Alien x Triangle auto comparison by The Vault

green217

Well-Known Member
I am still debating whether or not to convert over to HID. I know that you can do a lot more with HIDs than you can with a Tron but I am really intimidated by the possible electric bill during flowering. The jury is still out on whether or not we will convert over. If we get decent results out of our Tron then we keep it, if this grow is unsatisfactory then I might have no choice but to covert over. A $500.00 electric bill is simply out of our budget range at present.
I run a 600w 24/7 and a 1000w 12/12 everyday. no more than 150 extra in power in the winter. It produces a lot of bud though. It is much cheaper to grow it than buying it. Just get a 600w. Get some photo seeds so you can save on power and run them 18/6 at veg and 12/12 in flower. It all depends on your location/elcetric rate though. But one 600 or even a 400 would be great for just you and your ole lady. You wouldn't even need to grow all the time, once you get some decent yields.
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
My trashcan with fluoro uses the same amount of wattage as my CMH. A watt is a watt.

How many watts are you using now?

Think about watts/sf, how much area can you cover with that wattage, and why will your return be. Most likely, you'll be getting HID if you think in these terms...
6 bulbs at 55 watts a piece is 330 watts plus a 23 watt bulb is 353 watts to cover a little more than one square foot.
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
Yeah, we probably wouldn't go 600; maybe 250 to veg and 400 to flower with a photo. You are right, it may not be as expensive as I think. But it would really suck if we opened our electric bill and had a really high bill. I know a guy that lives just outside of Austin that has a little shed in his backyard that he grows in. I think that he runs several 400 lights that have ballasts built into the lights and he claims that his "growing shed" only pulls an additional $20.00 per month. I find that pretty hard to believe but that is what he claims. Like I said we are still kicking this around. Just curious though, if we did covert over to HID, what ballast/bulb combination would you recommend? It would be nice to use just one bulb throughout the entire grow, from veg to flush, but I am not sure if something like that exists. Back in my day, just after the Earth cooled, if seemed like you had no choice but to switch out bulbs from MH to HPS. Today, I am sure that growing is a completely different ballgame. Thanks for your advice and sharing your knowledge.
 

green217

Well-Known Member
Yeah, we probably wouldn't go 600; maybe 250 to veg and 400 to flower with a photo. You are right, it may not be as expensive as I think. But it would really suck if we opened our electric bill and had a really high bill. I know a guy that lives just outside of Austin that has a little shed in his backyard that he grows in. I think that he runs several 400 lights that have ballasts built into the lights and he claims that his "growing shed" only pulls an additional $20.00 per month. I find that pretty hard to believe but that is what he claims. Like I said we are still kicking this around. Just curious though, if we did covert over to HID, what ballast/bulb combination would you recommend? It would be nice to use just one bulb throughout the entire grow, from veg to flush, but I am not sure if something like that exists. Back in my day, just after the Earth cooled, if seemed like you had no choice but to switch out bulbs from MH to HPS. Today, I am sure that growing is a completely different ballgame. Thanks for your advice and sharing your knowledge.
There r some newish bulbs calley cmh. They r supposed to kick ass, but they r more expensive than hid lighting. I started with an Ipower 1000w kit. Came with a cheap air cooled hood, hangers, ballist, and a timer a MH aND HPS bulb. I believe it was a little over $200. Some will say MH all the way others would say HPS. I would go with HPS.
I say get a cheap kit off amazon, or keep an eye on CL for a deal.
 

Lisa martinez

Well-Known Member
This is the plant that had its stem and half the branches on one side broken by a fallen light, its the smaller of the two plants, I just chopped the main cola down but will give the bottom buds a little more time. i cannot believe the wet weight !!! (I really did this) i know my trimming job sucks but i will get better.IMG_20160209_201619.jpg
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
There r some newish bulbs calley cmh. They r supposed to kick ass, but they r more expensive than hid lighting. I started with an Ipower 1000w kit. Came with a cheap air cooled hood, hangers, ballist, and a timer a MH aND HPS bulb. I believe it was a little over $200. Some will say MH all the way others would say HPS. I would go with HPS.
I say get a cheap kit off amazon, or keep an eye on CL for a deal.
I've had my eye on this for awhile:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400-watt-400w-HID-Dimmable-Ballast-Switchable-HPS-MH-Bulb-Silent-Ballast-/121094243525.

I have never heard of this ballast and I think that I may have run across some reviews that said that it wasn't the best but it does work. For the money, and on paper, it looks like it may be a pretty decent deal, but I really don't know. Like I said before, if it wasn't for the possibility of getting a astronomical electric bill I would take the plunge and invest in a good ballast and start growing that way. Once our inaugural Tron grow is finished I think that we can make a better decision.

Through internet research, I have concluded that Lumetek seems to be a industry favorite. Hydrofarm's Phantom comes up as one of the best ballasts out there. I had a shop guy/owner swear by Quantum because of price and reliability. Concerning Quantum, I have found them on Ebay frequently for around $60.00 shipped which I thought was an awesome deal. But again, just not ready to convert until I know what the Tron can do for us.
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
There r some newish bulbs calley cmh. They r supposed to kick ass, but they r more expensive than hid lighting. I started with an Ipower 1000w kit. Came with a cheap air cooled hood, hangers, ballist, and a timer a MH aND HPS bulb. I believe it was a little over $200. Some will say MH all the way others would say HPS. I would go with HPS.
I say get a cheap kit off amazon, or keep an eye on CL for a deal.
Yeah, I've read good things about ceramic metal halide bulbs too. I think the article said something like they are a cross between HID and fluorescent in that they have the power of HID but produce a great growing spectrum for plants. IPower seems to be all over Ebay for a very reasonable price. Cheech and Chong, as well as High Times, rated Apollo as the best bang for your buck in that they are cheap, come with all the stuff that you need and readily available so you can replace the kit if you had to for very little money; relatively.
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
This is the plant that had its stem and half the branches on one side broken by a fallen light, its the smaller of the two plants, I just chopped the main cola down but will give the bottom buds a little more time. i cannot believe the wet weight !!! (I really did this) i know my trimming job sucks but i will get better.View attachment 3605110
I'm confused. What's wrong with your trimming job? Looks fine to me. How else would you have done it?
 

GuyLeDuche

Well-Known Member
I'm happy with my 600w ipower kit, they can be had in 400w for about $125 ( that's my next purchase for veg tent ;) ). I do have to say CMH does look really good though, 1 bulb start to finish and 315w at the wall that will hang with 600w HPS from what I've heard.

It seems like the 400w HID would make a lot of sense for you, it's barely any more power than you use now and easily does a 2' x 2' footprint, so you would have a lot more production space.
 

steff44

Well-Known Member
This is the plant that had its stem and half the branches on one side broken by a fallen light, its the smaller of the two plants, I just chopped the main cola down but will give the bottom buds a little more time. i cannot believe the wet weight !!! (I really did this) i know my trimming job sucks but i will get better.View attachment 3605110
Hmm looking gooood!..Can't wait to try mine in a week or 2..Patience I a Virtue they say .I say it's a pain in the Ass! Lol
 

UniDragon

Well-Known Member
I didn't realize how popular Ipower is. I thought Lumatek was the standard; but it makes sense, Ipower is one of the cheapest too. Anybody have any experience with a Phantom?
 

twistedentities

Well-Known Member
mine are the cheapo sunlight econo ballasts. They've run non stop for almost 8 years. Once I can walk again, I'll be able to finish my new shed and fire up my new equipment. For the money, the econo systems more than paid for themselves.
 
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