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$500 to light a 3x3-what would YOU buy?

hush

Señor Member
Veteran
I know you said personal experience, so I will tell you that I have had nothing but good times using a 600w HPS in my 3x3 tent. I even used a 1000 watter in there a couple of times.

But I want to save money on electricity in my next grow, so I've been recently researching a lot of options, from quantum boards to COB fixtures, and I think I'll be switching out to CMH. So, for whatever it's worth, look into those and see if that speaks to you. :tiphat:
 

DoubleTripleOG

Chemdog & Kush Lover Extraordinaire
ICMag Donor
I had a tent that I made about that size. Lit it with spiral 6 CFL's (63 actual watt big fuckers), a couple 4' T5's and a cheapo 180 watt Ebay LED. Worked awesome. Great yields. So I can only imagine what a 600w HPS would do in that size space.


If you do go the HID route. Need to make sure you have a nice inline fan. That will move lots of air. Prolly at least a 6" fan. Cause with a 600 in that space, it's gonna get hot fast in there.
 

f-e

Well-known member
Mentor
Veteran
Have you seen the lamp comparisons thread in the microgrow section of the diaries forum?

In short, they're happy with about 40w per foot, of Walmarts finest 100w equivalent LED lamps. Which are 14w each.

Ok, it's like 28 of them, totaling around 400w, at maybe 125 lumens per watt. It's the targeted use of them that really makes it work though.

I did a thread, listing adapters to screw 7 lamps into one clip on lamp holder. So 100w light units are quickly assembled and clipped to your poles. I imagine $150 might do it, and you get a lot of lamps you can re-purpose one day. Or simply recycle, without looking dodgy.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-known member
Another call for SILs here.

Walmart actually carries 15.5w 100w equivalent bulbs now too btw. With high chip counts on the pcbs. The 2700k soft whites put out 1600 lumens compared to the 1500 on the 14w bulbs, and the daylights put out 1650, and that's with the globes on. They are $8-10 a 4 pack around here, depending which color you get. So 2-2.50 a bulb.

If you wanted to go roughly 40w per sq ft you would need 23 bulbs, but might as well get 6 four packs and go for 24 total, so under $60

If you bought good quality base sockets you could spend 20-30 more dollars.

Or use cheap ebay sockets at $4 a ten pack. So only 8 more dollars, but take 3 weeks to ship from china.

Hack up a cheap extension cord, and buy a small roll of wire and your maybe 10 more dollars.

Screw together a cheap wood frame and wire it all up and wala, now you have 370w of LED for under 100$, and pulling your 1gpw easy if not more, probably a whole p if done well.

You would still have $400 in your pocket to buy any other light, or build 4 more just like it!
 

Sign

Member
I'm also frugal to a fault, but I justified the qb under the buy once cry once philosophy. It's a tight clean and efficient package.

You don't have to pay hg's markup either, the Chinese exporters are selling all the parts and even the identical kits for a fraction of the cost.

The one thing I like about sils though over qb is down the road when it comes time for replacing nothing is easier than changing a lightbulb.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-known member
I have a 400 MH magnetic probe start street lamp enclosure that I used to use with standard bulbs to veg in a smaller spaces, and had bought a retrofit CMH bulb for it (10+ yo old tech now?), but never even screwed the bulb in yet because I discovered SILs a few days later. And I wanted to get my moneys worth out of my t5s still. Never ended up test flowering with it.

My frugal ass couldn't justify buying a new digital 315 setup for hundreds at the time just to get my CMH fix. The retrofit bulb might not exactly be as electrically effecient or put out as many LPW (by what like 10%? 30? I call BS on 30, ok maybe 15-20?..), but still it was only like $50 to upgrade in my case. I see the 315 setups dropped a lot since the last 2 years so I suppose it could be worth it now, for a main light anyway.

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/59302/MHS-411058.html

I think they quit producing retrofits though and now the price went up a little unless you shop around online. Plus they made/make 830 watt bulbs that fit in older mag 1k ballasts, which are a dime a dozen used these days it seems, compared to new double ended 630 e-ballasts overclocked to 700 or whatever. Not bashing newer CMH at all, I never even grown with it yet to compare with standard MH. But if i did and was going big I might pick up increasingly available cheap unwanted 1k mags off craigslist ,and a bunch of the 830 bulbs, and buy myself a newer truck or something while I'm at.. it before I spent 4-500 a light. That's just me though, I like to save money in the short run. In the long run they come out with new stuff anyway, who knows what the next 5 years holds. Ultra effecient overpriced LEDs, and a lot of worn out 70% output QBs i'm guessing. :p


I feel like the commercial grow market has been out to make profits by redesigning the wheel with the whole CDM/ digital HID thing, just like the LED market constantly is too.

I upgraded to digital nano HID ballasts back in 2014-15 but kinda feel ripped off knowing that the marketed dim feature creates less pressure at least in the sodium bulbs, and drastically alters the spectrum and reducing available photons. And if (or should I say when) the little fans burn out on many digitals the circuits will over heat possibly. Can't complain though I got my moneys worth.

My little 330 watt bulb will probably pull more or at least as many GPW than a brand new 315 too if I flowered with it, doubt the quality would be that noticable. And I know for a fact the already 15 yo magnetic ballast will still be kicking when i'm an old man, as long as the wires don't crumble.. but no big deal to replace them. I could have bought 4-5 regular 400W MH bulbs instead of the 330 CMH, but my HID days are possibly coming to an end, and all i wanted was to fill a void because all the guys talked about it being superior.

I had thought about changing out for 4 315s,. Then decided I don't care if it's not new tech digital low frequency, saving me a few bucks a month, and I was gonna try 4 of the 330's in place of the 2 1ks in my room and save a bunch of costs to go ceramic. Glad I didn't.

I probably won't ever even plug in the single one i was gonna test anyway, now im busy building veg/flower SIL lights now for around\under 20 cents a watt, and blowing the extra cash I save on other things.. and keeping my current HIDs as backup incase.
 

Chunkypigs

passing the gas
Veteran
I've decided to build a 5 socket by 5 socket SIL frame. I'm going to have each row on it's own plug for simplicity, with a power bar mounted to the frame.

I'll still keep an eye on QB, COB and strip technology, but for now, this seems like the best bang for the buck.

I appreciate all your input. :biggrin:

Sheeet! You went from $500 to Walmart pretty quick.....

If you're on a budget these $25 100 watt actual draw 85w lamps are working well for me, wired with a plug already and quite bright even when running next to a 315 cmh.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074K4FRTR/
The higher wattage fixtures they make were less efficient, 300 w only drew 220 and not as bright as the leds in the 100....

If you really have $500 I'd buy a dual bulb dimmable cmh 630 and an 8" fan to keep the 3x3 cool. Upgrade to a 4x4 or 5x5 tent later and keep the 3x3 for veg.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-known member
5 x 5, nice and square like the tent, nice even coverage.

Not a bad idea, 5 cheap $2 extension cords could be the wire for the sockets, as well as the plug/switch for the 5 separate rows. Simply unplug instead of unscrew when needed.

Might as well just wire each row of 5 in a series that way, the simple way. Even if one bulb went bad the 4 other rows would still be fully lit. Could peel the extension cord apart and split into 2 wires, but leave one lead longer to reach the farthest back socket, and then use smaller pieces between the socket terminals. No wire connectors even needed.

Bet ya already have a power strip too, and you will have a few extra free plugins to work with on the fixture to top it off.


:p Haha chunk, SIL's win this time, suck our wally bulbs! ;)
 
G

Guest

This is $40 over your budget BUT trust me when it comes to lighting its an INVESTMENT and the old saying buy once cry once is truer no where more than the lighting you buy. I have had one of their kits for several years and it has grown some fantastic buds. Its so easy to assemble its like falling off a log. For the non tech folks all of the connections are labeled.



IF you can hook up a DVD player or sound bar to your TV you can do this. Easy.



https://timbergrowlights.com/model-4vs/
 
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