http://www.gardenscure.com/420 (Discussions on various lighting techniques and equipment used for the Garden) en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:08:55 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/images/blue-green/misc/rss.jpg http://www.gardenscure.com/420 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132788-2-200w-cfl-t5-8bulb.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:43:10 GMT [b]Hello there everybody was looking for some assistance and input. I am starting with a 3Wx7Hx6L, I was leaning towards the 4ft 8bulb T5, but then a friend recommended that I could a combination of some CFLamps. I need some input from you novice growers out there. Oh yeah I will be starting with 8-10 plants. Thanks Guys ]]> Lighting Nathaniel1947 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132788-2-200w-cfl-t5-8bulb.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132781-will-i-overload-circut.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:52:06 GMT So im moving from a 400w to a 1000w bulb. Im clueless when it comes to electrical, and want to be sure im not overloading or settin up a fire. The house is old and i will be using two different outlets, one for my 1000w bulb and ballast and other for fans and such. Unless i get two 1000w bulbs i wanna have one on each outlet and a 400w mh thrown in the mix if its even worth it.

I'll have one stanley blower, two fans, a heater probly for nights as it gets very cold (i might make two flower rooms and when one goes off the other is on to distribute heat to help and keep power on 24hrs a day with no odd 12 day mass power use and help heat the area)

One outlet is right by the power box or breaker box whatever its called, and the other is on the other end of the room about 12' away

how much can i put safely on an outlet..and do i need to do any tests or checks to be aware of what it can carry? ]]> Lighting WackScientist http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132781-will-i-overload-circut.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132775-how-much-electricity.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:55:12 GMT how much electricity would a 400 watt hps system run just to say if my electric bill is usually 120 dollars what it raise it to. how much electricity would a 400 watt hps system run just to say if my electric bill is usually 120 dollars what it raise it to. ]]> Lighting stonerboy42092 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132775-how-much-electricity.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132731-ballasts-more-efficient-higher-voltage-input.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:03:20 GMT Seems like most fluorescent/HID ballasts are rated for several different input voltages. I'm wondering if a ballast would be more efficient if run on 240v power vs 120, sisnce all it's doing is increasing the voltage, right? I know it uses half the amperage (or so) at 240 vs 120, but I just wonder if the ballast would operate more efficiently with a higher input voltage? ]]> Lighting BigBlock http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132731-ballasts-more-efficient-higher-voltage-input.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132728-power-outage.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 03:34:45 GMT This is what happened. When I run my lights and a small heater; turn on the microwave; a breaker trips. I turn of the lights or the heater, then I can use the microwave with no problems. Well tonight while watching the tube; w/o using the microwave, the breaker tripped! I flipped it back and nothing! My bedroom, br. bath, and grow room has no power. None of the receptacles work in either room. Whats going on? This is what happened. When I run my lights and a small heater; turn on the microwave; a breaker trips. I turn of the lights or the heater, then I can use the microwave with no problems. Well tonight while watching the tube; w/o using the microwave, the breaker tripped! I flipped it back and nothing! My bedroom, br. bath, and grow room has no power. None of the receptacles work in either room. Whats going on? ]]> Lighting kingseven http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132728-power-outage.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132710-light-fixtures.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:00:46 GMT can i buy regular florescent light fixtures and use the t5 light bulbs?same question for flowering,thinking of useing hps for flowering and need to make the lighting fixtures myself to save money.on the hps can i use traditional light socket or do they make an adapter for them can i buy regular florescent light fixtures and use the t5 light bulbs?same question for flowering,thinking of useing hps for flowering and need to make the lighting fixtures myself to save money.on the hps can i use traditional light socket or do they make an adapter for them ]]> Lighting thunderson5 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132710-light-fixtures.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132692-flip-flop-dpdt-relay-help.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:00:19 GMT >>> Timer/ Relay {{{ Bulb 1 //Bulb 2 on a 12 hour cycle. Meaning cab 1 flowers in the morning, cab 2 at night. Any help is appreciated.]]> Hi all, after extensive searching of my wallet, I have not seen the money to go with another Ballast, so I've got (2) 600 Watt Digital/dimmable ballasts to work with. 1 is powering my current flower stage, 1 is over my seedlings.

I want to run 2 flower Cabs off of the 1 ballast, necessitating a DPDT relay. Got one picked out, HERE. Gonna plug it into a socket, LIKE THIS ONE.

I have had a HORRIBLE time finding a timer for it!! I can find timers left and right, but for $110.00 and I KNOW they are cheaper than that!

Anyone seen a good timer that will work, at a decent price? OR a source for everything, where I can just get it from one company?

I want it to go -Digital /Dimmable ballast, set at 600W >>>> Timer/ Relay {{{ Bulb 1 //Bulb 2 on a 12 hour cycle. Meaning cab 1 flowers in the morning, cab 2 at night.

Any help is appreciated. ]]> Lighting Futuregrower http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132692-flip-flop-dpdt-relay-help.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132685-can-270v-mh-run-220v.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:34:44 GMT I have a couple of 270v advance 400w M/H ballasts. Does anyone know if they will work on 220v before I spend the money on a new bulb to find out or would I just be spinning my wheels? I have a couple of 270v advance 400w M/H ballasts. Does anyone know if they will work on 220v before I spend the money on a new bulb to find out or would I just be spinning my wheels? ]]> Lighting signalsnatcher http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132685-can-270v-mh-run-220v.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132681-mh-cfls.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:20:52 GMT Just thought i would pass this along. After having trouble with heat this summer I decided to flower using my veg side of my box. {Cab is in an outbuilding and the summer heat is rough}. Using just a 250wMH and 2 65w cfls I've gotten the best grow I've ever had. Had a few plants in 4" pots and due to space I wasn't able to repot to a larger pots. The buds turned out to be the size of a red bull can and nice stout smoke.
Goes to show you don't have to have the bestest stuff to grow good weed. Now that the outsides temps are dropping I'm planning on revegging and trying the same thing w/ a 250hps and more cfl's.
I also found that using a single 120cfm fan in a roughly 20x24x48 box was fine. I run from 7pm-7am w/ a single blower fan set on the lowest setting and the temps never vary more than 15 degrees. A small space heater set on 60 keeps the box around 65 when the lights are off and the lights keep the temps in the mid to upper 70's. Mind you, I have roughly 18" of intake vent holes and roughly 6" of exhaust.
I have a few more modifications I plan on making for the next grow. Wiring in the 2 other 120 fans and taking the blower offline. Adding more lights and seeing what i can grow next time. I can honestly say I've grown better than I've ever bought and I don't have a CLUE what I'm doing.

Smokie ]]> Lighting smokiethedawg http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132681-mh-cfls.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132678-hps-minus-ignitor-mh.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:00:11 GMT Somebody told me that a standard HPS fixture/ballast will work with MH bulbs if you remove the ignitor. Is there any truth to this? I know they make MH "conversion" bulbs, so they must be similar... ]]> Lighting BigBlock http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132678-hps-minus-ignitor-mh.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132675-600whps-vs-400whps-250wmh.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:51:04 GMT I am planning on converting a 4.5' x 5.5' x 10' closet into a flowering room. I am debatting whether or not I should go with a single 600w HPS or a 400w HPS combined with a 250w MH.

I have read of people opting for a 600w HPS with a 400w MH instead of a 1,000w, for several reasons. There is the factor that with lower wattages lights can hang closer to the canopy. Plants also recieve light to more areas with multiple light sources. However the biggest reason seems to be the benefits of plants recieving multiple spectrums of light.

However I also know that the 600w HPS is the most efficent HID light in the market based on lumens per Watt. So I am wondering whether that factor will cancel out the benefits of using multiple smaller bulbs.

Also entering into the equation is the 430w HPS from Son Agro that boasts 30% more light in the blue spectrum. I have read some growers claiming them to produce yields comparible to a 600w standard HPS.

Looking for as many peoples opinions as possible. ]]> Lighting jackopotomus http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132675-600whps-vs-400whps-250wmh.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132666-lengthening-hps-wires-light.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:38:16 GMT Hey y'all,

Got a SIMPLE question for you wire gurus out there:

In an effort to save money over buying a quiet, digital ballast, I am considering lengthening the wires coming from my 400w ballast to the mogul socket so that I can put the ballast as far away from the grow tent as possible. Ideally, I'd like the wires about 5 ft longer so the ballast can go underneath the stairs, so the walls can insulate and muffle against the buzzing sound (no worries, not a fire hazard).

My question is: What gauge of wire should I use? Are wire nuts sufficient or should I purchase a soldering gun?

I have done my fair share of wiring things up, but I am no electrical engineer and want to do this safely :)

LB:afro: ]]> Lighting littlebittaweed http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132666-lengthening-hps-wires-light.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132652-flip-flopping-zig-zagging-lights.html Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:03:55 GMT Hey all...
I first read about flip-flopping and zig zagging lights in the "Bible" and recently came across something available in the U.S. If this product has existed for awhile, I was not aware of it until recently. Just wanted to share this link with you all: Flip Flop Lights

I Googled the term "zig zag lighting" or "lights" and found it. I was actually looking for how to set up my own. After my tent failed miserably, I decided to do a room instead and will be trying out a zig-zag staggered light set-up on rails. 4 * 600 watters on two rails. With only two lights on at 1-hour intervals. I plan on lighting up the whole place (all four lamps on) for only 2 hours of a 12-hour cycle. Hopefully, I can get the same yield as having all four on at the same time for an entire 12 hours. This would also have a benefit of keeping room temperatures down.

Anyone have a report on a staggered set-up?

I'll post up pics soon. ]]> Lighting M3di-Ca.ted http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132652-flip-flopping-zig-zagging-lights.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132649-3x3-space.html Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:12:05 GMT i have a 3x3 space i can use to grow.about 6f.tall.what type of light should i use for such a small space.prefer a model you can find easy at a home depot i have a 3x3 space i can use to grow.about 6f.tall.what type of light should i use for such a small space.prefer a model you can find easy at a home depot ]]> Lighting thunderson5 http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132649-3x3-space.html http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132609-600w-digital-ballast-help.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 04:58:50 GMT Hi All,

I've got one of the 600 Watt, digital, dimmable Ballasts from DAYSTAR HID, HERE.

Now, it runs a 400 Watt HPS perfectly fine, just put the switch on "400W". However, it WILL NOT fire my 400 Watt MH bulb! I've tried everything I think- played with the bulb, check.
Made sure it was not too loose/too tight in the socket, check.
Started with a cold ballast and bulb, check.
Started from cold, left it for 10 minutes + , check.
Swore at the ballast numerous times, check, check, and F'ING CHECK. :angry:
Put the HPS back in to make sure I didn't kill the ballast , check- worked great, but not on the MH.

Never even glowed. Bulb is a sylvania 400Watt MH "MetalArc" bulb, which is a pulse start.
Shouldn't the digital ballast start one of these? The website just says "Ballast Operates both HPS and MH bulbs" and also, "- Intelligent Technology included with the ballast AUTOMATICALLY ADJUSTS TO HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM AND METAL HALIDE BULBS. There is no need for a "switch" or to change systems, simply change from bulbs."

Don't say nothing about not starting a pulse-start MH bulb.

I don't want to have my babies Veggin under a HPS if I can avoid it.

Any Help? ]]> Lighting Futuregrower http://www.gardenscure.com/420/lighting/132609-600w-digital-ballast-help.html