400 watt mh or hps??????

[tokerofdakill]

I have ran into a problem with a 600 watt digital greenhouse hps light being to hot for its space..as of now am changing to a sunleaves 400 watt mh..the writing on ballast is 400 watt mh..but box says it is switchable..there is no switch to flip, all i know about this light is that is brand new and was free..i have got a 400 watt mh bulb, but think i shud have a hps bulb with these auto's? or will this bulb be fine..if anyone can help please do so

 

[Pac-Man]

I'd say your better off with the HPS, especially a HPS bulb meant for growing.

 

[oregon024]

There a way They can be ran I may be wrong but I believe.You can use a hps to run either bulbs.But if you try to fire a hps with mh it can explode.

 

[corkushy]

The MH will run hotter and put out less lumens

1. I have an AgroMax MH 400watt bulb that puts out 38,000 Lumens.RUNS VERY HOT
2. I have an HTGSupply HPS 400watt bulb which puts out 55,000Lumens RUNS HOT

Hope this helps enjoy the holidays

Corkushy

 

[keeper]

Maybe neither ? LINK

 

[tokerofdakill]

Thanks everyone..im gunna check into the cmh bulbs, thanks Keeper

 

[Mr.Meds]

I agree...I'm a fan of cmh...I had bad experiences with switchable ballast with cmh though.

 

[tokerofdakill]

Whats up mr meds..where is a good place on net to pick up a cmh bulb..not seeing any on htgsupply site.... well im putting in the 400 mh as of now..well c what happens

 

[tokerofdakill]

well cab is ruuning at 75.2 deg f. and 50% Hum. as of now..thats with light 22" over these little guys.thats easy 10 deg less then the 600 watt, which was what i was looking for.finally i can shut the dang door..whoohooo ..but will these guys finish out rite under a MH bulb?

 

[Mr.Meds]

They'll probably be more leafy and smaller yielding. check your messages for that link.

 

[Pinball Wizard]

don't run a CMH bulb on a digital ballast, their not compatible..except one type of GE ballast

has to be a magnetic HPS ballast

 

[Scrogerman]

'Switchable' means you can run either HPS or MH through that one ballast. Ive got a Switchable mech Ballast and it has served me well for a few years now, dont get too hot either as i stick it on a make shift heat sink.
I'd say if its made by a reputable company you'll be fine but you may wanna check out what your supplier says.
'Good Luck' ......................Scroger

 

[tokerofdakill]

'Switchable' means you can run either HPS or MH through that one ballast. Ive got a Switchable mech Ballast and it has served me well for a few years now, dont get too hot either as i stick it on a make shift heat sink.
I'd say if its made by a reputable company you'll be fine but you may wanna check out what your supplier says.
'Good Luck' ......................Scroger

Scrogerman, hey man thanks.. but only the box says switchable..nowhere on the ballast does it say anything except 400 watt MH..it has no power switch but sticker on box says it was removed.. im new to all this, just dont wanna burn anything up..or dont wanna get a HPS bulb and it explode...what kind of harvest could i expect by letting them finish under this 400 watt MH Optilume.. ALL

 

[Scrogerman]

6500k

6500k

Its all about Spectrum buddy,
You need to check the 'K'-Kelvin rating for that paticular lamp(Bulb) if you are considering blooming with a MH. I know they come in diff spectrums. Your gonna want one like 5500k-6500k as that Kelvin (colour temp) is closest to natural daylight . I'd Use HPS although i like and use the Colour adjusted full spectrum type ie- Growlux or Sunmaster Which are 6500k (i think) Thats why i use and swear by them. You do get MH that are 6500k so if its that K-temp then go for it buddy, its the closest rating to natural daylight so its gotta be good-right. Cannabis does like HPS too for bloom (or veg) and there mostly around 2700k give or take a few hunderd K'. HPS(2700k) will tend to make your plants stretch if you use them in veg but that can be used to an advantage. They are more in the red/orange end of the spectrum which MJ does very well in also, especially in bloom. At the mo i'm using a mix of Grolux-6500k and CFLs at 2700k to suppliment. I like mixing spectrums.
If your MH is 6500k then you are gonna get a wicked harvest ime. On the Ballast, If i were you, i would just check with the supplier you got it from weather its switchable, that sort of knowledge is gonna come in handy and i think you should know anyway. Check the web too i'm sure you'll find the anwser somewhere, without having to make calls. Hope this Helps.

Peace........Be-Lucky...............Scrog'

 

[oregon024]

I was going by what the man at the local green house said.That sold me my light set ups told me so I didn't screw up! peace

 

[tokerofdakill]

Its all about Spectrum buddy,
You need to check the 'K'-Kelvin rating for that paticular lamp(Bulb) if you are considering blooming with a MH. I know they come in diff spectrums. Your gonna want one like 5500k-6500k as that Kelvin (colour temp) is closest to natural daylight . I'd Use HPS although i like and use the Colour adjusted full spectrum type ie- Growlux or Sunmaster Which are 6500k (i think) Thats why i use and swear by them. You do get MH that are 6500k so if its that K-temp then go for it buddy, its the closest rating to natural daylight so its gotta be good-right. Cannabis does like HPS too for bloom (or veg) and there mostly around 2700k give or take a few hunderd K'. HPS(2700k) will tend to make your plants stretch if you use them in veg but that can be used to an advantage. They are more in the red/orange end of the spectrum which MJ does very well in also, especially in bloom. At the mo i'm using a mix of Grolux-6500k and CFLs at 2700k to suppliment. I like mixing spectrums.
If your MH is 6500k then you are gonna get a wicked harvest ime. On the Ballast, If i were you, i would just check with the supplier you got it from weather its switchable, that sort of knowledge is gonna come in handy and i think you should know anyway. Check the web too i'm sure you'll find the anwser somewhere, without having to make calls. Hope this Helps.

Peace........Be-Lucky...............Scrog'

hey man yes it does help..but i cant check with where i got it.. it was free a repo item we will say, but it was gave to me...im going to put a cheap HPS bulb in it outside.. if it blowsup, oh well..my MH bulb as of now only has a temp of 4,200k.. will try and get this dialed in before flower, mite cost me another $100+ but oh well......

 

[Retardo Motabon]

I assume the 400 ballast is a standard coil ballast not a digital?
If ther is no switch on the ballast cover it isnt switchable.
HPS bulbs need an ignitor to get them started. mh bulbs do not except with the pulse start mh's. If your 400 was switchable it would have an ignitor in the box. THe switch on the ballast box is used to bypass the current so the ignitor isnt part of the circuit when running a mh bulb with it. The only way it will work wit hps is if you took it apart and rewired it with an ignitor. Not worth the safety factor compared to the lowcost of a 400 watt coil ballast.
If you want to keep it cheap, go with the mh bulb you have now and add some flourescent lighting to supplement with a lower kelvin rating as was mentioned earlier.
You could use a conversion bulb like the hortilux ace i think its called or the less expensive sumaster but both are almost as expensive as a new 400 watt magnetic coil ballast.
you can get 125w cfl's that are 2700 kelvin for $40 or less.
One of them would add a good amount of orange to red light and increase your yield a bit.
RM

 

[habeeb]

CMH

 

[Scrogerman]

I assume the 400 ballast is a standard coil ballast not a digital?
If ther is no switch on the ballast cover it isnt switchable.
HPS bulbs need an ignitor to get them started. mh bulbs do not except with the pulse start mh's. If your 400 was switchable it would have an ignitor in the box. THe switch on the ballast box is used to bypass the current so the ignitor isnt part of the circuit when running a mh bulb with it. The only way it will work wit hps is if you took it apart and rewired it with an ignitor. Not worth the safety factor compared to the lowcost of a 400 watt coil ballast.
If you want to keep it cheap, go with the mh bulb you have now and add some flourescent lighting to supplement with a lower kelvin rating as was mentioned earlier.
You could use a conversion bulb like the hortilux ace i think its called or the less expensive sumaster but both are almost as expensive as a new 400 watt magnetic coil ballast.
you can get 125w cfl's that are 2700 kelvin for $40 or less.
One of them would add a good amount of orange to red light and increase your yield a bit.
RM

Well |Retado,
My Mechanical or coil Ballast as you call them buddy has no switch as such/at all, but is switchable between HPS & MH It says so on the (Quality) Ballast, but there is NO switch buddy ok! I can stick a few pics up if you want to show you !
If its switchable it doesent have to have a switch. There built in and its just plug n play-no flicking any switches at all, i can use HPS or MH Lamps-no-problem! and its a good 5-7 years old too. Because of its age i'm wondering if this guy has a similar model to mine!
Peace Scrog'

Tokerofdakill- dude i'm sure the 4100k that you have there would be fine also and believe its nearer optimal kelvin rating for MJ which i believe is somewhere around 4200k-4500k. Ive read a study somewhere and them are the figures i remember as being optimal for MJ'. Someone correct me if you think i am wrong. Saying that i'll stick with my mixed spectrum K'

 

[Retardo Motabon]

Thas cool man, but he said it was a sunleaves ballast. Sunleaves switchable ballasts have a switch on them to enable or disable the ignitor. If ther is no switch, the ballast wasnt the same one as the box originally held. I am not aware of a traditional magnetic balllast that is capable of recognizing a mh vs hps lamp. There is no smart chip of some kind in them just a ballast, capacitor (and an ignitor if it runs hps.)
RM