Farmer's HPS.

[TychoMonolyth]

Neighbor is replacing the lights in his dairy barn (big ass HPS) with high bay LEDs. Are the HPS worth using for weed? They seem pretty fucking big. The bulbs are the size of footballs.

 

[Cvh]

Are you sure they're even HPS bulbs? There exists also LPS bulbs, these are commonly used for streetlights and other heavy duty lighting.

Also if they're HPS bulbs, they should also be in the correct spectrum for plant growing. If they're not then they might be not ideal.

Most growers also swap out there old bulbs every year or so. This for maximum efficiency. Any idea how long they have been in use?

Personally I don't want to deal with secondhand bulbs and ballasts. I prefer to buy a new kit if I want to add additional/replace lighting.

 

[Greenheart]

HPS has been used for decades to bloom them.

They might be allstart 860w cdm's on 1k mag ballast!!! They have a long lifespan are shaped like footballs and almost 12 inches overall in length. Traditional HPS loses its maximum value much quicker. The allstarts are high cri, long life span, and really good in the grow department.

Free working bulbs are always better than no bulbs imo.

Oh and the old dinosaur magnetic ballasts are damn near bulletproof. Keep them in a cool dry spot for longest life span.

 

[Raynor]

/

 

[HempKat]

Okay it sounds like your Farmer Neighbor is/was using 1000 watt bulbs which is the wattage used in many industrial and commercial settings. Are you sure they're HPS though? Typical 1000W HPS bulbs are around the length of a football but much thinner maybe the thickness around of a typical adult male forearm. MH 1000W bulbs though are closer to the size of a football although it's more rounded then it is oblong like a football. You can tell the difference fairly ease because HPS gives off a kind of yellowish light whereas MH has a more white with a bluish tint color to it. At full strength when they are now either make for very powerful grow lights that can cover a pretty good size grow space but they give off lots of heat and therefore must be kept a fair distance from the top of the plants (2-3 feet) and/or need extra cooling or used in a pretty cold environment to make them practical for plants. As stated by Cvh though, they lose their potency fairly quickly after about a year or two of daily use. They'll work longer then that and appear about as bright to human eyes for much longer but to the plants they'll be enough less efficient to pretty much eliminate their value as a grow light. The ballasts though are more durable and might be worth using but you should get new bulbs which are fairly expensive ($100 or more for a single bulb).

 

[St. Phatty]

Heck why not do a test grow with the surplus lights ?

Maybe your plants will like them.

 

[TychoMonolyth]

I decided against using them. I don't have a room with ceilings high enough for raptor engines. lol
I'll stick to little LEDs.

 

[f-e]

Sound like son-e lamps. Not son-t. The E meaning elliptical, not T for tubular. Look like a rugby ball, and usually white due to a phosphor coating. At a glance you should know the colour of sodium lamps, if they are turned on. The coating makes them a little whiter. The control gear will fire up either shape lamp, and could be the combination son/mh type. Often these lamps are in low bay fittings or the impossible vertical style. Though the vertical lamps are more likely (thorn) mercury, as it's archaic. The light from them is closer to mh. Only a lot more green, which shows as they warm up.

Like the farmer, you would be better off with LED. However.. there is a bit of money in scrap metal there.

 

[troutman]

No point going with old technology.