CMH, QB, or keep my HPS.

Hello,

My space is approximately 3'x7'x6' (actual: 3'3"x7'4"x6'). I'm currently running 2 600w single-ended HPS and they are about due for a bulb change ($200). I veg in the same space with a 400w MH.

I'm considering swapping to 3 315w CMH or 3-4 240w Kingbrite LED's.

I already have 3 hoods, so 3 CMH ballasts, bulbs, and socket adapters would be about $600. I would save about $300/yr going from 1200w to 945w.

3-4 Kingbrites would cost anywhere from $550-800 and would save me $300-600/yr on electricity, not including a reduction in cooling costs or not needing bulb replacements.

In reality, I'm more concerned with quality and yield than the overall cost, but saving money would be nice if quality & yield is not negatively impacted. What would you do in my situation? Keep the HPS, go CMH, or LED?

Thanks

What climate are you in; is/would the heat of HID be a benefit?

I've used all 3 lights. Went from HPS to CMH to LED. CMH and LED with both give you better quality product than HPS. LED is overall a better light than CMH but the product will be a little lighter on the frost/resin.

After a few runs with the LED, I won't be going back to either of the others.

Kingbrite lights are decent. Make sure you the one you get has the latest LM301H diodes.

3 cmh will kill it in that area. What kind of hoods are they though, I've never ran the cmh air cooled? I use cmh for veg only right now but I flowered under em for a long time. I love them for a 3x3 area so you should do really well in that space with 3.

Just curious how are your yields from the hps? I averaged about 10-12 ounces off my 315s in 3x3 tents. The Phillips bulbs are superior in my opinion to anything else I've tried.

Just stick with what youve got until LED technology gets a bit better. Ill be running HPS for another few years at least.

I switched from a 600 to 9x48w 4' strips.No more heat spots, better coverage, less watts and about a 15%increase in yeild.Only thing is its cold in the dead of winter.This is in a 5x5 room which I use about 85% of

JoeBlow5823 said:

Just stick with what youve got until LED technology gets a bit better. Ill be running HPS for another few years at least.

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LED technology is already better. You're not up to speed on the latest tech. It's here now.

The quantum boards are good but running multiple bars with give you better efficiency. Like the kingbrite quantum bars or the spyder/gavita 1700e clones.

2com said:

What climate are you in; is/would the heat of HID be a benefit?

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I'm in SoCal and will be running lights on during nighttime due to lower temps and lower electricity rates. Outside nighttime temps average between 55-70F. I have an A/C that is mainly used for the lights-off period during the day when temps get into the 90's outside. I plan to supplement CO2 in the future but for now everything is primarily air-cooled.

I'm not too concerned about temps, other than maybe it not being warm enough with the LED's as I don't want to use a heater. I think if I dial back my fans on colder nights it could keep temps up with the LED's.

mikeyboy2121 said:

I've used all 3 lights. Went from HPS to CMH to LED. CMH and LED with both give you better quality product than HPS. LED is overall a better light than CMH but the product will be a little lighter on the frost/resin.

After a few runs with the LED, I won't be going back to either of the others.

Kingbrite lights are decent. Make sure you the one you get has the latest LM301H diodes.

Click to expand...

Would you recommend going with the added Epistar or Cree 660nm or UV/IR? From my research people seem to recommend staying away from the Epistar and that the Cree's aren't worth the price premium. I can always supplement some red LED's or toss up a vert HPS between my trays.

Apalchen said:

3 cmh will kill it in that area. What kind of hoods are they though, I've never ran the cmh air cooled? I use cmh for veg only right now but I flowered under em for a long time. I love them for a 3x3 area so you should do really well in that space with 3.

Just curious how are your yields from the hps? I averaged about 10-12 ounces off my 315s in 3x3 tents. The Phillips bulbs are superior in my opinion to anything else I've tried.

Click to expand...

I run Hortilux bulbs in 6" blockbuster hoods, I also have an irradiator I would use as the 3rd hood if I went with the CMH's, and would also remove the glass and run open hoods. I never tracked overall yield as this is my small pheno hunt room so it always had mixed strains/phenos and wasn't concerned with overall yield.

NukaKola said:

Hello,

My space is approximately 3'x7'x6' (actual: 3'3"x7'4"x6'). I'm currently running 2 600w single-ended HPS and they are about due for a bulb change ($200). I veg in the same space with a 400w MH.

I'm considering swapping to 3 315w CMH or 3-4 240w Kingbrite LED's.

I already have 3 hoods, so 3 CMH ballasts, bulbs, and socket adapters would be about $600. I would save about $300/yr going from 1200w to 945w.

3-4 Kingbrites would cost anywhere from $550-800 and would save me $300-600/yr on electricity, not including a reduction in cooling costs or not needing bulb replacements.

In reality, I'm more concerned with quality and yield than the overall cost, but saving money would be nice if quality & yield is not negatively impacted. What would you do in my situation? Keep the HPS, go CMH, or LED?

Thanks

Click to expand...

Whatever grew the bud in your avatar I suggest you grow with. No one has better then that. Top shelf all the way. Why haven't you converted your bedroom yet?

mikeyboy2121 said:

LED technology is already better. You're not up to speed on the latest tech. It's here now.

The quantum boards are good but running multiple bars with give you better efficiency. Like the kingbrite quantum bars or the spyder/gavita 1700e clones.

Click to expand...

I will ask a similar question as I did to another member above. What is your take on the Epistar or Cree 660nm's and UV/IR?

Sorry guys, I’m still +1 for hps for now.

a mongo frog said:

Whatever grew the bud in your avatar I suggest you grow with. No one has better then that. Top shelf all the way. Why haven't you converted your bedroom yet?

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I appreciate the kind words. That was grown under my 600w HPS in 1 gallon of Coco. Here are a few others.

mikeyboy2121 said:

LED technology is already better. You're not up to speed on the latest tech. It's here now.

The quantum boards are good but running multiple bars with give you better efficiency. Like the kingbrite quantum bars or the spyder/gavita 1700e clones.

Click to expand...

The price point is still way to high for me. The Gavita 1700 should be no more than 500$ shipped.

Well I'll agree with you there. The tech is here now but the price is outrageous. I have a Gavita 1700 clone I ordered from China for $650 shipped. Build quality is surprisingly good.

NukaKola said:

I will ask a similar question as I did to another member above. What is your take on the Epistar or Cree 660nm's and UV/IR?

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My light has the Epistar 660's. I'm sure the Cree are better but I'm very happy with the ones I have.

I also don't have the UV diodes, which is probably why the resin/frost production is a little less than I was getting with CMH.

Overall though the plants are much happier with noticeably sturdier branching. I used to have to use bamboo stakes to support branches, but now I find I have to use them to help spread the branches apart because they're so strong.

mikeyboy2121 said:

My light has the Epistar 660's. I'm sure the Cree are better but I'm very happy with the ones I have.

I also don't have the UV diodes, which is probably why the resin/frost production is a little less than I was getting with CMH.

Overall though the plants are much happier with noticeably sturdier branching. I used to have to use bamboo stakes to support branches, but now I find I have to use them to help spread the branches apart because they're so strong.

Click to expand...

Maybe I should go for a mixture of Kingbrite 240w and 315w CMH? Possibly a 315w CMH directly over each tray and a double heatsink 240w QB in the middle?

NukaKola said:

Maybe I should go for a mixture of Kingbrite 240w and 315w CMH? Possibly a 315w CMH directly over each tray and a double heatsink 240w QB in the middle?

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I love the combo of LED and CMH.

If you had the cmh already I'd say why not. I can't recommend buying them over LED's though. I have about 3000 watts of cmh lights I'll probably never use again. You can just get an LED rig that has UV diodes, although even without them the resin production is still pretty damn good, and certainly better than HPS.

Meijiu 240w board kits are like 150 shipped. They'll even custom make them with 90cri lm301b diodes and ELG meanwell drivers if you want to use smart controllers with 0-10v protocol