Ceramic Metal Halide growers?

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BubbaG

BubbaG

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Hi all,

Does anyone here use CMH? I veg and flower under these new Elite Agro bulbs, in but they're only 315w (so I have 3 in the tent :-)) and being they are in open hoods (ETL rated btw out of WA state), they produce more heat than I would like, but the spectrum rules. Looks and feels just like straight up sunlight. I'm wondering though how the 860w CMH bulb that Phillips is putting out works. Those bulbs aren't rated for open use, but even in a closed hood, they are very powerful looking..... and they're really stinking cheap hence my interest. Doesn't make much sense to use these 315w lights in a full scale garden.... too much in bulb replacement and they only cover a 3'x3' area, but a sweet spectrum.

I used to grow under LEDs and offer respect to the LED growers on the forum. LEDs grew great weed for me, but that funky purple light always had me searching for my leisure suit, rayon shirt and platform shoes. J/k, but I do enjoy relaxing in my garden, under the lights, and the CMH make that more enjoyable IMO.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
Bubba G
 
doublevision

doublevision

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totally here u on the color of those leds light. a buddy of mine uses them. whenever i visit his garden it always shocks me. really not a relaxing color at all!!
sorry i cant help u with your q tho.
 
Coir

Coir

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I just finished testing one of the new sunsystem LEC fixtures in a 5x5 tent. It is by far the best light I have used in VEG and did great in flower except for a couple of things. First, my tent is not quite tall enough for the fixture so I couldn't get the light quite as high as I needed which reduced coverage some so I needed to throw another one in to get the 5x5 area fully covered. Second, while the light will get you through from start to finish with amazing results, I do see a bit more leaf with them vs HPS.
I will admit that it's the closest to natural sunlight I have ever worked under and it's really hard to work under HPS after using the LEC.
I have a couple of the 860W but need to run them through more testing. My first impressions are that the light looks pretty similar but they have to be run vertically and the hood options are limited and quite tall. If you have plenty of ceiling height, they should work quite well. This is the hood I would like to try with them and see what kind of coverage it gives a 5x5 area:
 
BubbaG

BubbaG

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Thanks Coir, I appreciate the comments. I saw a test run with a single LEC in a 4x4 tent. Looked like a good run..... that was Rives over on icmag.

How did the 5x5 experiment turn out? My experience is adding more LECs don't necessarily increase yield, though I think there is some gain there, but trichome production does seem to benefit from the added light..... plus I feel like I'm on the beach under 3 of them :)

And yeah that hood is kickass bro, I'll pick up one to play with
 
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Coir

Coir

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Thanks Coir, I appreciate the comments. I saw a test run with a single LEC in a 4x4 tent. Looked like a good run..... that was Rives over on icmag.

How did the 5x5 experiment turn out? My experience is adding more LECs don't necessarily increase yield, though I think there is some gain there, but trichome production does seem to benefit from the added light..... plus I feel like I'm on the beach under 3 of them :)

And yeah that hood is kickass bro, I'll pick up one to play with


I had to add a second light as I could not get the fixture any higher and there was too much shadowing to get full coverage of the tent. It was packed wall to wall. The Philips bulb and the hood design are both awesome though and definitely equal if not surpass a 600w light for half the electricity. My latest run is CMH(LEC) in a triplestar reflector for veg and then switch the bulb to a 600hps for bloom in that same 5x5 tent. The triplestar reflectors rock when you have limited ceiling height!
 
BubbaG

BubbaG

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Off topic but it just takes a few white LEDs in a fixture to make things look OK to my eyes.
I bet that would work bro, but there's something about these bulbs and the way they feel on your skin even from 5-6' away

I'm trying the Phillips 860w CDM in a OG vertical, air cooled reflector, should have it in a few days, just ordered on amazon. Can anyone offer suggestions as to a ballast. Magnetic I think.... I figured I'd hit the used grow shop for that, but interested in what you all thought.
 
Coir

Coir

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I bet that would work bro, but there's something about these bulbs and the way they feel on your skin even from 5-6' away

I'm trying the Phillips 860w CDM in a OG vertical, air cooled reflector, should have it in a few days, just ordered on amazon. Can anyone offer suggestions as to a ballast. Magnetic I think.... I figured I'd hit the used grow shop for that, but interested in what you all thought.
Awesome. I can't wait to see how it works in that hood. Post some pictures please!
They fire off of a 1000W magnetic MH ballast which are dirt cheap these days.
 
seaslug

seaslug

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I think I know what you mean, BubbaG. I added 216W of T5HO to my 1300W (actual) LED grow because I became tired of opening the door and seeing a dim grow room with a black rubber floor liner.

I almost bought one of those 860's from Platt, IIRC.
 
BubbaG

BubbaG

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Right on Bob. That's gotta be sweet. I don't think I can afford to go with all 315w CMHs so I'm thinking to run the 860w CMHs primarily (if it's what I hope and what I've read) with 315w CMH elite Agros in support. Not sure of the mix quite yet. But here's the bulb (bought 2... why buy one when you can buy 2 at twice the price right?) and the reflector..... which looks just badass to me. And the spectrum don't look to shabby either.... Not on par with the a Elite Agro, but not bad IMO

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Phillips Elite Agro 315w CMH
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B

basement bob

120
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My 1st run using the lights from clone to chop ended in May. I was very impressed with the results. I am by no means a great grower, I only try to get better every time.

That run was 12 plants, 20 gal smart pots, 5 X 15 ft screen and 10 of the Elite agro in irradiator hoods. I yielded 8, so..... You can do the math.

This round I have 12 lights over 15 plants, same size screen and I'm hoping for 10.

The quality is great too.

I'll get a thread together some day with pics when I get my computer friend over to help. I'm really unfamiliar with the whole interweb thing.
 
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BubbaG

BubbaG

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My 1st run using the lights from clone to chop ended in May. I was very impressed with the results. I am by no means a great grower, I only try to get better every time.

That run was 12 plants, 20 gal smart pots, 5 X 15 ft screen and 10 of the Elite agro in irradiator hoods. I yielded 8, so..... You can do the math.

This round I have 12 lights over 15 plants, same size screen and I'm hoping for 10.

The quality is great too.

I'll get a thread together some day with pics when I get my computer friend over to help. I'm really unfamiliar with the whole interweb thing.

Yes, I can do the math :-) impressive, but exactly what I was hoping to get out of these lights (my best so far is .7g/w but I'm in a tent and have not done a g/w run with all heavy yielders yet).... You are covering roughly a 2'-10" x 2'-10" area with each light which is getting you to about 42w/sqft, 1.13 g/w - very nice run Bob..... so what is your cost per light going with the or irradiator hoods?

The 860w CMH bulbs I have coming will only run vertical. The hood got here today and is just badass IMO. The bulbs don't get here until Monday. I plan to pick up a $100 magnetic ballast to fire it. So all in, I am putting this light together for roughly $450 for 860 watts whereas the elite Agro fixtures weigh in at $500 per light and are only 315 watts.

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