Very good info, thank you for posting this. May I ask if the cdm bulbs are the same spectrum as the cmh's? You also say that the hortilux blue has the best all around spectrum in the game. You think the cdm can match this spectrum??
I ask because I was about to order 400 watt blues and came across this thread, read your post and did a little research (it's late) but couldn't find the spectrum of cDms.. Thanks for posting again, I was sad to see the 400w Phillips cmh bulb go, but this is a new solution if the cdm is as good as the cmh bulb.
The Old 400w Retro-White, the new 330w CDM allstart, are the same exact spectrm. the 315 elite MW "LEC" that sun system and nanolux are selling are similar spectrum but different. Nanolux and sun system are calling it CMH and "LEC" and pretending it is something "special" or proprietary. but the truth is, they are avoiding using the name CDM to keep us confused, since what they are really selling, is technically a CDM. The new CDM bulbs are not only the same spectrum as the old retro-white, they also have similar output using 70-85w less, which makes the Retro-white obsolete. People keep crying about the discontination of this product, and I was originally thinking the same thing, and almost orderd a bunch of old stock from some electrical supply store until I realized there was a reason they stopped making them. Not because they were bad, just obselete.
the nanolux doesnt even come with a bulb, it is a direct fit with philips CDM 315 that uses a different non mogul socket. They wouldnt want to use the standard Mogul version that is 15 watts more and therefore higher output, because then people would realize that they arent doing anything special, and they are charging like they are. Sun system is doing the same thing and calling it LEC with the same bulb.
If it were me, l would get the 330 EA Allstart, unless you are stuck on the spectrum of the 315. The 330 is more even spread, less peaks and valleys, but might have higher output in the areas of the spectrum we are after when using supplemental lights. It has mogul compatable socket, even though that is easy enough to overcome. Ebay sells an adapter to use the 315 in a mogul socket, but its an extra $15 and has your bulb hanging on a 2inch piece of nonsene, so why waste your money and time, when the 330 has higher output, and you have the option of 2 different bulb size/shapes, one small, one bigger. both are round in shape,but not so big your cooltube will get clogged, instead of a stick bulb, which is good if you are using a focal point reflector, but this bulb is a little short for that.. the rounded ones make a better spread in both vertical and horizontal operation, and are especially good for vertical hanging, although there are more important things to consider than bulb shape. The new ones are universal burn, meaning you can use them in any position, so you can see what works best without being stuck with one or the other like you were with the retro-white.
I want to be clear however, I never meant to make any claim about which Full spectrum bulb is the best, I am currently trying to figure that out myself. but certainly not the hortilux blue. it is long outdated, and way over priced, Like most Horticultural bulbs are, but hortilux have been taking that to the extreme, i mean $200 for a 1kw? but they were the only option on the market for a long time besides the CMH which nobody knew about, because they didnt sell them in grow stores and only recently have they started selling the overpriced ones to uneducated people with money. The spectrum on the hortilux blue 400 looks nicer than the 1kw basketball sized bulb, but the output is less than CDM despite the 70-95w less power it uses, and the hortilux cost as much as three of them, and CDM's are not cheap.
I hear Philips had to manufacture all CMH and CDM bulbs in factories in US, and possibly Germany/Japan. Chinese QC was not up to par for the Ceramic Arc tube containment, which can rupture in cheap non philips CMH bulbs. This containment used to be a solid metal wire, on the retro-white, giving it that super cool look, but now they have a better, extra tough glass layer that doesnt block the light spread. Sadly this means that 99% of our horti specific bulbs are made in China, if it was that big of a deal for Philips to have them made somewhere else.
Also just to note, the only horti bulb I know of that is even rated for 10k hrs is a Philips DE greenpower. If that tells you anything.
Philips makes great products, you can never go wrong with their quality and reliability, as long as you get genuine philips product. Always read the glass, and make sure you have the right product.
Personally, I am now looking to the higher output bulbs full spectrum bulbs, so I dont have to run 2, 3, or 4 more ballasts. The sunmaster full nova has the nicest looking spectral distribution(for supplemental lighting) I have seen, and comes in 4,6 and 1000 watts, and since it is a supplemental light, we are looking for more of the lower end of the spectrum, since our HPS has the other end covered. when using it as a supplemental light, you are giving more of your wattage to the wrong end of the spectrum(red) which is already saturated by HPS and doesnt need supplementing. This is assuming the sunmaster performs as advertised, and since I dont own a spetroradiometer, I will have no way of really knowing. It will really come down to how the thing performs, and thats all I can say about that.
I looked long and hard into the CDM, and I decided to try something else. I still think the CDM is a great product, but I think its size can be limiting.
They are supposed to be incredibly efficient at turning electricity into light without creating heat, and therefore wasting energy, and causing the need for more cooling, and thus more energy. for a closet, im sure it would be a hell of a lot better than a T5. They go for about $70-80 a peice, which is a fair price for a quality product that will outlast just about anything else out there, but its original cheap price adds up when your using many bulbs. But just imagine buying a bunch of sun system or nanolux setups. for $800 for a 2 bulb setup $400 for a single, only to find out you could have gotten the same thing for 1/10th the cost. I thought $80 for the bulb was expensive. So when you compare to that, they are really a bargain. even if you are using 15 of them to get proper coverage.
I would love to run double end full spectrum bulbs, but currently the only choice is solis-tek, and until people have used them, I dont want to sink all that money into them just yet, they are too new to have reliable data out there on them, and DE setups are expensive for my taste when we are still trying something new out. ill save my DE setups for HPS bulbs for now.
the number one reason people are not running or even trying CDM/CMH, (and talking shit about them instead) is that they wont work on their cheap chinese eballast, or their overly expensive name brand eballast that is in all likelihood very similar to the cheap one. Companies say their ballast's have more "stable" output, but unless its "stable" enough to run a double end bulb, then that is just talk as far as im concerned. Sunmaster is supposed to come out with DE sometime in 2016. so after my 5000hrs are up, assuming I like the results, then I can upgrade.
Also another thing worth mentioning. If you are into full spectrum setups, your genetics selection is just as important as your spectral distribution. You are creating an outdoor like environment, so you want to look for outdoor bred strains. This is only an issue because people have been growing under HPS only for so long, most strains have become accustomed to it, and when you throw them outside or use them in this type of setup they are unable to take advantage of it. People will think your crazy looking for outdoor strains in the middle of winter, but that is what you need to see the real gains. Keep in mind, these gains will mostly be realized in Quality. not neccesarily quantity, although that can be achieved too. there are just a lot of other factors. Genetics only being one of them, that quantify yeild. But hopefully this will give you something to start with anyways.
I wish you luck in your bulb selection. I would love to test every setup out there and compare notes and figure out which is the absolute most efficcient setup possible! but its enough $$ to just try a single setup, let alone 10 different ones. And there are new ones coming out all the time. We will just have to see.
