250W HPS

[FRiKaZoiD]

I've decided im going to be purchasing a 250 Watt HPS. I was wondering what brand for the bulb/ballast you guys would suggest. Soon as i decide that its off to the store to pick it up. thx

 

[herbal essences]

I'd just go with the cheapest ballast and the bulb with most lumens, insidesun has it for 80$

 

[mixin]

it totally depends on your ability to cool your grow area. if you will have problems keeping it cool (like i do) you will definately want a cool tube to get the hot air out. i currently have a light with a built in ballast and the combination of the two get extremely hot! digital ballasts do not get as hot and you can make your own cool tube for them like i did

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=62161
there are good deals on ebay for digital ballasts too

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Something to consider. One ballast, one bulb, start to finish. Even then, if you feel the CMH bulb is not for you, or you want to use the CMH for veg only, you still have the option of using a regular HPS bulb.

CMH thread
http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=72215

Namaste, mess

 

[DankSide]

I have a galaxy digital 250watt hps ballast. I love it except I hear you can't run CMH on digi ballasts?!
You can however, run either HPS or MH in the galaxy digi ballast.

 

[messn'n'gommin']

I have a galaxy digital 250watt hps ballast. I love it except I hear you can't run CMH on digi ballasts?!
You can however, run either HPS or MH in the galaxy digi ballast.

I failed to mention that DankSide, thank you for the correction!

Ya, e-ballasts cycle at too high a frequency for the CMH. Although, there are a few (read: hard to find and expensive!) e-ballasts made specifically for the CMH, the 250w and 400w bulbs were developed for use on HPS magnetic core and coil ballasts. 150 and lower wattages use a pulse start MH core and coil ballasts.

Namaste, mess

 

[strydr]

I'm with Messn' on this one. CMH is a great option. CMH is easier to cool (doesn't throw heat so far), and provides more uv-b than HPS. It feels easier on the eyes, although you shouldn't expose yourself to it for a prolonged time..

 

[joluvs2gro]

I bought a really decent ballast used off of craigslist for $10.00, I know you're probably thinking yeah, "how long's that going to last" but the guy I got it from only used it twice for supplemental halloween lighting, twice. It doesn't hardly make any noise and I have wired it remote outside my grow room. I also bought another one for $20 that is 277 volts for when I am ready to do something a little different.

 

[B. Self Reliant]

Lumitek digital ballast and a Hortilux HPS bulb work great together. The ballast also runs MH bulbs, although the HPS alone will get you from start to finish.

It's nice to know you can run both though in case you expand someday and your 250 watt set-up becomes your veg. lamp, then you'd wanna run the MH. I want to say you get about 32,000 Lumens with an HPS and and around 24,000 with a MH? Something like that.