Legalization in Canada means lots of average bud?? And a question about lighting tech

[Nigelharris]

When I took break from growing, water cooled HPS, vertical bare bulbs, big plants in undercurrent buckets etc were all the rage. Now i am back and looking to setup a grow and all I see are these built in combo ballast cmh and reflectors. Then there are DE bulbs, I do not even understand the differences as there are so many choices.

Is anyone growing still with old fashioned 1kw hps hortilux , bare bulbs vertical hanging, magnetic ballasts? I have lots of equipment fitting the bill for that style and am wondering and always produced high end buds but am wondering if I am going up against buds from cmh grows I cannot measure up to?

I guess im just second guessing myself. With all the new ppl growing buds I am not seeing very good quality results in the dispensaries. Do most people just suck at growing? I grow dense heavy frosty purp nugs with 1kw hps, i never see similar quality being sold anywhere. Not to toot my own horn but is this reality everywhere ? Still the same story, lots of product, very little actual dank product?

I had a sense legalization would lead to this quantity over quality.

 

[Nigelharris]

Can someone delete this thread, wrong forum

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

I'm sure an admin can move it to the proper spot, no worries.

As for your question... lots and lots and lots of average to poor quality cannabis. Yes. Can you compete with your old gear? I'd say yes, since you're pitting skills against equipment. I'd recommend doing some reading on LED, and picking up one for testing at some point. They have their differences over HID and are perfectly capable of producing excellent cannabis, at a lower electrical cost for light and cooling.

All the info you need on the different lighting methods can be found here. Welcome to ICMag!

 

[Mr. J]

You'll be fine. Get set up with your old gear, it'll work just as well as it used to. Some of the new stuff is great though so you're gonna want to have a look while you grow out those first plants.

The new Digi ballasts are a huge improvement over the old magnetics. You can dim them and they barely put out any heat, not like the old ones that you could fry an egg on.

LED I'm not so impressed with really, I'm still a Hortilux man myself. Haven't tried the new DE's but they look awesome except for the dinky little hoods they usually come with. I hear good things about the CMH lights but haven't tried them myself.

 

[mr underhill]

I have 2 flower rooms
One runs 3 x 1000 W (2HPS, 1 MH) , hung vertical in a line with a ring of plants. I use that room for making seed when the sunshine and warm weather is not available. They are all magnetic, cap and coil ballast assemblies. Old School. I switched back to them after the digi ballasts I purchased kept failing. And yes, I did my research, bought the better brands, they lasted 2 years of full time use. I have years n years on the old magnetics but do replace them from time to time when they start to buzz. Cheep and eezy to assembly. Muffin fans work great for cooling them. Never had a failure or risk of fire like with the digitals.

Gavita DE 1000. Love these lights but had to seriously modify my building to create the 9 ft ceiling recommended. All things considered they grow fantastic flowers and yield is noticeably up. The canopy penetration is outstanding.

I tried the mars LED kits others in side projects and always felt I wasted my money. Got into following LED stuff and I think it's time to invest.
word on the street is that HLG rspec and the new saber bars are where it's at.
from what I've seen lurking on some other sites, I'm convinced it's finally worth going that route.

but hey, if you have magnetic ballast kits, get some new bulbs , maybe replace the caps and ignitors, undo any merrets , cut the wire back and put new merrets. Check your old sockets for corrosion. And light em up !

 

[Douglas.Curtis]

^^^^^
Yeah!

 

[Bud Green]

"most people just suck at growing"

I've been an organic outdoor guy for a long time, but when I did indoor in late 80's-early 90's with "sea of green", that's the equipment I used..

If I ever do indoor again, I'll be buying old fashioned magnetic ballasts...

 

[St. Phatty]

Bud quality is usually a reflection of the grower's commitment to the plants.

It can happen in a small closet or a huge warehouse or outdoors.

 

[MJPassion]

When I took break from growing, water cooled HPS, vertical bare bulbs, big plants in undercurrent buckets etc were all the rage. Now i am back and looking to setup a grow and all I see are these built in combo ballast cmh and reflectors. Then there are DE bulbs, I do not even understand the differences as there are so many choices.

Is anyone growing still with old fashioned 1kw hps hortilux , bare bulbs vertical hanging, magnetic ballasts? I have lots of equipment fitting the bill for that style and am wondering and always produced high end buds but am wondering if I am going up against buds from cmh grows I cannot measure up to?

I guess im just second guessing myself. With all the new ppl growing buds I am not seeing very good quality results in the dispensaries. Do most people just suck at growing? I grow dense heavy frosty purp nugs with 1kw hps, i never see similar quality being sold anywhere. Not to toot my own horn but is this reality everywhere ? Still the same story, lots of product, very little actual dank product?

I had a sense legalization would lead to this quantity over quality.

Yes... your equipment that you still have is as relevant today as it was when you stopped growing...
The new lighting tech really only gives slight efficiency gains. Product quality is the result of the skill of the operator/grower.

Folks grow their own, and happily & crappily so, so that they don’t have to pay the exorbitant prices of dispensaries & the black market. And they are happy with what they produce regardless of the quality, because they did it themselves.

Most aren’t trying to make their claim to fame so they use what they have as they improve their skills over the next few grows. If they’re like me, they keep the best for themselves and share what they don’t particularly care for with other like minded folks. Of course I share my top shelf with those that come & visit but they don’t get to take any home as it is very limited in quantity & I grow for myself first...

I’d also like to believe that most people DO have the skills to pull off a decent crop but that they get on forums and become so overwhelmed with information that they become confused and start going down roads they never would have otherwise and then their crop takes a turn for the worst. So then folks are giving bad buds away as they attempt to improve their skills.

 

[Tudo]

Nigel get some of that down to us in FLA and we'll be happy to evaluate