250w Ceramic Metal Halide

Hey guys,
I've been looking all over trying to find a 250w ceramic metal halide bulb. Anyway, I have a 250w HPS ballast and fixture but the bulb is pretty burned out(just picked it up off craigslist for my veg room ) and I read that these CMH bulbs are the new shit. Where can I buy one online and do I need a special ballast or will any non digital HPS work?
Also, has anyone tried or know anything about the Hortilux BLUE MH bulbs? Are they as great as they claim or just a gimmick? I noticed the 1kw bulb is $220 MSRP...

Phlips MasterColor Ceramic Metal Halide ~ CMH ~ HPS-Retro White is the only place I've seen them. There's a guy who owns (or works for or is someway connected to) that site who seems to push them pretty hard on another board. I've followed CMH bulbs as much as I can stand. My opinion--based solely on what I've read about grows that are using them--is that they're fine bulbs but an HPS might pack on more weight during the last weeks of flowering than CMH. Dunno if that's a fair assessment or not. You'll have to draw your own conclusions. It could just be that HPS's kick out more light than CHM's (which they do, as measured in lumens) and even though CHM's have a superior spectrum it just can't make up for the raw power of an HPS. <---Just speculation on my part.

AFAIK, any non-digital HPS ballast will run them. I've "heard" that some (all?) switchable ballasts may not run them. But I also specifically remember hearing one fella write that his 250w CMH works fine in his switchable. Again, you'll have to research that to be sure. Probably easier (and maybe better) to just buy one and see for yourself.

I'm intrigued by CMH bulbs and I hope they truly are superior. Personally, I'm waiting until the general growing community has more experience with them before I change my next ballast purchase decision to accommodate a CMH. For now, I'm sticking with my digital 250w with HPS and MH bulbs. When the time comes to upgrade to a 400w I hope to feel more confident about purchasing a magnetic ballast just so I can use a CMH. At the moment I'm not ready to make that leap. If I already had a magnetic and needed a new bulb, I'd probably try a CMH.

$0.02

Hawk said:

Phlips MasterColor Ceramic Metal Halide ~ CMH ~ HPS-Retro White is the only place I've seen them. There's a guy who owns (or works for or is someway connected to) that site who seems to push them pretty hard on another board. I've followed CMH bulbs as much as I can stand. My opinion--based solely on what I've read about grows that are using them--is that they're fine bulbs but an HPS might pack on more weight during the last weeks of flowering than CMH. Dunno if that's a fair assessment or not. You'll have to draw your own conclusions. It could just be that HPS's kick out more light than CHM's (which they do, as measured in lumens) and even though CHM's have a superior spectrum it just can't make up for the raw power of an HPS. <---Just speculation on my part.

AFAIK, any non-digital HPS ballast will run them. I've "heard" that some (all?) switchable ballasts may not run them. But I also specifically remember hearing one fella write that his 250w CMH works fine in his switchable. Again, you'll have to research that to be sure. Probably easier (and maybe better) to just buy one and see for yourself.

I'm intrigued by CMH bulbs and I hope they truly are superior. Personally, I'm waiting until the general growing community has more experience with them before I change my next ballast purchase decision to accommodate a CMH. For now, I'm sticking with my digital 250w with HPS and MH bulbs. When the time comes to upgrade to a 400w I hope to feel more confident about purchasing a magnetic ballast just so I can use a CMH. At the moment I'm not ready to make that leap. If I already had a magnetic and needed a new bulb, I'd probably try a CMH.

$0.02

Click to expand...

Quoted because this is exactly how felt after reading everything I could about CMH

How about those EYE Hortilux Blue MH bulbs? Anyone use 'em or have any opinion on them? They show a plant action looking graph that shows some incredible spectrum but I fear it may be some clever marketing trick...