest

4 x 8 trays? The 600's do best covering 3 x 3. Consider changing the tray size to 3 x 3 or any combination thereof. Again, mine is 3 x 12 (4 x 600) for excellent coverage (verified by light meters).

happy growing and peace
 
T

testpilot

Member
Ty-Stik,

I made a mistake, I forgot that because of a doorway the NFT is only 42" wide. It really covers 3.5 x 8 feet.

They do just fine for a 3 x 4 area depending on reflector orientation. I saw decent results at a project where they used 600W per 4x4 tray (5x5 canopy).
 
tenfeetofganja

tenfeetofganja

Member
PuReKnOwLeDgE said:
TenFeet- I am confused by your post. You run 120 plant sites, in recirculating DWC, and the total lifetime of those plants is 7-8 months? You harvest 6 ounces every 30 days?

Seems like 1, a DWC plant vegged for 1-2 months is insane alone in itself. DWc for me has grown so fast its retarded.

2 you should bepulling way more weight than 6 ounces every 30 days....taking all that risk with all those plants with a small reward.

You should be able to run 4-8 DWC 5 gallon buckets/1000 watt light....yeilding 1-2 pounds depending on strain, conditions, and growers experience every 10 weeks. Wigh as many lights and wattage you have you could run 24 easy and yeild 6 pounds plus no problem. Every 10 weeks if you have clones ready....lower your numbers bro and go for more...
Click to expand...


you confuse it... i was running dwc...averaging 7-9 oz per plant... the numbers were there only problem for me is take much to long from seed to harvest... next run is going to be ebb and flow s.o.g. setup...120 cuts... 60 per cycle (i.e. plant 60, than plant another 60 after 30 days) im lookin to keep a quick cycle... i need at least 6 ounces per month.. i figure 60 cuts should be plenty to keep that number...i would have to harvest less than 3 grams per plant to not obtain 6oz ... so not much wooryy ther...

i just try to see if i can "reasonably" achieve the same results (fully grown dense colas) with 600s as with 1000s. electricity bill is huge factor... because its eitheer 6x600s or 4x1000.... the only benefit to 1000 is i already have them and would not need to spend more for get lights... huge blowers and a/c to deal with heat...

but for me it would seem more common sense to have 6 lights which would more evenly distribute light and run cooler so they can be closer to plant...

at this point the 1000s are first choice... i guess i was hoping some 600 enthusiast would come and make me change mind...

we just got a new place so im in process of setting up security... i will take pictures and update as things come along...

keep em tuned...10GFP :rasta:
 
G

Guest

dude you are a f.ucking way wrong preknowledge perpetual always wins f.uck the one crop shit..oh yeah its just opinions here rite..you shoulds are actualy shouldnts unless asked for..peace

You should be able to run 4-8 DWC 5 gallon buckets/1000 watt light....yeilding 1-2 pounds depending on strain, conditions, and growers experience every 10 weeks. Wigh as many lights and wattage you have you could run 24 easy and yeild 6 pounds plus no problem. Every 10 weeks if you have clones ready....lower your numbers bro and go for more...
 
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G

Guest

I`ve tried em all.......

I`ve tried em all.......

2-600 Lumatek / Lumenace`s by far cover and saturate more area as well as penetrating into the canopy better with the overlap of 2 bulbs versus 1-1000 directly overhead no matter what "ANYBODY " hasta say cuz I`ve been there and done the math from experience not hearsay.........There is the extra cost factor though for more ballasts...... Digitals are by far the top of the ladder for performance and longevity........1000`s are cheap nowadays with magnetic ballasts so there`s definitely the trade-off between someone on a budget or folks like me that won`t have anything but the finest of every bell and whistle needed to grow large......Take care........DHF...... :joint:
 
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NiteTiger

NiteTiger

Tiger, Tiger, burning bright...
Veteran
I gotta admit, it alway bugs me when folks compare 1000 watts to 1200 watts and say it's the clear winner. Well yeah, it's 200 watts more :D

But I still say it depends on your situation as to which works best.

However, in regards to the lumen to lumen, I've heard that the 600 digi is more effecient, but I haven't actually seen the comparison. Anyone got a link for me?
 
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