Rocket Plasma, new(ish) plasma light

gcrumpets

Well-Known Member
thats a pepper plant in the tent next to your buds? i like it. good luck with the plasma i hope it does you well.

at this point in my constantly changing set up (i get bored real quick) i got the rocket set up in between 2 600's in a 4x8 tent. the planting schedule got real messed up and i havent harvested the entire tent at one time yet but i do 5 gallon smart pots, 18 in the whole tent and that has been putting out between 2-2.5oz per plant.

indeed the best use of this plasma that ive investigated so far ,i feel i could probably clear 3# with an even canopy and the plasma in the middle, typically running just 2 600s its difficult to get more than 2. especially in the warmer months.

since november ive also been using a plasma alone in a 3x3 tent with lettuce, herbs, spinach, a few other things too... now i dont carefully track the yields of these things but the growth rates and size of the foilage on the greens definately put the 400w MH we used to have in there to shame... the MH in a bat wing would bake out that little tent in the summer. but i definately would not run out to buy a 1000 dollar light for growing a salad. they need to make these things like $399, id definately pick up 4 or 5 more at that price and put them all over the house.

i also saw they recently posted this on their site:
http://www.rocketplasma.com/2014/03/how-does-the-rocket-plasma-compare/
 

DJFlower

Member
without having seen a lot of plasma components, that looks exactly like whats in my light, much more than the pics luxim has on their site... and that page reports 235w usage, which is what rocket plasma claims... nice observation.


anywho, just checkin back in and though id share some more data, from that past test grow i ended up with 211.2g (7.54oz) from plasma side and 331.6g(11.84oz) from the hps side... plus about 75g of some fluffy nonsense that went right into the extraction tubes, shouldve been a little more pro active with the pruning scissors after the stretch, but not too bad of a yield for 830watts of light
Congrats on testing the 235 watt Rocket Plasma. To confirm you were able to produce 211.2 g from a 235 Rocket Plasma or around .9g/w? Did you ever test the Rocket Plasma in a 4 by 4 area with taller clones? This is quite good. I have the radiant flux (W/nm) of the 3,000 Kelvin bulb from Rocket Plasma.
I'm new on here and is there a way to talk privately?
 

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Congrats on testing the 235 watt Rocket Plasma. To confirm you were able to produce 211.2 g from a 235 Rocket Plasma or around .9g/w? Did you ever test the Rocket Plasma in a 4 by 4 area with taller clones? This is quite good. I have the radiant flux (W/nm) of the 3,000 Kelvin bulb from Rocket Plasma.
I'm new on here and is there a way to talk privately?
Before jumping into this , I would like for you to understand that they are NOT using a luxim module on the rocket plasma. It is only a 5000hr life on their light engine, meaning it needs to be changed at every new run for optimum performance IMO. Think it cost around $90 for the replacement(?), and skews all their ROI data that doesn't include this on their website.

good luck
 

DJFlower

Member
Before jumping into this , I would like for you to understand that they are NOT using a luxim module on the rocket plasma. It is only a 5000hr life on their light engine, meaning it needs to be changed at every new run for optimum performance IMO. Think it cost around $90 for the replacement(?), and skews all their ROI data that doesn't include this on their website.

good luck
Hi PSUAGRO,
Thanks for replying. Yes, they are using Topanga technology, which broke off from Luxim. When you say "light engine" I assume you mean the bulb and it's shaft that inserts into the emitter. The emitter and power supply last much longer. However, the spectrum of their 3,000 Kelvin looks great compared to Luxim's higher Kelvin bulbs. Also Luxim can't change bulbs.
After reviewing the radiant flux of the 3,000 Kelvin bulb, I am amazed that gcrumpets obtained around 90% of an HPS yield per watt.
I know what Luxim's yields are. I've also grown using the LG 700 watt plasma in the 2000's and I can attest to the health of the plants. A lot depends on the chemicals used. I got 32.1% more yield per HPS watt using a 4,500 K LG bulb at 700 watts.
Luxim's yield compared to HPS differs so much from Rocket Plasma's 3,000 Kelvin bulb, according to gcrumpets that I'm wonderg if it's not only the lower Kelvin bulb, but Topanga has an overall higher efficiency then Luxim concerning their power supply, frequency used, and optical efficiency.
Has anyone else done tests on Rocket Plasma or Luxim plasmas to your knowledge?
Read this study:
SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF MICROWAVE-POWERED SULFUR LAMPS IN COMPARISON TO SUNLIGHT AND HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM/METAL HALIDE LAMPS

Thanks for any assistance.
 

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
Hi PSUAGRO,
Thanks for replying. Yes, they are using Topanga technology, which broke off from Luxim. When you say "light engine" I assume you mean the bulb and it's shaft that inserts into the emitter. The emitter and power supply last much longer. However, the spectrum of their 3,000 Kelvin looks great compared to Luxim's higher Kelvin bulbs. Also Luxim can't change bulbs.
After reviewing the radiant flux of the 3,000 Kelvin bulb, I am amazed that gcrumpets obtained around 90% of an HPS yield per watt.
I know what Luxim's yields are. I've also grown using the LG 700 watt plasma in the 2000's and I can attest to the health of the plants. A lot depends on the chemicals used. I got 32.1% more yield per HPS watt using a 4,500 K LG bulb at 700 watts.
Luxim's yield compared to HPS differs so much from Rocket Plasma's 3,000 Kelvin bulb, according to gcrumpets that I'm wonderg if it's not only the lower Kelvin bulb, but Topanga has an overall higher efficiency then Luxim concerning their power supply, frequency used, and optical efficiency.
Has anyone else done tests on Rocket Plasma or Luxim plasmas to your knowledge?
Read this study:
SPECTRAL PROPERTIES OF MICROWAVE-POWERED SULFUR LAMPS IN COMPARISON TO SUNLIGHT AND HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM/METAL HALIDE LAMPS

Thanks for any assistance.

Thanks for the clarification! never used plasma personally, so my info is basic. Didn't know that topanga tech needs only the bulb replaced rather than the entire module. Do you have any idea what the replacement bulb cost is on the rocket fixture?

Yes luxim will never replace HPS as it stands now, hence gavita's recommendation for hid supplementation during flower.

Your study is about sulfur not MH plasma which I agree is looking very promising. But the prices are out of most growers budgets except for Coca:P
 

DJFlower

Member
Thanks for the clarification! never used plasma personally, so my info is basic. Didn't know that topanga tech needs only the bulb replaced rather than the entire module. Do you have any idea what the replacement bulb cost is on the rocket fixture?

Yes luxim will never replace HPS as it stands now, hence gavita's recommendation for hid supplementation during flower.

Your study is about sulfur not MH plasma which I agree is looking very promising. But the prices are out of most growers budgets except for Coca:P
----
The bulb is cheap to make. It's simply a metal shaft with a quartz bulb positioned vertically. I think it's about $100, but in the near future or with negotiation should be around $50-$70. The 3,000 K bulb is the only one that has high depreciation. The higher Kelvin bulbs don't use halides (AlCl3) that are volatile to the wall of the quartz bulb, but these halides increase red output significantly.

The power supply/inverter feeds into the emitter, which converts electrical/watts to a certain frequency (400 MHz). Then that radio frequency bombards the bulb and ionizes the halides, bromides, etc and produces light.

Yes, sorry not to mention that the LG was sulfur based. Sulfur can reach 70% emission rate, but practically 60%+, which is much better then metal halide at around 50% emission rate. Also, LG used a microwave magnetron, which probably has a higher efficiency at around 75% as opposed to 400 MHz.

In short, plasma lighting should continue to improve in efficiency and come down in price like LED will.

However, I'm really in awe that gcrumpets achieved 90% yield per watt compared to HPS at this point.
He said he was going to do another test with larger plants in a 4 by 4. Trying to find if he did.
 

PSUAGRO.

Well-Known Member
what spectrum are you running with the rocket??..............did your 400w mh cover just ONE plant too??

be safe grower
 

DJFlower

Member
Good work Deusracing.
I'm hoping testers use the same veg light then use HPS and plasma in flower over similar plants. This might explain gcrumpets .9g/w plasma to HPS result as plasma would dominate in veg.
More info describing the setup would really help.
I'm not denying the result, I just can't understand it based off my knowledge of the PAR watts and umol m2 s-1 given to me.

Keep on testing friends.
 

Deusracing

Well-Known Member
This set up so far I just moved into an 18 gallon reservoir with the recirculating pump to 4 inch air stones this is a 2 x 2.5 tent maximum height 5 feet I use a 64 reducer off my home my air-conditioner that runs into the tent with a passive exhaust. As for the spectrum I use I use the par bulb in the rocket Plasma this thing is an amazing light uses from seed to
flower all the way up
 

Deusracing

Well-Known Member
Really need pics for this journal. Not saying i dont trust the thread starter, but pics would make those numbers alot more real.
My plasma light was DIY, luxim is the supplier of plasma products, so really dont see a comparison between any of these companies, other then name and how the unit is assembled.
Btw, cost about 700 or less to assemble a plasma light.

Hope this thread gets updated with pics !
Plasma love yall!


Yoda veggin under plasma
 

Deusracing

Well-Known Member
So basically red rocket is using this plasma lamp that has a 3000-5000hr life!!!! what's the point of this tech then?? it's WORSE than most HID bulbs even fucking worse than a metal halide. Have to replace after each run.......that's crazy.

At least luxim plasma modules have a 30,000hr life..........

CMH blows this fixture out of the water with longevity/lumen deprectiation/cost/spectrum/etc. ........this plasma is a step-backwards IMO.
Well most i know that run hortilux change out every cycle to maintain constant yield. SO tell me whats the difference.. And second the 2 year warranty.. well its a USA company they will take care of you I know that for a fact. And the turn around time is fast. At least if something fucks up i send it straight to them on a personal level not to a flipping supplier who your a number too.. SO I'm taking my chances on a good ol US company
 
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