400watt hps/mh which do you perfer?

B

banknchips

Well-Known Member
Ok so i'm ready to buy my light. My first initial plan was to run t5's but then thought it would be better to run a HID light instead. Do to the fact that my grow room is kinda cold and use the light to heat the room instead of a another heater with the t5's. So here are 2 of the lights im looking at

1. http://cgi.ebay.com/DIGITAL-400-wat...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d262c2be5.

This one seems to have better bulbs in the right spectrum. I'm not an expert on this but I would think this reflector would be superior over the the rectangle.

2. http://cgi.ebay.com/400-watt-Lumate...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item53dd9b246c

This one is cheaper with free s/h. Has a better warranty but the mh light there selling with unit is of the 4100k spectrum. Is'nt that alittle warm for vegatative growth.

Any thoughts on either of these lights would be greatly apprceiated.
 
I think if you have space that needs heat anyway and are willing to spend that much on a light you should skip anything 400 and go straight to a 600 or 1000. It's the same price basically for way over twice the light.
 
I prefer HPS over MH for both vegging and flowering, as it's my opinion (I'm sure some will agree and some will disagree) that the additional lumens inherent in an HPS outweigh any perceived "stretching" caused by the light spectrum that they put out.

Just my $.02.
 
Actually my grow room is'nt that big it's only 6'x6' which I plan on sectioning into a 3'x3'. I only plan on vegging in this room and then moving them outside to flower then use the room to dry buds. I would go with a bigger light but I'm going to be using a generator to power the grow room to keep the elec bill down.The generator is 1400 rated watts and 2000 surge and runs 9 hours at half load. I'm actually going to be modifing this generator with a bigger full tank to get longer run times. So about 600 watts is the biggest light because of fans and other grow room equipment.
 
banknchips said:
Actually my grow room is'nt that big it's only 6'x6' which I plan on sectioning into a 3'x3'. I only plan on vegging in this room and then moving them outside to flower then use the room to dry buds. I would go with a bigger light but I'm going to be using a generator to power the grow room to keep the elec bill down.The generator is 1400 rated watts and 2000 surge and runs 9 hours at half load. I'm actually going to be modifing this generator with a bigger full tank to get longer run times. So about 600 watts is the biggest light because of fans and other grow room equipment.
Click to expand...

Is a generator really more cost effective to run?

I honestly don't know, but that doesn't sound right.

If you're worried about the electric bill "spike", 600 watts running 24/0 isn't gonna do a whole helluva lot to your bill.
 
Yeah, it would cost about half about $2.40 based on $0.10 per kwh a day using house power. And about $5.00 a day to run the generator. But if it was to save headaches about the wife screaming about power bill it just might be worth it. I will look into this further as I do more research on exact kwh prices. these numbers are based on 1 kwh. Running 1000watts per hour.
 
My electric is a little cheaper than yours but it costs me less than $25 a month per 1k hps 12/12, at your rates a 600 would be about the same $25 a month 12/12.

You can grow around 4z's easy enough with a 400, you can grow a pound with a 600 if you really rock it, you can do a pound without trying very hard on a 1kw or two pounds if you rock it vertical...

So whatever you like, pick what fits. When you think about the difference of maybe even $20 a month more or less in electric for those weight differences it might change your mind, if you can imagine having that kind of weight around or even know how to go through a pound at a time or not.

There are switchable and dimmable electronic ballasts now that do both hps and halide and dim down to 400 or less and up to 1kw probably in the price range you're already expecting.
 
Yeah i got to looking at 600watt lights. Average 400watt 36,000 lumens with metal halide installed. 600 watt average 70,000 lumens. thats almost twice the light output for the additional 200 watts. I'm definitly going with the 600 watt light now all I have to do is decide which type of reflector. I really like the umbrella style but there so much more expencsive over the four side reflector. I'm really woundering if the light disporsal is that much diffrent?
 
You need to choose the right reflector for the size and style of grow you intent to do. Parabolic (umbrella shaped) are among the best as long as it fits the area/grow style. Parabolic's can be used in almost all types of grows *but not all* so decide will you grow some type of vertical setup or sog or what?

Also because parabolics aren't sealed and vented you need to be sure you can handle the heat by venting the room or using a/c or something instead of venting the hood outside directly.
 
Well i only plan on vegging in this room it's 6'x6'x6' insulated and covered in mylar. The plants will be in this room for only about 2 months. Start them in the end of march and then harden them off in the last 2 weeks on may then i plan on transplanting plants outdoor to finish on june 1st. I have modified my dryer vent to vent the air outside, it kinda looks like a dual exhaust set-up on a car the straight pipe style not the Y pipe style. I live in the middle of no where nearest neighbor is about 1 mile down the road and my house sets back in. So hear is the light I actually ended up getting http://cgi.ebay.com/Digital-600-wat...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d26040d24. I abandon the 400watt system all together.
 
That's a nice one... It's not a real parabolic hood though, the hood part might not be so good but oh well too late now you can always replace a hood later.
 
Are the hammertoned reflectors not recommended? I always heard the polished reflectors created hot spots in garden. Do you think the light dispersal of this lamp will cover a 6'x6' area pretty well or do you think I should enclose it alittle?
 
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