Club 315w lec

PJ Diaz

PJ Diaz

Well-Known Member
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
gr865 said:
Can the ballast be separated from the lamp?
Click to expand...
PJ Diaz said:
That looks sweet, but not sure I like the idea of ballasts built into the hood, I prefer remote. Also are the ballasts themselves any good?
Click to expand...
Yes. But it requires a complete disassembly - removing inner reflector to gain access.
Can't speak for reliability or quality of ballast. Not a huge risk when a 315cmh ballast alone cost is $100+.
The biggest draw for me was the 18x18 opening, and vertical bulb. They run really cool.
 
gr865

gr865

Well-Known Member
I always look at the heat of the ballast, being able to separate the ballast from the lamp is critical especially in a vertical grow, which is my major type of grow.
 
TintEastwood

TintEastwood

Well-Known Member
gr865 said:
I always look at the heat of the ballast, being able to separate the ballast from the lamp is critical especially in a vertical grow, which is my major type of grow.
Click to expand...
Neat. When growing vertical, do you also use these vertical sockets?
hydrobuilder.com

Phantom 315 Watt CMH Vertical Hanging Grow Light Kit

Buy the Phantom 315 Watt CMH Vertical Hanging Grow Light Kit at Hydrobuilder.com. Shop the entire line of Phantom products along with thousands of hydroponics supplies on sale now.
hydrobuilder.com hydrobuilder.com


CMH Socket Set - PGZ18 Base | HTG Supply

The HYL CMH socket set – a quick, clean, and cost-effective solution for retrofitting existing grow light reflectors / hoods with CMH. Get it now at HTG Supply, the #1 grow shop online!
www.htgsupply.com www.htgsupply.com
 
10WeekFlushBro

10WeekFlushBro

Well-Known Member
I used these bulbs (or the rebranded equivalent), IME they seem more prone to failure than Philips bulbs over time. I haven't had a philips bulb burn out and become unusable. I'm sure it happens, but with these it happened twice to me. maybe it was just bad luck. One of them burnt out after only 3600 hours of use :/
Anyway, I'm not trying to sound like a party pooper. My experience is just anecdotal. Maybe someone else can chime in. 315 bulbs from different manufacturers all performed quite similarly in the tests I've seen.
 
hillbill

hillbill

Well-Known Member
The big big names in electric supplies like Philips and GE etc. can sure enough build high quality bulbs.
 
gr865

gr865

Well-Known Member
TintEastwood said:
Neat. When growing vertical, do you also use these vertical sockets?
hydrobuilder.com

Phantom 315 Watt CMH Vertical Hanging Grow Light Kit

Buy the Phantom 315 Watt CMH Vertical Hanging Grow Light Kit at Hydrobuilder.com. Shop the entire line of Phantom products along with thousands of hydroponics supplies on sale now.
hydrobuilder.com hydrobuilder.com


CMH Socket Set - PGZ18 Base | HTG Supply

The HYL CMH socket set – a quick, clean, and cost-effective solution for retrofitting existing grow light reflectors / hoods with CMH. Get it now at HTG Supply, the #1 grow shop online!
www.htgsupply.com www.htgsupply.com
Click to expand...
I just take the Nanolux lamp apart and use it, I bought two of the cables like the ones in the Phantom Kit, but just the cable for my assistant.
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
I just picked up a 4x8x6.5 tent for flower only and need to grab some lighting. Also, I need to keep heat down as I don't want to run AC.
Right now, running 620w of Aglex lighting and tent is getting up to 81 with exhaust running full blast. Problem is....thats only lighting one half of the tent. Once I have the tent full on both sides...I'd never be able to cool it down.
So, I've been considering all options and am leaning to CMH because they seem to work well and cheaper than quality LEDs. I'm trying to keep my costs down to keep the wife off my case lol.
I was looking at the SilberStar 315 vertical hood with the separate ballast and Philips 3100 bulb for about $400 delivered.
www.growlights.ca

Square Wave 315W CMH SilverStar Fusion Bright Ballast System

The Silverstar CMH 315W reflector is the latest innovation in the Silverstar line and is designed for Ceramic Metal Halide technology. Like all the Silverstar products, this reflector is made from highly reflective German textured aluminum for excellent light uniformity and diffusion. It has a...
www.growlights.ca www.growlights.ca

Figured I would get two and watch the heat. If it's manageable...get a third one and have a decent light overlap. Or I could throw in a one of my LEDs in between them with only the bloom switch running.
I'm running a 6" AC infinity fan and 6" carbon for exhaust. Also have a 6" fan for intake when it gets too hot.
Any idea of how much heat buildup I can expect with 2 or 3 in a tent this size?
 
Couch_Lock

Couch_Lock

Well-Known Member
Never had a 4 x 8, only 4 x 4's.......But I'd think with a few variable speed fans in there you would be fine. Ummm.....negative pressure is best, if using a 6" exhaust (I use one in a 4 x 4) Id use a 4" intake fan.....you want more exhausting, ideally. For a 4 x 8 tent Id want bigger then a 6" Exhaust.....

8" exhaust and then utilize the 6" intake. Another config
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
Couch_Lock said:
Never had a 4 x 8, only 4 x 4's.......But I'd think with a few variable speed fans in there you would be fine. Ummm.....negative pressure is best, if using a 6" exhaust (I use one in a 4 x 4) Id use a 4" intake fan.....you want more exhausting, ideally. For a 4 x 8 tent Id want bigger then a 6" Exhaust.....

8" exhaust and then utilize the 6" intake. Another config
Click to expand...
Thanks Couchlock. Exactly another issue I'm having. I'm getting positive pressure because even with the 6in intake dialed down to the lowest speed...it's pushing more than the 6" with carbon filter can exhaust. I have a 4" that I can try in place...or one of those 6" duct fans.
I'll probably have to switch up to an 8" but it'll have to wait until spring so I can do the venting work at the wall.
 
Couch_Lock

Couch_Lock

Well-Known Member
Ive had a rough start myself this winter.....had used my CMH's previously last Jan, bought an HLG 550 V2 Rspec last summer and that 2nd 2019 run was pretty good.

So I started my Jan 2020 grow (I live almost as far north as Canada) with the LED......in a 63 degree cellar Ive seen average temp highs at 71....thats not enough, the stems are spindly AF so far. So, I unplugged the LED light and tossed in a CMH.....my humidity rose 10% in 3-4 minutes......temp rose 4 degrees in that time frame also (keeping the ballast IN the tent for warmth).

Plants are about 9-10 days old.
 
Couch_Lock

Couch_Lock

Well-Known Member
hillbill said:
Cooler growing mix with LEDs can be a big deal, I like to keep that warm. Dark period can really drop mix temperature.
Click to expand...
Ya, my low has hit 59, lol.......Moved the grow to familys house a few days ago......their basement has better heat regulation.
 
gr865

gr865

Well-Known Member
Make sure you can separate the Ballast from the lamp.
I run 2 Nanolux 315's, have the ballast outside my 4 x 4.
This makes any heat issues mute.
 
tst2015

tst2015

Well-Known Member
Couch_Lock said:
Ive had a rough start myself this winter.....had used my CMH's previously last Jan, bought an HLG 550 V2 Rspec last summer and that 2nd 2019 run was pretty good.

So I started my Jan 2020 grow (I live almost as far north as Canada) with the LED......in a 63 degree cellar Ive seen average temp highs at 71....thats not enough, the stems are spindly AF so far. So, I unplugged the LED light and tossed in a CMH.....my humidity rose 10% in 3-4 minutes......temp rose 4 degrees in that time frame also (keeping the ballast IN the tent for warmth).

Plants are about 9-10 days old.
Click to expand...
I've got mine in a basement bedroom but I have a furnace duct that I can open if needed to warm room in winter. But I've got it right closed now.
In the summer I have central air which helps but if I turn up the air too high then other in the house are complaining it's too cold. Lol
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top