Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

[Guest]

oh its normal for the startup to have the bulb to shoot out all sorts of wonky colors and ect ect then stabalize right?

 

[FreezerBoy]

does anyone know if a 250 watt magnetic ballast for hqi mh will run a 250 cmh?

ansi code M80 like this one

http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=165

No.

250 and 400 CMH use HPS ballasts. The ballast you link to, "250W -HQI, Advance Magnetic M80 Metal Halide Ballast" is an MH ballast. Ballast designations starting with M are Metal Halide, High Pressure Sodium ballasts start with an S Check the ansi code of your favored lamp for Ballast number.

 

[simba]

inef.. not the retro whites. there is a pulse start cmh version but its $20bucks more than the retro.

pharma.. your not going to get a solid answer.. to many variables in genetics.

Charles ya the color shifting and Spashing is the metals and salts Melting and creating a uniform arc..

 

[sam303]

regarding my problem.. i had the ballast checked out and it is fine apparently. the company sent me a new bulb overnight, excellent customer service! anyways everything seems to be working fine now.. no brownouts. hopefully it lasts.

 

[inefectualize]

hey simba thanks for the info! do you know if there is a difference in the quality of the light between the retro's and the pulse starts? i have an extra hqi ballast but think i will just build a new set-up.....also what happens if you run a horizontal bulb vertical?

 

[FreezerBoy]

Bulbs will operate in the "wrong" direction but will do so at the expanse of life-span. Both hor and vert lamps, regardless of how they're hung, throw light perpendicular to their shaft. Most bulbs don't care which way they hang. The larger CMH do because they've been set to arc in a specific direction. Improperly hung, the arc can't find home where it's supposed to be and has to go searching. It will find home but, the bulb that works twice as hard burns but half as long. I don't know that it's halfsies but, you get the idea.

 

[colonelbogey]

250 W CMH just arrived. Has taken a couple of weeks to make its way to the UK. Unfortunately arrived minus the ballast kit i ordered at the same time.
Scribbled note on packing slip says "not avail in UK 50Hz version, credit sent".
i have checked my bank account and have received no credits from advance tech.

Just wondering what to new do with my nice shiny new bulb now? doesnt fit in to the reflector for my HPS 250 either.

Can anyone recommend somewhere i can get a compatible reflector and ballast?

I will obviously be chasing advance tech for a refund on the ballast kit.

 

[simba]

should work in any e40 lamp holder..
these lamps are designed to be direct fit into 250 and 400 watt hps units.. (if a hps fits these cmh fit)
(maybe you have a Nice and tight lamp holder get some dielectric grease AKA spark plug grease and smear just a bit on the screw part of the bulb.. Not the glass..)

 

[colonelbogey]

e-mailed adv tech yesterday, account credited this morning. Thanks for the tip simba, am going to get a new reflector anyway, so i can run 2 250w's side by side. Hopefully the bulb will be a better fit in the new hood. On holiday now for a week, so will have to sort out when i get back.

 

[Guest]

my fan is making my box vibrate some is that bad for the ballast? also its now taking a little under 10s for the bulb to turn on, is that a problem or just what happens as it gets old? (also my wire is a few inches over 3 ft. do I need to shorten it and if so how long should I wait after I unplug it?)

 

[simba]

Colonboy, no prob, i personally have a E40 for one of my cmh Lights..(accidentally got installed so i left it.)

Charles, nah.. your fan wont vibrate the ballast enough to kill it..
CMH and MH (especially CMH) require Warm up time/Ignition Time.
i have seen the same lamp start instantly and then take 30 seconds before the initial start and then the motions of warming up.
give cmh 5-15 minutes to cool before re igniting

 

[Guest]

thanks for calming my fears simba. Though I always give it a minimum of 30 mins on and 30 mins off to avoid doing anything crazy to it. (i tend to play a little to safe)

 

[NorCalFor20]

NorCalFor20: I just checked out your grow log. I don't mean this to be antagonistic, so please don't take it that way, but based upon the continual stresses that were present, you cannot point the finger at CMH.

At any given time during the grow, your plants were either water stressed, nute stressed, temp stressed, root bound, or all four simultaneously. Plus, the bagseed you grew were of unknown lineage. The leafing you saw may very well have been a trait of the strain.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying your grow was terrible, because it wasn't. However, it was no where near refined enough to say, hands down, that the CMH was the cause of your leafy buds.

The bottom line? CMH is a newish technology, and hasn't 100% proven itself in the grow arena. Before we make sweeping generalizations, more tests need to be run.

I know that for me personally, with the space I have to work with, a CMH is ideal because it doesn't kick the heat of an HPS. This isn't to say it's the perfect solution for every grower, but for me it definitely fits the bill. Based upon some of the pics I've seen in this tread, I think it will serve its purpose quite well.

Hey good post, no offense taken-there were a lot of variables that I had and a few things that I need to do better next time but regardless of my first-time mistakes, i don't think over/under watering or nute burn would cause excessive bud leaf growth, and like hooiserdaddy said i think that the buds would probably be the same size under HPS you gotta look at microwidow and freezerboy's grows they had theirs pretty much dialed in- and still have excessive leafs. I believe it has to do with the spike in the spectrum in the green area of light.... but im not sure just a guess, I think the buds will be the same size as the HPS would have given it, but i think would be easier to manicure.... And I can't help but wonder what im going to do when it comes time to manicureing, i sampled a small 1g bud from the grow about a week ago and it took me 5 minutes or so just to clear out the leafs so i could smoke the calyxes.

Next time I grow I am using 2 dr 80 tents, the will both get CMH lighting during veg, and the first 2 weeks of flower then i will switch to lowes or homedepot hps light for middle of flowering the switch back to cmh the last 2 weeks because i think it really helps with resin production.

edit: got to thinking, this bud has little to no bud leafing .... so it could be strain dependant, this is a picture of a bagseed, i would say if effected the grape ape the most, it has a lot of bud leafes. the other 2 bagseeds were also affected, but this one particular bagseed is a beast and does not have much bud leafs.



as you can see there its pretty much calyxes on top of eachother

 

[tejashidrow]

Hey Simba..
I have a 17inch x 17inch x 27 inch grow cab, Wanna/Gonna do a upgrade to
..
5-42 watt cfls -total watts 210
or
a 150hps (got the parts for these both allready scrounged up..)
or
a 250 CMH (got the ballast allready)
The 150 or 250 will be aircooled by a 235 cfm dayton pushing into a homade carbon scrubber.
Your opinion would be greatly appreciated!!! thanks pax

 

[colonelbogey]

Ta simba - new hood solved prob thanks. Guys in local grow shop most impressed with new bulb! They had heard of them but not seen one in action.

peace

 

[simba]

tej, Ya go with a 250 retro white..if you have the cooling..
or a 150.. cmh.. but that would be almost to lil on the edges..

colonel, ya make sure they know not to get the EU version its not the same...
few shops over there have seen it live.. Gotta see the light personally to really "see the light" no pun intended (well maybe a lil one LOL..)

 

[Solar Puffer]

Hi Simba, I have been following this thread, got a 400 watt CMH bulb (no ballast yet though). Got some little seeds started just 3 days old, 3 weeks or so to veg under TT105's, then for the CMH power to shine! Can't wait to see the light, thanks again for the info about these bulbs.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

Hi Simba, I have been following this thread, got a 400 watt CMH bulb (no ballast yet though). Got some little seeds started just 3 days old, 3 weeks or so to veg under TT105's, then for the CMH power to shine! Can't wait to see the light, thanks again for the info about these bulbs.

This is what this thread is all about...simba is not trying to change anybody's mind...he just wants you to see the light....enjoy.

 

[tejashidrow]

THANKS simba... Gonna order a 250cmh tonight...
I am SURE my 235 cfm dayton squirl cage fan should be enuff... If not, i'll get a BIGGER one!!! pax...

 

[hoosierdaddy]

Simba,
I have read through the majority of pages of this thread, but not all.
This may have been explained in more detail, but I have not seen it yet.
I know one person was claiming that there is a physical difference between the vert and horiz versions of the 400cmh bulb, although Ihave not yet seen this confirmed.

Are there in fact physical differences in the vert and horz position bulbs, or are they actually the same bulbs using different ratings?