Greenbeams vs Phantom Test Part 1

[Ez Rider]

I think you are a fucking rock star! This is incredibly useful information.

Both seem to have their uses. The numbers for the Greenbeams in a group situation make me believe that they are definitely the way to go and worth the extra $ for my 8 light main flower room, but the 3 light veg room and 2 light breeding room would probably benefit from the Phantoms.

I doubt that the extra heat exceeds the 600w halides that I have in there right now, but if needed I can air cool them, or just hyperventilate the veg room itself so there is no heat build-up.

THANK YOU for this contribution. Seriously valuable information.

Glad you liked it I just wanted to put some real information out there. There are a lot of wild, unsubstantiated claims being made by some suppliers in the "hobby garden" industry, but very few seem to offer any #'s showing REAL product performance. As a community, we need to stop accepting vague assurances, and flat out lies from the manufacturers. If I can afford to test like this at home, there's no reason(except fear/greed) the manufacturers can't.

Sorry, I gotta disagree with the lamp being the problem, 3 out of 3 had flicker, I put the same lamp on sunplix , pargrow and 2 sun systems lec and there was no flicker. It was 100% defective phantom ballasts.

I've only used pargrow's, and if the lamp flickers with them, it's because the emitter is going bad. Phantom, who knows? Made in China pretty much says it all...

 

[LastHurrah]

Hey EZ and Crew. I've been away for a few weeks and missed this. Dude! This is soooo timely. Had they been in stock... I would be owning 2 phantoms right now. Since they were out (and this sh*t got sooooo expensive) I wound up with a single Gavita reflector and 600w Horty for my 28"x55" tent.

I'll be watching this one for sure. After first crop is done I'll be looking to upgrade to CMH tent by tent. What's different about my idea??? 2x 210w bulbs/hoods. Works out to 39+ wpsf "with" crossover lighting.

Plus... "IT'S 42Ow"

How could it possibly not work?!

I'm sub'd and enjoying.

LH

 

[LastHurrah]

I should clarify that I would have just bought the Phantom "hoods only". For ballasts... my understanding was the Philips/Advance electronic 315w (dims to 210w using a couple of dip switches) is the best way to go. It's a square wave ballast. Things cost $160 each at one shop I know of... but over $300 at most others. I didn't sit and surf for prices all day though. I envision two GB's, two 210w 942's, and two of these $160 ballasts in the not so distant future.

LH

 

[Zeez]

EZ, Do you have pics of your ballasts?

 

[Zeez]

Here are the old and new Phantom CMH ballasts.

 

[Bmac1]

Im very tempted to get one of these phantom setups for my 5x5 tent. I was looking into the greenbeams but this test greatly helped me understand that they may not be the best single light application. Now I just need to decide if 1 will light a 5x5 sufficiently.

 

[rives]

Im very tempted to get one of these phantom setups for my 5x5 tent. I was looking into the greenbeams but this test greatly helped me understand that they may not be the best single light application. Now I just need to decide if 1 will light a 5x5 sufficiently.

I very much doubt that the Phantom would have that much coverage. I find that with my hoods, a 3x3 is optimal and a 4x4 is too large. From EZ's description, the Phantom appears to throw a pattern that is fairly equivalent.

 

[Bmac1]

With the negative pressure and the walls sucking in on the tent, I would assume the 5x5 is actually closer to 4x4 while in operation but I get what you are saying. My goal is to reduce power consumption so maybe a smaller tent is in order. That or maybe 2- 3x3 or 4x4 and run them on opposite cycles.

 

[rives]

With the negative pressure and the walls sucking in on the tent, I would assume the 5x5 is actually closer to 4x4 while in operation but I get what you are saying. My goal is to reduce power consumption so maybe a smaller tent is in order. That or maybe 2- 3x3 or 4x4 and run them on opposite cycles.

I'm using Bell hoods, and a 4x4 tent is too large for one fixture. Two fixtures in the same tent work well on one axis, but don't have quite enough spread to completely cover the other. I also run a single fixture in a 30" x 30" tent, and it could cover a bit more area.

From what I've seen, the Greenbeam is the only fixture that has a wide enough distribution to cover the larger tents with a single fixture, but as EZ's test shows, it is at a lower light level.

 

[Ez Rider]

EZ, Do you have pics of your ballasts?

I'll snap a pic this evening

Im very tempted to get one of these phantom setups for my 5x5 tent. I was looking into the greenbeams but this test greatly helped me understand that they may not be the best single light application. Now I just need to decide if 1 will light a 5x5 sufficiently.

5x5 is way to big for any single 315

I'm using Bell hoods, and a 4x4 tent is too large for one fixture. Two fixtures in the same tent work well on one axis, but don't have quite enough spread to completely cover the other. I also run a single fixture in a 30" x 30" tent, and it could cover a bit more area.

From what I've seen, the Greenbeam is the only fixture that has a wide enough distribution to cover the larger tents with a single fixture, but as EZ's test shows, it is at a lower light level.

I'm with rives. A 3x3 is pretty much the optimal space for a single lamp. You'd probably get away with using a single in a 4x4 for veg, but you'd still have to rotate the plants around to keep the growth even. The phantom in particular is going to really "cool off" around the perimeter of a 4x4.

 

[Zeez]

When comparing products, support is high on the list of considerations.

I had the Phantom flicker. HydroFarm Tech Support was very cool and arranged the swap out on two lights. Couldn't be happier about the support and quality of this company. After getting off the phone with HydroFarm customer service I called my store and the rep already had the manager on the line setting up the replacements.

 

[dbkick]

When comparing products, support is high on the list of considerations.

I had the Phantom flicker. HydroFarm Tech Support was very cool and arranged the swap out on two lights. Couldn't be happier about the support and quality of this company. After getting off the phone with HydroFarm customer service I called my store and the rep already had the manager on the line setting up the replacements.

It's an obvious bad run of phantoms. And hydrofarm did handle our return well since it was a known problem. They asked no questions and refunded the money to the shop we bought them at. We chose not to try any other phantoms .
Do you find the flickering ballast created more heat than the functioning one you are running now?

 

[Zeez]

Yeah they were hot. One was worse than the other.

I got the new model ballasts now and have been watching them. What a relief to get totally taken care of instead of the usual jack around. With that kind of support, the power savings and the bulb choices, I'm convinced that this is the way to go. Adding on a second tent and Phantoms will be in there.

 

[dbkick]

Yeah they were hot. One was worse than the other.

I got the new model ballasts now and have been watching them. What a relief to get totally taken care of instead of the usual jack around. With that kind of support, the power savings and the bulb choices, I'm convinced that this is the way to go. Adding on a second tent and Phantoms will be in there.

Personally and with feedback from others I stay away from anything phantom.
Owned 3 different types, the last being a phantom de. Make mine solis tek and sunplix (until solis comes out with a ballast for the 315. Thats when I'll run sunplix only on the 860 allstart.

 

[LastHurrah]

Hey EZ and the rest of ya's. I posted the following in Rives' thread. He suggested I post it here so here goes...

I was asked to spec a light for a new op. Decided to monocrop in 3.6x3.6 tents... 3 of them.

Is there a consensus on best reflector "value" yet? I know GB's are the best of the best but...

Has it been determined that the ROI outweighs the initial outlay?

Would the 44" square tent be too big for either a GB or Phantom taking into account the neg pressure suck in?

It ain't my coin and the person wants a nice op. I could easily say get the GB's and Philips Advance ballasts but I'm way interested in value. Lots of coin saved with the Phantom hoods over the GB's.

LH

 

[Zeez]

Is there a consensus on best reflector "value" yet? I know GB's are the best of the best but...
LH

If several different lights use the same bulb, it's a real stretch to say one is "the best of the best". The bulb has an electrical requirement of voltage, amperage, and frequency. The ballasts are specifically designed to meet this design spec. In fact, if you take two different brand ballasts apart, they probably look very similar and share some common components. So the ballasts are all pretty similar and could be made in the same Chinese factory.

When it comes to reflectors there are some minor variations in reflectivity and focus. Is that enough to justify $100 to $200 difference? I paid $349 at a store. Walked in with the cash and walked out with the lights. The lights had a flicker problem and three weeks later and hour after picking up the phone to Phantom, I was walking out of the store with two new lights that have the upgraded ballasts. No Problem. These lights are awesome.

The only real "bests" might be pretty paint job, funky GB name and high dollar marketing campaign.

One advantage of these bulbs hasn't been mentioned is that it is possible to let the leaves get very close to the bulb without harm. Maybe due to the lower heat output.

 

[LastHurrah]

Yeah man. I'm scouring to get the right combination of tent/hood/ballast. Greenbeams are nice reflectors. Their ballasts only so so from my reading. "Just the reflector" is $300... OUCH. The Phantoms have gone up in price. The whole system is like $415. Sun System has their "remote ballast" CMH system at $420. Sunplix, Nanolux, etc. Too many choices!

LH

 

[dbkick]

Yeah man. I'm scouring to get the right combination of tent/hood/ballast. Greenbeams are nice reflectors. Their ballasts only so so from my reading. "Just the reflector" is $300... OUCH. The Phantoms have gone up in price. The whole system is like $415. Sun System has their "remote ballast" CMH system at $420. Sunplix, Nanolux, etc. Too many choices!

LH

Sunplix ballasts (one 315 and one soon to be released 1kw for the 860 allstart) , OG hood (I've been picking them up new for 110 dollars) , one mogul extension , one mogul to pgz adapter , one each 315 lamp and allstart 860. This gives you the ability to change out the light entirely depending on your needs. I run the 315s in warmer months. The Allstart 860 is a monster of a lamp.

 

[HorseBadoritiz]

Sunplix ballasts (one 315 and one soon to be released 1kw for the 860 allstart) , OG hood (I've been picking them up new for 110 dollars) , one mogul extension , one mogul to pgz adapter , one each 315 lamp and allstart 860. This gives you the ability to change out the light entirely depending on your needs. I run the 315s in warmer months. The Allstart 860 is a monster of a lamp.

Are you happy with the OG Hoods? I have one, and it's light spread is very uneven. I had to remove the housing on top of the hood, and lower the mogul, because of headroom issues, which could be part of the problem. But, it seems more like it's from the flexible corner panels.

Just wondering, lol!

 

[nay420]

http://www.greenstategardener.com/phantom-cmh-reflector-ballast-and-bulb-kit-3100k/

use promo code 10%GSG to get 10% off and its $337.45 shipped