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Light Rail recommendations?

amsterdame

amsterdame

Member
Anyone using light rails?

I'm looking to expand my grow area a bit and am considering a light rail, rather than adding another light, as I don't want to add significantly to the electrical load or deal with increasing amounts of heat in this relatively small room.

Currently I've got a sun system 500W dual ballast light running 1 250w halide and 1 250 hps. Next to that I've got a 430 son agro hps. The space is 6'L x 4'D. I'm thinking of putting the 500Watter on the light rail in this space and using the son agro to create another smaller flowering space (approx 3x3) for speciality crops or test grows.

As I've researched light rails I find a fairly wide range of prices and models and am wondering if the cheap ones around $100 are just junk and should be avoided?
 
I.M. Boggled

I.M. Boggled

Certified Bloomin' Idiot
Veteran
Both of these are quality built units with advanced features...

Both of these are quality built units with advanced features...

The all new Light Rail 3.5 Intelli Drive with Solid State Advanced Control's fully integrated PCB Circuitry will give you the control you are looking for. With an adjustable 0-60 second time delay you can 'fine tune' the length of delay at each end of your lamp's travel to meet your garden's ever changing needs. For a rectangular growing area, a linear lamp moving system is preferable...
http://www.lightrail3.com/lightrail.php

These "Star Trac" movers are very well built too...
http://www.aci-hydroponics.com/content/lightmovers.htm

If one needs a better price, I believe both manufacturers sell guaranteed "re-furbished" units directly.
ACI's "Solar Shuttle" is probably the best quality of the cheaper light rails. :)
Update:0ct.31, 2006, ACI has apparently gone out of business. :(
 
Last edited:
G

Guest

^^ 'What Boggled said' :) :wave:

I have 2 of the 3.5's, not currently using them but did for a good 18 months with no problems whatsoever. Really great units if you want a linear track.
 
Harry Gypsna

Harry Gypsna

Dirty hippy Bastard
Veteran
been thinking about investing in one of these, i think putting another 1000 in myflower room will take temps too much for me to handle without greatly upgrading my ventilation. The lightrail 3.5 is all we can find over here, those cheaper ones look great.
 
amsterdame

amsterdame

Member
Just what I was looking for; thanks for the great links IMBoggled and the personal recommendation, Shorts! Yup, same issue for me Harry..adding another light would require a few upgrades, ventilation being one. Sweetie and I don't have the energy to take on more home improvement projects, and of course I'd rather be growin. :canabis:

~A*dame
 
B

B.C.

Non Conformist
Veteran
light mover

light mover

High ya chick... I knew it, you've got my garden isn't big enough-i-tis, it's sad there is no cure either cause you can never have enough grow space. We all suffer from this....just kiddin hehe Really though I have the Intelli drive 2.5 it's an older version that I bought from a friend used 2 years ago and it is still working fine, I did replace the rubber on the wheels though.It's been moveing a 1000 watt Radiant reflector and the cooling duct (one on both sides of the reflector) for them 2 years I've had it so I'd say they work pretty well. Any-who just thought I'd say hello and put my 2 cents in too... good luck with your grow A.Dame........ later
 
amsterdame

amsterdame

Member
haha, yep, i got them "my garden aint big enuf" blues. :rolleyes: Always a pleasure to see ya, B.C., and glad you stopped by to add your pennies to the pile. I'm on my way to check out the 3.5s. :wave:
 
G

Guest

The all new Light Rail 3.5 Intelli Drive with Solid State Advanced Control's fully integrated PCB Circuitry will give you the control you are looking for. With an adjustable 0-60 second time delay you can 'fine tune' the length of delay at each end of your lamp's travel to meet your garden's ever changing needs. For a rectangular growing area, a linear lamp moving system is preferable...
Click to expand...

I agree.
I use the Light Rail 3.5s,infact,I have three of them curently running.
Set 'em to sit at the ends for the full 60 seconds,it gives the plants at the edges a much better light grab,if you don't rotate your stock,as we do.
A light rail will pay off with the first harvest,you'll get more,bigger buds by efficiently using more of your space.



Ciao!
 
B

badmf

Active member
Even though I have several of these and can attest they are bullet-proof! I disagree with their ablilty to increase yeilds significantly, I feel that if you calculate the time in the shade(its never really dark) at each end and add the light you will find that your plants on a 12/12 cycle get far less light even though more plants are covered! (even with the Smart ones!)I instead use the rails to veg and keep Mothers rollin'. In my bloom rooms I put in more lights and said the hell with the bill(i was in a commercial warehouse) the difference was tighter and fatter buds. Now I only mention this as a passing thought, because if you don't extend the rail to its max the plants will, instead of being in the shade, just get less light for a shorter time. Just my three cents! Hey wheres my change?
 
B

B.C.

Non Conformist
Veteran
A penny waiting on change....lol

A penny waiting on change....lol

I dunno Badmf my over all yeilds are far better than without a mover; more plants vs fewer and fatter plants,as far as fat buds go we recently had some Sage colas's that wouldn't fit in a wide mouth mason jar.That's purty fat eh ? and besides this groovy girl didn't want to add another light...I think with her growing skills she is going to kick ass with a light mover..... YOU GO GIRL !!! LOL
 
Rolando Mota

Rolando Mota

Active member
So what I don't quite get is, do you use a mover to increase the square footage of growing space; so if you grow in 16 sq ft per 1000w hps, how much bigger is your area? Or do you use a mover to get more even light coverage within the same area?
 
amsterdame

amsterdame

Member
Hey thanks for the props, B.C.! ;) You know, the bulking up of buds effect is something I hadn't considered. Geesh, B.C., you've got some SAGE colas that don't even fit through the mouth of a wide mason jar? Dude! Way to go, bro!

Although you've had different results, badmf, (thanks for the contrary opinion) I'm psyched to see what difference, if any, a light rail may make in my garden. woo hoo! Experimenting is such fun.

Here's my latest quandry. My garden is actually 5'6" wide, not 6'. I'm thinking I'll either have to mount a 6' light rail on a slight angle, or I'm contemplating ACI's Solar Shuttle which comes in a 4ft length, which would probably be all I really need. What do you think?

Hi Rolando, I believe you can use a rail for both reasons - increasing the size of your grow area, or simply maximizing the light spread of a light beyond its usual stationery footprint. When I was planning my new garden, I considered building a 4x8 space with a 6' light rail. Mounting two lights on that rail could've extended the area even further, but I had to go with a smaller area as I ran out of house space. :)

So I'm thinking of going with the Solar Shuttle, and the price is certainly right at about $100 USD. I'm hoping that the quality is there and can easily carry a double ballast 500w light.

Happy growing! I'm expecting some Killer Apollo seeds from SD any day now. :D

A*dame
 
B

B.C.

Non Conformist
Veteran
Hello...

Hello...

Mr Mota, A.Dame is right It helps on both aspects. My space is roughly 10'long by 6'wide. Hydrofarm says if ya hang this reflector at 6' you will get a foot print of 8x8 and I think at 5' you get a 6x6 foot print which is where I'm at, so that would be 36 sq. feet and I've got 10'x6'of space all together so it just about doubles my growing area. With mylar on the walls and this light mover there is no place that doesn't get light, makeing your side and bottom buds much bigger than they would have been otherwise. Badmf made a good point about not running the full length of the rail; the shorter you keep it the more light stays on the plant, an even canopy will also help with this.

A.Dame if ya really wanted the 3.5 mover you could always take a hacksaw and cut off a little bit (it's just aluminum) so you could hang it then after that just use the thumb set screws to ajust and stop the length where ever ya want.... Well I rambled long enough I reckon... good luck whatever ya choose ta do...... later y'all
 
Rolando Mota

Rolando Mota

Active member
Do you run the light to the edge of the growing area? I'm looking at buying the 3.5 too, trying to plan my space. Thanks for the replies!
 
B

B.C.

Non Conformist
Veteran
Mr. Mota

Mr. Mota

Like I said I have a 10'long space, I came out 2' from the far end and mounted the rail which is 6'so the foot print would cover that 2'on both ends if need be.The rail comes with 2 thumb set screws stops so you can start it and stop it any place ya like. good luck Mota...
 
amsterdame

amsterdame

Member
Hey BC, thanks for that tip on cutting the rail. Not having been up close to one of these contaptions, I had no idea how easy it was to adjust the length. You've expanded my options. I'll let ya know what I do. :smoke:
 
subfloral

subfloral

Member
i actually purchased a couple of the cheaper hydrofarm chain-driven movers, and one of them crapped out in three weeks already... wish i woulda just forked up the extra hundred bucks apiece for 3.5
 
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