For anyone that says lec lights don't compare to hps

Still 2.5 weeks left using lec lights all while battling a lockout and heat problems they should be 15 percent bigger ... these lights are awesome and for anyone thinking about switching or using them don't think twice just do it so many advantages

Without the area and how many lights and the spacing posted there is nothing to compare with.

And of course the yield after harvest and drying time.

My Phillips 315 consistently gave 30% less yield than my Hortilux 600 HPS and way leafier and fluffier buds. And mostly larf down low where the hps gives fat dense nugs.

They are far better as a supplemental light to increase thc and terpenes. Even plant color comes out without cold temps because of the fuller spectrum.

I thought the buds might be more potent under the lec for a while in testing. But I am back to only hps as a control test and the hps buds are actually more potent according to everyone that tried them. They are not more colorful or more resinous though. Just more potent and bigger with a better leaf to bud ratio.

We are not allowed to work with dispensaries here anymore so I don't have lab tests from my comparisons last and this year.

I do prefer working under the natural light more.

MichiganMedGrower said:

Without the area and how many lights and the spacing posted there is nothing to compare with.

And of course the yield after harvest and drying time.

My Phillips 315 consistently gave 30% less yield than my Hortilux 600 HPS and way leafier and fluffier buds. And mostly larf down low where the hps gives fat dense nugs.

They are far better as a supplemental light to increase thc and terpenes. Even plant color comes out without cold temps because of the fuller spectrum.

I thought the buds might be more potent under the lec for a while in testing. But I am back to only hps as a control test and the hps buds are actually more potent according to everyone that tried them. They are not more colorful or more resinous though. Just more potent and bigger with a better leaf to bud ratio.

We are not allowed to work with dispensaries here anymore so I don't have lab tests from my comparisons last and this year.

I do prefer working under the natural light more.

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Why not I thought michigan was a legal state.

kaoss_11 said:

Why not I thought michigan was a legal state.

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Why not what? I don't understand? MI is a Medical only state.

kaoss_11 said:

Why not I thought michigan was a legal state.

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Here in Michigan, dispensaries may only be supplied (indirectly) by a licensed grower. That grower may not be a caregiver (but must have been a caregiver for two years). Caregivers may not sell overages or supply product to anyone other than their own patients. Basically, if you want to legally make money by growing weed, you have to drop your patients. There are a lot of good caregivers who refuse to do that to the people who rely on them. It's a fucked up system. It would have been so much simpler (and more beneficial) if the caregivers had been allowed to sell overages from the very beginning. But our legislators have shit for brains, so fucked we all are...

MichiganMedGrower said:

My Phillips 315 consistently gave 30% less yield than my Hortilux 600 HPS

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30% less yield for almost 50% less watts doesnt sound that awful

As he said it is not just yield. You could have a kilo worth of larf and it is unsellable.
Today this is less of a problem as you could still provide for the vape pen market, which is HUUUUUUGE these days

ANC said:

As he said it is not just yield. You could have a kilo worth of larf and it is unsellable.

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i hear ya but couldnt that also partially be a function of trying to cover the same space with half the watts?

optimal strategy due to canopy penetration may be slightly different so it may be hard to do side by side comparison.

yeah i guess one of those dual bulb 630s would be a better comparison to a single hps fixture for the light distribution reasons you mention

ANC said:

As he said it is not just yield. You could have a kilo worth of larf and it is unsellable.
Today this is less of a problem as you could still provide for the vape pen market, which is HUUUUUUGE these days

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forgive my ignorance on the subject (vape pens are not big here yet) but what is the difference In the market?

Have a look at this clip. Kevin is probably the largest clone producer in the states.
He does a good job at discussing the change in the market from high-grade flower to who-cares crops that get processed into vape oils and to a lesser extent edibles.

great link man

Humple said:

Here in Michigan, dispensaries may only be supplied (indirectly) by a licensed grower. That grower may not be a caregiver (but must have been a caregiver for two years). Caregivers may not sell overages or supply product to anyone other than their own patients. Basically, if you want to legally make money by growing weed, you have to drop your patients. There are a lot of good caregivers who refuse to do that to the people who rely on them. It's a fucked up system. It would have been so much simpler (and more beneficial) if the caregivers had been allowed to sell overages from the very beginning. But our legislators have shit for brains, so fucked we all are...

Click to expand...

I missed what he was asking and I agree with you.

And it is also so the corporations and their friends can make all the money off the sick.

ANC said:

Have a look at this clip. Kevin is probably the largest clone producer in the states.
He does a good job at discussing the change in the market from high-grade flower to who-cares crops that get processed into vape oils and to a lesser extent edibles.

Click to expand...

That's an excellent vid. TY

CobKits said:

30% less yield for almost 50% less watts doesnt sound that awful

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It's not but I would need equal watts in cmh to get my numbers.

I would also have to change my system ideally to a sea of green style for perpetual meds harvested but plant counts won't allow that so I would have to scrog or trellis and I don't harvest that much at once to stay in meds on hand allowance.

So I will get the benefits by supplementing with it. 2 hps and 1 cmh is perfect for flowering high quality and yield. Se hps by the way. It's a little 2-3 light spare bedroom conversion.

I don't need to worry about my electric bill like a larger grow. I even use the room to help heat my house. It offsets a whole tank of propane every winter.

But I would plan it differently for a lot of lights in a larger space for sure. I would have to consider led as a main source just for operating cost savings. I might still want some gas burning bulbs supplementing still.

the last 5 min of that vid is so money

pisses me off that all those genetics were lost to the drug war

I think some growers often overlook an important point: CMH may be more the efficient bulb with more PAR/watts, but its output is spread over a wider spectrum than HPS, which has most of its output concentrated in the yellow-red spectrum - right where the plant wants to flower.

It's why HPS has been the standard for so long - because in real-world flowering conditions, it's still hard to beat. Once you turn that HPS bulb vertical and start using its entire 360-degree output, it's even harder to beat.

I'm sure a double (630w) CMH vertical grow would beat a single 600w HPS, but there's no way a single 315w CMH is going to rival a 600w HPS when it comes to straight-up flowering. And I haven't even compared CMH to DE HPS when both are operating under a hood, either.

Then there's the start-up cost . . . Again, HPS is hard to beat for a small home grow when you're on a budget , because a ballast and bulb can be had cheap and you don't even need a reflector - just hang the bloody thing vertically from the ceiling and put all your plants around it.

If I sound like a bit of a HPS fan-boi, it's only because I've seen the real-world results. It ain't dead yet.

i dont think anybody is expecting to replace a 600 with a 325 and yield the same. i have seen people improve yields going from 1000w hps to (3) 315s. a lot of that is better light coverage and less light stress on the tops. same for cob arrays vs a singlebig light

i have seen several different people get a unit+ per 315. that sort of yield (1.3+ GPW) doesnt seem to be as common with HPS

There is one guy who built a combination led cmh light and he is real happy with them. He sells them commercially I think too. He is on YT. Will look for link