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Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)
- Thread starter rives
- Start date
All that I've heard about them is the 2 or 3 posts on here a few days ago.
LastHurrah
Member
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'll probly just say get the GB's and Philips Advance ballasts.
Oh yeah,,, what's up with the Sunplix reflectors? Price for reflector only is just shy of a GB... with a horizontal bulb no less.
LH
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'll probly just say get the GB's and Philips Advance ballasts.
Oh yeah,,, what's up with the Sunplix reflectors? Price for reflector only is just shy of a GB... with a horizontal bulb no less.
LH
Take a look at EZ Rider's thread comparing the GB and the Phantom. He did an extensive workup on them.
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=327419
https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=327419
LastHurrah
Member
Thanks for that Rives, and for this great thread too.
I was wondering how warm to the touch your Philips Advance ballasts get during normal operation? Would you say they run "cool"?
LH
LH
I was wondering how warm to the touch your Philips Advance ballasts get during normal operation? Would you say they run "cool"?
LH
LH
Amazing thread. Have been wondering about these two myself, seems I'm better off with the Phantom for a 2 light op.
The Philips ballasts run very cool, just slightly above ambient. According to the specs, they have an overhead of 27 watts (342 gross watts, 315 net), but they seem to dissipate even less than than. I have one in an aluminum enclosure that is barely larger than the ballast, and even it doesn't throw off any perceptible heat. Mine are all remote mounted, but I wouldn't be concerned about having them in the grow area at all.
From what I've gathered out of some comments on here, a few of the other brands apparently run a good deal warmer.
That's pretty much what I gathered out of it. The G/B are excellent for purpose-built intermediate-sized grow rooms, but would probably have a very long ROI in a smaller tent.
RightOnTarget
Member
Plants are now in the jars and I must say I'm pretty damn impressed about the light. 1x1x2m tent, 4 plants in 17l dirtpots and 2 plants in one 25l dirtpot yielded 320 grams, of which ~50g is popcorn. Topped 3 times, LST'd and had to supercrop few rebel branches that started to get out of control during vegging. Could've got even more grade A bud but I was curious to see how much penetration the lamp has and didn't clean the lower parts of the plants as roughly as I usually do. No more HPS for me.
Have a great summer everyone!
Have a great summer everyone!
I touch my Phantom hoods all the time there barley warm. IR gun indicated 82f..
After running plants under the SS LEC 630 I can def notice the foot print is not very big. I started with 9 plants in a 5x5 tent. The next 2 weeks I had to remove 5 plants. There was not enough light on the edges.. The 4 that are left is the max I could fit. I would not recommend vegging longer then 30 days to keep the plants short enough. Quality is on point yield can be a hit or miss depending on a few factors.. If I ever flower under the 630 again It would be 2 plants max.
After running plants under the SS LEC 630 I can def notice the foot print is not very big. I started with 9 plants in a 5x5 tent. The next 2 weeks I had to remove 5 plants. There was not enough light on the edges.. The 4 that are left is the max I could fit. I would not recommend vegging longer then 30 days to keep the plants short enough. Quality is on point yield can be a hit or miss depending on a few factors.. If I ever flower under the 630 again It would be 2 plants max.
Mr. Roseberry
Member
I've been wondering about this. I wired up my Phillips balast last week. It seems pretty warm to me. My IR gun reads between 130 and 140 degrees on the surface of the ballast. The transformer is running between 140 and 150 on the surface. I was afraid I had wired something wrong but I followed the video exactly.
nay420
Member
I just bought the phantom ballast, bulb and hood kit for $337.45, shipped.
I had bought my first one from amazon, for like $420. Ever since I got my first one, I had been planning on getting another one, to replace my KIND L450 LED light. While the LED is nice and the spectrum is nice, the heat from the phantom is so easy to deal with.
Anyway, I wanted to share my great deal I found:
http://www.greenstategardener.com/phantom-cmh-reflector-ballast-and-bulb-kit-3100k/
its free shipping on orders over 50 bucks and if you use the promo code "10%GSG", you get 10% off of the normal $375 price tag.
It is a great deal, shipped to my door, for $337.45! I prefer amazon prime shipping usually because the postal guy has access to my building while UPS and fedex require a signature.
DONT FORGET THE PROMO CODE 10%GSG that works until the end of july I think, 10% off anything.
I had bought my first one from amazon, for like $420. Ever since I got my first one, I had been planning on getting another one, to replace my KIND L450 LED light. While the LED is nice and the spectrum is nice, the heat from the phantom is so easy to deal with.
Anyway, I wanted to share my great deal I found:
http://www.greenstategardener.com/phantom-cmh-reflector-ballast-and-bulb-kit-3100k/
its free shipping on orders over 50 bucks and if you use the promo code "10%GSG", you get 10% off of the normal $375 price tag.
It is a great deal, shipped to my door, for $337.45! I prefer amazon prime shipping usually because the postal guy has access to my building while UPS and fedex require a signature.
DONT FORGET THE PROMO CODE 10%GSG that works until the end of july I think, 10% off anything.
LastHurrah
Member
nay420...
Good find! I was like "wtf?" I missed out when GrowersHouse had the whole Phantom package in the sub $350 range. I went to grab a couple yesterday and hit the brakes. Wound up getting SunSystem 315 LEC "remote ballast" systems from growitbest dot com. Best prices I've found.
Rives... ya know if the Sun System remotes are using Philips ballasts? They say LFSW but don't mention dimming. Anyways...
these were $435 for ballast/bulb/hood. The hood is aluminum and should dissipate the heat better than the stamped steel (I think) Phantom (which EZ Rider confirmed was "hot" in his thread). Plus...
hardly anyone has reviewed the remote ballast Sun System so Im'a do it.
See y'alls tomorrow with pics and an update!
LH
Good find! I was like "wtf?" I missed out when GrowersHouse had the whole Phantom package in the sub $350 range. I went to grab a couple yesterday and hit the brakes. Wound up getting SunSystem 315 LEC "remote ballast" systems from growitbest dot com. Best prices I've found.
Rives... ya know if the Sun System remotes are using Philips ballasts? They say LFSW but don't mention dimming. Anyways...
these were $435 for ballast/bulb/hood. The hood is aluminum and should dissipate the heat better than the stamped steel (I think) Phantom (which EZ Rider confirmed was "hot" in his thread). Plus...
hardly anyone has reviewed the remote ballast Sun System so Im'a do it.
See y'alls tomorrow with pics and an update!
LH
It looks like they do. The advertising copy linked below says "6 ft lamp cord (maximum specified by Philips).", and there is a big green logo in the middle of the "Family" picture that says "Powered by Philips ballasts and lamps". They might not have utilized the dimming circuit, but the wires should be there.
https://www.sunlightsupply.com/shop/bybrand/sun-system-lec/sun-system-lec-315-remote-fixture
LastHurrah
Member
Incredibly useful information Rives! We'll find out soon enough if "the wires are there".
They're aluminum too... Should run cooler than the stamped steel Phantoms. Can't wait to find out.
LH
I have had my 630 LEC apart. Both Phillips Ballast in it have the Wires to dim.
LastHurrah
Member
nay420
Member
The kind lights dont penetrate very far into the canopy, I have a lot of height to work with but a limited footprint, a light with better penetration makes sense.
The CMH also is easier on the eyes and pictures look like they are taken in natural sunlight rather than in a purple discotec.
