Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

[GrowinSmoke]

I have read a lot of this thread, but admittedly, no where near to all of it.

I used a 150w cmh a couple years ago. The results were inconclusive due to a poor run, but I still used a 400w HPS after that. It sounds to me this technology is getting much better.

I am starting a new tent set up and have considered anything from 1 600w HPS - 1 600w HPS 1 600w MH - and 1000w hps.

After visiting the local shop I saw the new 315w CMHs. I think I would feel more comfortable with 2 of these in my space, but they are pricey. $220 a ballast is more than I am willing to invest in this for now.

Is a single 860w CMH the right choice for the power range I am wanting to run in? Seems like this would be much more economical. What ballast are these designed to run on?

 

[GrowinSmoke]

Also, does the 315w actually require the Phillips ballast or will another low frequency ballast work?

 

[rives]

Rives, how high above the plants is the single bulb in your 4x4 tent?

In the 4x4, the glass on the hood is about 14" above the plants. My other tent doesn't have as much headroom and I've run them within a few inches of the glass with no ill effects other than impacting the light distribution.

Also, does the 315w actually require the Phillips ballast or will another low frequency ballast work?

Any ballast that hits the requirements of the lamp will work. There have been some mentions on here of some Chinese ballasts that work with the lamp, but my experience has only been with the Philips ballasts. Advanced Tech Lighting has a sale going for a "combo pack" of the ballast and the lamp for $220, but their reputation for delivering in a reasonable time frame is a little sketchy.

http://advancedtechlighting.com/cdmmw.htm

 

[coloradoe]

my ceramic metal halide 30 days experiment

my ceramic metal halide 30 days experiment

http://youtu.be/TXykaGm1kVA

 

[coloradoe]

http://youtu.be/TXykaGm1kVA

 

[coloradoe]

sorry meant to post the 30day update .....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSnUbYmceSI
true negative pressure box doore is being held on exclusivly by negative pressure.
working pretty good so far lec 315 has in my opinion maximized this lamps potential . 3100k I would use the 4200k if iwas looking for suplimental .
using a hyperfan and a phresh intake to scrub thats working out very well. suprised that the fabric is filtering smell so well. could of had a better canopy towards the right. but next round will be much better. strawberry kush and herojauna x jack 33
next round will be strawberry kush anf then gorilla glue and wifi.

canopy is reading at 1700 mm if i had 3 i would of probably gone for 2000mm
going to try the ac/de with the lec next box .

coco
ionic coco line with base
protek
trying terpinator
hydroplex
calimagic
pk boost
ancient forest top dressing
fossil fuel .
carboload .
some other stuff here and there .
mainly using what i had laying around and was asked to test.

 

[redclover]

I heard there's another Philips CMH project coming soon I've honestly had 400w CMHs put out more than a 600HPS...by a hair. CMH didn't need air cooled either, so no glass too.

 

[Bubbagineer]

What reflectors you using?! I'm thinking about 2 315s in a vert. Not enough red how? You should see the 860w...I have to apply banana boat when I enter tent.

They are the LEC315 by Sunlight Systems. Open bulb, vertical fixtures. Made in the USA, don't see that much anymore. It's a well put together light, but I haven't seen it for under $500 (includes bulb). Also nice it runs on 120v if you order it that way. I'm not affiliated with these folks btw

 

[redclover]

They are the LEC315 by Sunlight Systems. Open bulb, vertical fixtures. Made in the USA, don't see that much anymore. It's a well put together light, but I haven't seen it for under $500 (includes bulb). Also nice it runs on 120v if you order it that way. I'm not affiliated with these folks btw

I'd rather get two bulbs and run bare vert. Way too much for a reflector.

 

[Bubbagineer]

@redclover ok.... I am running bare vertical bulbs. Why wouldn't you have a reflector?

 

[Bubbagineer]

@rives. Hey bro, how's that 4x4 experiment coming... Been a couple of weeks. Did they outgrow the single lamp?

 

[rives]

@rives. Hey bro, how's that 4x4 experiment coming... Been a couple of weeks. Did they outgrow the single lamp?

No, I've still got them tanking along under the one lamp. It looks like this might be the best yield out of this variety that I've gotten, even though a couple of them were substantially behind the others in development. It's taking some serious propping and bondage to keep them upright.

42 days -

 

[Luther Burbank]

Didn't I see a recall for the 315w for potential catastrophic failure?

 

[rives]

A quick search shows this recall of a 150w CMH, but I couldn't find any others -

http://www.recall.philips.com/MHC150/en_us.html#page=page-1

 

[Bubbagineer]

@rives. Hell yeah man! A couple of questions if you don't mind.

- Are you utilizing the full 4x4 space?
- Is the light height over the canopy still at ~14"?
- Are you using a light mover?

Thanks for the update man, you're killin it. Depending on your yield, I may get another 4x4 tent and split my lights up. That would get me to a harvest every 8-10 weeks. I'm harvesting tomorrow night. The girls will have been in the dark for 72 hours at that point. I did leave the Blumats running through the blackout. They're all still sucking down significant water. I'll post wet weight on Sunday probably.

 

[redclover]

@redclover ok.... I am running bare vertical bulbs. Why wouldn't you have a reflector?

Cheaper without and more surface area.

 

[rives]

@rives. Hell yeah man! A couple of questions if you don't mind.

- Are you utilizing the full 4x4 space?
- Is the light height over the canopy still at ~14"?
- Are you using a light mover?

I have a 3x3 flood & drain pan in the tent to catch any runaways from my blumats, so the girls are all positioned within that area. I could fit several more plants in there (currently there are five), but with the 3-gallon air pots and saucers that I'm using, they wouldn't fit over the catch pan. I think that I'm going to drop the size of the pots, I don't think that the larger pots are required. I've never been able to really fill out the 3-gallon pots/coco with roots, and I currently have a couple of Mosca's Tsi Fly plants going in some 5-liter pots that were cut down a couple of inches. These were supposed to become bonsai mom's, but they got away from me and the damn things got huge - they are about 3-1/2' tall after being tied down and have stems that are right at 1" diameter. Another benefit that I see to the smaller pots is that they are so full of roots that they have literally locked the blumats in - the bigger pots always stay a little loose, and that seems to contribute to the blumats running away occasionally.

Yes, the plants have stopped stretching and are holding pretty steady with the tallest being about 14" from the light and ranging toward more clearance from there.

No, I don't use a light mover.

 

[habeeb]

I heard there's another Philips CMH project coming soon I've honestly had 400w CMHs put out more than a 600HPS...by a hair. CMH didn't need air cooled either, so no glass too.

please indulge us.. kinda looking for a bigger wattage size without paying Phillips twice ( two ballast / two bulbs )

would love a 600 watt version.. P.S. Phillips...


thinking of the all starts for veg.. rives can you turn down the ballasts on the all starts too ?

 

[rives]

thinking of the all starts for veg.. rives can you turn down the ballasts on the all starts too ?

I would think that you could as long as the ballast had that capability. I think that a spectral shift is inevitable, though. The 210w version of the CDM seems like it would lend itself well to this.

 

[Bubbagineer]

You guys ever hear of a CDL lamp? Boulder lighting company has them... It's a Phillips bulb.... I know someone trustworthy growing under them that says he's killing it with them. Here the dope on the bulb.... could the bulb run in my fixture? it looks awful similar and uses a low freq ballast...... also, it doesn't say it but isn't it a T12 bulb too?

CDL features
• Manufacturer – Philips Lighting
• Lamp life - 20,000 hours
• Lumens/watt - 105
• PPF value - 1.95 micromols/second • Color rendering index (CRI) – 92 • Color temperature – 3100 Kelvin • Lumen depreciation < 15%
• Operating position - Universal

http://www.boulderlamp.com/specs/BLI Grow Light 4 page brochure 6_14_12.pdf