315 cmh vs led

PJ Diaz said:

I've been running my LEDs along with a 400w old school mag ballast CMH lamp (Philips CDM Retro-White), but the newer 315w square wave lights are so much better, and I also really want th be able to dim my cmh when needed, so I pulled the trigger on a new 315 to supplement my LEDs with. Decided to get a new reflector too instead of the socket adapter for my E39 Mogul Base..

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DukeFluke said:

Or a 315CMH that yields as much as a similarly priced LED, depending on your definition of similar obviously. And did I mention DIY?... that means doing it yourself... electrical work that is... hmm... not sure if it's been mentioned anywhere..

ahh......I'll miss threads like this when the dinosaurs finally go extinct and the last of the wobbly little overpriced ceramic dildos go into storage

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PSUAGRO. said:

Retro white, blast from the past......I used 330w all starts(pulse/probe mag ballasts).

Nice pickup on the newer gear

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PJ Diaz said:

Well dang, less than one cycle in and my 315 is already giving me trouble. I noticed last week that the light suddenly turned off when I was working in the tent. The LEDs stayed on, so checked the cmh to see what was up. The ballast has an indicator light, which was giving 2 flashes, meaning bad bulb or short circuit, according to the manual. There is no short, so must be a bulb issue. The lamp did come back on 20 minutes later, so I thought it was maybe some weird power surge issue, since it happened when I was running my vacuum. But then it happened again a couple of days later, and seemingly more often. I spent good money on the Philips lamp, so I would get quality, but didn't seem to get what I paid for. Also I'm noticing that the glass jacket is a bit loose where it connects to the ceramic base. I'm contacting the vendor to see if they will replace. At least my LEDs are all good, but bummed that this is happening, especially in the final weeks of ripening.

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PJ Diaz said:

Well dang, less than one cycle in and my 315 is already giving me trouble. I noticed last week that the light suddenly turned off when I was working in the tent. The LEDs stayed on, so checked the cmh to see what was up. The ballast has an indicator light, which was giving 2 flashes, meaning bad bulb or short circuit, according to the manual. There is no short, so must be a bulb issue. The lamp did come back on 20 minutes later, so I thought it was maybe some weird power surge issue, since it happened when I was running my vacuum. But then it happened again a couple of days later, and seemingly more often. I spent good money on the Philips lamp, so I would get quality, but didn't seem to get what I paid for. Also I'm noticing that the glass jacket is a bit loose where it connects to the ceramic base. I'm contacting the vendor to see if they will replace. At least my LEDs are all good, but bummed that this is happening, especially in the final weeks of ripening.

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PJ Diaz said:

Well dang, less than one cycle in and my 315 is already giving me trouble. I noticed last week that the light suddenly turned off when I was working in the tent. The LEDs stayed on, so checked the cmh to see what was up. The ballast has an indicator light, which was giving 2 flashes, meaning bad bulb or short circuit, according to the manual. There is no short, so must be a bulb issue. The lamp did come back on 20 minutes later, so I thought it was maybe some weird power surge issue, since it happened when I was running my vacuum. But then it happened again a couple of days later, and seemingly more often. I spent good money on the Philips lamp, so I would get quality, but didn't seem to get what I paid for. Also I'm noticing that the glass jacket is a bit loose where it connects to the ceramic base. I'm contacting the vendor to see if they will replace. At least my LEDs are all good, but bummed that this is happening, especially in the final weeks of ripening.

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farmingfisherman said:

What brand of fixture are you running? Never had any problems with my SS Boss CMH other than buyers remorse at the cost.

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bk78 said:

Should’ve went with a Shenzhen 315

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MidnightSun72 said:

Lol my CMH exploded recently as wel. Like 3-4 at once. Gotta call Phillips. Cuz this bullshit didn't last half the hours it should.

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PJ Diaz said:

Yeah, I don't think it's the ballast. It's a Sun System 1 LEC 315 Watt Etelligent Compatible Digital Ballast. Got it on sale for $95. Like I mentioned, the glass jacket on the Philips lamp is a bit loose on the ceramic. I did notice that early on, and should have just returned it right away back then. I think there is some thermal issue going on in the lamp. Hopefully I can get Hydrobuilder to send me a new replacement lamp. Luckily I have enough wattage to crank up the LEDs to compensate. I was about to pull the CMH out of the grow after this cycle anyway, until it gets cold again in winter.

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MidnightSun72 said:

They all come with that shitty loose jacket. Rickety ducking bulbs. Honestly I was gonna replace them. But for the cost of 1 bulb I could by 10 strips with 270w at nominal current. Lol. So more Limens. That's the way I look at it now.

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PJ Diaz said:

I was wondering if they came that way often. This is the first 315 I've had, so kinda of a noob there, so decided to just rock it. I just got it for the extra IR heat during winter anyway, and it's heating up nicely now.

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nobighurry said:

My ballasts came with Phillips bulbs, one only lasted a short time, I replaced it with eye hortilux and realized the other Philips was dim compared to the eye hortilux so i replaced it as well, either I got used bulbs or somethings up with that batch of their bulbs, been wanting to do a comparison Phillips vs eye hortilux since the word on the street is Phillips is king, but for me & my hard earned $$ I have yet to be wowed

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Rurumo said:

idk, all I know is I end up having to replace my led bulbs that go into my incandescent lamp fixtures as often as regular light bulbs, and those were supposed to last for a decade, it says so on the box!!

Yep Leds from miejer die within 6 months just moved into a home like over a year ago already had replace all the new bulbs we put when moved in. The heat thing too is a problenm I need like 10amps of space heater to use for 10months of the year. With cmh or hps i need AC for maybe 3 months then just a blower on a thermostat mid Nth michigan out in a wooden cabin pretty much.

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