Its that time again...

[Localfan420]

I'm thinking of my second stealth grow and upgrading from cfl's to a 400 Watt HPS. Is that enough light for a 3x3 foot area? The best thing about this light is that the ballast is enclosed and the plug goes right in the wall...just hang the thing and bada-bing! The unit retails $250....is that a good deal?
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[poop-dog]

hxxp://htgsupply.com/growlights.asp?categoryID=1&subcategoryID=155&typeID=55 $120 - $165

 

[Localfan420]

i assume i shouldn't ship the unit to my place if i order online? what about payments, am i safe using a credit card? Plus I want an enclosed electronic ballast so all i have to do is open the box and plug it in.

 

[Cannabiscotti]

my 2 cents.....well, most ppl try to get a remote ballast, so that it can be located seperately and cut out all that heat that it creates-and they can get heavy. especially when growing in a small area, you're gonna want a remote ballast to keep away from all that heat.
and at 50watts sq ft, a 400 watt would cover 4 sq ft.

it seems generally accepted that a 1000 watt will cover a 4X4 area, and a 600W will cover a 3X3. with a 400W in the same 3X3 area, it will still work well, yield would just be reduced.

 

[SPEARCHUCKER]

Why wouldnt you want it shipped to your place? Its a light.
And yes your safe using credit card.

 

[cmd420]

you might want to rethink the light with the ballast included...unless you've got some crazy effective way to cool (the light AND your space), then having control of where the ballast makes all kinds of issues easier....plus, as stated, it'll be heavier to hang and adjust as your plants grow.....just my 2 cents!

BTW...last time I checked, there aint nothin illegal about a light!

don't trip and good luck!

 

[Localfan420]

actually they have the same unit online there for $50 less. I just like the easy setup....the less crap i have cluttering up my space the better. Venting will be the main concern along with odor control but that's pretty simple to handle with a small grow hXXp://htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=49307

 

[stonedrone]

I got a euro cool hps with a remote digital ballast that came with a mh conversion bulb. It was not cheap but the ballast is outside of my grow tent and with the digital it really doesn't get hot anyways, the ballast not the light, the light gets very hot. My temps stay just over 80F with just one 125cfm fan pulling air through the light and passive intake. The light you are looking at will get hot so before you try to cut corners on your light think about the problems you will encounter with heat, which will end up costing you more when/if you realize you need more ventilation. A 400w light is plenty big enough for a 3'x3' area, that's 9sqf and a 400w metal halide puts out about 50k lumens so that's about 5.5k lumens per square foot which is more than sufficient.

 

[Cannabiscotti]

when i'm searchn for stuff to buy online, i like to use google and click the shopping tab--should give you, pretty much, the best price out there. if i find a great price on a site i don't want to order from, i just copy the link and shoot an email out to a place i do like to order from. in my experience, most places will price match just to get your business. i got a PH meter this way about $50 cheaper than i could find most anywhere.--only 1 place had it that cheap, and it said they had something like 2500 of them in stock--so they had to buy in WAY bulk to be able to sell them for that price--

one thing i've learned...you never know until you ask.

 

[dirtyolsouth]

Hey Local Fan...

I gotta try ONE more time to convince you to get a separate ballast. I've owned hps lights with the ballast fixed to the hood and they are much hotter than using a remote ballast. Most HID lights come with a 10-15 foot cable and you'll be hating it if you try to control temps with that setup. IME magnetic ballasts put off a fair amount of heat on their own and when they are coupled with the hood the ballast heat combines with the heat from the bulb to make it much worse than having a remote ballast and keeping it in the grow room. With your space only being 3x3 you're going to probably need a cool tube reflector or an air cooled reflector or it's going to be in the mid 90s or worse in there and that's not good...

Google: 400w hps air cooled grow light

I saw this one on eBay that looks like a good deal: (swap the XX with tt)

hXXp://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-DIGITAL-AIR-COOLED-400-watt-HPS-GROW-LIGHT-400w-w_W0QQitemZ400072394302QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d262c463e&_trksid=p4634.c0.m14

Peace!

 

[IRISH]

^i concur with dos. ...

i have a mh lamp with enclosed ballast, and it adds heat to my grow room in the 10 extra degree range. now, i ain't complaining, as i got it free. .

i can only imagine what an hps with enclosed ballast would do. 20+/w/o a problem. .

as much as 10 degrees can make a huge difference bro. jmo...Irish...

 

[stonedrone]

That's the exact light that I have.

 

[MeNtAlPaTiEnT]

Having the ballast enclosed with the light wouldn't be a bad thing in the winter months . Looks like a nice light to me.

 

[Hick]

my 2 cents.....well, most ppl try to get a remote ballast, so that it can be located seperately and cut out all that heat that it creates-and they can get heavy. especially when growing in a small area, you're gonna want a remote ballast to keep away from all that heat.
and at 50watts sq ft, a 400 watt would cover 4 sq ft.

it seems generally accepted that a 1000 watt will cover a 4X4 area, and a 600W will cover a 3X3. with a 400W in the same 3X3 area, it will still work well, yield would just be reduced.

hee heee.. you sat beside me in math class didn't you??.. :rofl:. @50 watts p/sq ft, a 400 covers 8 sq. ft... but more important or relevant, is "lumens" per sq ft. You should shoot for 5,000 Lumen per sq ft. The 'wattage' rule is 'old school', and somewhat misleaading with todays bulbs.

 

[Localfan420]

thanks for all the tips guys, i'll take strong consideration for a remote ballast now. I just thought it would be easier to have the whole unit in one, but cutting corners one place will catch up with me another time i'm sure.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

thanks for all the tips guys, i'll take strong consideration for a remote ballast now. I just thought it would be easier to have the whole unit in one, but cutting corners one place will catch up with me another time i'm sure.

IMO, there is really no upside to an enclosed ballast and lots of downsides--heat being the major one. Your are really only talking about having an extra cord, after all.