thinking of hps switch

[oldfogey8]

this info is probably somewhere but i am not sure i can find it. i have grown with a 4 ft 4 bulb t5 for my main lighting for 3 grows with decent results. i supplement with about 100 watts of cfls too. the temps in my tent approach 80 degrees in the spring/summer/fall months with the lighting i have . i use a 170 cfm inline fan to exhaust heat and refresh the air in my 4x4x2 ft tent. my question is will i be able to use a smaller hps lamp in my tent? i am thinking 400 watt but may need to try a 250 due to heat. is it possible to go that route or should i continue on as i have in the past and think about upgrading to a bigger tent and lighting next grow? also, my plant to tent top distance is probably 2 ft. will i have enough headroom to keep the colas far enough from the lights that i wont burn them? the tent is really supposed to be a 'mothers' tent. thanks in advance...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

LOL--I get so mixed up when dimensions are not listed as W x L x H. I had a whole big thing written out thinking the tent was 4 x 4 and then I reread your post and discover that it is 4 x 2 x 4....so here I go again.

I would suggest a 400W--250w simply is not going to be enough light. Yes, you may have problems with headroom, that that can usually be dealt with by scrogging or lst. Im did a nice scrog some years back with only 4' of headroom and HPS lighting. I would not go smaller than a 400W though. I am keeping a 32" x 32" space cool with a 400W with a 190 cfm fan. The hood is air coolable--couldn't keep it cool enough without using the air coolable hood.

 

[oldfogey8]

lol. yeah. a 2 foot tall tent would be a bit on the short side, huh?. thanks, thg. i will look at units with the air coolable hoods. i found one last night that is 'dimmable' but i wonder if the excess wattage is just dissipated as heat. i have also read about rf interference in digital ballasts. it sounds like they are quieter that the magnetic ballasts though so i think i will go that route. thanks again. the commment about being able to cool with a 190 cfm fan is really good info

 

[000StankDank000]

I'd go 600 watts for when you wanna exspand you can get another 600 watt HPS.
You sure you don't wanna go LED? Get those sons to split on one of those new LED lights.

 

[oldfogey8]

led's are more than i want to spend. i can't smoke what i grow with the t5 set up i have so i can't see going any bigger. i just want the hps for the denser buds i see everyone pumping out. my yields have been pretty good with my t5 set up and the smoke has been very good. i just want to get a bit better at this point, stank.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

For your size tent, a 400w will be just fine. Amazon has some good prices on HPS setups. [ame]http://www.amazon.com/iPower-GLSETX400DHMCT6-400-Watt-Digital-Dimmable/dp/B005GYRB9S/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1426604990&sr=8-13&keywords=400w+hps[/ame]

You can reduce the 6" end down to 4" to fit the fan---which is what I have done in my tent.

While I think often of switching to LEDs, the cost is prohibitive for me (and a lot of other people) and I actually NEED the heat from the light during the winter. I think that if you can keep the heat down, you will be happy with the HPS also. Even though the setup comes with a MH, I still like to use T5s for vegging if I can. I am vegging with the MH now because my T5s are being used elsewhere.

 

[oldfogey8]

yep. that is my plan, thg. i will probably buy locally though as my timing, as usual, is awful.

the info on leds seems to be all over the place with some folks saying this fixture is better than that fixture or this one is junk or that one is awesome. i think i can wait until things settle down and for the technology to catch up.