Grow light bulb question

[Countryfarmer]

In the planning phase of my indoor grow op and after much reading on the topic am now utterly confused on the subject of HID grow bulbs versus generic HID bulbs. Anyone with some expert knowledge on this topic who would care to comment would be much appreciated.

My current plan is to run (9) 600 watt grow lights in three rows of three to cover a 100 square foot area. So, the differences in bulb pricing actually matters when we do retail math.

The local hydro store wants to charge me $110 for Hortilux HPS and $90 for MH conversion bulbs. After a bit of research, those prices are competitive to what I can find online.

But here is my question. I can hit up the electrical store close by and buy 600 watt HPS and MH bulbs that are not marketed as grow lights for less than half the price of what the hydro store and online horticulture stores want to charge me.

Is there a significant enough difference in the PAR wattage of a "grow" marketed bulb versus one I can pull off the shelf at the Home Depot or electrical store? Is there any difference at all?

Would appreciate any knowledgeable responses. Thanks.

 

[woodsmaneh!]

My first comment is 100 sq feet with 9 600w is too big, I would plan on 80 sq. ft. for good coverage.

There is a difference in quality of the lights and the lumen's and spectrum.

High quality lights have better bases on them and will give you less non starts with electronic ballast. Cheep bulbs don't work very well with electronic ballast.

Light spectrum is very important and high end bulbs give you that. Cheep ones don't.

Your plants will know the difference.

Lights last 2 to 3 years so the cost of good bulbs keeps paying you back with bigger harvest.

The best way to grow well is buy the best equipment you can afford. Most growers go cheap because they don't believe in tomorrow.

If you got to buy cheap buy the sylvania 1000w. But not for electronic ballast.

Peace

PS your first harvest will more than pay you back your investment.

 

[theloadeddragon]

your gunna want to run the quality more expensive bulbs.. really baked, really tired... REALLY..... no home depot stuff..... tired, baked... more later... not sure bout using the 9 600's

 

[Hebrew]

i dont know bro I'm using a 400 watt philips hps from home depot...and I gotta tell ya...if there is a difference I'm not seein it. I've heard all the marketing grow bulbs as having "better spectrum" is just that- marketing. IMHO thats all. My bulb pushes 50,000 lumens and i'm keepin it green. Good luck with your grow bro....that will be quite a garden once your plants are established.

 

[khm916]

a 600watt light will covr a 4x4 area so with 9 of them you could cover a 12x12 area

 

[veggiegardener]

i'd be inclined to buy as many high quality fixtures and bulbs as I can within my budget. Say 6, and grow in the center of your space. Bud quality will improve with more light.

A friend had a 10 x 10 room that he used three 1000 watt bulbs in and harvested three pounds average, every eight weeks. The buds were tasty but loose. This is a yield of 13 grams. sq. ft.

The best indoor yield I've seen was from an expertly designed grow that consisted of five 600w HPS(best quality,don't remember the brand) fixtures over a 3.5' x 7' table.

His average yield was over 50 grams/sq.ft. His best was 67.5 grams/sq. ft.

In your space, I'd shoot for a total of 9000 watts with an expectation of 40 grams per sq.ft.

Add CO2 and vented light fixtures and add another 10 grams/sq.ft.

These numbers assume you are an expert. All mistakes hurt yield.

When shopping for lights, compare the spectrum charts of each. Most recent grow books have spectrum diagrams included, that you can use for comparison.

Good luck!

P.S. Always do the math. Cannabis repays your time and cash outlay, very quickly.

 

[Countryfarmer]

With (9) 600 watt HIDs covering a 100 square foot area I am pushing almost 8000 lumens per square foot, which should be more than enough. I guess I could pump it up to 10,000 lumens per square foot and still see improvement in plant growth. To get to that level I may add a fourth row of 600 watt lamps in the future. But as of right now I am pretty settled on the three rows of three 600 watt lamps.

My main question right now is concerning the bulbs and if paying an additional $600 is worth buying the "grow" marketed bulbs versus the bulbs I can pick up in the electrical store.

 

[veggiegardener]

Buy six cheap bulbs and 3 high end bulbs. Line up the three high end on one side of the room. Compare appearance and yield, as well as longevity(be sure to consider visible brightness. Some bulbs dim more quickly than others, as they age).

 

[1badmasonman]

I think everyone covered it Country. I have a high dollar Agromax conversion bulb in one of my lights when im vegging and the other light i have the cheapo included china made conversion bulb. I have noticed a diffrence between the plants under the china made cheapo dont perform aswell. Go for the high end bulbs bro.

 

[Countryfarmer]

Ok guys. Thanks for the input. I think that what I will go for on lighting is a cheap electronic ballast pushing the more expensive bulbs (Hortilux or other leading brand). I plan on changing out the ballasts within two years, so am more concerned about initial costs on ballasts than efficiency or lifespan.

I am thinking about splurging on the reflectors though. I am leaning towards buying the Block Buster 6" air-cooled reflector. If I am paying for the bulbs with a more proven PAR coverage then I might as well pay for a decent reflector system. I have a price for nine of them at roughly $1500, but am looking around for a better deal.

 

[Countryfarmer]

your gunna want to run the quality more expensive bulbs.. really baked, really tired... REALLY..... no home depot stuff..... tired, baked... more later... not sure bout using the 9 600's

Made me laugh out loud by the way. I could actually see one of my buddies saying something like this and I almost squirted my coffee out my nose when I read it.

 

[Countryfarmer]

Thinking about going with the Grolux light. I can pick up a set of nine for a little over $800. Pretty good price on a nice spectrum bulb.

 

[Spanishfly]

Got my ballast, bulb and accessories from an industrial lighting supplier - very solidly made and a fraction of what grow shops charge. Just isn´t marked as specifically for growing.

 

[subcool]

I have bought maybe 5000 bulbs in my life as a grower.
I only buy Hortilux Eye bulbs now.

Id look around a lot more as were paying like 85 for the 1000 HPS and like 135 for the MH Blue

For reflectors I l;ove the new magnum hoods just watch you head!

Sub

 

[Countryfarmer]

I have bought maybe 5000 bulbs in my life as a grower.
I only buy Hortilux Eye bulbs now.

Id look around a lot more as were paying like 85 for the 1000 HPS and like 135 for the MH Blue

For reflectors I l;ove the new magnum hoods just watch you head!

Sub

Ok, I wasn't in love with the Grolux, so based on Sub's recommendation, I looked around a bit and found the Hortilux Eye in 600 watt HPS for $68 a bulb ($65 if I buy a dozen which I might do just to have some for backup/future expansion).

 

[thousanaire]

hey where did u find those 68 dollars a bulb. im looking at getting four new ones soon