Huh ? Nothing is opinion, what I say is fact.
I’m just trying so people buy the best product they can get.
Again you are not addressing the point, how did you gain those 40% lose in MH ?
Spectrum is not light, a plant don’t care what photon hits it, blue won’t make your plant grow faster than red, it’s the raw amount of photons that counts.
Now that’s science, not mumbo jumbo on ppfd par and leds
Leds make more light when they are in the same watt because led makes more light for each watt used, again, spectrum has no relation to this other than the fact it takes more watts to create blue in general.
The measurement of light in space is ppfd, the total output of your light source is l/w
I’m not gonna argue with you on how to know the difference between space measurements and source measurements so I’ll just leave you to it
To the op, buy hps, you’ll thank me later.
15 600W HPS in a bloom room (no tent)
And 6 250W Mh in veg.
I started 15 years ago. I followed all the HID story with studies and tests.
It’s not just a 40% less without a proof.
Sorry i don’t want waste my and your time in opinion without proofs, so this is my last answer
Sometimes that “efficiency” stuff matters not. If you need the heat, you need the heat. If you like growing under HID better than LED (me) that’s how you play.
FWIW, I like to combine HPS/MH in the same space and tap a wider spectrum but that’s just me. HID has grown A LOT of weed. Still will. It’s all good.
@Itslegalnow …yer thread got a bit hijacked. What did you decide to do?
I’m a pretty big researcher and usually need to gather the resources and mull it over. My primary method of growing is LED and now i need heat so I’ considering HPS since it can provide this and light as well. I have to do more research now on brands. Europe seems to have better brands than the USA where i live. I have no interest in step up converters to run a non 120v input. So that eliminates most European companies.
I won’t be flowering in this tent and don’t think a 1000 watt is going to be good for my electrical load with my other tent on the same circuit. 600 hps is most likely or CMH system.
I appreciate the feedback and response. I see folks have researched and have a strong conviction for bulb types, intensity, penetration and refraction. As long as folks aren’t being disrespectful and keeping it civil it’s all good.
If anyone else has brands they like with 120v inputs that they themselves own and vouch for, please feel free to add to the post your choice. I appreciate all your input. Even with the info and suggestions here i have already a good amount of info to go off. If i find something that fits the bill for me and i pull the trigger i’ll post the option i went for. Thank you all for the suggestions.
I use combination LED and HID in the colder months… Years ago grabbed a 400 watt dimmable MH/HPS and it’s perfect for most grow tents or even open space. Vivosun brand from Amazon like 90 bucks and love the dimmability so can run it at 250 until ramping it up to 400 and there’s even a super switch which adds like 50 watt.
If you are just going to be using these lights strictly for vegetative growth (not flower) I would get metal halide or ceramic metal halide.
If you want to save some money on your electric bill, get 315w CMH lights. They are excellent for veg and put out a good amount of light + heat. I’ve used MH, CMH, HPS, LED and fluorescent (t5 and t8).
My favorite for veg are the t5 fluorescent by far but unfortunately fluorescent lights are being discontinued across the world. Then metal halide second. Then ceramic metal halide. Then HPS. Then LED. LED are better for veg than HPS but they just seem to cause more deficiencies which is why I rank them below HPS. I don’t really like HPS for veg because I found the plants wanted to stretch more in veg under HPS. CMH are great for veg. Just a little more “harsh” than MH in my experience, which is why I ranked the CMH behind MH.
What size space are you vegging in?
If I were you, I’d look at 315w CMH or 400w MH.
I personally prefer the old magnetic ballasts over the newer digital/electronic ballasts. I have 20+ year old magnetic ballasts that are still working fine. You just need to change a capacitor once every blue moon (which is super easy and cheap). If an electronic ballast dies, you’re SOL.
I actually flowered out a number of females under that growers choice 500w cmh and it is really nice for the money. The dimming is easy, easy to hang flat.
It is pretty hot though and it makes a constant high pitched noise that you get used to after awhile. Can only hear when tents open.
Some of the best stuff I’ve ever smoked was grown under that light actually…
It sounds like maybe you had an issue with the electronic ballast.
That happened on one of my old electronic ballasts after the room got too hot in the summer one time. It started making this high pitched whistle. I could get it to quiet down by dimming the ballast and blowing a fan directly at it to cool it. I eventually ended up doing a warranty claim on it because it drove me nuts!
I have a stack of older 1000w Sunlight/Hydrofarm analog ballasts and a few 600 digis as well. That’s why it’s easy here to go back to HID. For digis…I’ve ran Lumateks…the blue ones…and those just didn’t last. Then I bought a number of 600w orange Quantum’s and still have 2 of 6 that are 20 years old. The newer ipower ballasts/etc appear to be modeled along he same lines. All are likely made in the same factory and rebranded…like a lot of Chinese goods are. Ditto LED’s.
Yes, when i bought my lights several years ago they had both 120 and 240. Link is below. Its sold out there so look around but i paid $400 - 450 or around there. I think they are a little cheaper now
Hey all, perhaps not the best option for veg but I pulled the trigger on a light that met at least some of the criteria I have. I went with a Gravitas 1000 watt hps DE with 120v volt cord. It came with a bulb in it since it’s used. I got it for 64 dollars and bought a new Eye Hortilux DE bulb for it as well.
It’s way more power than i need, i will probably be messing around with it for a few days in order to get it how i need it. I’ve not dealt with HPS for over 18 years so it will be interesting. Thank you to all your suggestions and advice, i really appreciate it.
After doing my research I will say that since LED have come to dominate our grow rooms. Many high quality HPS suppliers and CMH suppliers gave either switched focus to LED or have gone out of business. Hydroponics stores in my area are now scarce as well. I lost my closest store (45 minute drive) last year. Next closes store is 1/8 the size and is about an hour and 15 minutes drive. The store that carries the brands i like is 2.5 hours away. Lots of changes going on. I guess folks would rather buy buds from a dispensary rather than grow their own these days.
Nice. Hang it high and get a big fan! Glad you found something…and at a “smoking” price to boot.
My local hydro store bought a big GH and now sells flowers/etc in Summer and 1/2 the store is more geared to gardeners of the non-weed kind than cannabis. They still have an inventory but it is whittled down from 5 years ago. I don’t think they sell LED’s. My guess is that you just can’t compete with the Chineseness of it all/online sales/etc. I sure wouldn’t.
