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 yipe
Stranger
Registered: 06/25/10
Posts: 3
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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 So out of date (Lights) 
#437387 - 06/25/10 01:05 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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I've been out of this game for years upon years (last time I grew something, the year started with 19) and was looking to get some equipment to get started up again, but I realized I know nothing about what's new and cool with lights. So, what would a guy, with some experience, but way out-of-date and starting fresh want in lights for a small grow? Are these LED lights I keep seeing around the web cool? They sound cool, but do they really make enough light? Are they easy on the wallet and the electricity bill? Do I want to go another way?
I appreciate your help, and someone is probably gonna say "Man there are a million threads like this every day!" but I don't see any, so sorry dude, just link me to the bitchin' thread and I'll leave you guys alone. Thanks a ton 'o weed!
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Crusty Ass Bastard
Pheno Hunting
Registered: 08/02/09
Posts: 786
Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: yipe]
#437415 - 06/25/10 07:45 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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15w all-blue panels are exceptional for cloning.
45-150+w pannels are excellent for vegetative growth.
I'd get a 300w panel ($500~) or bigger if you plan on flowering with them though. If you were using HIDs in the 90's you'll be happy (I think) to know they're still the best flowering bang for your buck.
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yipe
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Registered: 06/25/10
Posts: 3
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Thanks dude. Nice pics in your sig!
Where's a good place to get these things nowadays, that won't get my ass busted?
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Crusty Ass Bastard
Pheno Hunting
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Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: yipe]
#437620 - 06/25/10 01:52 PM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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There is nothing sketchy about buying lights. You can grow hundreds (thousands?) of cultivars under either LED or HPS they can't be singled out by the man as "pot growing lights".
I don't know if any of the sponsors carry LEDs but check with them first. The quality of LEDs available on Ebay is way, way better than it used to be. Just make sure the units have 1w bulbs or greater. The unscrupulous sellers just hype the # of bulbs in their units and rarely list spectrum let alone wattage. Just stick with quality sellers if you go that route.
HIDs can be had in just about any hydro store in the country including http://www.rvfgardensupply.com.
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yipe
Stranger
Registered: 06/25/10
Posts: 3
Last seen: 14 years, 6 months
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Thanks dude, I just wanted to be sure. Never know what's changed.
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kickin-two-hundo
|̲̅̅●̲̅̅|̲̅̅=̲̅̅|̲̅̅●̲̅̅| ♪♫♪♫♪♫
 
Registered: 05/17/10
Posts: 882
Loc: afghanistan
Last seen: 14 years, 3 months
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: yipe]
#437974 - 06/26/10 10:38 AM (14 years, 6 months ago) |
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yo yipe for good prices on quality lights, check out htgsupply.com theyve got 400 watt hps setups for like 120. just don't buy there in house digital ballasts, bad reviews from them. everything else you will get more than your moneys worth out of it!
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The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.
anything and everything i post on here is completely fictional and come straight from the deepest depths of the black hole which is my mind.
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 maryanne3087
Stranger
Registered: 06/27/10
Posts: 1,111
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: yipe]
#438665 - 06/27/10 10:13 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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I recently grabbed some Quantum ballasts they're top of the line they have RF shields and are certified to not cause RF interference unless lumateks that can be detected from 30+ feet away.
They also are ANSI certified which means they're built to safety regulations unlike many digital ballasts including the infamously popular lumateks. I have a friend who has a nice rectangular burn mark on his floor where his lumatek ballast went nuclear.
They either run at 100%, 75%, or 50% power which is useful because if you have a multi light room and temps get too hot you can dim your bulbs instead of shutting down half of your lights which would benefit you as you cover more area. They don't have any compatibility issues with the hortilux bulbs which are very popular but are short lived with many other digital ballasts such as lumatek.
Quote:
Crusty Ass Bastard said:
I'd get a 300w panel ($500~) or bigger if you plan on flowering with them though. If you were using HIDs in the 90's you'll be happy (I think) to know they're still the best flowering bang for your buck.
HID lighting hasn't changed that dramatically since the 90s to make HID today and then light and day in difference there's lots of people who use 20 year old HID ballasts and the cheapest non horticulture grade HPS bulbs they can find and still get good results. Reflectors however have come a long way as the standard in the 90s was the salad bowl reflector.
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Crusty Ass Bastard
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: maryanne3087]
#438666 - 06/27/10 10:24 PM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
maryanne3087 said:
I recently grabbed some Quantum ballasts they're top of the line they have RF shields and are certified to not cause RF interference unless lumateks that can be detected from 30+ feet away.
If unless = unlike, you've been misinformed about lumateks. DGreenhouse ballasts I might believe 30+ feet, any current-gen lumatek (dial-a-watt / dimmable) is RF shielded. Quantum (smartly) copied the features lumatek is famous for instead of coming out with something innovative that might give lumatek owners a reason to switch. Still waiting on someone to invent that ballast.
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maryanne3087
Stranger
Registered: 06/27/10
Posts: 1,111
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Looks like we have a fanboy.
If Quantum is a bunch of copy cats why is it that Lumatek has literally 10000% more returns than Quantum ballasts? Yes, it's somewhere around 100:1 I have a close friend who has 11 years in the industry as a distributor.
Email Hortilux and ask how many people complain about Quantum ballasts burning out their bulbs and how many people complain about Lumatek ballasts burning out their bulbs.
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Crusty Ass Bastard
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Last seen: 13 years, 10 months
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Re: So out of date (Lights) [Re: maryanne3087]
#438790 - 06/28/10 07:39 AM (14 years, 5 months ago) |
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Quote:
maryanne3087 said:
Looks like we have a fanboy.
Better a fanboy than a shill.
Quote:
maryanne3087 said:
If Quantum is a bunch of copy cats why is it that Lumatek has literally 10000% more returns than Quantum ballasts? Yes, it's somewhere around 100:1 I have a close friend who has 11 years in the industry as a distributor.
10,000% more returns... according to a friend. Wow. You're setting the bullshit bar quite high for your 8th post.
Quote:
maryanne3087 said:
Email Hortilux and ask how many people complain about Quantum ballasts burning out their bulbs and how many people complain about Lumatek ballasts burning out their bulbs.
The fact there are 100 lumateks in the wild for every quantum might have something to do with it. 
No but seriously, I'm well aware that hortilux deviates from industry standards and uses 1,500 volt ignition pulses. Re-posting DieselB's snippet here:
Quote:
"My name is Jason and I am the founder of Lumatek Electronic ballasts. We try to stay away from these forums but I think this is important. Some customers are currently experiencing problems when using some 600 watt lamps. I do want to point out that the Hortilux Solarmax Grolux issue applies to ALL brand of electronic ballasts.
The lumatek ballast is a true Eballast. It has a micro processor cpu. This cpu allows the ballast to make adjustments according to the lamp that is being used. A eballast can compensate for degrading bulbs and slight power fluctuations. It can also sense the exact specifications of the lamps it is using. the Lumatek ballast is up to 27% brighter than a core and coil ballast. We do have one problem with this technology the cpu can not detect the lamp until AFTER the initial ignition. Once the bulb is lit the ballast can then take over and drive the bulb to its exact specifications. Industry specifications for a 600 watt hps lamp call for a 4000volt ignition pulse. This is what Lumatek and all other digital ballast use for a starting voltage. Hortilux ignition used to be 2000-3000 volts even though this is less then the ignition pulse of the Lumatek we did not experience any problems with the Hortilux I have lots of customers with Hortilux lamps that are over a year old However about 6 months ago we started to notice an increase in Hortilux failures. We also noticed that the font of the text printed at the base of the bulb had changed. When we tested this lamp we found that the ignition range was lowered to 1500 volts. These new Hortilux lamps are different then the ones we originally designed the ballast with and have a higher frailer rate. The problems that customers are having are NOT a ballast problem they are a bulb problem the Hortilux 600 watt is not designed to industry specifications regarding ignition pulse. Furthermore it is also manufactured with a special gas in the arc tube that no other lamp maker in the world uses. The Hortilux lamp design is unique. We are currently adapting our ballast for this bulb it may require a switch to lower the ignition pulse for Hortilux.
Solarmax and Growlux lamps are the opposite problem these lamps require a 5000-6000 volt ignition pulse Again the standard ignition for a 600 is 4000 volts. The Lumtek ballast can light these bulbs with the 4K pulse for a while however over time the lamps degrade and they require more and more voltage to start after a few months the bulbs will not ignite in any digital ballast."
Which is why lumatek started making their own bulbs.
Edited by Crusty Ass Bastard (06/28/10 07:50 AM)
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