I am selling a lumatek 600w digital ballast and sunmaster 600w super hps lamp. Four plants to flower at about 4 feet tall is my goal. Do you think I could flower four plants with a 250w ?
I don't see why you couldn't flower 4 plants with 250 hps, but I would think it depends more on the actual space, meaning how much light escapes from the area and how close you get the lights to the top and such. You could simply trim the lower branches and let most of the energy work at the tops of the plants. That way you could get the plants a little closer together, have a good fan (I have a full sized box fan blowing on mine indirectly), and then you should be able to bring the reflector right down close. @50 close to the tops, trimmed below so the plants could stay close, and mylar around the walls of a small closet, I am sure you could flower four plants with 250 hps. As I said, 35,000 lumens is not bad for a small closet, and my 250 fits it like a glove. The heat is not as bad as the 8 26 watt 6500k cfl's I had going. Close, but it's a little cooler with the hps. I was only getting about 10,000 lumens with the CFL's, and now I am at 35,000 for only 50 more watts of power, and getting less heat. The 250 was perfect for me. My brother and I only smoke about 5 to 6 ounces per year, si i should be able to get that in two crops once I learn what the hell I am doing. That was what I thought about when I got the 250, not how many plants. I just figured that 250 HPS would be able to give me about 5 ounces per year in two crops. instead of asking whether you can flower 4 plants in a certain space, ask yourself how much weed you need over a years time. Is this for just personal use? Of course you can flower 4 plants with hps 250, but you would have certain results with it, not as much bud as with 400 hps. So the question is not can you flower 4 plants, the question is, can and hps 250 give you enough bud for a year's worth of smoke in a couple or three crops, that's the real question. When I was buying low-grade weed, I was smoking about a half ounce a month, but the weed wasn't very good. With good stuff I figue a quarter to a quarter and a half a month. I figured 5 ounces for the year with mainly just me smoking, and sometimes my brother comes over and we get one on, so I figured 6 ounces would definitely take care of my needs per year. Then, I need to get it in two crops because I sometimes have family coming for holidays and such, so I figured I would do a crop from August--Nov, and be done by Thanksgiving when family comes from out of state. Then another crop starting in January after the holidays season and going into April. These two times with the HPS 250 should give me the 5 to 6 ounces I need. Of course, I am making mistakes as a nube, so it will take me a few crops probably to get the process down and get my 5 to 6 per year.
Happy growing.