GrowUrOwnDank
Well-Known Member
I talked about it. I asked for opinions in a thread. I pulled the trigger and got me one. Note I've been an LED and CFL grower in the past and this is my first and only HID light. And this is a dry run. No plants yet.
Unboxing. Contents.
150 Watt Ballast and hood combo with attached power cord.
150 Watt HPS bulb.
2 metal "V" hangers.
Brief straight forward instruction page. A bonus HTG Supply disposable butane lighter and an HTG sticker.
The packaging was done extremely well. Inside the box containing the light were 2 large flat styrofoam pieces, maybe an inch thick located at the top and bottom. This box was packed in a slightly larger box, with styrofoam corners all around, 8 total for even more shock protection.
The bulb was inside a protective cardboard package and located inside the reflector, under the glass. There are 2 screws holding a piece of metal frame(bracket) at the front of the reflector to keep the removable tempered glass in place.
To install, simply remove the 2 screws and the frame(bracket), and slide the glass out. Note the label that says to remove the protective plastic covering from the reflector. Then remove the protective film from the reflector, install the bulb, replace the glass and screw the frame piece(bracket) back on. It's a no brainer, the instructions describe it well.
Use the V hangers which are adjustable and whatever hangers you use for height and hang your light adjusting the V hangers until it's level. Then plug it in and go. Maybe 10 minutes or whatever, if you spend 5 reading the instructions and looking for the proper Phillips screwdriver like I did.
Heat. The instructs say hang the light 12" to 24" from the plant. But, it also says the closer the light is to the plant the better it will grow. Use some common sense here. I used my hand to feel for heat coming off the glass and the ballast. I can begin to feel the radiation at about 10 inches. I did also tap the actual glass and the metal where the ballast is with a few fingers. It is putting off some heat and will burn you if you don't remove them quickly. Keep in mind, I have working man hands so try this at your own risk. Note there is an optional 4" cooling flange available for air cooling the light for a few more $$$$s. I don't think I'll need it. I would actually compare the heat output to that of the same wattage in CFL. But, that's just an experienced guess.
Light output. Looking good and about what I expected. I think I would go with maybe 15" or more distance to a young plant, then try and drop it down to 10" and see how that works. Depending on the ventilation of your tent or cab, I might even see if I could get it slightly closer.
Cab temps. Are higher than the LED pulling slightly fewer watts, maybe 120-130, just guessing. After an hour in use the not airtight cab is running just under 80 degrees.
Note that the fan I use to push air out of the cab is just a 115 volt PC fan, and is rated at 60/70 CFM. I also had a very small fan running that would be used to gently push air through the plants in this test. Of course a larger fan would be used as the plants grow larger. This is all basic common sense to adapt to your own environment. The air outside the closed closet where the closed cabinet is, is around 70.
Finally.
I obviously didn't use any scientific instruments to test any light output or wattage draw and this is the first and only 150 watt HPS I've ever done an hour long test run on. Balancing the price, my expectations from what I have read on the Internet I will give this 5 stars. I am impressed with the quality of the build on this thing, especially for the price. The packaging is well thought out and actually over the top. It works just like it should. And it's kinda pretty. LoL
Unboxing. Contents.
150 Watt Ballast and hood combo with attached power cord.
150 Watt HPS bulb.
2 metal "V" hangers.
Brief straight forward instruction page. A bonus HTG Supply disposable butane lighter and an HTG sticker.
The packaging was done extremely well. Inside the box containing the light were 2 large flat styrofoam pieces, maybe an inch thick located at the top and bottom. This box was packed in a slightly larger box, with styrofoam corners all around, 8 total for even more shock protection.
The bulb was inside a protective cardboard package and located inside the reflector, under the glass. There are 2 screws holding a piece of metal frame(bracket) at the front of the reflector to keep the removable tempered glass in place.
To install, simply remove the 2 screws and the frame(bracket), and slide the glass out. Note the label that says to remove the protective plastic covering from the reflector. Then remove the protective film from the reflector, install the bulb, replace the glass and screw the frame piece(bracket) back on. It's a no brainer, the instructions describe it well.
Use the V hangers which are adjustable and whatever hangers you use for height and hang your light adjusting the V hangers until it's level. Then plug it in and go. Maybe 10 minutes or whatever, if you spend 5 reading the instructions and looking for the proper Phillips screwdriver like I did.
Heat. The instructs say hang the light 12" to 24" from the plant. But, it also says the closer the light is to the plant the better it will grow. Use some common sense here. I used my hand to feel for heat coming off the glass and the ballast. I can begin to feel the radiation at about 10 inches. I did also tap the actual glass and the metal where the ballast is with a few fingers. It is putting off some heat and will burn you if you don't remove them quickly. Keep in mind, I have working man hands so try this at your own risk. Note there is an optional 4" cooling flange available for air cooling the light for a few more $$$$s. I don't think I'll need it. I would actually compare the heat output to that of the same wattage in CFL. But, that's just an experienced guess.
Light output. Looking good and about what I expected. I think I would go with maybe 15" or more distance to a young plant, then try and drop it down to 10" and see how that works. Depending on the ventilation of your tent or cab, I might even see if I could get it slightly closer.
Cab temps. Are higher than the LED pulling slightly fewer watts, maybe 120-130, just guessing. After an hour in use the not airtight cab is running just under 80 degrees.
Note that the fan I use to push air out of the cab is just a 115 volt PC fan, and is rated at 60/70 CFM. I also had a very small fan running that would be used to gently push air through the plants in this test. Of course a larger fan would be used as the plants grow larger. This is all basic common sense to adapt to your own environment. The air outside the closed closet where the closed cabinet is, is around 70.
Finally.
I obviously didn't use any scientific instruments to test any light output or wattage draw and this is the first and only 150 watt HPS I've ever done an hour long test run on. Balancing the price, my expectations from what I have read on the Internet I will give this 5 stars. I am impressed with the quality of the build on this thing, especially for the price. The packaging is well thought out and actually over the top. It works just like it should. And it's kinda pretty. LoL
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