Sun System Prices

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Saint John

Saint John

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Hello. Im new to the scene here and am preparing a grow. Ive decided to start with a cmh to begin with for a number of reasons but the main is it leaves a small footprint and weed is not yet legal where im at. Anyhow, looking at all the different lights i cant seem to justify paying nearly 500 dollars for something everyone else charges less than 200. Can someone enlighten me as to why sun systems costs so much more and is it worth it? Thanks!
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

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cant help ya,but will say get use to it,market is crazy and the rats are out of the barn since most states have legalized,beware of sales gimmicks friend
 
Saint John

Saint John

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Im sorry to hear things have become so jaded. I know it was once a very tight community. Well, lets pretend im just a humble joe with no control over the market. Have you used any 315 cmh lights that you like and would recommend? Or do i just bite the bullet and buy the premium brand? Thanks.
 
oldskol4evr

oldskol4evr

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quantum are the in thing right now,@Aqua Man be the cat to help you out in light dept,im cheap bastard and still use old skol stuff,you ever heard of HID lighting,there obselte im told,but i still use them and i just recently built me a 4 bulb t5ho to fill my 2x4x5 tent ,does a pretty good job.
but ya i can tell ya this much with sun works and as long as they been around ,your paying for a name,there really is no such thing as quality anymore,just dog eat dog,my next will be the quatum board if i live long enough to advance into a new journey about the time i get rich hahahahh.
every thing over priced for what they really are and again goes right back to legalization hahaah
 
Aqua Man

Aqua Man

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Not much has really changed mh,hps,CMH all still alive and strong. But LED is now coming into that mix. Cost is still up there. If I were to use any HID it would probably be CMH. I feel it's the best all around spectrum of them all. I'm no lighting expert but just my thoughts as I say I run LED. Bang for buck LED options are out there but still not comparing with upfront costs of HID. Running costs is a much different story.
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Growers house dot com has excellent deals on sun system stuff. I got a phillips cmh 3100k bulb, a dimmable galaxy low frequency ballast and a remote cmh reflector for $250. Last i saw the all in one units with the better dual material reflector and the phillips ballast they were $350 shipped.

I think sun system is higher quality than comparable hydro farm stuff for example. I own 2 blockbuster air cooled reflectors that are heavy, solid and even have a good professional finish that hasnt got scratched up with hundreds of bangs and bumps over the last 5 years.

And i retired the galaxy hid ballasts this year. Working fine never had a problem in 5 years for one and 6 for the other.
 
cemchris

cemchris

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If it's the LEC system from SS its because of the reflector. That and Hortilux are the only single 315's I know of that do vert bulb for an even spread on single bulb reflectors (sure there are others). Now how much of a difference does this make? Ehhh can't say since the only horizontal 315's I have are 630 dual bulbs. Have been running the hort's for a while tho and they are great as far as throw and even spread with 3 over a 4x8 for coverage.

As far as size comparison on them. SS on the left. Horti on the right.
IMG 20191205 125520
 
cemchris

cemchris

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Granted you don't have to go this route. You can pick up 315's for like 250ish-300 around the interwebs. Just get the Philips bulbs. I don't even run the Horti bulbs in my Horti fixtures since they are about 110 bucks each or more.
 
Saint John

Saint John

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If it's the LEC system from SS its because of the reflector. That and Hortilux are the only single 315's I know of that do vert bulb for an even spread on single bulb reflectors (sure there are others). Now how much of a difference does this make? Ehhh can't say since the only horizontal 315's I have are 630 dual bulbs. Have been running the hort's for a while tho and they are great as far as throw and even spread with 3 over a 4x8 for coverage.

As far as size comparison on them. SS on the left. Horti on the right.
View attachment 917652
Wow, the size difference is pretty substantial.
 
Saint John

Saint John

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The quality of the driver and reflective material in the Sun System is without a doubt the highest.
It won't produce twice as much as the unit half its price, though.
Talking with some sales reps i see where some of the money has gone. Plus seeing a real life side by side of the reflector makes an impression as well (thanks
cemchris). One more question before i feel like a pest. Is there anything being lost with a remote reflector and ballast vs the integrated versions that most cmh seem to be built as? One of the reps spoke of possible signal interference but didnt think it would be noticeable.
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Talking with some sales reps i see where some of the money has gone. Plus seeing a real life side by side of the reflector makes an impression as well (thanks
cemchris). One more question before i feel like a pest. Is there anything being lost with a remote reflector and ballast vs the integrated versions that most cmh seem to be built as? One of the reps spoke of possible signal interference but didnt think it would be noticeable.


With sun system the remote reflector is chinese built with 85% reflective hammered aluminum. The top of the line all in one has 2 different german 95% reflective surfaces specially engineered for the phillips bulb. And is made in Washington state.
 
Saint John

Saint John

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With sun system the remote reflector is chinese built with 85% reflective hammered aluminum. The top of the line all in one has 2 different german 95% reflective surfaces specially engineered for the phillips bulb. And is made in Washington state.
Damn, all of this just to spend more money lol. I should have kept my mouth shut and stayed happy in my ignorance. Thanks all for the info.
 
cemchris

cemchris

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If only using 1 light the LEC from SS is prob the best of the best. Like @Kraken.headz said tho it isnt going to double your yield so that is also something to take into consideration specially if there are other things like a qual PH meter ect you also still need to buy. Save the money and spend it on other things first that will help you vs ballin out on a fixture.
 
SkunkyDunk

SkunkyDunk

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I have to say my (2) Sun Systems Magnum XXXL6 reflectors have served me well for 12 years of steady Use! The only thing I have noticed is the inner reflecting panels are finnaly starring to loss there shine probably due to cleaning them between every grow.
But definitely still a solid as day 1.
 
cemchris

cemchris

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I have to say my (2) Sun Systems Magnum XXXL6 reflectors have served me well for 12 years of steady Use! The only thing I have noticed is the inner reflecting panels are finnaly starring to loss there shine probably due to cleaning them between every grow.
But definitely still a solid as day 1.

Same I have like 20 magnum xxxl's 8iners. They are workhorses for sure. Now getting a new frame for glass at this point...that's a diff story.
 
MIMedGrower

MIMedGrower

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Same I have like 20 magnum xxxl's 8iners. They are workhorses for sure. Now getting a new frame for glass at this point...that's a diff story.


I still see blockbuster glass frames out there but they are like $80 or $90. I would replace the reflector at that price.
 
cemchris

cemchris

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I still see blockbuster glass frames out there but they are like $80 or $90. I would replace the reflector at that price.

Yeah that's the problem. You can find them listed everywhere but none of them will actually ship. Why i haven't bothered with it too much. Just wait for them to pop up on craigslist for a good price with the glass and snag them.
 
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