250w HPS users....

[DangerP]

Dude, it is ****in' rad that the 250 growers seem to also be the tomato and basil gourmands. Deft, I'm totally with you on the tomato, basil and balsamic. Delicious.

Back on topic, I've got a question, mostly a clarification from my question a page or two back. I have a cheapo light setup from insidesun.com (which I would actually recommend to anyone who needs to buy a light on the cheap), but now I want to move up in the world. Does anyone have any suggestions on what the best ballast, bulb, and reflector are for a 250 watt bulb?

 

[TML16]

Wow It's been too long since I've posted in the 250W Thread.

You guys are still doing a bang up job in here though!

What would be a post in the 250W thread without some 250W buds?
Here's what I got cooking under the 250W right now

some Arcata Trainwreck X Strawberry Diesel by Somoz

and some Purple Bastard by Jaws, F2's by Core

Grow on 250W brothers!

250W Pacific Shark buds

 

[Poker_Toker]

Guys i am very interested in this size light, i am just worrying about my power bill increase, as my landlord pays and i dont want him snooping around even though i only seen him once in my life, ya know?

Is the average increase per month 10 dollars or less?

This is how it should be with one of those 99.9% efficient ballasts from lumatak in my eyes. Anyone that could back this up as being correct let me know, thanks!!

Those new 250 digital ballasts from Lumatek look like the way id go if i started. I just got a few questions about 250 setups:

A 250w HPS with a new 2007 lumatek ballast that is 99.9% efficient
Does this make sence about a power bill?

First Month - Veg

14 days @ 24/0
250w x 24h/1000
=6Kw/h per day times 14 days
=84 Kw/h @ 5.3 Cents per Kw/h
= $4.45

7 days @ 18/6
250w x 18h/1000
=4.5Kw/h per day times 7 days
=31.5Kw/h @5.3 Cents per Kw/h
= $1.67
7 Days at 14/10
250W x 14h/1000
=3.5Kw/h per day times 7 days
=24.5Kw/h @5.3 Cents per Kw/h
= $1.30

First Month= $4.45 + $1.67 + $1.30 = $7.42

Second and Third Months

60 Days 12/12
250w x 12h/1000
=3Kw/h per day times 60 days
=180Kw/h @ 5.3 Cents per Kw/h
= $9.54 for 2 months dived by 2

Second and Third months= $4.77 per month

Grand total 7.42 + 4.77 + 4.77 = 17 Bucks for a 250 per cycle. What are you guys paying? and with electronic or digi ballast?

 

[i_score]

yes, i did manage to get a gram per watt 2 grows ago,but its not a number that i hit every time, allthough i realised if i did a SOG with many plants that should be a number to achieve, my last grow i did 1 plant under the light, i manage to get 5 OZ not a bad number for just one plant.

 

[The Dank]

Poker Toker, you could balance most of the extra electricity use by just switching all your lights in your house to compact cfls, and don't run the dishwasher etc. But even just switching to the cfls, you would be just about there.

 

[Deft]

Poker, I think you have something confused. When a light is using 250w its using 250w (if the rating is accurate), the efficiency shows up in the form of more light and less energy wasted making heat. So your always using around 250w but with a digital ballast you get more light and less heat from the wattage being used... Which is of course a very good thing!

 

[Poker_Toker]

Poker, I think you have something confused. When a light is using 250w its using 250w (if the rating is accurate), the efficiency shows up in the form of more light and less energy wasted making heat. So your always using around 250w but with a digital ballast you get more light and less heat from the wattage being used... Which is of course a very good thing!

Ohh i get it now, thanks man. I figured that those old magnetic ballasts actually drew more power then 250 watts, but in fact all ballasts use 250watts, just the digitals run more efficiently, that right ? lol

The power increase wont be noticeable if you change all those 100 and 60 watt incandescent bulbs in your house to 13w cfl's. Lets face it in the winter i have my lights on alot because its so damn dark here so early. I have 300 watts burning in my living room alone from lets say 6pm to 3am these days. If i shut my computer off at night for 12 hours i would save enough to run another one on 12/12 if i ever wanted to. The inconvenience of that will keep my computer idling 24 hours just because i like it

 

[guest101]

13W CFL is too little... For me its too dark... and cold if its 6400K!
Find it more confortable in the ~25W range and warm light spectrum!
Cheers mate!

 

[kenned]

heres a few of my dragon haze hydro scrog..

 

[youngbuck1986]

alright so im thinking about building a cab. was thinking about gutting out an old dresser. going to be using a 250w hps is there any specifics in how tall my dresser should be etc. also for odor control do i just have to attach an exhaust fan to the back of the dresser with a filter or what?

 

[crownedsparrow]

damn kenned that setup looks mega legit. how much you gonna pull from that?

 

[TheBEAK]

also for odor control do i just have to attach an exhaust fan to the back of the dresser with a filter or what?

Yes you can get a Charcoal filter pretty cheap, and then you can just use a PC fan, as long as it is over 100 CFM in my opinion.(Thats what i use, and i've never smelled anything + my temps are acceptable).

 

[youngbuck1986]

beak thanks bro. I have a room to grow in in a friends basement but i think an out in the open setup is still kinda sketch unless it was my own place so i think a cab will be better for my situation.

 

[kenned]

damn kenned that setup looks mega legit. how much you gonna pull from that?

thanks mate!

I dont know how much I'm gonna get, mooved not long ago, so its my first try with this set up.. But I hope maybe 100+ grams..?

what you guys think??

 

[Poker_Toker]

Simply amazing. How long was your veg time?

What is a good strain to try out from nirvana? I am stuck between Citral, Papaya and NL. I want a 6-8week flowering and a couple weeks veg with lst. 25 bucks for 10 beans is a freaking awesome deal and if they dont show up, hey its only 25 bucks.

Simply amazing shit being pulled off here, well done guys. I am looking for a dresser right now lol

 

[kenned]

A few more pics:

 

[8bitNES]

Hey guys I'm part of the 400 club but actually want to step down to a 250. Can anyone recommend a quiet magnetic ballast? Stealth is a concern which is why it has to be quiet. The 400 I have now is electronic. The reason for wanting a magnetic 250 is because I'm real enthusiastic about those CMH bulbs and will go that route. HTG supply off of ebay has good prices for their systems but don't know if those ballasts are really quiet. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

8bit

 

[Deft]

8Bit, what kind of bulb works in a magneto and not a digital?

I've decided on the lumatek 250 switchable, it should provide all the bud I want esp since I will supplement with outdoor.

One question though... Has anyone gotten away with a 250 in a cold closet without ventilation? I will probably have to run the AC all summer or cut a hole in the wall to get rid of hot stagnant air but during the winter I might just get away with it if the ballast is housed outside the closet, I'm already getting away with 180w of CFL which put off more heat per watt. Its about 50 cubic feet with two cold walls if that makes a difference.

 

[8bitNES]

Deft, CMH bulbs do not work with digital/e-ballasts. Reading the CMH thread I believe someone has been with a 250 but they seem to be the only one pulling it off. Others say once they hook their d/e-ballast its obvious they won't work together. I'd have to do more research but I think they make a 250 ballast made for ceramic HID bulbs but research will prove whether or not that's true or not. So this is why I need a magnetic ballast.

8bit

 

[tripnoncid]

I am planning on getting the good ole 250hps out from hibernation soon....last run I did with it was a millspride c22 cab with ebb&flow...yielded 161.8 grams....I am a much better grower now so maybe this time I can do around 8oz...hopefully.
trip