switching from 600s to 315 lec's

dankster303 · Jan 9, 2016

Im planning on swapping out 3 600w lights for 6 315 phantom lec's. I have heard the 315s will compete with a 600 so im hoping to double my yield while keeping my elec bill the same. If i make this switch will i be happy or sad ?

Jhhnn · Jan 9, 2016

dankster303 said:
Im planning on swapping out 3 600w lights for 6 315 phantom lec's. I have heard the 315s will compete with a 600 so im hoping to double my yield while keeping my elec bill the same. If i make this switch will i be happy or sad ?

I swapped out a single 1000w for two 315's & really couldn't be more pleased. My purposes were different- to maintain yield while reducing heat & electrical usage. I modified my existing supersun 2 fixture to accomplish that-

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=57519&pictureid=1477964

Dunno that you'll double yield but it should def improve. Watt for watt, CDM lighting seems to be ~50% more effective. Depending on how your space is configured you might save some money upfront using dual lamp 630w fixtures.

dankster303 · Jan 9, 2016

http://www.horticulturesource.com/phantom-cmh-reflector-ballast-and-bulb-kit-3100k--p23706/ these are what im looking at buying. i have the 600s over 3x3. im gonna buy 1 and do a test run then go from there. if a 315 will produce close to the same as the 600 over a 3x3 then im set.

how was your yield affected when you switched from the 1000 to 630w ?

TerpeneDream · Jan 9, 2016

My suggestion: stay the fuuuck away from Sunlight. Noisy shoddy units that have had to be sent back for repair multiple times. I'm going for Nanolux CMH next...

a senile fungus · Jan 9, 2016

In my experience, the 315w CMH is closer to the performance of around 400-500w of HPS. I think that part of the real gains are in better environmental controls, due to less heat output from the lamp itself.

i think you will be happy with this switch. the light is better quality, the spectrum itself (i have the 4200k) is soooo much nicer to work under than the harsh red/orange glow of HPS, and also the reduced heat output makes keeping environment in check a breeze. what's not to love?? all in all your power consumption by these new lights will be similar but you won't have as much heat to deal with. sounds nice...

i've been using the CMH to veg and the gavita de to flower, but i'm about to set up two of my 315s in a 3x6. ive been wanting to do a head to head with the HPS de vs CMH for a long time now...

good luck with your grow and i hope that you enjoy your new lights!!!!

timmur · Jan 9, 2016

a senile fungus said:
In my experience, the 315w CMH is closer to the performance of around 400-500w of HPS. I think that part of the real gains are in better environmental controls, due to less heat output from the lamp itself.

i think you will be happy with this switch. the light is better quality, the spectrum itself (i have the 4200k) is soooo much nicer to work under than the harsh red/orange glow of HPS, and also the reduced heat output makes keeping environment in check a breeze. what's not to love?? all in all your power consumption by these new lights will be similar but you won't have as much heat to deal with. sounds nice...

i've been using the CMH to veg and the gavita de to flower, but i'm about to set up two of my 315s in a 3x6. ive been wanting to do a head to head with the HPS de vs CMH for a long time now...

good luck with your grow and i hope that you enjoy your new lights!!!!

Agreed on the HPS equivalence @ 400 - 500 watts. Consider that a 400 watt HPS puts out about 415 μmol/s and a standard 1,000 watt HPS puts out about 1,100 μmol/s then what you're saying really lines up. If you do that head-to-head please post up results. Also be sure to match the PPFD to make it a valid comparison! Phaeton has said that CMH out performs HPS when photon output is equivalent, but I doubt that was with DE HPS. Actually not sure that DE vs standard HPS matters as it would really be about spectrum and I'm not sure if they even differ much.

Ready4 · Jan 9, 2016

Actually the Sunlight LEC 315 has been a super impressive light here. Quiet, less electric use than a 400w & so incredibly bright.
Natural light, happy plant.

The prior Sunlight light lasted for so many years that I felt comfortable with their product and have not been let down at all.

purp&kush · Jan 10, 2016

any one using a(or 2) 315 lec to flower?

or would you consider them just as veg lights?

Jhhnn · Jan 10, 2016

dankster303 said:
http://www.horticulturesource.com/phantom-cmh-reflector-ballast-and-bulb-kit-3100k--p23706/ these are what im looking at buying. i have the 600s over 3x3. im gonna buy 1 and do a test run then go from there. if a 315 will produce close to the same as the 600 over a 3x3 then im set.

how was your yield affected when you switched from the 1000 to 630w ?

I didn't do a direct comparison because I grew different strains but everything else was the same- soil, pots, blumats. Yield went up but I can't actually attribute that to the lights. This last grow was my first with the 315's.

I'm just a personal grower who can readily grow more than we care to smoke so my purposes are a bit different than a production grower. I suspect that a single 315 will yield somewhat less than a 600 so buying one as a test seems like a really good idea.

Jhhnn · Jan 10, 2016

purp&kush said:
any one using a(or 2) 315 lec to flower?

or would you consider them just as veg lights?

I used 315/930's straight thru. Worked great. I suspect that 315/942's would work as well.

timmur · Jan 10, 2016

purp&kush said:
any one using a(or 2) 315 lec to flower?

or would you consider them just as veg lights?

Some use them strictly for veg and others use them for veg and flower. Based on spectrum CMH is better than HPS for all stages of plant life cycle. Based on photosynthetic efficiency (μmoles per Joule) DE HPS would be technology of choice. See here for a comparison of the the technologies.

dankster303 · Jan 10, 2016

I just bought 1 phantom ballast and reflector kit with a 3100k phillips bulb. ill let you know how it compares to a 600 in a couple months

Rondon · Dec 29, 2016

Why no one mentions combining hps for yield and cmh for quality...less heat?

Ready4 · Dec 29, 2016

TerpeneDream said:
My suggestion: stay the fuuuck away from Sunlight. Noisy shoddy units that have had to be sent back for repair multiple times. I'm going for Nanolux CMH next...

Hello all ! I have had zero trouble with my Sunlight LEC315, quality built product in my opinion = very happy with product & results.
My old Sunlight 400w lasted for so many years, I got the LEC315 due to how long that product worked with no problems - (still works, not used lol )

As far as yield, I have seen some awesome gardens under these lights as several people I know switched to them. The natural spectrum is very great, easy on eyes.

HarvestMoon303 · Dec 29, 2016

Rondon said:
Why no one mentions combining hps for yield and cmh for quality...less heat?

I'm running 4 x 315CMH *and* 1 x 1000w HPS in the same room. The plants seem to dig it. I also run the 315's pretty far from the canopy (they are about 6.5 feet off the ground, plants are 2.5 ft-ish).

So far, so good. I plan on taking them to 10-ish weeks, and I've seen things finish a little faster under the CMH, but not this run. So far, it's awesome for the power bill, not to mention the bulb life is at least double.

Euphoriaholic · Dec 31, 2016

TerpeneDream said:
My suggestion: stay the fuuuck away from Sunlight. Noisy shoddy units that have had to be sent back for repair multiple times. I'm going for Nanolux CMH next...

Sunlight LEC 315 is a shoddy fixture. It came with an angled mogul socket. The installed bulb was at a slanted diagonal angle not vertical like it is suppose to be. The Sunlight LEC 315 stopped working after 31 days of use and had to be sent back.
Can anyone here recommend a LEC 315 brand that is reliable and durable?

Jhhnn · Jan 1, 2017

HarvestMoon303 said:
I'm running 4 x 315CMH *and* 1 x 1000w HPS in the same room. The plants seem to dig it. I also run the 315's pretty far from the canopy (they are about 6.5 feet off the ground, plants are 2.5 ft-ish).

So far, so good. I plan on taking them to 10-ish weeks, and I've seen things finish a little faster under the CMH, but not this run. So far, it's awesome for the power bill, not to mention the bulb life is at least double.

You can run CDM's much closer to the canopy if you want. There's no burning because the huge infrared spike of HPS just isn't there.

JJ Lowe · Jan 2, 2017

Jhhnn said:
You can run CDM's much closer to the canopy if you want. There's no burning because the huge infrared spike of HPS just isn't there.

How high are you running them? What size footprint?
Thx! Jj

noyd666 · Jan 2, 2017

this is one 315 lec in to veg at 3feet, now in flower about a week , I think i'm about to put the de 750 in there at 600 , light not penetrating enough for my liking what I can see, terrific in veg, have two but the e-pap has blown two Philips 942 bulbs, replaced once . just never restarted,running the flower bulb at moment.was performing good. no trouble with other one which is a vert 315.

Jhhnn · Jan 3, 2017

JJ Lowe said:
How high are you running them? What size footprint?
Thx! Jj

I run twin 315's in a slightly irregular 4x4 space. Clearance from the fixture varies thru the process, but 18-24" seems ideal. In flowering, the tops sometimes come as close as 12" w/ no problems.

switching from 600s to 315 lec's

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