Let's just talk about BULBS!

[TheMan13]

I personally use Hortilux with magnetic ballasts. I ran digital for a short period and the bulbs degraded much quicker. I believe this has something to do with the hot start of digital and maybe Ushio addresses this issue?

 

[Rrog]

Not sure on that one. I thought the new digital ballasts has a slower startup to shock the lamp less. I also could have just pulled that out of my ass.

 

[TheMan13]

It was quite a few years back now, maybe the digital tech has advanced.

 

[Murfy]

i have read-

enough info on spectrum and bulb output and wavelength.............................

anyway. after years of it, the electric shop bulbs are just as good. hps is hps, and they all require supplementation for what i consider optimum.

i get the phillips hps improved spectrum for growing for 28 apiece, and the 5500 mh for 32. they are as good as anything anybody runs.

and a fraction of the price.

 

[Bigtacofarmer]

I ran hortilux for years. Also solarmax. I recently ran Maxlumens also with great results. Currently using Badass, Hortilux Blue, and 10 k sunpulse. Only a month in on those!

 

[st0wandgrow]

cool beans joc...good to hear b/c I'm debating between the htg bulb and a hortilux bulb. htg is half the price so I'm leaning toward that. like you said, if ya just replace it every cycle, it should be solid.

jonny, I'm sure I'll catch shit for this, but why would you replace it every cycle? THAT is where you will be wasting the money, imo. Invest in a good bulb (I use the eye hortilux) and use it for a year. I run 3 1000 watt bulbs in flowering, and I replace them every 12 months. There is no noticeable difference in yield and potency from the first rotation under the bulb, to the last.

Just my opinion, but I think you'd be way better off buying a top end bulb and using it for a while as opposed to going cheap and having to replace it often.

 

[st0wandgrow]

Also, the grow shop you buy this from should be willing to warranty the bulb for a year, so if anything goes wrong with it they should replace it free of charge.

 

[zack66]

I did 3 runs with a plantmax bulb. Results were okay. I'm currently running a sunpulse 3k. 9 weeks into flower. The buds are getting super fat and really getting lot's of resin. Sunpulse blows away plantmax. It's 50 bucks more for the sunpuse but, well worth the extra cash.

 

[bowlfullofbliss]

I've been wondering about this myself. I run 3 dual arch's from Hortillux, and holy crap are they expensive. I need to relamp, and am thinking about going with straight hps, brand undecided. I have a hard time paying so much for a lamp, but the spectrum analysis shows the truth.

I was thinking about using them as a transition lamp, between mh and hps. Doesn't it make sense that as time goes on through the year, that the spectrum changes gradually? Am I talking out my ass?

I'm poor, so I'm thinking about saying lets try something new..........lol.

 

[cannabineer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgb_Khtqa1Q

The winner in this broad test was the Hortilux super

View attachment 2438347

Just a quick observation, the two important light zones for plant photosynthesis are the areas from 400 to 530 nm (red), and from 620 to 720 nm (blue). The yellow in the middle throws off the readings, which can increase the lamps PAR score, but does not necessarily look at those two important red and blue bands.

If you compare the output of just those two spectrums and factored out the unnecessary yellow, the Ushio wins, even compared to the Hortilux

This was a quick look and there's bound to be more data out there.

A minor beef, but you reversed red and blue. cn

 

[jonnynobody]

jonny, I'm sure I'll catch shit for this, but why would you replace it every cycle? THAT is where you will be wasting the money, imo. Invest in a good bulb (I use the eye hortilux) and use it for a year. I run 3 1000 watt bulbs in flowering, and I replace them every 12 months. There is no noticeable difference in yield and potency from the first rotation under the bulb, to the last.

Just my opinion, but I think you'd be way better off buying a top end bulb and using it for a while as opposed to going cheap and having to replace it often.

I fully hear ya on the fact that less $$ will be spent over a period of time for a hortilux b/c you can run it through 2 cycles but right now jonny is poor after dropping $1k on his grow tent setup and cheap / effective is what the doctor ordered.

I'm looking @ $50-60 for a basic hps or $90-100 on a hortilux. Personally, I've been browsing these forums for 5 years now and I've seen seasoned growers flower dank with a 150w hps security light from home depot so no one will ever convince jonny that a $100 bulb is required to grow chronic.

Jonny however is a critical thinker and if in the long run the hortilux pays off, I will be using it my next grow. But for the purposes of this grow, jonny needs cheap and effective as the piggy bank is tapped out so the cheap hps bulb will have to do. When I get to my chop time and clock out on the final dry yield, that shall be the all telling evidence that points jonny in the right direction.

 

[bowlfullofbliss]

Does Jonny always talk about himself in the 3rd person .

 

[superstoner1]

Oooooh. That's scary.

 

[jonnynobody]

Does Jonny always talk about himself in the 3rd person .

Sometimes...I have issues

 

[Kite High]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgb_Khtqa1Q

The winner in this broad test was the Hortilux super

View attachment 2438347

Just a quick observation, the two important light zones for plant photosynthesis are the areas from 400 to 530 nm (red), and from 620 to 720 nm (blue). The yellow in the middle throws off the readings, which can increase the lamps PAR score, but does not necessarily look at those two important red and blue bands.

If you compare the output of just those two spectrums and factored out the unnecessary yellow, the Ushio wins, even compared to the Hortilux

This was a quick look and there's bound to be more data out there.

And Philips CMH blows them outta the water

 

[Kite High]

I personally use Hortilux with magnetic ballasts. I ran digital for a short period and the bulbs degraded much quicker. I believe this has something to do with the hot start of digital and maybe Ushio addresses this issue?

It is the high frequencies of the digis verses 60hz mag....it vibrates them apart

 

[Rrog]

CMH has a lot of critics. I haven't looked into it, as I'm headed for 1000w hoods, but the criticism centers around the added light being in the yellow spectrum, and not useful for the plant. Anyone have a spectral output for CMH?

 

[Kite High]

CMH has a lot of critics. I haven't looked into it, as I'm headed for 1000w hoods, but the criticism centers around the added light being in the yellow spectrum, and not useful for the plant. Anyone have a spectral output for CMH?

View attachment 2439604

Well as you can see that is bs...I read that about some 10000k mh bulbs...as youy can see from the graphs the cmh has alot more blue and even twice as much red output as hps...is what I run and I love 'em

 

[st0wandgrow]

I fully hear ya on the fact that less $$ will be spent over a period of time for a hortilux b/c you can run it through 2 cycles but right now jonny is poor after dropping $1k on his grow tent setup and cheap / effective is what the doctor ordered.

I'm looking @ $50-60 for a basic hps or $90-100 on a hortilux. Personally, I've been browsing these forums for 5 years now and I've seen seasoned growers flower dank with a 150w hps security light from home depot so no one will ever convince jonny that a $100 bulb is required to grow chronic.

Jonny however is a critical thinker and if in the long run the hortilux pays off, I will be using it my next grow. But for the purposes of this grow, jonny needs cheap and effective as the piggy bank is tapped out so the cheap hps bulb will have to do. When I get to my chop time and clock out on the final dry yield, that shall be the all telling evidence that points jonny in the right direction.

Understood. Ya gotta do what fits within the budget.

 

[Kite High]

CMH has a lot of critics. I haven't looked into it, as I'm headed for 1000w hoods, but the criticism centers around the added light being in the yellow spectrum, and not useful for the plant. Anyone have a spectral output for CMH?

and for your 1000 watt here you go http://www.ecat.lighting.philips.com/l/lamps/high-intensity-discharge-lamps/ceramic-metal-halide/energy-advantage-cdm-lamps-with-allstart-technology/928601172801_na/

http://www.platt.com/platt-electric-supply/HID-Metal-Halide-Traditional/Philips-Lighting/CDM830-V-O-4K/product.aspx?zpid=868804