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250w HPS users....
- Thread starter Creeptic
- Start date
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F0iL
wow those two plants look amazing Anghellic! I miss your grow threads haha.. any time your gonna have one up of your current grow wih your 250 cmh?
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F0iL
yeah man that PK looks like its coating on some nice sugar... how do you like the 250cmh from the 150hps? I am trying to decide whether to upgrade to a 250 or a 150hps, but I am just worried about heat and wondering if its really worth the upgrade? Keep us updated on that, I am curious to see the end product and yield on those babies..
I recently made that very switch. From a 150 HPS to 250 CMH. Heat increase was significant and I screwed up my fan choices but, I love the bulb. My old 150 ebb and flo grows were sad and puny compared to CMH and DWC
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F0iL
nice lookin plants FreezerBoy. Was the extra heat from the 250 worth the yield over the 150? I am trying to decide whether the heat will be an issue to take care of in a stealth grow cab. noise will be an issue so a huge fan won't be possible.
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eLiguL
F0iL said:
Axial/muffin fans are sufficient for cooling a 250.
Yes, its worth the extra heat.
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F0iL
nice sounds good... ill take that advice and try it out. If all else fails ill just use a 150watt. I just don't know the exact dimensions of my new grow cab, so i guess it depends on that as well. Is the difference between the 250 watt hps and cmh a huge difference in temps? Does anyone know approx. temp difference?
I just ordered an HTG 250w HPS. Think I'm going to get a CMH bulb though. Anyone have any comparisons between the HPS and CMH?
Oh and I'm running this 250w CMH in a dual PC case. Going to cut a tempered glass shield and run 4 120mm 100cfm+ fans over the glass separate from the rest of the ventilation, should that cool it?
Oh and I'm running this 250w CMH in a dual PC case. Going to cut a tempered glass shield and run 4 120mm 100cfm+ fans over the glass separate from the rest of the ventilation, should that cool it?
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F0iL said:
It's hard to give an objective answer. My transition to CMH also included my first DWC, first ScROG and first indoor sativa. As a result I have little if any direct comparisons. The buds are lighter and smaller in diameter but, I suspect it's the difference between sativa and indica. They're longer than anything I've grown with less popcorn but, again, that could be an indica/sativa thing as well.
Overall it feels as though growth is denser, shorter, more lush but with just as many bud sites. I've got another under the old 150 HPS getting ready to go under the 250 CMH. Here's some comparison shots. All examples are of Wilma under a 250CMH and her clone under 150HPS
In this one Wilma's on the bottom. Both plants are 18 days old. Angle's a bit off but the net pots are the same size for scale and you can see the clone is much taller with no additional nodes or growth. Just stretched out.
Wilma on the left @ 31 days, Clone on the right @ 37 days. The screen material is the same 1 inch mesh in both shots. Note how Wilma's stalk is much thicker though a week younger.
Wilma @ 30 days on the left. Clone @ 37 days on the right.
This is a different plant under the 150, though still a Thunk. (long boring story deleted) Look at how thin and wispy she is.
How much of this is actually the CMH and not other variables? Don't know. I will say I have no buyer's remorse. I feel I'm better off but, really have no scientific proof.
One last note. If you're interested in stealth, stay the @#$%* away from inline (vortex style) fans. After my harvest, I'm going to see if I can't go back to an axial fan. If not, I may try the Panasonic WhisperFan.
Jerry Maine
Member
I cool my 250w HPS with PC fans. They're stupidly quiet, and so long as you vent your light independently via a cool-tube or glass shield then that's all a 250w needs. I sleep a few feet from my box and don't notice them unless I really listen for them, and I suspect I could turn one or two of them off without affecting temps.
Also, my next light will probably be a 250w CMH, they seem to be pretty good. But I'm going to get some more use out of this HPS bulb first. I think I might be able to use a CMH bulb in my National ballast too, gotta check that out.
Here's my 250w grow 9 days into flower. On the left are 2 nirvana grapefruits, on the right are the 2 skush from seedsman. All have shown female pre-flowers so the next 7 weeks should be fun.
Also, my next light will probably be a 250w CMH, they seem to be pretty good. But I'm going to get some more use out of this HPS bulb first. I think I might be able to use a CMH bulb in my National ballast too, gotta check that out.
Here's my 250w grow 9 days into flower. On the left are 2 nirvana grapefruits, on the right are the 2 skush from seedsman. All have shown female pre-flowers so the next 7 weeks should be fun.
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F0iL
FreezerBoy - those are some great comparison pics with the cmh vs hps. It seems as thought everyone switching to cmh has been happy with the change and havnt regreted it. I mine as well jump on the band wagon and test out a cmh bulb and see how it goes haha... Great info 
Jerry Maine - wow man nice cab and nice plants! Yeah I am most likely going to cool tube or seperate it with tempered glass and add pc fans like you did. Sounds like temps arnt a problem when isolating the bulb. Let us know when you make the switch and what differences you see in the cmh bulbs.
Thanks for all the helpful info guys, I am definitely going to make the switch to a 250 instead of a 150. Let you all know once I do the switch, and finally join the 250watt clubbers!
Jerry Maine - wow man nice cab and nice plants! Yeah I am most likely going to cool tube or seperate it with tempered glass and add pc fans like you did. Sounds like temps arnt a problem when isolating the bulb. Let us know when you make the switch and what differences you see in the cmh bulbs.
Thanks for all the helpful info guys, I am definitely going to make the switch to a 250 instead of a 150. Let you all know once I do the switch, and finally join the 250watt clubbers!
Deft said:Finally got my 250 up and running, its damn bright compared to 200w of cfl!
Here is what it looked like when it came from econolight.
And here it is mostly rigged up.
hey man. how was it setting that up? rewiring it and stuff? I've been researching HPS lately, still waiting on having $$ though. I've seen alot of people get the lights from econolight, im not big on electric work though.
also, for anyone....from what I can tell from posts/pics the heat isnt a hige issue? I grow in a bedroom closet, just out in the open of the closet. The only thing is that I can't really drill holes or anything anywhere. thoughts???
Rob547 said:
I recently wired up that very 250 e-conolight. It was a breeze. As far as heat is concerned you may not have an issue with a 250 out in the open. If it is an issue, maybe you should consider a cool tube. If you're going as far as wiring your own lights, you're only 30 more minutes of effort away from a home made cool tube.
About the light though: Cut an extension cord. The green one goes to a bare copper wire (the only one there). The white one goes to the wire that says "com," and the black one goes to the one that says "120." (Again, I'm assuming you're in the U.S.)
About not being able to drill holes in your closet: the obvious solution would be to leave the door open, but I'll assume that you already considered that and start with plan B. Have you considered leaving the door open and making your grow silent, smell proof, and light proof? With that you could eschew the drill entirely and keep your temps in check.
Jerry Maine
Member
I cut a huge hole in the closet of a place I rented. Then, when I was leaving, I cut a piece a piece of white board to fit, then propped it up with the original wooden strips that run along the corners. Unless you were inside the roof you'd never have noticed, and even if it's a bit rough in the corners I doubt anyone would notice for years, if at all, since it's in a cupboard.
Jerry
Jerry
iboga said:looks nice but maybe next time you should give it a bit longer congrats mate enjoy
Thanks, I went about 2w over the 8W flower period of both plants.. The Lemon Stinky is about 75% cloudy, 25% amber with a few clear probably, and the master kush is in a somewhat similar situation, probably. Plus I had to chop, since the Lemon Stinky was starting to throw out male flowers
My yield wasn't that amazing because the main light had to be moved way too high up (distancing from the Master Kush, so I had to add a CFL as well) and the fact that it was my first grow
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