MaintMan
Well-Known Member
Ok here's a few questions for the collective. I am planning a new grow and need some advice as to which way to go with lighting.
Here goes I hope this makes sense . My goal is to have aprox 1800-2000 watts of hps light in a 4x8x14 whl grow room and I have a few concerns about my options and the best way to get the most efficiency for my dollar.
I can get industrial coil/ magnetic type hps lights400watt at my local elec supply store for just under 150 with the light, base, and starter.
I can drive 45 miles to a town that has a hydro store and purchase digital hps ballasts 600 watt without light for 250 don't know if it comes with a 120/240 plug or the light base. There lights are for growing and range from65-110 per bulb
I could possibly( if I get a general concensus that it's " cool" ) search the Internet to find a good deal on digital balasts.
So my questions are as follows:
1. Are the digital balasts and " grow" hps really worth the seemingly much greater cost vs the industrial hps I can get.
I'll break it down like this. I could purchase 4 industrial hps400 watt setups for 600$ adding that to the one that I have= 5 x 400 watt coil/ magnetic type hps ballasts with common hps lights.
I plan to wire what I do get240 because I understand that you get more light and efficiency vs the same wattage at120v .
That would give me 2000 watts at 240v and the kw cost in my area is 11 c per.
It appears that if I go with the hydro stores hps setup each 600 watt system will run about350-375, I'd want 3 of these to satisfy my light needs. If I went this route I'd just run the3 lights and store my old stuff for now .
So that would be a total of 3 x 375 = 1125$ for 1800 watts of digital hps ballasts with " grow" lights.
The third option lies here is it ok to order lighting and have it sent to you???????????????? Seriously I never want to look suspicious!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok so until I get a good showing on the Internet lighting quest, let's stick with options 1 and 2
So costwise it's almost half the price for 200 more watts of industrail hps lighting. Is there really going to be that much more growth given identical conditions in each setup to justify the 525$ that u could spend on power for the grow or other grow esential items
Just a tiny breakdown with the costs where I live that savings could power the lights for 4772 hrs minus say 10 % for adjusting for the fact that 2000 watts of ballast prob pulls 2200 watts so that leaves us with say just over 4000 hrs of run time which is enough for me to run two grows at 16 wks each fig 8 weeks of both flower and veg.
I don't have endless cash to throw at this and want to break the bank for a decent setup but would be willing to go the extra mile if I could JUSTIFY the COST . Now I'd love all the feedback I can get. I realise that I might not have ask everything that I want but I need to step back and read this thing.
I typed this on my iPhone and can't type another word right now
Here goes I hope this makes sense . My goal is to have aprox 1800-2000 watts of hps light in a 4x8x14 whl grow room and I have a few concerns about my options and the best way to get the most efficiency for my dollar.
I can get industrial coil/ magnetic type hps lights400watt at my local elec supply store for just under 150 with the light, base, and starter.
I can drive 45 miles to a town that has a hydro store and purchase digital hps ballasts 600 watt without light for 250 don't know if it comes with a 120/240 plug or the light base. There lights are for growing and range from65-110 per bulb
I could possibly( if I get a general concensus that it's " cool" ) search the Internet to find a good deal on digital balasts.
So my questions are as follows:
1. Are the digital balasts and " grow" hps really worth the seemingly much greater cost vs the industrial hps I can get.
I'll break it down like this. I could purchase 4 industrial hps400 watt setups for 600$ adding that to the one that I have= 5 x 400 watt coil/ magnetic type hps ballasts with common hps lights.
I plan to wire what I do get240 because I understand that you get more light and efficiency vs the same wattage at120v .
That would give me 2000 watts at 240v and the kw cost in my area is 11 c per.
It appears that if I go with the hydro stores hps setup each 600 watt system will run about350-375, I'd want 3 of these to satisfy my light needs. If I went this route I'd just run the3 lights and store my old stuff for now .
So that would be a total of 3 x 375 = 1125$ for 1800 watts of digital hps ballasts with " grow" lights.
The third option lies here is it ok to order lighting and have it sent to you???????????????? Seriously I never want to look suspicious!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ok so until I get a good showing on the Internet lighting quest, let's stick with options 1 and 2
So costwise it's almost half the price for 200 more watts of industrail hps lighting. Is there really going to be that much more growth given identical conditions in each setup to justify the 525$ that u could spend on power for the grow or other grow esential items
Just a tiny breakdown with the costs where I live that savings could power the lights for 4772 hrs minus say 10 % for adjusting for the fact that 2000 watts of ballast prob pulls 2200 watts so that leaves us with say just over 4000 hrs of run time which is enough for me to run two grows at 16 wks each fig 8 weeks of both flower and veg.
I don't have endless cash to throw at this and want to break the bank for a decent setup but would be willing to go the extra mile if I could JUSTIFY the COST . Now I'd love all the feedback I can get. I realise that I might not have ask everything that I want but I need to step back and read this thing.
I typed this on my iPhone and can't type another word right now
