Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[namahs]

Hi guys! I'm trying to decide which 315W ballast to buy. The options I'm looking into are


Philips Advance

Prism Lighting Science

Sunplix

Sun System
Growers Choice




I've done a lot of research on these but have no direct experience with them. Also I didn't see anywhere that the "Philips Advance" is a square wave ballast (but is low frequency). Does that matter when compared the rest of the ballasts since they go by as LFSW or is the Philips ballast still considered one of the best?



I'd like to hear your opinion experience wise as it might help with the pick!



Thanks!

 

[DemonTrich]

For me I swap out lamps at 14 months.. You can find data that has 9 months. I dont use Phillips. I use Growers Choice.






I dont think CMH UV varies much from any of the bulbs?. I thought I read MH bulbs have more UV?.

Only ushio beats out Philips on uva, albeit by 1.2um. Philip's reigns supreme on all other factors.

And lmfao at their 20k hr claim. 3yrs of running cmh, I swap out every 10-12 months. I've had 3 930 bulbs burn out after 13 months.

 

[Hammerhead]

We dont need allot of UV. They all produce plenty. UV is bad to be around for long periods., I've only had 1 DE fail when I 1st started running CMH. I still have all my old CMH bulbs. They all still work. Plants still yield well with 14 months on the bulbs. I only have 1 DE 1k in flower left. The rest are Growers Choice Master pursuit dual 500w.

Hi guys! I'm trying to decide which 315W ballast to buy. The options I'm looking into are

Philips Advance
Prism Lighting Science
Sunplix
Sun System
Growers Choice

I've done a lot of research on these but have no direct experience with them. Also I didn't see anywhere that the "Philips Advance" is a square wave ballast (but is low frequency). Does that matter when compared the rest of the ballasts since they go by as LFSW or is the Philips ballast still considered one of the best?

I'd like to hear your opinion experience wise as it might help with the pick!

Thanks!

It doesn't matter IMO. Ive run most they all work the same. The only 1 I excluded was Sunplix do to there over pricing.

 

[namahs]

It doesn't matter IMO. Ive run most they all work the same. The only 1 I excluded was Sunplix do to there over pricing.

Do you or would you still use the dimming option or its something that just seems intriguing in the beginning (quality results wise)?



Thanks for the answer much appreciated!

 

[Hammerhead]

Dimming helps in summer if you dont have AC. Other than that it's of no use. The spectrum changes when dimmed, also reduces bulb life.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

i bought '2' 315 hydro crunch cmh packages- i changed out the bulbs for the phillips bulbs... by 'eye' i don't see any diff- but 2 315's in my 4x3.5ft tent i dont think is enough lite - i plan of taking them out n putting in a 1000w mh- then maybe there is enough lite - if not i'll supplement the 1000w with one of the 315's - its almost winter so temps should not be a problem... at least i hope not

 

[GET MO]

For my ic folks greenbeams are on sale right now on they site

 

[Miraculous Meds]

i bought '2' 315 hydro crunch cmh packages- i changed out the bulbs for the phillips bulbs... by 'eye' i don't see any diff- but 2 315's in my 4x3.5ft tent i dont think is enough lite - i plan of taking them out n putting in a 1000w mh- then maybe there is enough lite - if not i'll supplement the 1000w with one of the 315's - its almost winter so temps should not be a problem... at least i hope not

You have enough wpsf, its just the 315 refelectors wont take full advantage of your tent space. For flower i like to keep them in a 2.5' pattern. So anyway you put them in your tent you cant maximize their canopy potential. You would have decently better results with a 630 reflector in that tent because of the way the refelector spreads wider. I crushed it with 630s in a 4x4 pattern. So you wont have maximum canopy potenial again, but you will cover your entire tent more evenly. Its a much better choice than overlighting that tent with a 1k.

 

[Snook]

You have enough wpsf, its just the 315 refelectors wont take full advantage of your tent space. For flower i like to keep them in a 2.5' pattern. So anyway you put them in your tent you cant maximize their canopy potential. You would have decently better results with a 630 reflector in that tent because of the way the refelector spreads wider. I crushed it with 630s in a 4x4 pattern. So you wont have maximum canopy potenial again, but you will cover your entire tent more evenly. Its a much better choice than overlighting that tent with a 1k.

It's kinda early, I havent hit the vape yet and I dont know what youre trying to imply butt I agree. 2x315 is perfect ina 4x4ish environment.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

M/MEDS- i see your point- but i really don't want to buy another fixture- i have to figure out how to best use these 2x315;s - i have '2' 1000 hps/mh's, n 2 4ft 8bulb fluors- n a couple of cheap led's... i gotta make some combo work

 

[CannaRed]

I'm loving my new 315.
The plants look better. Just as frosty, but more colorful. My PurpAl plant has a more vibrant pinkish hue to the normal dark purple.

The 315 is also much easier on my eyes. Doesn't have the yellow glow of hps. Takes better pics too.
Looks like yield is on par with my usual from 600hps.
I think it has lot to do with environment. If I could lower heat in 600 tent, yield may go up.
But damn, I'm happy to be getting yield on par for almost half the wattage.

 

[Hammerhead]

CMH is the best light Ive used so far.. The results Ive got are outstanding.. I have a few LEDS I need to test. Im not so sure they will perform as well as CMH.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

You have enough wpsf, its just the 315 refelectors wont take full advantage of your tent space. .

ain't that the truth... '2' 315's mite be enough lite, but the spread with the hood leaves a lot to be desired... i have a bunch of shitty led's, n i have '3' on each side of the tent for supp. lite.. the plants in the middle are getting plenty of lite, but without the led's the side plants are wimpy... they r wimpy with the lites, they would be trash without the led's

 

[Ready4]

ain't that the truth... '2' 315's mite be enough lite, but the spread with the hood leaves a lot to be desired... i have a bunch of shitty led's, n i have '3' on each side of the tent for supp. lite.. the plants in the middle are getting plenty of lite, but without the led's the side plants are wimpy... they r wimpy with the lites, they would be trash without the led's

If you can get them out of that tent & put them out in a room, you will get far more yield. The problem with a tent is the heat & distance caused by the heat. I use one 315 out in the open and get much larger than a 2.5 x 2.5 or 3 x 3 foot print. Placing your plants up high, along the edges of the reflector, with a large fan blowing, allows close placement to the bulb & allows most of the branches

below the top bud to get excellent light directed to them. You lose a little from branches that get cut away from the back but it works far better than having them right below the reflector. The lower branches grow out into the area in the center.
With 2 315's I could grow far more than I could use.

 

[moose eater]

I'm still in the process of placing (120-watt-equivalent/17-watt actual) outdoor-rated LED floods (in the final wiring phase) in the corners of my (3) 4'x4' and (1) 3.5'x3.5' cabinets to augment my 315cmh's in each of those.

With ONE box done, I realized my expectations for augmented lighting were overblown. The LEDs, even in a narrow beam flood light, still do what many types of LED and CFLs do; if not up close and personal, the lumens rapidly diminish over distance, or so it appears.

I was intending to split (2) 3,000k and (2) 5,000k spectrums (LEDs) per box, in opposing corners, but think I'll instead score another (4) or so of the 3,000k, and leave the 5,000k strictly for vegging in the 1 smaller cabinet. Maybe split them into the originally planned diagonally opposed configurations for the first 2 weeks once everybody is in their final pots, and rooting for their prep for 12:12, then strictly 3000k in the corners of those boxes in bloom.

Trials and tribulations of untested configurations.

I guess after all of this effort, the short of it is that the light HAS to be at least a bit improved. Beyond that, I'm months way from having anything that says, "Yes, XXXXX" or "No, YYYYY".

 

[zachrockbadenof]

If you can get them out of that tent & put them out in a room, you will get far more yield. The problem with a tent is the heat & distance caused by the heat. I use one 315 out in the open and get much larger than a 2.5 x 2.5 or 3 x 3 foot print. Placing your plants up high, along the edges of the reflector, with a large fan blowing, allows close placement to the bulb & allows most of the branches

below the top bud to get excellent light directed to them. You lose a little from branches that get cut away from the back but it works far better than having them right below the reflector. The lower branches grow out into the area in the center.
With 2 315's I could grow far more than I could use.

hey ready - next grow i'll take the tent down and try it... but in the tent, i have a window fan blowing air in, on the other end i have a osculating fans blowing in, and i have a clip-on in the tent blowing- so lots of air circulating... i wish i could use the 1000w hps's, but the heat is wayyyy to much

 

[Snook]

hey ready - next grow i'll take the tent down and try it... but in the tent, i have a window fan blowing air in, on the other end i have a osculating fans blowing in, and i have a clip-on in the tent blowing- so lots of air circulating... i wish i could use the 1000w hps's, but the heat is wayyyy to much

leave the tent frame in place for your toys.

 

[Earlmarne]

Any recommendations on de 1k replacements?
I think I want to throw some cmh bulbs in my de ballasts.

 

[Substitute]

After thinking about this more, I don't recall if this came up in our PMs or if it was in the thread. Hopefully tenthirty will pop in and clear things up, or you can PM him. As I recall, when he initially made the change from 600's, he thought that they were fairly equivalent but after using them for a while he decided that the 315's were significantly better. HPS works very well, but the spectrum is a long way from what plants most efficiently make use of.

As I said up above, the 315's are vastly superior to 400's.

Which 400's?


The Agro has a bit different spectrum. Cool.


I still have 5 of the Retro White 400's that are great.

 

[Hammerhead]

Any recommendations on de 1k replacements?
I think I want to throw some cmh bulbs in my de ballasts.

Growers Choice 1kw 3k-r.. Make sure you use shields with any DE CMH bulb. I think GC bulbs comes with them always ask.
https://www.growersc.com/1000cmh3kr


Shields

https://www.growersc.com/lampshield