Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[silverhazefiend]

Where do you shop? I bought a pargrow at mom and pops hydro shop for 2 bills, I just bought 3 sunplix 315 ballasts and a remote to dim or boost for $485.

Online ..non med state so the prices are even higher in store if u can even find a store ..ill pay 165$ for the sunplix dimmable with remote I really want a dimmable but will settle for a regular 315 but I'm not trying to be cheap and get something I don't like

 

[Avinash.miles]

are the 315's designed to be dimmed? i thought the original philips balasts had the option, but this is the first i've heard of welthink/sunplix dimmable 315's....

is anyone out there dimming their 315's??? i can't imagine a scenario i would want it dimmed, unless growing in a smaller than 2.5x 2.5 ft area (don't forsee that for myself anytime soon)

 

[Zeez]

Anybody running the new phantom II ballast ? As stated the original got hot looks like they fixed that problem ..and I wanna get a cmh but every day more brands come out and make it harder ..I'm leaning towards phantom for being AC and price ..there's a ceramic science ballast that's 140$ anyone tried that ? And the sunplix dimmable is like 250$ is cheapest I seen with the eBay ones at around 300$ ..the green beams are not putting out any more light or the ballast isn't special and being un air cooled and 500$ im doubt I'm going that route

One thing not mentioned is the customer service most people that had a problem with te phantom got replacements or was helped some way ..I've seen people complain about the green beam reflector inserts and we all kno sunplix is a mom and pop setup so getting replacements might be tricky same with ceramic science ..I can save 60$bucks now only to have to spend double if something breaks

I am midway through bloom on first grow with the Phantoms. Outstanding. I had the old flicker ballasts replaced by Phantom support. One phone call and I was picking up replacements at the store an hour later. Phantom set up the exchange for me. Very Cool.

Results have exceeded my expectations.

 

[dbkick]

are the 315's designed to be dimmed? i thought the original philips balasts had the option, but this is the first i've heard of welthink/sunplix dimmable 315's....

is anyone out there dimming their 315's??? i can't imagine a scenario i would want it dimmed, unless growing in a smaller than 2.5x 2.5 ft area (don't forsee that for myself anytime soon)

The whole sunplix idea about dimming and boosting is that when dimmed, such as in veg the lamp will shift blue and you probably don't need the entire 315 right off the bat anyway.
Now when it's boosted, such as in flower the lamp not only increases intensity but spectrum shifts red.
They're dimmable/boosted by a ir remote control. one remote can operate as many ballasts as you have.
There's also a patented circuit that extends lamp life so they say and they back it with a 3 year warranty on any lamp they sell you that you run on their ballast. It's a no brainer so far for me. as for reliable I think they'll carry on the welthink name and continue to be solid.

 

[dbkick]

ALOT of brands look like colored wellthinks....


that is a decent price for the 315w ballast.
i was running my 860w on a magnetic 1kw MH ballast
everything was fine until it got hit with some spray on accident, cold on hot and the bulb cracked, i turned it off immediately and all was well... don't think i'll be firing that bulb again tho.

You want to make that a whole different beast of a lamp put it on a LFSW digital, they'll handle 1100+ watts.
30 percent increase in light over the mag. to run this lamp on core and coil is a waste of a good lamp.

 

[willowz]

The whole sunplix idea about dimming and boosting is that when dimmed, such as in veg the lamp will shift blue and you probably don't need the entire 315 right off the bat anyway.
Now when it's boosted, such as in flower the lamp not only increases intensity but spectrum shifts red.
They're dimmable/boosted by a ir remote control. one remote can operate as many ballasts as you have.
There's also a patented circuit that extends lamp life so they say and they back it with a 3 year warranty on any lamp they sell you that you run on their ballast. It's a no brainer so far for me. as for reliable I think they'll carry on the welthink name and continue to be solid.

The intensity of blue spectrum is pretty good as you can see here by a post made by Beta Test Team. It's even better for the Agro bulbs from Philips; but, am considering switching to the 942 Ushio bulbs, which have a WAY better spectrum and seem optimized significantly for growers.

But, I haven't seen any results on the amount of blueshift.

Do you have any links on that?

Cheers.

But, I like your approach. A dimmable 860 allstart on a LFSW ballast would be phenomenal for all intents and purposes.

 

[silverhazefiend]

Appreciate the responses its making this process easier
@db I found a we'll think on eBay for 130$ I'm gonna see if I can find a dimmable for about 200$ if not I'll get the phantom

@avish ..yea I wanna be able to turn it down in case I have heat problems and add LEDs but straight LEDs are not gonna cut it ..space is 4x2

Another option was the magnetic ballast the 210 version 2 of em ..but I think the heat and having to buy 2x of everything is gonna be worse

 

[nay420]

Anybody running the new phantom II ballast ? As stated the original got hot looks like they fixed that problem ..and I wanna get a cmh but every day more brands come out and make it harder ..I'm leaning towards phantom for being AC and price ..there's a ceramic science ballast that's 140$ anyone tried that ? And the sunplix dimmable is like 250$ is cheapest I seen with the eBay ones at around 300$ ..the green beams are not putting out any more light or the ballast isn't special and being un air cooled and 500$ im doubt I'm going that route

One thing not mentioned is the customer service most people that had a problem with te phantom got replacements or was helped some way ..I've seen people complain about the green beam reflector inserts and we all kno sunplix is a mom and pop setup so getting replacements might be tricky same with ceramic science ..I can save 60$bucks now only to have to spend double if something breaks

I have the new phantom ballasts. After running for 11 hours, They run at 120F to 125F, with the ambient room temperature at 73F.

 

[rives]

Appreciate the responses its making this process easier
@db I found a we'll think on eBay for 130$ I'm gonna see if I can find a dimmable for about 200$ if not I'll get the phantom

@avish ..yea I wanna be able to turn it down in case I have heat problems and add LEDs but straight LEDs are not gonna cut it ..space is 4x2

Another option was the magnetic ballast the 210 version 2 of em ..but I think the heat and having to buy 2x of everything is gonna be worse

Do you realize that you can buy the Philips ballast for under $170 from several sources? It would have to be packaged, but it will run either the 210 or the 315 lamp, is dimmable, has numerous protective features built into it, and most importantly, it is industrial quality.

https://customhydronutrients.com/philips-iztmh210315rlf-p-625.html

 

[silverhazefiend]

I have the new phantom ballasts. After running for 11 hours, They run at 120F to 125F, with the ambient room temperature at 73F.

Check the PDF they said 158 is the case temp with 104 being ambiet so 73/ 125 sounds right

Do you realize that you can buy the Philips ballast for under $170 from several sources? It would have to be packaged, but it will run either the 210 or the 315 lamp, is dimmable, has numerous protective features built into it, and most importantly, it is industrial quality.

https://customhydronutrients.com/philips-iztmh210315rlf-p-625.html

Thanks this was the first option but didn't wanna bother using a transformer ..I know they have no reason to but I wish Phillips made 120v version even if it was double the size ..the transformer isn't a biggie but I'm going for neat look

I did snag a cdm/cmh ? 150w ballast from eBay a while back electronic and 120v ..after doing research there's not a lot of 150 cdm /cmh 120v ..after like 70watts most are 220v ..I think it was a special order or just a select few but its brand new made by Harvard ?

Sidenote:nobody has any bud pics ? Like let me see how your typical 10 week og looks or point me to a journal ..

 

[Ez Rider]

I have the new phantom ballasts. After running for 11 hours, They run at 120F to 125F, with the ambient room temperature at 73F.

That's very comparable to the phillips or pargrow. The chinese must have upped their game. You could fry and egg on the first gen phantom ballast at my local shop.

 

[dbkick]

The intensity of blue spectrum is pretty good as you can see here by a post made by Beta Test Team. It's even better for the Agro bulbs from Philips; but, am considering switching to the 942 Ushio bulbs, which have a WAY better spectrum and seem optimized significantly for growers.

But, I haven't seen any results on the amount of blueshift.

Do you have any links on that?

Cheers.

But, I like your approach. A dimmable 860 allstart on a LFSW ballast would be phenomenal for all intents and purposes.

Sunplix was my source for that info, I'll post a little more about that ballast later( I'm at lunch now) ,
I have every flavor of lamp there is, where the ushio is a decent lamp the Solis tek will provide more uv. The ushio also if I remember right takes a little hit in lumens or something, or maybe that was the 930 compared to the 942.

 

[oti$]

Do you realize that you can buy the Philips ballast for under $170 from several sources? It would have to be packaged, but it will run either the 210 or the 315 lamp, is dimmable, has numerous protective features built into it, and most importantly, it is industrial quality.

https://customhydronutrients.com/philips-iztmh210315rlf-p-625.html

Is that phillips ballst only to be plugged in to a 220 circuit?

 

[rives]

Is that phillips ballst only to be plugged in to a 220 circuit?

As far as residential voltages, yes. It can span from 200-277v, so it will work on commercial voltages from 208 to 277. It could be used with a transformer that boosts the voltage from 120 to 240v.

 

[Zeez]

I have Phantom CMHs for the following reasons.

The spectrum is well suited and can be optimized by going to a 4200 bulb.
These lights really make shit grow.
$350 worked for me.
The energy savings are huge.
The reduction in heat solves several other problems.
The support from Phantom was first class dealing with a problem.

Seeing the grow results myself with two of these lights, and experiencing the manufacturer support as well, I seriously wonder how much performance difference there is between one brand or the other when they all use the same bulb. I mean really? Better sheet metal? Really? Dimmable? Why would someone go out on a limb buying stuff where the support in case of a failure can range from several days to not at all. I had new lights in my hand an hour or so after calling Phantom.

Not saying that any other lights suck, Just trying to figure out where's the win?

 

[HUGE]

The mixed gavita LEC wharehouse is coming down. So far bud is good, weight is heavy, but fox tailing in heavy light areas. Pics, lab results and weights to come.

 

[HHULKK]

The mixed gavita LEC wharehouse is coming down. So far bud is good, weight is heavy, but fox tailing in heavy light areas. Pics, lab results and weights to come.

I'm very anxious to see this outcome. Thanks for keeping all of us posted!!

 

[Ez Rider]

I have Phantom CMHs for the following reasons.

The spectrum is well suited and can be optimized by going to a 4200 bulb.
These lights really make shit grow.
$350 worked for me.
The energy savings are huge.
The reduction in heat solves several other problems.
The support from Phantom was first class dealing with a problem.

Seeing the grow results myself with two of these lights, and experiencing the manufacturer support as well, I seriously wonder how much performance difference there is between one brand or the other when they all use the same bulb. I mean really? Better sheet metal? Really? Dimmable? Why would someone go out on a limb buying stuff where the support in case of a failure can range from several days to not at all. I had new lights in my hand an hour or so after calling Phantom.

Not saying that any other lights suck, Just trying to figure out where's the win?

Using CMH technology is the win. After that, it's mostly subjective. Different products will work better/worse for different applications. Also build quality, and NOT BUYING chinese is important to some of us.

 

[Jhhnn]

I have Phantom CMHs for the following reasons.

The spectrum is well suited and can be optimized by going to a 4200 bulb.
These lights really make shit grow.
$350 worked for me.
The energy savings are huge.
The reduction in heat solves several other problems.
The support from Phantom was first class dealing with a problem.

Seeing the grow results myself with two of these lights, and experiencing the manufacturer support as well, I seriously wonder how much performance difference there is between one brand or the other when they all use the same bulb. I mean really? Better sheet metal? Really? Dimmable? Why would someone go out on a limb buying stuff where the support in case of a failure can range from several days to not at all. I had new lights in my hand an hour or so after calling Phantom.

Not saying that any other lights suck, Just trying to figure out where's the win?

Things have changed a lot over the last year, from when Rives started this thread and even more since the other huge CMH thread began way back in 2007, long before I became a member in 2013.

A year ago, 315 tech wasn't really widely available except for DIY purposes. All lamps were Philips, ballasts other than theirs were hard to come by, & only the wellthinks operated at 120v.

DIY is still a good way to go but the availability of reasonably priced hardware like the Phantoms really changes the whole thing, particularly for people who don't have 240v readily available. It's good to hear about you positive experience with the hardware & their customer support.

Even though it won't make as big a difference as w/ HPS the ability to run enclosed w/ air cooling is also a very good thing in some circumstances.

 

[Hammerhead]

I just took some temp readings from the Phatom 315 and Prism Lighting Science 315 Ballast's running off 120v.. Temps taken using IR gun. Phantom is way way hot. I cant touch it. I'm going to my local store tomorrow to order a Phantom II.

Phantom-130-136f

Prism Lighting Science- 118-126