Philips 315w CDM Elite (CMH)

[McKush]

Well with shipping the greenbeam would have costed me about 620, thats 200 more than the phantom and i know its a nicer shaped hood, but dont think it would make all that much of a difference. I still want to get a D-papillion but when i do I want to get the double and the only contact I could find selling them had them marked way up above list price.
So it was kind of a mix of price tag and availability, a shop in sac had an ok deal so I went ahead and copped it. Ima run with it for a minute in veg, see how I like it, and hopefully by the time my next harvest done the papillion makers will have they shit together as far as availability. Then I plan to switch to the double D for veg and throw this phantom in between my two gavitas in the flower room.
So far since i got it everything started shooting up dumbass faster than it was with my 4 light t5, should be enough to veg enough to throw under one of the gavitas, then have another table worth ready a month or so later, so I can have some perpetual action goin.
Thats the plan! Who knows, maybe these units will drop in price some more before I make my next purchase. If I cant get ahold of a double d I'll either get the dimlux 630 or lec 630, I like how the double d and dimlux have the ability to dim or go into overdrive, think a 4x4 veg dimmed to 85% would be about ideal for my situation.

i think for small tent growing 315w CMH is definitely the ticket. for bigger rooms with the height i'm still not seeing 2 CMH rival 1 DE for flower. i could be off base, not tried a comparison personally, just a rough observation so far but i would need to be convinced by a well designed experiment. as far as 3 CMH v 1 DE well there you got me, i really don't know. certainly from an acquisition cost perspective the DE currently trumps. 3 GBs shipped ~$1600 vs. 1 Gavita Pro 1000e @ $450. not sure which would be better in flower


EDIT: GBs are currently listed at ~570 at growershouse with a sale price in the cart coming to $510

 

[LastHurrah]

These are all the same. Made in China.

Is the Philips the only ballast that is not made in China "and" has the dimming feature so I could run a 210w bulb?

Is there a consensus on the best retailer for the Philips ballast? Advanced? Is he shipping on time these days? His site only shows the mogul based lamps, not the pgz's.

LH

 

[Avenger]

I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that the circuit board buried inside the Philips ballast was made in China, then sent to Mexico to be assembled. But yes, it is the only one that is selectable wattage 210 or 315.
I bought a pallet of them.
Generally get all orders shipped by the next day. I dont have any 210 watt lamps though.

 

[agent dank]

Anyone use the ceramic science conversion kit?

 

[Avinash.miles]

Anyone use the ceramic science conversion kit?

i'm using a conversion kit from rocky mountain grow lites
just a pgx to mogul adapter and wellthink ballasts
all good

 

[agent dank]

i'm using a conversion kit from rocky mountain grow lites
just a pgx to mogul adapter and wellthink ballasts
all good

All I could find on their website was a complete package for $499

This ceramic science is $198 which seems cheap.

 

[Hammerhead]

Anyone use the ceramic science conversion kit?

I also have 1. No issues....You can get the adapter on eBay.. I have 1 of these as well in use with phantom ballast...I used 1 of my old reflectors(Gavita triple star) works great

http://www.ebay.com/itm/E40-To-Pgzx...m-Cmh-Light-Bulb-T12-US-SELLER-/331752024173?

 

[CHEFfy]

My setup for now. In the future, the frame will be painted steel, the ballasts will be mounted underneath and all will be hard wired to a new breaker box. There is a definite hot spot directly catered under each hood, I'm ordering aluminum paint to put a dab at no of each bulb (as Cycloptics does) and hope this will fix the problem. Otherwise, happy with everything else. Ballasts are welthink (used) that I got for $100 each. Right around 325 each, all said and done. Plants love it after the initial shock of a ne light source!

 

[CHEFfy]

Oh yeah... I patched a range cord into the off-the-shelf power center to get things moving. The next setup will have all contractors etc built into the power distribution box for the whole veg setup

 

[Hammerhead]

very nice Chef..Could you elaborate more about this Alum paint and where you are putting it.. When done take pics please..

 

[CHEFfy]

Cycloptics dabs a measured circle of aluminum paint to the tip of bulbs that they sell for their greenbeams setups. I forget what the exact diameter is, but it seems to subdue the hotspot.

http://www.zoro.com/rust-oleum-pain...gclid=CN69-KKP38oCFc5hfgod8WsHAA&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[Jhhnn]

View Image

My setup for now. In the future, the frame will be painted steel, the ballasts will be mounted underneath and all will be hard wired to a new breaker box. There is a definite hot spot directly catered under each hood, I'm ordering aluminum paint to put a dab at no of each bulb (as Cycloptics does) and hope this will fix the problem. Otherwise, happy with everything else. Ballasts are welthink (used) that I got for $100 each. Right around 325 each, all said and done. Plants love it after the initial shock of a ne light source!

I'd try exhaust manifold paint from an auto parts store.

 

[CHEFfy]

probably would work, I'm no paint expert though.

 

[Hammerhead]

Thanks for the info.


Anyone seen plants that have damage from to much light..No bleaching.. Me and a few others are seeing what looks like heat stress when the temps are good 75f canopy temps. We have ruled out any pest or pathogen issues. This is only happening under Gavita's set at 1kw.

 

[CHEFfy]

I notice that my feed levels needed to be almost .2 ec higher (in coco)when I made the switch. I'm not sure if this problem would translate to an organic setup. Does this problem occur when living sources are changed or later on?

 

[Hammerhead]

Only happens when plants are put into flower under the Gavita's. Seems like the plants are transpiring to much. We have triple checked temps and RH%. All are within the proper range. Light distance to canopy effects this as well. Only way we could fix was to lower the wattage or raise the lights. We are now at 45" from the canopy we where at 36".

 

[oti$]

Does that mogul adapter allow any 400wt e-ballast to fire a cmh bulb?

 

[CHEFfy]

No. Still need the cmh ballast.

 

[Avinash.miles]

Does that mogul adapter allow any 400wt e-ballast to fire a cmh bulb?

the one im talking about is just a socket adapter, like cheffy said, you still need the 315w CMH ballast, just can you any of your old mogul socket style hoods/fixtures

 

[McKush]

Cycloptics dabs a measured circle of aluminum paint to the tip of bulbs that they sell for their greenbeams setups. I forget what the exact diameter is, but it seems to subdue the hotspot.

http://www.zoro.com/rust-oleum-pain...gclid=CN69-KKP38oCFc5hfgod8WsHAA&gclsrc=aw.ds

Ive got the size somewhere but i think it was like 1.2 to 1.7cm. 12 to 17 mm in diameter