First indoor grow in 15+ years and need some lighting advice.

[TheTrailGuy]

So after over 15 years, I'm looking to get back into indoor growing. I grew outdoors the past 2 years and had issues with bud rot and rodents, so I'm looking for a controllable environment. I know there is an argument to be made for each type of lighting, but I have a particular issue I'm concerned about. I live in a rural area now and during winter we frequently have issues with the power flickering. I have a generator if the power goes completely out, but it can flicker quite a bit during storms. I know HID has a start-up lag and I worry about the flickering being an issue for the lighting. Will CMH or LED better handle these power issues or will HID be fine? Thanks in advance for any advice

 

[Fixed up]

I know it’s not a problem with LED but I’m not much help with the other.

It kind of depends on your budget also.

Will you be growing in a tent where heat can be a problem or do you have a basement room where you might benefit from some heat?

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Thanks for chiming in. I will be growing in a tent. I just got a veg tent going last weekend and started some Ethos Grandpa's Stash and Lemon OG Haze R2 Bx2. Looking at a small SCROG set-up in either a 3x3 or 4x4 tent for flowering. While budget is a concern to some extent, I will pay the extra money for a set-up that will best suits my needs for the long run. I'm a buy once cry once kind of person...lol Right now I'm undecided on a 400/600w HPS, 315/630w CMH, or for LED I'm intrigued by the possibilities of the Carlifornia Lightworks Solar System 550w w/ controller.

 

[raggyb]

I've been using HID's I haven't noticed any problems. I would think the ballasts serve as surge protection, but don't know for sure. So I 'm not the greatest source for that but Iwanted to mention that timers can get off schedule in power outs and that can mess you up in flower. I switched to timers with led screen that charge and store enough to remember what time it is while the power is out.

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Thanks raggyb. I have timers that have battery back-ups and I have a generator I can hook up if needed for prolonged outages. My biggest concern is what type of lighting would be least impacted by the fluctuations. Another thought I had was to get an APC Back-up with just enough juice so that lights wouldn't be impacted by flickering.

 

[raggyb]

Sure. You're right to be concerned. Maybe it's ok for HIDs to flicker off say once a month but I don't know about all the time. Just a guess.

 

[WeedZen]

If your experiencing power flickering you might be best to go with the cfl's or led's which are much much faster on restart . I'm using a 600w HID digital ballast and the smallest flicker will knock mine out with a lag restart time of up to 10 mins, quicker if you can cool the bulb down fast. If you get numerous flickers over the course of a night the down time can really add up which could be hard on the crop as well as the ballast and the bulb. IMO

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Thanks WeedZen. During a bad storm we can get a couple dozen flickers, if we don't lose power altogether. When I grew indoors before, I lived in a more urban area and was on the same grid as the hospital, so we never had any power issues.

 

[eyderbuddy]

Man you should get into LED lighting... But forget about california light works, their products are super expensive and their spectrum isn't much better than those blue and red lights...

Look into something like this:

https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/lamps/products/refurbished-hlg-550-v1

Much lower cost too

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Thanks eyderbuddy, I'll check those out. The thing that intrigued me with the CLW was the ability to control the spectrum. Thought it could be fun to geek out and play with. I don't need high yields, but definitely want to maximize quality. Hoping over the next couple years to nail down a few good mothers and then dial in the strains.

 

[crimsonecho]

A diy led comes out so much cheaper and customizable compared to a plug and play. Its amazing, if you feel comfortable working with electricity you should source the components and diy.

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Thanks crimsonecho. Here in lies the biggest issue, I do NOT like tinkering with anything electrical!

 

[crimsonecho]

Thats a choice, i respect that. But its fairly safe to actually build a cob setup yourself. Holders isolate, the thermal compound isolates, if you ground it then there is virtually nothing to worry about. I havent even grounded mine, sometimes i get paranoid but only sometimes
This is my 18 cob setup, 500w total cost me 250ish. Very equal distribution along the canopy. Partly because i can adjust 3 bars individually and partly because 18 different light sources.

Qbs are nice too. Sets are easy to put together.

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Hmmm, I do have some friends that like to tinker. Now you've got me thinking. Back to my initial concern/question though, would a set-up like this handle the power issues we get during the winter?

 

[crimsonecho]

Leds are safe, they can be turned on and off very rapidly. Part of why i go with leds is, besides their incredible efficiency, is because i get stupid blackouts that lasts anywhere from 10 seconds to 12 hours. I never had problems.

 

[eyderbuddy]

Thanks eyderbuddy, I'll check those out. The thing that intrigued me with the CLW was the ability to control the spectrum. Thought it could be fun to geek out and play with. I don't need high yields, but definitely want to maximize quality. Hoping over the next couple years to nail down a few good mothers and then dial in the strains.

CMH and LEDs such as Quantum Boards (the ones i linked) have pretty much the best available spectrum... CMH does provide a little bit more of UV light and Infrared which has effects on the grow. But overall you wouldn't go wrong quality wise with either choice.

Just avoid lights like california light works, or any LED that is mainly purple, or blue and red

 

[TheTrailGuy]

...or any LED that is mainly purple, or blue and red

Apparently I need to start reading up on LEDs!

 

[crimsonecho]

I have to say ime, a quality blurple does a fine job. Its just hard to find. So i cannot talk shit about blurples but cobs and qbs are usually better because individual components are of better quality, usually.

 

[StareCase]

I'd like some of you to be the judge on "blurples".

1 Red Diesel & 1 SFV Kush cultivated with 560 watts of "blurple" in a 2x4 with a some LST. The curing begins tomorrow so I can get a pretty close dry weight. Whaddya think?

 

[TheTrailGuy]

Looking good StareCase! On a side note, I had to chuckle as I got a lot of ribbing from friends for using those green garden twist ties to hang my outdoor grow this year. They all have nice rigs that they use for hanging, but it's hard to beat the simple twist tie!