Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[prelude91sir]

first and for most love the thread and read/skimmed throught every page.

so i would like to know if these ballast are any good. i want phillips ballast or true equivelant. im not sure if i should get the lec, gb or a diy. im trying to maximize my $.

i dont want to buy cheap ballast that arent designed with the square wave like philips.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-pcs-120V-...al-ballasts-/281732257564?hash=item41988d171c

some one posted the hydrofarm hood that looks promising as it has a vent kit you can buy if i end up needing it.
https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/PHR3150

probably just going for one setup as of now and at to it later. I was one of the few people to try/use the 400w cmh back in 2005 WOW cant be leave its been that long. Look foward to trying this newer cmh/cmd technology. Havent grew in a few years so trying to get back in the swing of things with some of the better equipment. i was going to do 1000w de but figured these 315 would be more valuable in the long run.

imm looking at the 120v as i dont want to upgrade electric. so im thinking if the 120v ballast is truely square wave then remote ballast, with hydrofarm hood and either agro or 942 bulb would still put me in at abou $500 +/-

looking to purchase asap. thanks in advance

 

[rives]

Personally, I would stick with either the Philips or the GEL ballasts. The Welthink ballasts shown in the eBay link are supposedly not achieving the lamp life or light output of the others. The vendor in the following link is selling new Philips ballasts for $162.50.

http://www.ballastdiscount.com/metal-halide/iztmh210315rlfm.html

 

[prelude91sir]

do you if this is a welthink ballast? im assuming it might be. this is the ballast they are offering i guess on their site. i dont see the philips or gel option in more when buying through them.

wish i could get a ballast that uses philips ballast and has a transformer built in already for the 120v. seems easier then having to buy/deal with a tranformer seperately. but idk
https://www.cycloptics.com/node/34

 

[rives]

Yes, that looks like the Welthink to me. Cycloptics has carried both the Philips and the GEL, but I can't find them on their site right now. They are continually modifying the site, and it may be an oversight on their part - I'd give them a call.

The Sun Systems LEC 315 is available in a 120v version - they include a small step-down transformer in the fixture. The last that I knew, they were using the Philips ballast. I think that it is only available as an open fixture, though.

http://www.ehydroponics.com/sun-system-lec315-120-volt-w-lamp.html

 

[prelude91sir]

rives thanks so much for the fast replies. im really trying to settle on something. would like to pull the trigger by monday maybe even over the weekend.

ok so im thinking/leaning towards maybe philips ballast(170), 942/t12(80), hydrofarm hood(170) and a transforemer(40). i know it would be cheaper/just expensive to just buy the lec but atleast this way i have more flexabilty in the long run. and since i plan on running 3 in a 4x8 tent eventually maybe it would be wise to just buy a transformer that could handle 3 315's and do setup that would allow me to add the other 2 in a month or 2. im leaning towars the atl setup and just buying a hood and transfomer but not sure on the mogul bulb vs the t9/t12. The mogul would give me more hood options i suppose.

 

[Jhhnn]

rives thanks so much for the fast replies. im really trying to settle on something. would like to pull the trigger by monday maybe even over the weekend.

ok so im thinking/leaning towards maybe philips ballast(170), 942/t12(80), hydrofarm hood(170) and a transforemer(40). i know it would be cheaper/just expensive to just buy the lec but atleast this way i have more flexabilty in the long run. and since i plan on running 3 in a 4x8 tent eventually maybe it would be wise to just buy a transformer that could handle 3 315's and do setup that would allow me to add the other 2 in a month or 2. im leaning towars the atl setup and just buying a hood and transfomer but not sure on the mogul bulb vs the t9/t12. The mogul would give me more hood options i suppose.

The mogul lamp is the easy & inexpensive answer for conventional reflectors. Using these keeps the reflectors plug & play-

https://www.hydroponics.net/i/141070

I just didn't have room for 2 in the enclosed reflector I need to use in my small space so I used the t9's.

 

[prelude91sir]

The mogul lamp is the easy & inexpensive answer for conventional reflectors. Using these keeps the reflectors plug & play-

https://www.hydroponics.net/i/141070

I just didn't have room for 2 in the enclosed reflector I need to use in my small space so I used the t9's.

the only thing is i dont have any hoods right now. so i would like to choose a hood that would work best with this bulb and somewhat affordable. the cheapest one ive found, is air cooled and designed for this bulb. Its the hydrofarm phantom cmh hood. its a vertical bulb hood that you can buy air cooled kit for. looking at around $185 to my door. i will be trying open fixture but like the reassurance of the air cooled option if need be. gb hood looks great. would love to have one if i knew for sure heat wont be a factor in my setup. the hydrofarm 315 hood seems like the best deal thus far. with the setup im looking at doing. I would be saving about $100 from gb setup(which use welthink ballast now) about expensive as an lec but gives me the flexibility of remote ballast, cooled hood and knowing im using the best ballast for this bulb(philips).

it was also mentioned that the t12 was better then the mogul??? i know the mogul is suppose to be give out slightly more uv's. but is there really reason why i should stick with t12 setup and have a lil more invested($100) then going the slightly cheaper mogul route(depending on hood)?

thanks to all who have contributed useful info to this thread.

 

[rives]

I haven't used the mogul version, but the upside as you've noted is the wide availability of pre-assembled hoods and the higher UV output. The downside is that there is only the one spectrum available and perhaps it is a little harder to source than the PGZ lamps. I'm pretty impressed with the new base design, it's bulletproof as far as locating the lamp optimally and you can't under- or over-torque the lamp when installing it, but the Edison base lamps have worked fine for lots of years.

Either one should do a good job for you.

 

[Jhhnn]

I haven't used the mogul lamp, either, but I'm confident that the emitter is the same as the T12 942, just in a different package. Availability looks good from a quick search with 1000bulbs having a nice price. Good outfit that I've used several times.

The PGZ system is def solid if a bit fiddly getting the lamp pins in the lamp holder holes. Very precise fit requiring a little patience.

I'm getting good results with seedlings under 630w of CDM-

https://www.icmag.com/ic/picture.php?albumid=52773&pictureid=1496453

Growth seems to be on a par w/ the previously used 1000w dual arc. Less heat, too, at much lower power consumption.

 

[prelude91sir]

i wonder why the mogul base bulb is cheaper? also im leaning towards the pgz bulb ran vertically. since all the 315w systems have the bulb positioned that way. i know if i go the mogul route i will be more then likely go horizental do to abundace of cheap/good reflectors. but i wonder am i better off running these bulbs vertically. decisions decisions

 

[dyna mo humm]

Grobal Industries On-Par 315
Good?
Bad?
Anybody have experience with their lights?

 

[prelude91sir]

ok so after further review. i think im going to to with atl for ballast and bulb cant beat $200 (i really hope there is no difference between mogul and pgz other then price and application)
http://advancedtechlighting.com/cdmmw.htm

im going to use the thunder vertigo hood. which allows me to run bulb vertically and has built in air cooled option. suppose to be a knock of the og hood. at its hard to beat if you ask me
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Thunder-Ver...rtical-/271924070212?var=&hash=item3f4ff00744

and a mogul spacer to drop the bulb more centered in the hood. about $15

at this rate not including any transformers i would have about $335 invested

i think this is the route i will try for now. since its the least expensive route to get started with the 315. this route i could build 2 for under $700 when i was thinking about spending about $500 on one setup.

hope this also helps some other people wanting to utilize these 315 but starting out on a tight budget. so what do yall think? thanks for all the help.

 

[Unclecrash]

Tom @ advanced will hook you up. But if in a hurry , might want to find them else where. If you have a couple to a few or more weeks for Thomas to get your stuff together then he will deliver. I got mine but , was not happy with his less than lack luster slow service and excuse why after the first week or so you still doont get a tracking #. He has family issue's and I didnt see any better service like he said he would make up for , other than a good deal on the kit. Buthe swears he has a million dollars of stock in his store. So its up to you to decide. I guess im just used to seeing a tracking # in the first few days as I do a lot of online shopping and have never had to wait over a week unless they were out of stock. Im loving mine so fat have two and am going to get two more. I would show a pic but imbarrased as I put a planr into flower which I hsd a good feeling it was going to go nitro toxic . And it somehow locked out pottasium. And was runty so I put it under the 315 and hit it with some ferts and in three days the 1/2dia bud by an inch tall jumped up to about three or so inches and swelled up nicely. I was hoping I could use this plant as a judge but would not be fair to use this sickly plant to trly and talk up the light. I will wait till the next ones go into flower.

 

[luxcultivars]

Hey guys. I notice that Cycloptics now has this CMH conversion kit for sale for $299. Tack on another $25 for shipping per unit.

https://www.cycloptics.com/node/57

Anyone have any thoughts on it? Wondering if I can use something like this effectively in my Sun Systems Cool Tubes. I have the reflector wings, too... converting this way would save me a shitload of money.

https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/RFCOOL8

I figured you guys would know if anyone would. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Jhhnn]

i wonder why the mogul base bulb is cheaper? also im leaning towards the pgz bulb ran vertically. since all the 315w systems have the bulb positioned that way. i know if i go the mogul route i will be more then likely go horizental do to abundace of cheap/good reflectors. but i wonder am i better off running these bulbs vertically. decisions decisions

First off, I need to apologize for the link to 1000bulbs. That is *NOT* a 315 lamp. I'll edit it out if I can.

Online pricing from different vendors is all over the map for any of the 315 lamps. It changes all the time, too. I paid $53 each for 930 t9's but they're currently 50% more.

 

[prelude91sir]

Hey guys. I notice that Cycloptics now has this CMH conversion kit for sale for $299. Tack on another $25 for shipping per unit.

https://www.cycloptics.com/node/57

Anyone have any thoughts on it? Wondering if I can use something like this effectively in my Sun Systems Cool Tubes. I have the reflector wings, too... converting this way would save me a shitload of money.

https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/RFCOOL8

I figured you guys would know if anyone would. Thanks for the advice.

interesting. this doesnt seem like a bad deal. the only thing is it appears they are using welthink ballast which isnt preferred according to the more experienced. i even asked scrappy-doo and he is pulling 3+ # from 3 gb/welthink setups put would prefer the philips ballast. it would be nice to have a setup/ballast that was 120v ready(no transformer needed)

 

[Avenger]

I think you are better off with the mogul base lamp instead of the adapter for the pgz base lamp.

Also do not hold your breath for Philips to put out a 120 volt version of the ballast. Probably never going to happen.

There are at least 3 Chinese manufacturers on Alibaba marketing them now though, so expect the US market to be lush with them in short order.

 

[dyna mo humm]

FWIW, I've read the new Welthink ballasts(3rd gen, maybe) is much better than the original one they put out.

I was quoted a nice price on the Grobals but I'd like to hear from somebody who has actually used them.

Boulder has a lot of cool features but they're pretty firm on pricing even for 20 units

 

[Jhhnn]

Hey guys. I notice that Cycloptics now has this CMH conversion kit for sale for $299. Tack on another $25 for shipping per unit.

https://www.cycloptics.com/node/57

Anyone have any thoughts on it? Wondering if I can use something like this effectively in my Sun Systems Cool Tubes. I have the reflector wings, too... converting this way would save me a shitload of money.

https://www.hydrofarm.com/p/RFCOOL8

I figured you guys would know if anyone would. Thanks for the advice.

That should work in cool tubes. Getting twin 315's in my reflector was a lot more work but seems to work fine. Cool tubes were basically designed for thinner HPS lamps rather than the plumper ED37 lamps. Hell, that might not really make enough difference to matter but the PGZ lamps def won't pose a problem.

It's important to remember that 315's really won't replace 1000w lamps on a one for one basis. My very limited experience is that 630w of CDM may be in the same ballpark. I'll be in a better position to judge as this first grow with CDM unfolds. It's looking good so far.

 

[Jhhnn]

FWIW, I've read the new Welthink ballasts(3rd gen, maybe) is much better than the original one they put out.

I was quoted a nice price on the Grobals but I'd like to hear from somebody who has actually used them.

Boulder has a lot of cool features but they're pretty firm on pricing even for 20 units

I bought 2 used global ceramatecs that have been working fine for a couple of months. I couldn't get the dimming feature to work but I was just fussing with it to see if it would so I could report here.

Them being used, I can't put that on the maker.

I'd like to have a spare. What kind of price are they talking?