Air cooled reflector testing with Digital footcandle meter

[Guest]

threads like this is why i love this site. nice1 pico!

 

[Stoned Cold]

Solid thread!
Very nice work here Pico, we all appreciate your efforts greatly!

Have you by chance done any testing with a Yieldmaster II? Seems to me as though the 'bulk' is worth the footprint.

I was also curious how those numbers look with reflective materials in place.


...again, well done! Hopefully you were joking when you said you'd report back next year!

 

[MostHigh]

http://www.belllighting.com/product/photometrics.htm

 

[MostHigh]

Was there any testing on Hydroteks silverstar line?

 

[Guest]

http://www.belllighting.com/product/photometrics.htm

i hear these are the best hoods on the market.. anyone have any input on these before i buy some?

 

[pico]

i am not sold on those myself, but I really can't say that from any sort of experience or testing. I just think they are designed more for suplemental lighting in greenhouses. If you look at the figures they are testing them over a 3meter square at a height of 3 meters. If they had some more testing under actual indoor conditions it would be nice. I also think that their design for aircooled reflectors is mediocre at best.

Keep in mind I have never seen one of these in person. Just telling you what I think from their website and photos they provide.

 

[Guest]

i hear these are the best hoods on the market.. anyone have any input on these before i buy some?

they work outstanding. they give much more even light distribution over the canopy.

 

[Guest]

they work outstanding. they give much more even light distribution over the canopy.

By any chance have you subjected the Bell hood that you speak of to the identical testing procedure that PICO followed in his evaluations of the various hood manufacturers he tested??????????????

If you have a Foot Candle Meter and the Bell hood I would appreciate it if you would check PICO's test criteria (distance,bulb,grid size,FC meter positioning, warm up time and etc.) and closely duplicate it when evaluating the Bell brand and get back to us with the results.

The Super Sun II appears to be Top Dawg over all hoods tested to date, however numbers numbers don't lie and while the Bell might claim to be the better, we won't be able to state factually that it is until it is put through the identical test procedures.


Thanks,

Ty-Stik

 

[Guest]

forgot to mention that i've only compared the bell hood to the cool sun. the bell gives much better light distribution over the cool sun. i'm just giving some input to swordfish as requested.. i don't have any interest in winning any contest here.

By any chance have you subjected the Bell hood that you speak of to the identical testing procedure that PICO followed in his evaluations of the various hood manufacturers he tested??????????????

no.. just compared the bell to the cool sun. i took readings with a footcandle meter around the canopy but nothing as thorough as pico's testing.

If you have a Foot Candle Meter and the Bell hood I would appreciate it if you would check PICO's test criteria (distance,bulb,grid size,FC meter positioning, warm up time and etc.) and closely duplicate it when evaluating the Bell brand and get back to us with the results.

sorry ty-stik, i can't do all that. all i can do is comment on the results i've seen between the two hoods i've ran in the last few years and the bell is lots better... to the tune of at least 4oz per 1k light which is mainly a result of a wider, brighter footprint.

The Super Sun II appears to be Top Dawg over all hoods tested to date, however numbers numbers don't lie and while the Bell might claim to be the better, we won't be able to state factually that it is until it is put through the identical test procedures.

true.. i haven't run a super sun II, it may work as well or better than the bell. i can state factually however that the bell works outstanding based on the numbers from the scale which mean the most at the end of the day.

 

[Guest]

hey thanks.. what about these new hydrofarm mondo hoods seem like a bell knock off for 50 bucks less?

 

[Guest]

forty grit-----I thought you had a Bell hood that you were using and could comparison test.

Ty-Stik

 

[darthvapor]

I have a pl 1000w deep reflector and am planning on getting a bell 1000w hood. I was gonna get it from westcoast growers but it seems the sf shop closed. So as soon as I can locate one I will purchase and test both in the aircooled config and try and do it like pico so we can add them to the database. Can somebody recommend a good light meter to do this on I need to purchase one of those as well. look forward to letting you know how it goes

 

[Neptune]

still would love to see:

Daystar AC
SilverStar
PL Bell Lighting *since forty is big on it


I could do Daystar and Silverstar if I get a meter.

 

[Guest]

Darthvapor: That is what I was hoping for when I communicated to fortygrit, building a data base, one that WE submit to based on a set of SCIENTIFIC protocols as PICO used.

Try camera stores for quality new and used light meters.

 

[Guest]

Darthvapor: That is what I was hoping for when I communicated to fortygrit, building a data base, one that WE submit to based on a set of SCIENTIFIC protocols as PICO used.

trying to compare the efficiency of different hoods using completely different ballasts, lamps, and fc meters wouldn't be very scientific and pretty much useless.

 

[Guest]

FortyGrit: The keywords are "scientific protocols", apples and apples not apples and oranges, I believe I clearly noted that 7 or 8 posts back. All "criteria" must be the same in order to give equal value to test results conducted at different times and locations.

 

[pico]

Due to the difference in output between ballasts/bulbs even from the same manufacturer it is not possible to do the same test and compare to my numbers. Not even I can compare to my numbers anymore since I have since thrown the test bulb away.

I still plan on doing testing with 1000w lights at some point so there is a small chance I might be able to test out some of these other reflectors mentioned. I don't really have any plans go buy a bunch more reflectors, but hopefully I will be able to borrow them for testing purposes.

Someone could do a test similar to mine with say the Bell reflector and the Super Sun 2 reflector. Then you could see if the bell was better or worse than the super sun 2. But you can't just test the bell and compare your numbers to my numbers.

 

[DIGITALHIPPY]

still would love to see:

Daystar AC
SilverStar
PL Bell Lighting *since forty is big on it


I could do Daystar and Silverstar if I get a meter.

i was in the process of aquireing a digital lumin meter, ive got the daystar i want numbers aswell. i own 4 600's and 1k'r

ive got 1 more week of crop then im closeing down ship, id love to test it. this thread is awsome.

im also intrested in the silverstar, thoes pl lights look wierd, and there not air cooled?

whats the plug like on the silverstar is the SS or the HF plug?

 

[Guest]

That would be a digital Foot Candle meter. If you are going to attempt to run tests you will need to determine exactly how PICO did them and do the same using the SAME equipment, ballast, bulb, model of Digital FC meter, bulb and ballast warm up times, cool down times, distance from lamp to meter, a uniform grid with fixed test points and so on. Otherwise your effort will not provide usable figures due to variation in the testing procedure. While equipment of the same manufacture might vary in performance right off the shelf the variance would be uniform for the device being used and would give a comparative.

 

[Guest]

I'm sick of those f**king cooltubes that I cant even stick my d**k in....

Ray

I don't think that was the design paramater - but hey!!!!!!!!



I found this thread from a link in another thread - forgot what the fisrt thread even was about.

--- ok yeah,,, lumun loss thru glass.

I've also wondered about using single strength window glass - might save a little bit - but what, maybe 1%


You know I'm going to have to replace my hoods now?

Thanks for the info!