150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[DiscoBiscuit]

Well I had a little bit of an incident last night. I opened up my cab for the daily check, only to find that the light hadn't come on when it was supposed to. Fortunately there's no issue with the light, it was the timer that had failed.

I don't really know what happened. It's a digital timer, and when I checked its programming, it was as if the 12/12 schedule I had programmed into it had just been deleted. Luckily I have a backup, a mechanical timer that I use for my car's block heater in the winter. I'm not sure if I want to keep using it though, because I've found that it's not entirely accurate in keeping time, sometimes drifting about 5 minutes a day. Also I've heard that the pins on mechanical timers wear out over time, so now I'm paranoid that another issue may come up.

I guess I'm lucky in that the timer failed to turn the light on. If I had to choose, I'd take that over it not turning the light off when it was supposed to. I suppose there's a chance that it did turn the light on when it was supposed to, and then failed some time after that, but I'm more inclined to think that it just didn't turn on in the first place. If that's the case, the girls missed out on about 6 hours of light.

What would be a decent timer to use? Or is this one good enough?

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/plug-in-24-hour-mechanical-timer/980599

Wassup, Bongdaddy. You're right, light deprivation is probably better than overexposure.

Before you toss the digi, check this out.

The on/off/auto button is tricky. There are actually two "auto" positions. One "auto" position after the "off" and one "auto" after "on".

In order for the timer to function, you have to select the "auto" position immediately after "on". If you roll it to "off" then "auto" the lamp won't function.

Hydrofarm digi timer has a battery backup. A power outage doesn't affect the time interval and the bulb still strikes with a coil ballast. A digi ballast might or might not require a manual start.

Grounded (three prong) timers are safer than table lamp timers. Check the timer amp rating, some even list max wattage. For safety, keep load within 80% of the max timer rating.

My digi loses almost two minutes per month. If the timer doesn't keep relatively accurate time, it's better to run fast than slow. A slow clock might mimic perpetual spring where every day is longer than the previous. Even then, the interval may not be significant enough for the plant to know. Just a precaution.

 

[Bulénath]

I wouldn't really call myself young.

Thanks again everyone for the great advice. Just wondering...if I start giving better pH levels, etc., would I see any of that yellowing reverse? Or should I call it a close call, say goodbye to those fan leaves, and count myself lucky for not screwing up the actual buds too badly?

Leaves cannot reverse damage, ever. This holds true for all plant life. Once a leaf is damaged, the plant will take measures to seal off the damaged part to prevent disease, but that is all.

Well I had a little bit of an incident last night. I opened up my cab for the daily check, only to find that the light hadn't come on when it was supposed to. Fortunately there's no issue with the light, it was the timer that had failed.

I don't really know what happened. It's a digital timer, and when I checked its programming, it was as if the 12/12 schedule I had programmed into it had just been deleted. Luckily I have a backup, a mechanical timer that I use for my car's block heater in the winter. I'm not sure if I want to keep using it though, because I've found that it's not entirely accurate in keeping time, sometimes drifting about 5 minutes a day. Also I've heard that the pins on mechanical timers wear out over time, so now I'm paranoid that another issue may come up.

I guess I'm lucky in that the timer failed to turn the light on. If I had to choose, I'd take that over it not turning the light off when it was supposed to. I suppose there's a chance that it did turn the light on when it was supposed to, and then failed some time after that, but I'm more inclined to think that it just didn't turn on in the first place. If that's the case, the girls missed out on about 6 hours of light.

What would be a decent timer to use? Or is this one good enough?

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/plug-in-24-hour-mechanical-timer/980599

I never found a digital timer that works for me. All of them had issues down the line. The 15 minute interval timers- the ones where you push the notches down for the required "on" time- never gave me any problems, so I've been using them for years and years.

Here is one that I use..http://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=4164

I followed your link, and by the looks of it that timer seems a bit generic. Sometimes you can get a 15amp timer from Home Depot, Walmart, etc, and they wont work with HID lights! I haven't found out exactly why...(can someone answer that?)

Either way, if possible, go for a Hydrofarm timer like the one linked.

Your girls will be just fine. Just try not to screw up the timing on the light for a couple weeks.

 

[guest 77721]

I'm running an old timer that was on my aquarium for years before I started growing. It's gotta be close to 20 years old now. It's just a simple mechanical style with pins.

I try to check my plants 2x a day at lights on and off. I'm running 7-7 for flowering and 7-11 for veg. Easy-peasy.

The plants aren't that touchy unless they are super stressed out or the genetics are too inbred or feminised, that's really inbred.

Well I had a little bit of an incident last night. I opened up my cab for the daily check, only to find that the light hadn't come on when it was supposed to. Fortunately there's no issue with the light, it was the timer that had failed.

I don't really know what happened. It's a digital timer, and when I checked its programming, it was as if the 12/12 schedule I had programmed into it had just been deleted. Luckily I have a backup, a mechanical timer that I use for my car's block heater in the winter. I'm not sure if I want to keep using it though, because I've found that it's not entirely accurate in keeping time, sometimes drifting about 5 minutes a day. Also I've heard that the pins on mechanical timers wear out over time, so now I'm paranoid that another issue may come up.

I guess I'm lucky in that the timer failed to turn the light on. If I had to choose, I'd take that over it not turning the light off when it was supposed to. I suppose there's a chance that it did turn the light on when it was supposed to, and then failed some time after that, but I'm more inclined to think that it just didn't turn on in the first place. If that's the case, the girls missed out on about 6 hours of light.

What would be a decent timer to use? Or is this one good enough?

http://www.homedepot.ca/product/plug-in-24-hour-mechanical-timer/980599

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I'm running an old timer that was on my aquarium for years before I started growing. It's gotta be close to 20 years old now. It's just a simple mechanical style with pins.

I try to check my plants 2x a day at lights on and off. I'm running 7-7 for flowering and 7-11 for veg. Easy-peasy.

The plants aren't that touchy unless they are super stressed out or the genetics are too inbred or feminised, that's really inbred.

7/7... what's that, a 9 day week?

Red, know much about photosynthesis at the fractal level? Does a stationary light mean that the fractal element absorbs more photons per cycle than in nature?

For example, if we look at the moon through a stationary cardboard tube, we only see the moon for a minute fraction of the cycle. IMO, that's what the fractal element "sees" (for lack of a better word) in nature (with the sun).

I was somewhat surprised to read that root hairs absorb nutrients at the molecular level, one at a time. It's the fractal exponent that absorbs quarts or gallons of solution per watering cycle.

If a stationary light doesn't allow the fractal element to absorb more photons, logic suggests a moving light might supply more sq feet per cycle. Lesser wattage has it's penetration limitations but wouldn't a light on a doughnut mover supply the relative same number of photons at the fractal level in a larger space?

 

[BlueGrassToker]

I have used a bunch of these and they never have failed me. Battery backup. Outdoor rated.
Can run a 1000w.
http://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-HB88RC-Digital-Receptacle-Programmable/dp/B000W0VTLW

 

[BongDaddy]

DiscoBiscuit: I haven't had issues with this digital timer before. It worked fine through 8 weeks of flowering in my 1 sq. ft. box, and it's worked in my 150hps box until now. I never touched it, it just all of a sudden didn't switch on. At first I was wondering if we had a power outage because there's construction on the street outside my house, but none of the other digital clocks in my house were wonky. I'm going to do some testing on it, but I'm not sure if I'll trust it any more.

Bulenath: I know the timer I switched to is basic, but it's rated heavy duty and I haven't had issues with it on my car's block heater. I'm probably going to finish off the current run with it and then maybe look into something a bit better. I only have just over 2 weeks left. Who knows, if it performs well I may just keep using it. The only thing it's powering is my 150hps, everything else is on a different circuit.

red: Fortunately I don't think my plants are touchy enough to have minded it. So far there seems to be no real ill effects. Fingers crossed!

BGT: I have one of those buried in my garage, exact model! I forgot about it until I checked your link and recognized the picture. Maybe I'll dig it out and use it. At least I have some options. lol

 

[guest 77721]

no no 7am to 7pm. I get out of bed at 6:30 take a 20min shower, play with the plants for 10mins eat breakfast and go to work. Drink coffee until I wake up and then go home.

Don't know much about fractals but they sure are purdy...

I'm actually going against the grain most of the time. If you look at what most of the guys are doing, it's just Horsepower TV for plants. Maximum Lumens, Maximum PPM's, a strain has to dance to a schedule or it's NFG and on and on...

I want to set up a growbox that is dialed in for lighting, temps and air changes all at the same time. I want to hit a sweet spot for feeding that the plants are thriving and not poisoned or nasty tasting. Believe it or not it actually works!!

[/endrant]

7/7... what's that, a 9 day week?

Red, know much about photosynthesis at the fractal level? Does a stationary light mean that the fractal element absorbs more photons per cycle than in nature?

For example, if we look at the moon through a stationary cardboard tube, we only see the moon for a minute fraction of the cycle. IMO, that's what the fractal element "sees" (for lack of a better word) in nature (with the sun).

I was somewhat surprised to read that root hairs absorb nutrients at the molecular level, one at a time. It's the fractal exponent that absorbs quarts or gallons of solution per watering cycle.

If a stationary light doesn't allow the fractal element to absorb more photons, logic suggests a moving light might supply more sq feet per cycle. Lesser wattage has it's penetration limitations but wouldn't a light on a doughnut mover supply the relative same number of photons at the fractal level in a larger space?

 

[Bulénath]

seven a.m. to eleven a.m... That is 16 hours on, 8 hours off.
Hope that is working for you. However, it is much more common to see 18 hours on and six off! My vegging plants sleep from 11am to 5pm.
Your mornings sound like mine!...Up early to play with the plants, straight to coffee, then work

 

[guest 77721]

This winter was a cluster f*ck with my plants. I popped my beans and had nice healthy seedlings that just floundered in my cold basement. We had a nasty cold ass winter with weeks and weeks of sub zero weather. My cab is up against an outside wall. Lights on temps are fine but it's just a bit too cool while the lights are off. I pulled my lighting and hours to bare minimum and waited it out and vegged my plants under minimal lighting. They were about 2 months old before I flipped the lighting to flowering. The best was they showed preflowers in 3 days.

Anytime I have problems with seedlings or small plants or have to go out of town, I pull my lighting down to bare minimum and hours too. I call it a cloudy day or week for the plants. And they love it.

 

[Bulénath]

Interesting.
It makes sense that minimum light triggers less photosynthesis, buying needed time, which can be helpful under certain circumstances.
But under what circumstances do you drop the light intensity and day-cycle-hours for seedlings and small plants with problems. Basically, what kind of problems are you dealing with that requires such a change in light?
Besides the obvious reasons such as going out of town, or plants overgrowing a limited space.... (i.e. pot space, grow chamber space, etc)

 

[guest 77721]

Cold root temps really mess up seedlings and yung-un's. I germinate on the hot water heater and they pop beautifully. Stick them in the cold growbox and the roots develop slower than the tops. It takes about 3-4 days and they show def's just like nute burn. 24 hour lighting and higher intensity lighting makes the problem worse. My fix was to back the lighting down in both intensity and hours to give the roots a chance to keep pace.

 

[Bulénath]

Yeah, plants can eat themselves to death in that way.
As for cold temperatures go, I had to learn the hard way.

A steady bedroom temperature around 60-63f caused my plants to take twice as long to flower. What is normally a 60-70 day strain took 100-110 days to finish. Luckily I live in a temperate zone so I don't have to deal with extreme fluctuation like all of you. However, a 12,000btu window A/C on full blast 24/7 dropped the temps way to low, cutting my GPW in half!!!

Now that I have re adjusted my temperatures to an average of 68-75F, things are looking normal again, and my strain looks like it will finish in 8 weeks, instead of 16!

 

[Bulénath]

Good news!
I'm about to fire up the 150HPS again within the next few days.
This time it will be used for something a bit different than you all are used to, but I am sure you will all love to see what this is about.
Everyone here at one point has contemplated stepping up their game, for the 150HPS cannot produce the copious amounts of hash that a 600HPS can. Since this club has been *the* starting point for many new growers, it will be fun to watch and learn the difference between working with both sized lights. We will learn what happens when the 150HPS is used to vegetate clones during a *second* transplant, to prep them for the larger lights- specifically a 600HPS semi-stealth cabinet.

This is actually a very crucial part for hitting that golden ratio: 1 GPW / <60 days.
And the 150HPS does a fantastic job at setting them up for the larger lights.
Stay tuned

 

[BongDaddy]

Sounds interesting. I'll be watching!

 

[Pipedream]

Bule - With all of the additional bud you'll be producing, I was just wondering.....Planning on walking the path of a Sadhu, my old friend? - If this is so, may the road to moksha be easy and Brahman be your guide.

PD

 

[sLai*kRoLa]

Greetings 150 watters!....mmm... My bulb is shining again!!!

First days of 12/12. 6 bigger ones are regular ones (3 Jamaican Skudley & 3 Critical Haze), so some of them will have to go when the balls shows up. And 3 little ones are White Diesel fem. All of them are from local breeder so it's hard to tell what will come out of them... Nevertheless...they are green and growing...

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Hello everyone, hope all is well and happy growing. Speaking of, I let this one get away from me prior to flower. Gonna be a bit crowded if these keep growing after stretch. peace

 

[thinkin]

never ending cure..

never ending cure..

Disco Beautiful scrog!

Sla- sweet circle what kind of bulb is that?

Been a month... cure is still goin.. ug. due to schedule conflict put buds into freezer well before stem snap. Dont do that! At week 2, began pulling the trays out for a few hours a week. Still not perfect. Has not stopped my sampling. But now scale is gone. any scale sugguestions?


picture of skunks middle of cure. guessing ~3 zips


no pictures of dieselxkush. guessing +2 zips
(in a dark cantainer, pictures arent good )

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Hello, thinkin. Yeah, the freezer method is good with enough prior drying. Hope you get it worked out, nice looking buddage.

dieselkush sounds good, hope it rocks yer world. 5 zips is impressive! Never got close myself. I think I had better than 4 once but I'm usually between 3 and 4.

scale suggestions... you mean brand or style? I'm not really up on the quality vs price. I just got one that had the weights for calibration. TBH, hasn't needed calibrating in almost 5 years.

I saw how full your cab was. Only thing I wonder is if you grew more than 5.

Keep it green.

 

[thinkin]

lol. ehh may have been more than 5...
but sampling can not be stopped!

weighted the skunks which were still little wet= 4.2 zips

yeah, need a brand or type of scale.
Been using old school triple beam.

Almost forgot about the small grape experiment (consumed already) yum!
Worked ok. Slight grape after taste. cut and put in grape gatorade for 24 hours
Next time, real grape juice for longer!