Weasel Forges Ahead

dr.h00k said:
...a TSW 2000 from Mars would be perfect for a 3 X 3...362.00 Cdn....they're dimmable, as well...food for thought...cheerz... :high-five: ...h00k..:hookah:...
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That's what I swapped out my 600w HPS with. The drivers get extremely hot at 100%, but down at roughly 60-70%, they're cool enough and still the panel has a lot of intensity about it. For the money, it's a great light.
 
ya,, i hear the mars hydro schpeal,, i have bot three over seas mars hydros before,, two still functioning.

i have been pondering going mars hydro,, or alibaba for even less expensive, as i have done in the past

but i am trying to support a local operator who has been super fair with prices on everything i have bot there,, but lighting is a step above,, and he is the one that said 150w hps was what i need, bad info\

and not even so much local as not overseas,, y'all get what i mean i am sure, without me sayin it

i think a dimmable 630w cmh might be the answer

or,, i might completely bail on my ethics and go hydro,, ha, or alibabababahahaha
 
Glad to know I’m not the only one chasing my tail over the same subject.

Here’s more tail chasing fuel. The thing about dimming HID lights is you lose quite a bit of efficiency
I don’t know anything about dimmed CMH bulbs, but with HPS and especially with MH, apparently you lose a fair amount of the light when you dim them ( while still paying for the power ). Also the spectrum will shift- though how much is unclear. Apparently more so with MH. I did find some good studies on the subject once but I’d have to dig hard to find that stuff now.

Anecdotally, I do regularly dim the 600w MH bulb in my veg room down to 400. And they barely grow. I just keep them on life support that way. If I want them to actually grow I turn it to 600 and they take right off. The difference is incredible.

I don’t know if that applies to CMH, but I do know I’m reluctant to dim things unnecessarily - at least if I expect them to grow much.


I once wrote to Hortilux a couple years ago and they were quite Frank about it.



“ Great question and you are correct. There does seem to be a lot of misinformation about this.

One message we at EYE HORTILUX have never strayed from is that you should never dim your grow lamps. You will not be getting what you paid for. The spectrum is affected and lamp life can be reduced. We recommend that if you are trying to reduce power usage or heat, that you purchase a lower wattage system and run it at 100%.

Of course, there is an exception to every rule. Now, the issue here is the difference on how the spectrum is affected for an HPS or Metal Halide.

If you are dimming a High Pressure Sodium lamp, then the spectrum will not be as intense as the spectrum you bought. It will also eventually lose the blues when dimmed too low. And can affect the lifespan of the lamp. (I was told dimming a 1000W to 600W is not too bad, but that should be the limit)

If you are dimming a Metal Halide lamp, especially a HORTILUX BLUE, you will experience a complete spectrum shift. The chemicals will react differently than they are designed to and the continual dimming will lead to premature lamp failure.

Overdriving as much as 10% doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. You may see very little spectrum shift but may see lower lifespan of the lamp.

My in-depth source is the scientists and technicians we have here at our manufacturing plant. Wish I could help on outside authorities.

Hope all this helps.

Happy growing!

Frank

Frank Vaccariello
Electronic Marketing & Communications Specialist

EYEhortilux.
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As far as I looked, 600w bulbs aren't ideal spectrum anyways @2200k. It's the 1kw bulbs with dual arc lamps that put out the best light spectrum.
 
I used to run 1k hps always with hortilux bulbs. Great lights I still have both setup's I use in winter overflow. Now Im running leds that I really like. They are not mars but did come from a old sponsor here. But not anymore so Im not allowed to referance them.
But ill just say IMO they are not all made the same. If you want to compete with hps you have to spend the cash. But it'll wash out over years of savings battling heat and just cheaper power bills.

If heat, AC wasn't issues id have stayed with my hps. They are tried and true with good bulbs, that are also a routine expense
 
Morning Weasel, I run my 630 CMH at 16” above the canopy with 2 fixtures in a 4x8 tent. 16” seemed to be the sweet spot as light starts to drop off in the corners as you get closer, but I have had them within 12” with no burning.

At 16”, they give an average ppfd of about 700..I never checked what it would be at 12”
 
It seems backwards to be putting in a light that burns more power than my current 600. But I’m guessing it would be an improvement. Any thoughts on the difference using a 630 CMH vs 600 HPS ?
 
I’ve never used hps/mh so I really can’t compare them from experience, only what they are like compared to LED and I have been impressed. Excellent penetration to 18” below the canopy, about 6+” more than my 400w 3200k COB LED and the heat is reasonable. I run a 6” fan and the tent stays in the 75-80F range.

One difference I suspect you would see with the CMH compared to HPS is the terpenes, with the broad spectrum light, you get more of the light needed for terps and colours if the strain has the genetics for colouring. With the blue in the CMH spectrum, you might see even tighter bud, but that is just speculation based on reds (high in hps) being responsible for stretch and blue giving tighter node structure.
 
Weaselcracker said:
Glad to know I’m not the only one chasing my tail over the same subject.
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and i really am too. research galore and no solution,, but gotta say,, i am now leaning towards the @dr.h00k @dr.h00k 's suggestion of the marshydro tsw2000

the el cheapo cmh 315w just have awful reviews such as used bulbs being supplied, differing spectrums etc,, not worth the risk for me

and the better quality units with a decent bulb are comming in at near the same price as the tsw 2000,, and the mars units are quite well received round here, must say

i like the idea of the tsw unit being overpowered for the space and dimmable

the 315w cmh would actually be underpowered for the space

as much i i dunna want to,,

finger gettin close to the trigger now,,
 
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made in canada, gotta like that,,

silver star,, the name of a local ski hill,, gotta like that

i like the idea of venturing into the unknown,, very appealing indeed

still slightly underpowered,, hmmmm
 
Weaselcracker said:
Busy day - back later but here’s a thread I noticed. Growing with 315 CMH's: Which to choose
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ya, i saw that,, and your content,, but an old thread,, pre covid so everything has changed,, haha

that light i posted,, that was the best cmh 315w light i could find, bang for buck,, after searching all day

it's underpowered and will cost darn near the same as the mars tsw 2000, which is overpowered and dimmable with good reviews,, hmnmmm
 
Hmm yeah. Just skimmed through that thread now- I didn’t realize it was so short.

I’m surprised to hear that it’s underpowered for a 3x3. People make (dubious) claims about them replacing a 600 HPS. Maybe ask PotChimp about CMH coverage- he seemed pretty happy with his.

At this particular moment I’m leaning more towards a 630w CMH. Kind of wrong to be thinking about increasing my power usage at all, but if it put out enough heat, I could use that for one side of my grow and slowly convert the other side to LED in the future, or something...
 
...hehe... @nivek , saw Ya' throwing a lure over in the Mar's thread... ;) :D ...I don't know if you've pulled the trigger on anything yet, but here is something I came across, that may/may not be worth consideration, with a 4.5 star rating and an excellent price point...
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...I also would like one more light to complete my big room, but I'm not in a rush...got 6 month's to make a final decision...the TSL 2000 has my most interest, but will still be doing research...I currently have 7 TS 1000's in that space along with 2 cheapies, I'd like to replace as they're aging...be interesting to see you what you decide...cheerz...:high-five:...h00k...:hookah:...
 
Pennywise said:
I’d research Vivosun real hard, they’re getting blasted for fires starting due to fans they sell.
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first off,, @dr.h00k ,, many thanks for the suggestion,, very much appreciate your input,, indeed,, very much,, :thanks:

vivosun,, hmmm, yes, i have perhaps already decided not to buy vivosun just because of some reviews i read,, as in putting used bulbs in products,, one fella bot two lights and each was a difr spectrum, tho sposed to be the same

i am leaning heavy tords cmh,, a 630w


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perhaps this,, perhaps,,

weaseley,, the 'dimmer' might be showing a range rather than specific increments?
 
The Celt said:
I will agree with @Bob Loblaw concerning LEC (or CMH). I have run, and still do, LED but I really like the CMH lights...better spectrum, more efficient (than HID) and cheaper than LED.

I use 2 630w DE CMH 3000k lights in my 4x8 tent with great results and they run $370 delivered in Canada.

For a 3x3 @nivek , a 315w CMH would work, although not a lot cheaper than the 630s. One of mine is dimmable and could be run at 400w in a 3x3.
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and here i mosey over to near where i started and hang a bit,, cheers :thanks:
 
Pennywise said:
A 630w CMH will be a beast of a light.
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yes,, and perhaps a bit too much but it is dimmable,, tho perhaps dimming is not ultimate,, yet to be determined.

so, let me ask y'all,, because of the light footprint,, the light from the lamp,, because of the fade off tords the edges,, because of this,, is this idea practical?

run the light full power but raise it a bit higher.. does that offset the overpower,, raising it??

would that not also level out the light footprint a bit?
 
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