Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[rives]

It would work fine for a single 315. That is how I have mine set up - (1) ballast per relay.

 

[Jhhnn]

Rives you linked to a 40A power relay that could be used in a light controller for these ballasts a few pages back, could I use that for a single 315w setup?

I have a 220v / 20A outlet that has 10-2 wire running from it to a 20A circuit breaker in my panel. I'm only looking to control one light right now and would like to use a power relay triggered by a standard 120v timer.

Thanks

Like rives said, that relay will handle it easily, it's nowhere near its rated load capacity for inductive loads. Capacitive loads of digital ballasts act like inductive loads at startup with a strong current inrush. Check my albums for how I set mine up to provide 240 for the lamp ballast & 120v for a vent fan.

Plan ahead- wire in more receptacles than you need atm. If you never use 'em, it's no big deal. If you want 'em down the road, they're plug & play.

 

[Ultrahot_Grower]

It would work fine for a single 315. That is how I have mine set up - (1) ballast per relay.

Thanks! I didn't know if a 220v input with only 20A instead of 40A would cause a problem. I was looking at the Helios 11 or Helios 4 by Titan and may just end up buying one of those, swapping the 10-2 wire for 6 gauge 4 wire, and installing the appropriate breaker. I have multiple 315w setups so it may be better than single power relays.

Thanks again!

 

[rives]

Thanks! I didn't know if a 220v input with only 20A instead of 40A would cause a problem. I was looking at the Helios 11 or Helios 4 by Titan and may just end up buying one of those, swapping the 10-2 wire for 6 gauge 4 wire, and installing the appropriate breaker. I have multiple 315w setups so it may be better than single power relays.

Thanks again!

You can build a far better controller than either of those with little effort if you have some mechanical ability. Both of them use "universal" receptacles that will accept either 120v or 240v plugs and are completely non-compliant with code and insurance. Also, I haven't been able to find a schematic for them, but they don't appear to have any downstream protection from the 30a feed for the 15a-rated components. These are the reasons that CAPs instruction sheet had a couple of paragraphs on installing the controller and several pages of legal boilerplate absolving them of any responsibility.

Also, not to give you the wrong impression of those relays - you could run several (many) 315 ballasts on one, but your question was whether or not a single ballast would be a problem. I run (1) ballast each so that I can play with load shedding, increasing/decreasing light levels, or whatever.

I use a micro PLC for the control side.

 

[Ultrahot_Grower]

You can build a far better controller than either of those with little effort if you have some mechanical ability. Both of them use "universal" receptacles that will accept either 120v or 240v plugs and are completely non-compliant with code and insurance. Also, I haven't been able to find a schematic for them, but they don't appear to have any downstream protection from the 30a feed for the 15a-rated components. These are the reasons that CAPs instruction sheet had a couple of paragraphs on installing the controller and several pages of legal boilerplate absolving them of any responsibility.

Building a controller is on the radar. I'm a computer engineer that specializes in scalable computing systems...but I have a 3 year old daughter, a pregnant wife, and almost 800 pepper plants in my indoor lab right now that each are asking for most of time. I could build one but sometimes it's easier and worth my sanity to purchase an off the shelf product. I've never dealt with any of them so I didn't know they were garbage. I'll gladly build one if they're dangerous or not going to last more than a year or two.

The helios systems are using a rockwell 30A relay for every 4 lights, at least that I can tell based on pictures. The relay you linked should easily handle that so I'll probably just build one. My room is already semi automated with Raspberry Pi devices, so triggering the relay via a Pi would be very easy and would fit in with the existing control panel and app.

Thanks!

 

[Jhhnn]

Building a controller is on the radar. I'm a computer engineer that specializes in scalable computing systems...but I have a 3 year old daughter, a pregnant wife, and almost 800 pepper plants in my indoor lab right now that each are asking for most of time. I could build one but sometimes it's easier and worth my sanity to purchase an off the shelf product. I've never dealt with any of them so I didn't know they were garbage. I'll gladly build one if they're dangerous or not going to last more than a year or two.

The helios systems are using a rockwell 30A relay for every 4 lights, at least that I can tell based on pictures. The relay you linked should easily handle that so I'll probably just build one. My room is already semi automated with Raspberry Pi devices, so triggering the relay via a Pi would be very easy and would fit in with the existing control panel and app.

Thanks!

Those relays are available in several different coil voltages that might be more suitable w/ a raspberry pi-

http://www.automationdirect.com/adc...ower_Relays,_Open-Style,_40A_(AD-PR40_Series)

If you decide to roll your own, might want to consider planning it out & ordering the boxes from these guys-

http://www.garvinindustries.com/

I didn't know about them & had to make some compromises due to Home Despot hardware selection.

 

[nr nodes]

 

[Beta Test Team]

Your passive-aggressive posts are not cool, in case no one told you.

"UV-block" means UV-C (and narrower wavebands) are totally blocked, but some UV-B and more UV-A is not blocked. This fact has already been shown through the graphs I posted, that they emit UV-B and UV-A.

The quartz glass (inside tube) is likely treated to block the very narrow nm below about 250 nm, with lessor blocking efficiency for above that wavelength, and even less in UV-A.

See:
http://www.macrobizes.com/index/tubing_uv
http://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/index.php?topic=14461.0

Are you really so unwilling to accept you may be wrong about the Green Power vs. the 942? If you don't agree with my assessment that's fine, but these types of posts are pretty lame. And let it be known you treated LargePrime the same way when he said he prefers the 942...it's like we both offended you or something.

 

[nr nodes]

I don't know what happened to the text I added to that last post. And I have to assume you don't know what passive-aggressive means (since nothing I said even comes close).

When I'm being aggressive you'll know it. Dude, you should definitely avoid UV altogether, on account of that thin skin condition. Talk about unwilling to accept you might be wrong! You're the one here making assertions (ones I find questionable based on the data given).

Here's what I tried to add to the conversation along with that last pic (in the links both Rives and I posted earlier), which again just doesn't jive with your claims about the UV from these lamps making much of a difference.

942> 930> agro>


[naturally I uploaded the screenshots in the wrong order, they're corrected now]

 

[Beta Test Team]

You titled your picture "UVBS," so yea, that's pretty passive-aggressive.

Everything you're posting only shows what I claimed is correct, that there's more UVB and UVA from the 942 than the Green Power. (The UVC values seem erroneous, which is one reason why I suspect they're weighted.)

That figure you posted is interesting, but lacks context. Like how they quantified UV, I assume they're weighting it from the limited context included, but maybe not, and what ranges their quantifying, etc. Posting where you got the screenshot from would be helpful.

I don't know why you're so bothered that I'm not agreeing with you. If you like using the Green Power, then great! Use it, I'm more than happy for you.

 

[rives]

Enough, I think.

I agree with you both to an extent. I doubt that you are going to get much further with proving your point to one another, and you are derailing the thread.

BTT's focus provides important information for those who are trying to optimize certain aspects of their grow based on currently-available scientific information. NN makes the point that those aspects may not have as great of an impact as the current consensus would lead you to believe.

Without side-by-side grows holding all of the other parameters as tightly as possible to truly quantify the differences caused by the various lamps/spectra, this argument will not be resolved. Even with that level of control, much of the difference will probably end up being subjective interpretation. As I pointed out up above somewhere, I've used what is probably the least desirable option of all the current lamps extensively, and it works damn well.

 

[Ericos]

To each there own I say as long as its a cmh bulb my setup is a little more than what most are using but heres my proof to they're performance with multi kelvin 315s

A lot talk without showing the walk!

 

[spleebale]

To each there own I say as long as its a cmh bulb my setup is a little more than what most are using but heres my proof to they're performance with multi kelvin 315s

A lot talk without showing the walk!
[URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=58925&pictureid=1401814&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=58925&pictureid=1401817&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=58925&pictureid=1401816&thumb=1]View Image[/url] [URL=https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=58925&pictureid=1401813&thumb=1]View Image[/url]

DAMN! CHUNKY! Is that The Maui? Looks like the Maui. very nice!

 

[Ericos]

The 2nd pic from the left is my caveman og hybrid(CMH for short, lol) and the rest are BDS Special from switz.

I posted some of my IBL nugs on the other cmh thread cause I also use 860w cmh half way through flower in the end on those and 315 to start. Not bad for organics on those

 

[RoostaPhish]

I love this. Normally when I talk kelvins or color temperature with folks, even supposed "experts" they just look at me, and don't realize that it is the factor that determines spectral output. A thread I actually want to read. ALWAYS been a MH buff ceramic or not.

 

[HorseBadoritiz]

@rives... I just saw your message, apparently I need more posts to reply privately? I did read the 1st post, and all the others, too, LOL! Sometimes it takes a bit for things to click for me, thanks for the patience... I think I get it now, ha!

Horse

 

[Ericos]

LITERALLY BRICK WEED! BDS Special under multi kelvin 315s.


Same plant with pre harvest cleanup

 

[Mikell]

and almost 800 pepper plants in my indoor lab right now that each are asking for most of time.

How do you deal with that much awesome sauce in one place?

 

[Scrappy-doo]

Is there anyone here actually growing with the cycloptics reflectors?

I put mine to the side for the winter in favor of my hps to help keep my room warm, but with spring here now I'm ready to finally get these going. Been looking all over for a journal using these or even a finished cab to model mine after, and I can't find anything at all. Nothing, zip, nada. All I've seen are charts, graphs, and computer models. Please tell me there is someone... anyone at all currently using these. Or am I going to have to be the lone pioneer/guinea pig?

 

[Beta Test Team]

I know of a handful growers are currently using them, they're companies using them (medical and rec., in WA, CO, Canada, etc.) and they don't post here.

On this forum the only person I know that is using them (or did) was rives.

Once our new rooms are setup we'll be using them, but as they say, "hurry up and wait."