150 vS 250 HPS

Nugglet

Well-Known Member
Okay man im gonna order the first one. The one that looks like its in a clamp reflector. It says its a medium base 150HPS bulb. Whats the medium base mean? The reason im going for this one over the others is cause the shipping price is unknown for the rest. So i could get fuked up the ass lol
 

<stealthgrowing>

Active Member
True ass fucking = bad. My only concern with what is apparently an off brand ballast of some kind on that model is reliability. That unit is just a ballast inside a box basically. Granted its only a 150 watt ballast, but they do heat up. If you get that one, I would place the ballast on something that will not catch fire and point a decent size fan directly at it. I had a 400 watt HPS ballast that would cut off for no apparent reason and then I figured out that my ballast was overheating, so the fan idea fixed it.
 

Nugglet

Well-Known Member
right on sounds perfect. I Will place that order. My only other question is the light one? it says medium bulb?
 

<stealthgrowing>

Active Member
oh ya. you get a bulb included with that light. its just a medium base 150 watt bulb. Any 150 watt HPS bulb you find will probably be a medium base. I don't think they make them with a larger base than that. The base is the threaded portion which goes in the lamp socket. I think 250 watt use a mogul base which is slightly larger and I know for sure that 400 watts use a mogul base. Any 150 watt HPS found at home improvement store will be a medium base, so no worries there.
 

<stealthgrowing>

Active Member
since you are using a non typical grow light ( I say non typical because most people are using 250 watt and above), I would maximize on reflective material in your growing area. Mylar would be best, but semigloss ultra white paint will work very well also. Additionally you can add T5 fluorescent strips to your wall surrounding the plants. they make 2.5 foot T5 fluoros in either a single bulb or dual bulb configuration. I think each bulb is like 14 or 18 watts a piece, a single bulb T5 fixture would consume 20 watts max probably. The T5s are a smaller diameter tube fluoro and they produce more light than regular tube fluoros can. You get the most benefit with the T5s when they are no more than a 12 inches away from the plants. Closer is better , but I don't know how large your room is. If you post a pic of the growing area, I will help you design it for optimal use.
 

aagiants1

Well-Known Member
Yeah, i used 2 of those CFL's that are the bigger wattage..Gotem at ace hardware... If you go to my screen name and click it, and then click find all posts, you'll see the white widow i grew under a 150hps, with general hydro nutes, and those 2 cfl's...I didn't notice much difference with the 2 cfl's but i putem in because like i said, the 150hps can only cover a square foot or two...Or at least mine....My top bud was fatter than a beer can, and was good, but the trich production just wasn't like the pics you see on here...I mean with trichs all over the sucker leaves and shit....Mine were crystally, but no wheres near what they will be with a 400 hps....But you gotta start small and learn as you grow... :)
 

nellyatcha

Well-Known Member
Alright all.. Here it is... i've decided to switch from cfls to HPS. But im debating between the two. My grow box is like 4 feet high. 2 1/2-3 feet wide and like 2 feet thick. I have 1 or two plants going. And i can keep cfls in there as well. But right now in my power bill i notice no difference with the cfls. Will i notice a difference with the hps ? If so 150 or 250?

Im more or less looking for peoples inputs on both. And if temps and money may be an issue just keep that in mind.

Thanks

NuGz

one cost more the the other , e. bills heat and thats about it beside lumens
 

ig skunk420

Active Member
I started my first grow with 6 cfl's and freaked out when i left my house because i didn't want to come home to my house as a pile of smoking rubble... yes the HPS will cost you more in the long run but IMHO i think its a lot safer, but the choice is yours my friend. good luck with your choice

one cost more the the other , e. bills heat and thats about it beside lumens
 
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