Best brand of CMH????

billb · Jun 24, 2017

Can someone please help me with what brands are the best cmh lights? Thinking abt going with 2 315's. I have a gravita. Just wanted to try these 2 cut electricity costs.
Thanks

Speed of green · Jun 25, 2017

My friend has a sun system LEC 315, he loves it.

I think i read somewhere people using old magnetic ballasts to power CMH's I think the technology is way overpriced.

If you do your homework you will find that all this equipment comes from china, and you are paying double to triple the price for a sun system sticker and a company to complain to if it breaks.

I know its a roll of the dice ordering stuff from china, but Alibaba.com has CMH's direct from the manufacturer for half price. They look identical too.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...html?spm=a2700.7724838/old.2017115.103.eKZaxF

Good luck!

YetiOG · Jun 25, 2017

billb said:
Can someone please help me with what brands are the best cmh lights? Thinking abt going with 2 315's. I have a gravita. Just wanted to try these 2 cut electricity costs.
Thanks

https://www.growersc.com/gc630

Check that puppy out haha! Nanolux also makes a good one but uses 2 × 315 chm :tiphat:

watts · Jun 25, 2017

I don't own a 315 but I like the sun system reflector with vertical bulb

MJINC · Jun 25, 2017

I like the growers choice. Decent price and good build quality. They do need to get a controller system going for them, the last time I checked they didn't have one.

clown baby · Jun 25, 2017

I bought three chinese all in ones, topogrow brand, and one ceramic science ballast + ushio bulb. The ceramic science + ushio looked a lot brighter than the chinese all in ones. But when I swapped the bulbs, they lit right up.

So i think the stock bulbs are not great.

djbooyah13 · Oct 12, 2017

Thinking of going Growers Choice or Sun System only ones ive seen that people are migrating to with much sucess, GC just dropped a 1000 DE CMH recently so that one should be one to look for

BasementGrow · Oct 16, 2017

I own 9 of the 315 LEC Sun System diamond series and I would totally recommend staying away from this particular model. I have 9 of them (240v model) and its really cool that you can daisy chain them but, also can be a HUUUGE pain in the ass when you run into issues with one. I have 3 of them hooked up to each 240 and then those are all wired into a time clock and then that is wired back into a 2 20 amp pull breaker. And one of my lights either has a dud ballast, bad connector, pinched wire etc.. because once or twiceish a week they trip when theyre supposed to turn on. This has been happening for around 2 months now and I still havent been able to pinpoint exactly which one it is, I also havent really tried too too much considering its only once or twice a week when my lights come on. Im pretty much always home when they come on, so it hasnt been the biggest issue. Anyways I contacted sun systems and they said theyll swap the one out no problem, too bad its not the easiest problem to pinpoint because it doesn't happen too frequently and I'm constantly perpetuating a harvest so I cant exactly take my lights out one by one and fire each one individually til one trips. I know it doesn't sound that hard to do but, its very tedious when you have to wait 10 minutes in between turning off/on cmh (not supposed to keep turning them on and off) and the problem doesnt happen everytime they fire.

Tldr: Anyways here I am 3 months later still experiencing electrical problems with my sun systems after paying near $4,000 for the units and havent received any help to troubleshoot except for them trying to tell me I dont have them wired properly. ( I 100% have them wired properly my best friend is an electrician and set everything up)

mcnasty · Oct 26, 2017

I like growers choice. Cheap and that 3kr bulb has a killer spectrum

Dr. Purpur · Oct 30, 2017

mcnasty said:
I like growers choice. Cheap and that 3kr bulb has a killer spectrum

I just ordered two of the GH 630 watt units. I requested 2-3000K Red lamps and 2-4100K lamps. Ill mix them in each unit

Over 1000 bucks for 2 lights, but the dimable and super lumen settings make this an awesome light

Easy7 · Oct 30, 2017

I would go with the philips lamps in those growers choice fixtures for safety reasons/double jacketed.

FrozenFire · Oct 30, 2017

If y'all are looking for some bad ass cmh lighting, check out ceramic solutions. I'm running 2 of their 630w DE cmh lights. I've had phenomenal results with them. The prices are on point and so is the customer service. Multiple bulbs to choose from as well. I've run the 4200k for veg and 3kr. Both are high cri and put out some serious par per watt. So far I've got one grow completed with them and I'm working on a second. Check out my signature if you want to see how my c99 did with them. Roughly one and a quarter pounds off of one light.

www.ceramicsolutions.us

aquavitae · Oct 30, 2017

endomaxx

Speed of green · Oct 31, 2017

All of these "brands" are just a company that bought a Chinese product and slapped their sticker on it, doubled the price, and possibly offer a warranty.

If you go on Alibaba.com & type in LEC or CMH you will see the exact same design and components an the name brand for whatever price the manufacturer charges. Some of these companies are respectable and will stand behind their product in the event of a malfunction.

For me I would rather roll the dice and deal with a foreign company than get raked over the coals.

You could probe them with emails to see how reliable they are.

I'd buy name brand bulbs though.

Just my .02

Good luck

mcnasty · Nov 3, 2017

Speed of green said:
All of these "brands" are just a company that bought a Chinese product and slapped their sticker on it, doubled the price, and possibly offer a warranty.

If you go on Alibaba.com & type in LEC or CMH you will see the exact same design and components an the name brand for whatever price the manufacturer charges. Some of these companies are respectable and will stand behind their product in the event of a malfunction.

For me I would rather roll the dice and deal with a foreign company than get raked over the coals.

You could probe them with emails to see how reliable they are.

I'd buy name brand bulbs though.

Just my .02

Good luck

This is exactly right, another reason why i like growers choice. their prices are great. If you consider the shipping cost buying right off alibaba, unless you are buying i think it was like 5+ lights you arent saving much. I figure spending an extra 30-50 bucks on the light is worth it when/if there is a problem I can easily contact an american for quick replacement. Many of those alibaba sellers youd be lucky to get a response if something failed early.

I was quoted like 200$ to ship lights. def not worth it if you only need 1 or 2

T_B_M · Nov 5, 2017

I'm using two of the Philips MastercolorElite 315W Agro Lamps (T12 - 3100ºK) in the Sun Systems LEC630 fixture.
My last run of 2 Blue Dream in Deep Water Culture gave me 10 oz. per plant (~4' tall plants). These lights are great. Two of these are the equivalent of a 1kW HPS without the heat due to more PAR output and efficiency. Why waste energy throwing off spectrum the plants don't use? Just gotta keep the canopy around 20" away at a minimum, the fan leaves get a little crispy over time otherwise.

zachrockbadenof · Nov 11, 2017

could u use these in a 4x3.5ft tent - ??? how would u vent??

5lrootsexcel · Nov 15, 2017

If you have gavitas already, have you considered double ended CMH bulbs? Google "double ended 630 watt bulb cdm" and a few will pop up. I know grower's choice also makes one. Saves you from having to buy another fixture.

zachrockbadenof · Nov 17, 2017

FrozenFire said:
If y'all are looking for some bad ass cmh lighting, check out ceramic solutions. I'm running 2 of their 630w DE cmh lights. I've had phenomenal results with them. The prices are on point and so is the customer service. Multiple bulbs to choose from as well. I've run the 4200k for veg and 3kr. Both are high cri and put out some serious par per watt. So far I've got one grow completed with them and I'm working on a second. Check out my signature if you want to see how my c99 did with them. Roughly one and a quarter pounds off of one light.
www.ceramicsolutions.us

hey frozen... can u run one one bulb???... i'm using a 4x3.5ft tent... not sure if i will need 630w, maybe 315 will work... and ofcourse heat is the other problem in a small tent...

Dr. Purpur · Nov 17, 2017

Growers choice

Growers choice

This dial works great

Best brand of CMH????

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