What's new
  • ICMag with help from Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest in November! You can check it here. Prizes are seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

Greeseyder

Greeseyder

Member
Hey Simba .....what is the deal then? I read most of this thread & my understanding was that the 150w HPS ballast could be used. Is this wrong??? Is it a special ballast? Please clear this up before I order one.....
I have a Sun System ballast BTW.....
G
 
Last edited:
H

hurricane

Member
Greeseyder said:
Hey Simba .....what is the deal then? I read most of this thread & my understanding was that the 150w HPS ballast could be used. Is this wrong??? Is it a special ballast? Please clear this up before I order one.....
I have a Sun System ballast BTW.....
G
Click to expand...

My understanding is that the 250W and 400W "Retro White" models are made to start on an hps ballast. All other models are made for pulse start MH ballasts(i could be completely wrong on the second half there).

Hurricane
 
D

duddits

Member
impeachme2 said:
So a 400W CMH runs fine on a Venture 400W HPS Ballast? Anyone have experience with that setup? Would I get the 480V/120T, or the Quad Tap ballast? Also, what reflector do you recommend for a 400W CMH, that is inexpensive and air cooled? (4", horizontal OR vertical venting is fine).
Click to expand...

I got the quad tap and I wired it for the 220 line power that I use for the flower hut ballast.
 
cfl...KING

cfl...KING

Listen my username is from 07 lol
Veteran
simba said:
ya cool that ballast i see its surrounded by wood.. make sure you get air flowing in there


cfl get
Click to expand...
so i should go with the 400w CMH?sorry dont get what you where saying. i got my fans for a 6in air cooled hood, with a speed controller i will have them pushing between 100-150cfm into the box an 150-200cfm exhausting hot air out through the hood(ill leave one side of the reflector vent holes uncovered).would a 400w ballast would need a fan blowing on it? is it safe to put it on top of my grow box or would it get hot enough to start a fire?
 
P

PharmaCan

Active member
Veteran
FreezerBoy said:
Probably for purposes of comparison. :spank: yourself.
Click to expand...

Thanks FreezerBoy!

There's a lot of good information in this thread, but reading it I was disappointed that the CMH only goes up to 400w. I thought people might be interested in knowing there are dual-spectrum bulbs over 400w available and I hoped maybe someone had used them and had experience with them.

LOL - I didn't know there were "topic police" on duty here. I'll have to be more careful.

PC :smoker:
 
G

Guest

Pharma -

The rambridge bulb is just a halide + hps arc tube in the same bulb. The problem there is the lack of full spectrum. The HPS arc tube does not give the far red and the halide does not give the full blue end. They both leave out a lot in-between and at the ends. So what you get is the "spike points" that they would both normally put out.

I believe that they are acknowledging the need for a more complete spectrum, but to cheap to start up manufacture of a CMH lamp. Not to mention the heat load from a HPS/Halide combo in one bulb and the fact that the halide arc tube's life span would naturally be much shorter than that of the HPS's. Good line of thinking though.

The big draw to 1000w lamps excapes me still. 2x400w is a very suitable replacement for a 1000w.IMHO

Thanks for participating and have fun growing!
 
Greeseyder

Greeseyder

Member
Yo Azeo.. can you please clear up this question: can the 150w CMH be used in a regular hps ballast?? I have a Sun System & I thought for sure I read they could be used.....Thanks,
G
 
G

Guest

Folks, it has been a lot of fun going over all of this great craft/hobbie of ours. However, as a matter of life I must move in to the void of anonimity. Peace to all of you and good growing!

Thank you for all of your contributions.
 
Cali smoke

Cali smoke

Member
Azeotrope said:
Folks, it has been a lot of fun going over all of this great craft/hobbie of ours. However, as a matter of life I must move in to the void of anonimity. Peace to all of you and good growing!

Thank you for all of your contributions.
Click to expand...

H8 to C u go azeotrope. Thanks for everything you yourself contributed. :wave: :rasta: :headbange
 
Last edited:
MPL

MPL

Member
Peace my friend!


Azeotrope said:
Folks, it has been a lot of fun going over all of this great craft/hobbie of ours. However, as a matter of life I must move in to the void of anonimity. Peace to all of you and good growing!

Thank you for all of your contributions.
Click to expand...
 
Poker_Toker

Poker_Toker

Member
Azeotrope said:
Folks, it has been a lot of fun going over all of this great craft/hobbie of ours. However, as a matter of life I must move in to the void of anonimity. Peace to all of you and good growing!

Thank you for all of your contributions.
Click to expand...

wow just like that he is gone. Farewell bro, you were a great member here.

I am taking all i know and probaly leaving after i start my grow after i move out of this god forsaken town. Come to think of it i pretty much lost my girlfriend looking at these pages, but at this point in my life i think its a good thing, thanks icmag!!
:muahaha: more time to grow, and read about growing, and more money to spend on weed and myself. :headbange

simba u should do a group buy at like 40 a bulb :rasta:
 
simba

simba

Sleeping Dragon
AZ has been loads of help we appreciated his time and knowledge while we had him..
Thanks again..
Hope to see you at the next revelation..
 
iLLperception

iLLperception

Member
I just fired up my 400w CMH in a Sun System X 400w HPS ballast. Man it is SO bright, and the nicest white light. I had become used to my 1000w HPS and didn't have to wear sunglasses anymore, but I had to pull them out of the drawer to go in the room with this CMH!!!

Both the hydro stores I went to had no idea what a CMH bulb was, and thought I was crazy when I said I needed an HPS ballast to run it. I told one of them that it may be the next big thing in grow lights and he told me that I was wrong because LEDs are the next big thing....

Anyway I have to go put some plants under this thing and see how she works!

:rasta:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top