Grower's Choice 500 watt cmh?

Hello,
I'm new here and also new to cmh lighting. I'm setting up a new tent and will likely just go with a 315w cmh and a 3x3 tent, but this 500w cmh caught my eye. I can't seem to find anyone who actually uses it though. Does anyone have experience with this particular light, or the Grower's Choice brand? Are the bulbs of decent quality? HID bulbs freak me out generally, the idea of one exploding freaks me out. I'm thinking of trying out this fixture in a 4x4 foot tent. It hits sort of a sweet spot in power consumption for me between a 315 and a 630. My other concern is heat, but there are plenty of threads out there about that.
I really appreciate any insights you might have into this fixture or brand!

Ruru

Due to the fact the 500 watt size is uncommon, you might be very limited on bulb choices. If you want a CMH for a 4x4 tent I would recommend you look into a DE 630 CMH (not the dual bulb 630).

Renfro said:

Due to the fact the 500 watt size is uncommon, you might be very limited on bulb choices. If you want a CMH for a 4x4 tent I would recommend you look into a DE 630 CMH (not the dual bulb 630).

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Thank you for the suggestion. Just curious, why would you recommend the single DE bulb over two 315's? The only one I can find at the hydro sites I frequent is the Illuminar 630 de. Thanks for your help!

The cmh630de has better penetration than the dual bulb, but they are also hotter than a dual bulb. something to keep in mind if you are going to have heat issues. The DE also need to be mounted higher, which might be an issue if your using a tent or have a short ceiling.

I run a 630cmh dual bulb in a 4X4 tent and it works great, no complaints.

MB-Kush said:

I run a 630cmh dual bulb in a 4X4 tent and it works great, no complaints.

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I'm definitely leaning towards a 630 cmh. I'm really looking at reliability/quality over price for these lights, as I intend to use them for a long time. Do you have any brand suggestions? I was considering the grower's choice fixture, but I like the philips bulbs, and the sun systems fixture turns out to be a similar price if I were to buy the philips bulbs separately for the grower's choice. So many decisions!

There's no problem running a cheaper fixture, just as long as you have the Phillips bulbs. I have the Oak 630CMH, its dimmable plus you can run 1 bulb too if you want.

MB-Kush said:

I run a 630cmh dual bulb in a 4X4 tent and it works great, no complaints.

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What is your temp range if you don’t mince me asking? And do you use a humidifier?

temps usually sit around 24-29C and RH between 30-60. have a 6 inch exhaust going outside of the tent and out the house and a 6 inch intake pushing in the bottom of the tent. I am considering going to a 5x5 tent to get better use of the light.