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Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)

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colonelbogey

great thread. definately after one of these babies. Anyone know of a european (pref UK) supplier, or someone who will ship to the UK?
 

simba

Sleeping Dragon
Cuffs, ya thats GSY but there 680 is not greatest for horti..
and IMPHO the 600+ (1kw definitely) that have the right spd are to much energy right below..
and wastes like a current 1kwatter.. more lamps less wattage each.. = better results super short version..
id love a 500 watt cmh.. that would be the best of both worlds.. nice kick of energy without being to much..
but there is another 300watter soon that might be a good option(tests will show_)


colon, greens horti had the wrong one and now sourcing correct one.. prob few more weeks.. adv tech ships intl.
 
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colonelbogey

simba said:
colon, greens horti had the wrong one and now sourcing correct one.. prob few more weeks.. adv tech ships intl.


Thanks Simba, greens dont have them at the moment. Ordering from adv tech this am.

peace
 

messn'n'gommin'

ember
Veteran
smoketrichs said:
Anyone know if the econolight 70w MH vapor tight will support a 70w cmh bulb?

Essentially most MH mag ballast kits sold are composed of the magnetic core and coil ballast and a capacitor. The type of ballast kit that can use CMH bulbs require a magnetic ballast, the capacitor, and an igniter. I suppose to differentiate between the two, these types of kits are refered to as "pulse start" MH ballasts. It will usually say if it is pulse start. If not, it probably isn't.

Namaste, mess
 

Cuffs

Member
Hey guys.
Does anybony knows if someone use those lights in big or commerial grow?
photo and all details would be great reading!

cuffs
 
C

colonelbogey

Hey Simba, thanks for the advice,

Just bought:

250 Watt Horizontal
CDM250S50/HOR/4K/ALTO
$51.00 USD

and

250 Watt HPS Ballast Kit, Quad-Tap
(Core, Capacitor, Ignitor Included)
~ Part # S0250-71C-211 ~
Price $49.00 USD

Ballast

Is this all i need to set up this light, or do i need a reflector etc as well?

Thanks
 

FreezerBoy

Was blind but now IC Puckbunny in Training
Veteran
Because you're using a horizontal lamp, you want a reflector. The lamp throws light 360º perpendicular to the shaft. 90º will hit your garden. The other 270º goes to the walls and ceiling, unless you have a reflector to bounce it back.

You'll want some kind of box/enclosure/mounting plate thingamajig for the ballast parts. You don't want them just hanging loose.
 

FreezerBoy

Was blind but now IC Puckbunny in Training
Veteran
The kit you ordered has all the parts but, the parts have to live somewhere. Left lying around they could get damaged, short out, and the coil gets HOT! Usually they're enclosed in a ballast box. DIY types have used ammo boxes, meat loaf pans, old power supply boxes ... Some just mount them to wall plates. But you need to lock it all down someplace safe.

....... add ........

http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/grow-light-ballast-kits-c-357.html

Note how all the ballasts are enclosed except for the kits. You ordered a kit. it's naked and exposed. You don't have to cover it but, you do need to mount it safely out of the way.
 
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colonelbogey

bugger.

definately not the DIY type. thanks for the info tho.

should have shopped around for a complete ballast. DOH!

peace
 

MPL

Member
I wouldn't fret. It's very easy to assemble.

What I did for my ballast kit was take some galvanized sheet metal (dirt cheap from Home Depot or Lowe's) and bend it into 4" sections, with the 4th section being 5". You end up with a long square box. Get a drill, put some holes in it for the wiring, mount the ballast components, close it up and duct tape it all together. Voila. I wish I had some pics of mine. I actually have some case fans for PCs on each end, one blowing one pushing, so my ballast stays very, very cool.

Even with the fans, AC converter, metal and heavy duty duct tape it shouldn't cost you more than $30 to build this.

colonelbogey said:
bugger.

definately not the DIY type. thanks for the info tho.

should have shopped around for a complete ballast. DOH!

peace
 

sam303

Member
I am about to buy a 175watt Metal Halide fixture for vegging my clones.. should I get a CMH setup instead? Will it make much of a difference? I am using a 400w hps for the flower room and dont want to run too many watts overall.. so I like the 175-250 range. What advantages do CMH have over regular MH other than heat? Can I use a CMH bulb in the 175w Metal Halide fixture? Thanks.
 

simba

Sleeping Dragon
sorry been away and not really here..

sam, unfort the cmh wont run in that ballast..
there is no 175 watt CMH wich is the main reason..

you will see allot better Veg growth under CMH vs MH the life is there to which will save you in the long run.
vegging with cmh then switching to hps you should still shorten your veg time by min of 1/3..
get a 150 cmh for ur veg and go with ur hps for flower.. later ull want to convert the flower to cmh..
 
C

colonelbogey

MPL said:
I wouldn't fret. It's very easy to assemble.

What I did for my ballast kit was take some galvanized sheet metal (dirt cheap from Home Depot or Lowe's) and bend it into 4" sections, with the 4th section being 5". You end up with a long square box. Get a drill, put some holes in it for the wiring, mount the ballast components, close it up and duct tape it all together. Voila. I wish I had some pics of mine. I actually have some case fans for PCs on each end, one blowing one pushing, so my ballast stays very, very cool.

Even with the fans, AC converter, metal and heavy duty duct tape it shouldn't cost you more than $30 to build this.

MPL- Metalwork was prob my worst subject at school and that was 25 years ago!

Freezerboy- Awesome freezer dude. Thanks for the links, i think this is the way forward for me.

stay green
 
Cuffs said:
Another question:

Is there any european seller for cmh bulbs?

Greens Hydroponics but they got the wrong CMH bulbs.

Thought I'd mention it in case someone came across their site and thought they'd be getting the same bulbs as we're talking about here.

tbh, the 250w/400w ones in Greens were £30 each and my 2 x 400w cost £66 delivered from the States, so I don't think there'll be much in the way of savings unless you get hit for VAT, which I didn't.
 

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