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Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)
- Thread starter rives
- Start date
McNerdius
Member
utopia tent whatnot
utopia tent whatnot
figured i'd toss in a pic of my fresh 315 setup. this shot isn't current, but i love it - it shows off the light and the donut well.
This time i'm just finishing up a couple plants started in my PLL cabinet. Next up (nov-jan) i'll be running more compact and "disciplined" plants in a tighter radius than this. I'll be buying a PGZ lamp (and socket) as my spare, and may add a second lamp for my feb-april run. To scale:
utopia tent whatnot
figured i'd toss in a pic of my fresh 315 setup. this shot isn't current, but i love it - it shows off the light and the donut well.
This time i'm just finishing up a couple plants started in my PLL cabinet. Next up (nov-jan) i'll be running more compact and "disciplined" plants in a tighter radius than this. I'll be buying a PGZ lamp (and socket) as my spare, and may add a second lamp for my feb-april run. To scale:
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I'll second that. 23 zips harvested and this much more still to go.
It's great to see the 315s doing well for peeps. Just thought I fill some in on my project. I got in the cera arc bulbs for supplemental drop lighting. These are the NR's so their supposed to have the highest R9 value of any CMH in the industry and yes, its has a higher R9 value than the 315 agro! I'm hoping this completes my mixed spectrum CMH build. Will be running 12 315s and 6 150s(cera arc). CMH Rock s!
What ballast is needed to run those 150w Cera Arc bulbs?
Standard ANSI M102, M142 or S56 mag ballasts per the Sell Sheet-
http://www.eyelighting.com/_CE/pagecontent/Documents/SellSheets/Ceramic%20Technology/Cera%20Arc%20ED%20T%20Mogul%20Base%20Lamps.pdf
You don't really need to enclose the ballast. You need to prevent shock hazard & secure the wiring with strain reliefs of some sort.
This will be mounted in an air plenum but similar arrangements will yield good results away from small children-
https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=57519&pictureid=1443401
Terminal strip w/ clear plastic cover from amazon. Even wire nuts will work w/ decent strain reliefs. Or switch the guts in your current ballast enclosure.
Or you can buy a 150w cera arc lamp & just screw it in, fire it up.
It obviously won't do as well as a 315, but it'lll give you a better idea of what to expect if you decide to go that way. I used a philips 330w cmh retro lamp w/ a MH ballast for my initial experiments.
McNerdius
Member
Enclosing the lamp itself, i mean. It's not open rated so i'd have to rig up some glass, and that would put it in a teeny little space. I know it's not going to put out nearly as much heat as the HPS, but it's a damn small space. Here's the fixutre i speak of. My first ever grow light, seven years and kickin'.
As for just screwing it in - what i've read is removing the ignitor is the trick to using HPS ballast as MH, but then all the M102 kits i look at include an ignitor... Hmm... Difference in capacitor value is dinky too, 16uf vs 14uf. There's got to be something i'm missing.
All the ballasts i've wired up over the years have been digital/electronic, they have spoiled me. This is months out and low priority anyway, as i'm already saving up to add a 2nd 315w to my tent setup. The 150watter is being used for vegetables at the moment, and only when sunlight isn't an option. I just hate that yellow light...
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Thanks man, I had read that and thought M102/M142/S56 was all one part number so I was confused there. Ive got a 150w Sun System mag ballasted so I should be able to just screw in a Cera Arc bulb and run it but Im not sure its worth the cost of the bulb for only a 150w unit just to play around with.
So a basic question for you guy's. Sorry if this has already been answered, I haven't fully combed the thread yet.
Which reflector would be best foroptimizing uniformity in an asymmetrical space (~4'x6')? Cycloptics greenbeams or the dPapillon? Maybe something else entirely?
Thanks.
Which reflector would be best foroptimizing uniformity in an asymmetrical space (~4'x6')? Cycloptics greenbeams or the dPapillon? Maybe something else entirely?
Thanks.
Maybe 3 or 4 Greenbeams with Orca film are gonna give the best uniformity. I'm considering 4 of them in a 4 x 8 Secret Jardin Orca 240. Scrappy is using 3 of them in a 5 x 10 (I believe) and killin it.
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Enclosing the lamp itself, i mean. It's not open rated so i'd have to rig up some glass, and that would put it in a teeny little space. I know it's not going to put out nearly as much heat as the HPS, but it's a damn small space. Here's the fixutre i speak of. My first ever grow light, seven years and kickin'.
As for just screwing it in - what i've read is removing the ignitor is the trick to using HPS ballast as MH, but then all the M102 kits i look at include an ignitor... Hmm... Difference in capacitor value is dinky too, 16uf vs 14uf. There's got to be something i'm missing.All the ballasts i've wired up over the years have been digital/electronic, they have spoiled me.
This is months out and low priority anyway, as i'm already saving up to add a 2nd 315w to my tent setup. The 150watter is being used for vegetables at the moment, and only when sunlight isn't an option. I just hate that yellow light...
I misunderstood, McNerdius. The cera arc lamp is def not open fixture rated, so I wouldn't use it that way. You too, Bueno Time.
Prior to CMH, there were 2 families of MH lamps, the oldest being probe start. They have an extra small electrode in the light emitter to strike the arc & don't require an ignitor. They also work fine with an ignitor. The newer family is pulse start where the extra electrode has been eliminated for technical reasons & therefore require a pulse from an ignitor to strike the arc. Pulse start MH has pretty much become the standard for new construction.
To my knowledge, CMH retro lamps for MH systems will fire on probe start mag ballasts. The Philips 330w def will.
The devil is def in the details.
I'll shut up about that stuff so we can get back on topic.
I'm itching to get my 315's in operation but I have to finish the current crop first. Projected harvest date is Aug 1.
Well that sucks. Guess I will wait til I move and get a bigger grow space to try out a 315. Thanks for the info.
Jhhnnn, yes the bulbs I'm using are open rated and protected. You guys are not looking at the bulb I'm using, CMTP150/U/NR936 and running on Philips digital ballast. I'm using it for there R9 values specifically.
I'm still testing some theories on my light setup.
Heres what happened to my CavemanOG strain after adding those as supplemental with my current 315 light grid setup.
I'm still testing some theories on my light setup.
Heres what happened to my CavemanOG strain after adding those as supplemental with my current 315 light grid setup.
