3100 Or 4200 K For Cmh Flowering Bulb?

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snoplow20

snoplow20

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Im about to purchase my first cmh grow kit! Should I go with the 3100k or the 4200k bulb. Or should i get both. I will be vegging and flowering under it and will probably run a l300 kind led full spectrum grow light along with it in a 4x4 tent!
 
3 balls

3 balls

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Im about to purchase my first cmh grow kit! Should I go with the 3100k or the 4200k bulb. Or should i get both. I will be vegging and flowering under it and will probably run a l300 kind led full spectrum grow light along with it in a 4x4 tent!
Who makes the 4200?
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Both bulbs if you are going to veg and flower, or just the 4K if you only want to deal with one bulb


May I ask why you would want so much more blue light during flowering? Even Phillips does not recommend that bulb for flowering.

Honestly I find too much blue in the 3100k too. I prefer it mixed with hps.
 
Fangthane

Fangthane

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Being new, I don't have a whole lot of basis for comparison, but I'm currently vegging under a 3100K CMH and it seems to be doing fine. Ideally, I'd wanted to get a 4200K for veg, but didn't have free funds to spend on another bulb. Decided to just run with what I got and it seems to be working out so far.
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Being new, I don't have a whole lot of basis for comparison, but I'm currently vegging under a 3100K CMH and it seems to be doing fine. Ideally, I'd wanted to get a 4200K for veg, but didn't have free funds to spend on another bulb. Decided to just run with what I got and it seems to be working out so far.


I really like it for veg. Grows nice leafy compact plants with good branching. Works as well as a 400w hortilux blue metal halide and will last more than 3x as long with very little degradation.
 
gwheels

gwheels

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Who makes the 4200?
Philllps but it is called a master color (it doesnt say 4200 it says 92)

I have both bulbs and then started running LED to see how it works. I can not say which is better but that 4200 vegs better and both can do full cycle.
 
Fangthane

Fangthane

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Works as well as a 400w hortilux blue metal halide and will last more than 3x as long with very little degradation.
Is the 3X life cycle fairly applicable to any/all CMH bulbs, or just quality ones? I'd found a seemingly sweet deal on Amazon for my CMH hood, ballast and 3100K bulb - all for $145 shipped. As of now, it's got about 2-3 months of total use on it and I'd swear that the light just doesn't seem as intense as it once had. I literally could find no brand name on the bulb's box, so I assume it's basically a shit-tier no-name jaunt. Am I likely imagining things, or might it already be time to start looking into a better bulb? Any recommendations on a quality bulb that won't break the bank. Much like the strains I see when seed shopping, the names I run into tend to not mean much to me.

Kinda leaning toward this one - apparently about 3850K - since the price is definitely right. Any thoughts on it as a seed-to-harvest lamp? By the time I can spare the $35, I'm sure it'll be back up past $50, but I'm still curious about how effective it may be.
Cmh
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Is the 3X life cycle fairly applicable to any/all CMH bulbs, or just quality ones? I'd found a seemingly sweet deal on Amazon for my CMH hood, ballast and 3100K bulb - all for $145 shipped. As of now, it's got about 2-3 months of total use on it and I'd swear that the light just doesn't seem as intense as it once had. I literally could find no brand name on the bulb's box, so I assume it's basically a shit-tier no-name jaunt. Am I likely imagining things, or might it already be time to start looking into a better bulb? Any recommendations on a quality bulb that won't break the bank. Much like the strains I see when seed shopping, the names I run into tend to not mean much to me.

Kinda leaning toward this one - apparently about 3850K - since the price is definitely right. Any thoughts on it as a seed-to-harvest lamp? By the time I can spare the $35, I'm sure it'll be back up past $50, but I'm still curious about how effective it may be.
View attachment 850669


I only have experience with the phillips 3100k and a galaxy square wave ballast.

But i always say you get what you pay for for the most part.
 
UncleRomulus

UncleRomulus

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3100 seems pretty dang blue. Don’t know why you would need the 4200. Buddy has the 3100 and if he had any tighter node spacing his plants would be inches high :D
 
gwheels

gwheels

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Phillips makes the 3100 and 4200. The 4200 is called master color.
I have both bulbs. I have heard people say go full run with 3100 and 4200 and they all do well. I ran 3100 start to finish but just vegged with the 4200. I believe more people have said 4200 full cycle but 3100 has slightly more uv

Either bulb will do the job start to finish.
 
Fangthane

Fangthane

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But i always say you get what you pay for for the most part.
For the sake of argument, let's say that Sunmaster Full Nova is a solid quality bulb from a reasonably reputable manufacturer. With that assumption in mind, Would a 3800K bulb be a good idea, as like a best-of-both-worlds alternative to having to keep 2 different CMH bulbs on hand?
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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For the sake of argument, let's say that Sunmaster Full Nova is a solid quality bulb from a reasonably reputable manufacturer. With that assumption in mind, Would a 3800K bulb be a good idea, as like a best-of-both-worlds alternative to having to keep 2 different CMH bulbs on hand?


Lets not get me to assume anything. Lol. And the university of utah picked the phillips 3100k the best full cycle bulb available.

I actually prefer it mixed with hps.

And the color temp of different bulbs can be different from brand to brand. Its not a standard. Pick bulbs based on wattage and actual spectrum.
 
Stonerbudz

Stonerbudz

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So I use both 4200k and 3100k the 3100k for start to finsh and the 4200k for veg but you can also use both of you only had 1 of them for the full grow but I notice like everyone more blue I’ve from 3100k
 
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