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LED / COB for A 3 x 3 - help me choose please

T

Tipunch

Member
Hi guys, reason I want to change my hps is:
- its only a 250w, I'd like something more powerful
- it's old and probably yield is going down now
- makes A lot of heat and I was expecting the latest technology to fix heat, consume less watts and bring more yield.

I want something that won't light up A fire due to electricity issues and sleep on my two ears.

What are my chances of adapting A new cmh buld on my current HPS setup?

Thanks :tiphat:
 
positivity

positivity

Member
Veteran
Tipunch said:
Hi guys, reason I want to change my hps is:
- its only a 250w, I'd like something more powerful
- it's old and probably yield is going down now
- makes A lot of heat and I was expecting the latest technology to fix heat, consume less watts and bring more yield.

I want something that won't light up A fire due to electricity issues and sleep on my two ears.

What are my chances of adapting A new cmh buld on my current HPS setup?

Thanks :tiphat:
Click to expand...

cheapest 315w ceramic ballast I saw from a quick look was $100. Socket adapter looks to be $20. Philips bulb looks like $70. Not a bad upgrade for the money

Safety comes from things like using the t12 open rated lamp from OEM suppliers like philips. It has a glass sleeve built into the lamp basically. Looking at the t9 (enclosed) and t12 (open) you can see the extra glass cover and collar holding it in place. Secure mounting, safe ballast location, not overloading circuits, receptacles, plugs, structural integrity of grow space....

You could argue an all in one light like the sunsystem 315 is the safest since everything is contained in the hood, leaving less places for problems to occur

running a 250mh sketches me out more than the 315, really. My 250 mh need to be in a enclosed hood, theres no open version
 
repuk

repuk

Altruistic Hazeist
Veteran
COBs generate heat too. The more power you put inside the tent, the more the heat, all those massive heatsinks on the COBs do transfer the heat to the air, not make it dissapear.

I would go the CMH route, which looks ideal for your scenario.

Alternative: get a cooled hood, inline fan, and a dimmable digital HPS ballast suitable for 250-275-400-440W with a suitable 400W bulb.

I have a smaller tent (2,6'x2,6'x5') and went this route, as you can always place the ballast outside the tent, and dim the power down if heat becomes an issue; the cooled hood helps keeping heat inside the hood, and venting it outside the tent.
 
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S

StevenJennings

Member
Man i think the veros are the best if youre going the cheapest possible rpute and if you drive them hard. Look at datasheets and youll see tht the harder you drive them the more efficient they become (to a point) ive had an anjeet full spec light from amazon but had one of the cobs fail within a week. Got the cash back and was still able to use all the drivers to power my various cxb3590s or veros. Id say go with cxb3590 if you got the extra cash. I have a bunch of builds in my gallery. Feel free to message me if you have any questions on price, how to build, yields, whatever. Switching to cobs will be the best choice youve ever made and its addicting. Lol. I currently have more light than my space needs so im finding new ways to make space. And your utility bill will thank you. With the space your talkin you wont have to buy ac unit or have a zillion fans. I dont think ill ever stop growing thanks to leds. You can do it anywhere bruh
album.php
 
A

AvidLerner

Member
CMH is a great choice for adding to hps. More Blue light available in CMH. good fro plant growth and development.

I went from hps to cobs to pcb's. Heat is the issue until you get to pcb's. I use GrowGreen 200w Samsung LM561C boards and the dissipative heat is negligible, but the radiant heat from light is still there and is removed with normal inline fan and filter. I maintain 3 degree difference between outside tent temps and inside tent temps with just an inline fan 4" in a 2x4. no heat issues.



I have some kits available you can DM for link.
 
zachrockbadenof

zachrockbadenof

Well-known member
Veteran
positivity said:
I just smoked a roach but lets give it a try.

So you don't extract air out of the room, and just blow a fan to mix the tent air with the rest of the air in the room. 3 vipars 300...I guess they consume half the watts? 450w total...plus 8 bulb 4' floro.....54w (assume HO), had to google that as I don't use floros myself. 432W of floros.

882w (Fixed..hate math) of lighting in a 4x3.5. Just about 63w sq/ft. Without you hooking up a kill-a-watt or something I can only guess the true power draw

Just looking at the power difference of 315w vs 882w I thinks its safe to assume the temps will be lower even without real extraction. Seems you could run 2 really

With a starting temp of low 70s you can get all the way to 85f and be okay. Everyone has their favorite temps though understandably

To tits out the spot, something like 2 ac phantom CMH vertical hoods would be an option. You can go glass, no glass, multiple hanging heights, bulb vertical maxing even spread. Add a dimmable ballast and you can change wattage depending on need

But yeah, I'd guess a 315w with a wing would work pretty good. You lose the punch through the canopy but you can get around that by giving the plants space and not bunching them up

edit..stoner missed the last LED part. I dunno man, all those are the same to me and I wouldn't expect different results than you've already had. If thats whats in the budget then make it happen. Read the reviews and try and find some honest grows. You can always supplement or even run the whole grow with off the shelf LED lightbulbs using sockets with multiple connections
Click to expand...


hey thanks for reply- i found a 'digital grow' 315 cmh on ebay for 192bucks - it has a glass enclosed hood (i'm checking if u can remove the glass) should heat not be a problem , the ballast is remote, which is good to keep down the heat.... if need be i can buy an inline fan to cool the bulb... they also have the same package ...but... with a wing hood and its like 175 bucks... pretty good deal on either.... and the ballast has a '2' year warr...
ceramic solutions has a 630 piece with a removeable ballast to place remotely, hood, 2 bulbs, ropes, remote control for 324bucks.... here too i asked if u can run '1' bulb at a time... warr is 3years...
gotta buy one in next day/two...
 
T

Tipunch

Member
Quick question for you guyz, been reading here and there that a 315cmh produce results close to A 600hps, is that BS and marketing or reality? Gracias :biggrin:
 
repuk

repuk

Altruistic Hazeist
Veteran
I seems general consensus that vertical provides more even square coverage. Don't have direct experience tho.
 
saitama

saitama

Active member
Two 260w quantum board kits or 2x of avid Lerner's 200w kits in a 3x3 will decimate any 315w CMH... If you have the budget. I'd spend the 2 - 300 more on LED and have a setup that will last 5 years, can be dimmed for other uses and less radiant heat.

I have owned and done runs on the 315 and qb
 
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