Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[Miraculous Meds]

Is there any recommended distance to keep a 315 CMH from the plant canopy, when the bulb is horizontal as opposed to vertical?

The bulb is also air-cooled, in this case, it's in a vented hood with glass.

I can only seem to find vertical numbers, and they are all over the board anyhow, everywhere from about 18-30 inches

Im guessing 12 to 18" is the sweet spot for horizontal hoods. Im running some winged horizontal hoods, and sometimes the tops have hit the inside of the hood without burning or much heat stress. You might be able to finish within 6". Now my 630 air cooled hoods with glass lens', get too hot and intense to keep within 12 to 18". the tops of plants are much happier at 18" to 24".

 

[iTarzan]

I joined the party and bought a GreenBeams CMH 315 (GB315PH) ceramic metal halide luminaire optical reflector that uses a PGZX18 lamp holder. It came with a Philips CDM-TP 315W 4200k bulb. I have read quite a few pages of this thread but it is pretty huge. I will most likely ask a few questions that have been answered numerous times.

 

[Hammerhead]

 

[Raho]

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The reflector on those GC units really looks ideal for 630 watts Hammerhead.
You don't happen to have a PAR meter do you?

 

[Miraculous Meds]

These are on a good sale. Anybody have any experience with them? Im running some 630w ac sunsystem hoods and they are performing well so far, but my concern with these is heat build up on the ballast.
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-diamond-lec-315-208-240-volt-w-3100k-lamp.html
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-diamond-lec-630-208-240-volt-w-4200k-lamps.html


And im not sure about this unit, but it seems to have dual 315's on the outside and a spot for a de bulb in the center. You have to buy the de bulb and ballast at that price, but if im reading right, it comes with the 315's and ballasts. I bet its a heavy, n hot reflector though.
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-grow-beast-208-240-volt-w-4200-k-lamps-12-plt.html


Id love to here some feedback, or opinions from you all. There such a good deal, makes me wonder... Maybe just old models, and their coming out with new ones soon?

 

[Jhhnn]

These are on a good sale. Anybody have any experience with them? Im running some 630w ac sunsystem hoods and they are performing well so far, but my concern with these is heat build up on the ballast.
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-diamond-lec-315-208-240-volt-w-3100k-lamp.html
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-diamond-lec-630-208-240-volt-w-4200k-lamps.html


And im not sure about this unit, but it seems to have dual 315's on the outside and a spot for a de bulb in the center. You have to buy the de bulb and ballast at that price, but if im reading right, it comes with the 315's and ballasts. I bet its a heavy, n hot reflector though.
https://heavygardens.com/sun-system-grow-beast-208-240-volt-w-4200-k-lamps-12-plt.html


Id love to here some feedback, or opinions from you all. There such a good deal, makes me wonder... Maybe just old models, and their coming out with new ones soon?

Genuine Philips ballasts are built for enclosed fixture commercial use so I wouldn't worry about them being able to take the heat. Genuine Philips lamps are also a plus. The hybrid model seems gimmicky.

The 630w model looks simple & relatively compact, easy to set up & use if a bit heavy at 25 lbs. I'm sure it would work great in 4x4 space.

 

[Hammerhead]

The reflector on those GC units really looks ideal for 630 watts Hammerhead.
You don't happen to have a PAR meter do you?

I do have one. You can prob find that data from Growers Choice?

 

[Dawn Patrol]

Hammerhead, can you remote the ballast on those 630's?

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Genuine Philips ballasts are built for enclosed fixture commercial use so I wouldn't worry about them being able to take the heat. Genuine Philips lamps are also a plus. The hybrid model seems gimmicky.

The 630w model looks simple & relatively compact, easy to set up & use if a bit heavy at 25 lbs. I'm sure it would work great in 4x4 space.

They are set up to be easy to use and install. the ac units I bought weigh just under 50lbs a piece. They work great. but they are bulky and heavy. I like the button feature that you can turn an individual light on and off on the fixture, but I don't use it that much. Ive got 4 in an 8x8, so a 4x4 space for each, and they are killing it. All I have is ones after I set the first trellis. Its mid flower, with 4 trellises on now. A bit overgrown, but great flower formation. Ill get some current pics here soon.

At that price though, I don't think you could buy 2 phillips ballasts and bulbs by themselves. Im sure its probably a discontinuation sale, so idk how warranties will work, but I bet they will honor them since their just going to probably roll out new models n keep doing business.

 

[Hammerhead]

Hammerhead, can you remote the ballast on those 630's?

Not on these lights. The old DE 630 you could detach the ballast

 

[zachrockbadenof]

Miraculous Meds... nice grow .... how far above the canopy are the lights??? its looks to be at least 1+ meter (3+ft)... i have '2' 315's in a 4x3.5ft tent and have the lights 18/20'' above the top bud with fans blowing over the tops- no heat issues, but i would like to raise the lights to get better coverage

 

[Miraculous Meds]

Miraculous Meds... nice grow .... how far above the canopy are the lights??? its looks to be at least 1+ meter (3+ft)... i have '2' 315's in a 4x3.5ft tent and have the lights 18/20'' above the top bud with fans blowing over the tops- no heat issues, but i would like to raise the lights to get better coverage

That was around 30". My 315w room the flowers are stretching within 12", and they are getting heat stress a bit. Now the 630 room, on the right side stretched to within 12", but no signs of stress yet. The 630s are air cooled and the 315s are not.


Try out 24", I think you will have good success with that distance.

 

[zachrockbadenof]

That was around 30". My 315w room the flowers are stretching within 12", and they are getting heat stress a bit. Now the 630 room, on the right side stretched to within 12", but no signs of stress yet. The 630s are air cooled and the 315s are not.
Try out 24", I think you will have good success with that distance.

just raised em... many thanks

 

[Jhhnn]

They are set up to be easy to use and install. the ac units I bought weigh just under 50lbs a piece. They work great. but they are bulky and heavy. I like the button feature that you can turn an individual light on and off on the fixture, but I don't use it that much. Ive got 4 in an 8x8, so a 4x4 space for each, and they are killing it. All I have is ones after I set the first trellis. Its mid flower, with 4 trellises on now. A bit overgrown, but great flower formation. Ill get some current pics here soon.
View Image
View Image




At that price though, I don't think you could buy 2 phillips ballasts and bulbs by themselves. Im sure its probably a discontinuation sale, so idk how warranties will work, but I bet they will honor them since their just going to probably roll out new models n keep doing business.

The one area where I've been disappointed with 315/630 hardware offerings is with air cooled reflectors. While I'm sure yours work great makers haven't really exploited the small lamp size to create the kind of small enclosed reflectors that are clearly possible. I say that as somebody who understands the benefits of two stage cooling which you obviously employ. Heat that never gets from the lamp to the grow space is heat growers don't have to deal with nearly so much & that's a good thing, well worth the expense & effort in many situations. It's less of an issue with CDM's but it's still quite real. I can keep grow space temps dialed right in with a minimum of noise & airflow through the grow space which extends the life of the ridiculously expensive carbon filters.

 

[cosmicparticle]

Help!! Broken glass

Help!! Broken glass

So today as I was trying to remove a a Phillips 930 lamp from the sun remote fixture it got stuck. I took a close look at the bulb and saw that the a part of the outer jacket where the glass meets the metal ring that holds it, was broken!!

Obviously I need to replace this ASAP. My question is wether this is an immediate fire hazard? The inner lamp is intact. The outer glass jacket is what has broken. The glass is still in place, but broken. I will try to ass a pic to show.

Any help appreciate from someone who knows how these lamps operate. It’s the Phillips 315 930.

The dark line is the crack. The blue line is front the lamp turning on. I decided to try it out as I was in the house. Not planning on leaving it on when I’m not here

 

[cosmicparticle]

What happened is I guess the outer glass got somewhat loose from the metal ring, so I as tried to turn the glass to remove the bulb it grinder on the metal(?) I had s failure last week with a bulb and I was moving the lamps from one room to another until I could afford to buy new ones. Did that for a few days and I suppose these lamps are not meant to be moved often. They holders are rigid and don’t screw in smoothly.

 

[CMH]

So today as I was trying to remove a a Phillips 930 lamp from the sun remote fixture it got stuck. I took a close look at the bulb and saw that the a part of the outer jacket where the glass meets the metal ring that holds it, was broken!!

Obviously I need to replace this ASAP. My question is wether this is an immediate fire hazard? The inner lamp is intact. The outer glass jacket is what has broken. The glass is still in place, but broken. I will try to ass a pic to show.

Any help appreciate from someone who knows how these lamps operate. It’s the Phillips 315 930.


View Image

The dark line is the crack. The blue line is front the lamp turning on. I decided to try it out as I was in the house. Not planning on leaving it on when I’m not here

You can continue using that bulb without any safety issue. The outer jacket is a protection in case the inner explosion.
To remove the bulb, hold the metal ring firmly and twist counterclockwise till it stops, then pull it out.

 

[Jhhnn]

What happened is I guess the outer glass got somewhat loose from the metal ring, so I as tried to turn the glass to remove the bulb it grinder on the metal(?) I had s failure last week with a bulb and I was moving the lamps from one room to another until I could afford to buy new ones. Did that for a few days and I suppose these lamps are not meant to be moved often. They holders are rigid and don’t screw in smoothly.

I think you'l be OK until you get another lamp. It's not optimal safety-wise but you should get by. I use nitrile gloves when handling lamps & grasp them only by the base.

 

[CMH]

Is anyone here using sunplix cmh grow lighting? https://www.sunplix.com/product-category/fixtures/

 

[Hammerhead]

Always unscrew bulbs by the base not the glass.

Is anyone here using sunplix cmh grow lighting? https://www.sunplix.com/product-category/fixtures/

Not until they get more price competitive. You can get a Growers Choice 315w CMH Complete Fixture for 290$..There are others that are even cheaper like Ceramic Solutions. There out of stock because its a great deal.