Couple quick Questions

[storzbickel]

hmmm yeah I guess ill just have to ask him, Ill have him bring it into work as well and just take a look at it, Im still kinda a noob though so yeah if you could post up some pics thatd be amazing. a complete 600 watt setup for 200 really? does that include shipping? cause thatd be pretty heavy, im sure shipping isnt cheap. I really need to get some pics for you guys so you can help me more. I promise ill get right on that. 400watt setup for 100 bucks is awesome to. So do you think it will be cheaper buying online at like high tech garden supply or at more of a local shop, like a garden store and whatnot. hmmm so many thoughts racing through my head.

personally id go thru the motions on the site - get the ship cost and time. so you know the total you would drop there. then shop around local see what the cost is cuz you dont have to factor shipping.

ill post some pics on here, check back in like an hour and a half. ill show you what the remote ballast with switches looks like so you know what to look for.

another option- buy that one from your guy, order a MH fixture online, since its cheap. i think that might work out well.

 

[blonddie07]

in total it came out too 225.. this is + shipping..

 

[ru8fru]

personally id go thru the motions on the site - get the ship cost and time. so you know the total you would drop there. then shop around local see what the cost is cuz you dont have to factor shipping.

ill post some pics on here, check back in like an hour and a half. ill show you what the remote ballast with switches looks like so you know what to look for.

another option- buy that one from your guy, order a MH fixture online, since its cheap. i think that might work out well.

when you say fixture that comes with a ballast as well right? so I saw one on there that is a 400wat hps and mh

so does that run the hps and mh at the same time??? that would be sick. Or does it just do the thing you were talking about, can run the MH and then when I get into flowering I can just pop out the MH and pop in the HPS?
For this it was $194.55 with shipping included. What would work best for what Im trying to do?

 

[ru8fru]

this is weird cause this setup for a 600 watt hps & mh setup is going for $319.26 with shipping

Yet this one which is a 1000 watt mh and hps setup is going for $$ 312.75...

Why would The bigger and better one be cheaper? Thats odd... will I even need this big of a setup, Im thinking not.

 

[storzbickel]

im not too sure on that one bro, youll have to wait for blonddie to get back with us....

if you read further it says comes with the HPS "conversion" bulb. I assume thats just a bulb designed to work with the fixture.

ive never heard them called conversion bulbs before, but they could just be what im talking about. so we will check with the person who recommended it

 

[ru8fru]

word.......... damn 10 char limit

 

[storzbickel]

sorry, its the MH conversion bulb.

im at work now when i get home ill get you pics of my whole rig with the bulb packaging , the whole deal.

 

[The Ganj Father]

keep in mind these guys are probably talking about digital ballasts, i'm sure your buddys is not digital, and yes you can run a MH in an HPS ballast, whether its digital, or analog. the switch they are reffering to is to the starter off I was telling you abou earlier, so the starters don't fry, switchable is just a new thing manufactures came out with to rack up the cost, and use cheaper parts. get your homeboys, trust me... I run 12 400w analogs, and I change half of them to MH towards the end of my cycle. been doing it this way for years, not to mention the plethera of usless knowledge i've retained over the years, I don't give advice without thinking it over thoroughly....

 

[storzbickel]

im terms of how big.


400w will do you just fine. you can have a lot of plants under that shit.

1000w is even better- the bigger the better. our only drawback is heat- if you cna maintain proper temps and whatnot and the electric increase, for a 1000w- its always better to go with that.

but for an easy, and efficient way i would say go with a 400w system.

pricing- man you are goign to find every sort of price under the sun. Just look for the cheapest price for what you need- bulbs, ballast, reflector. (dont forget quality!)
personally i say go local so you can pay cas$h. no paper trail. but lighting isnt a big thing, i try and keep as little as i can on credit card with records and shit.

 

[storzbickel]

keep in mind these guys are probably talking about digital ballasts, i'm sure your buddys is not digital, and yes you can run a MH in an HPS ballast, whether its digital, or analog. the switch they are reffering to is to the starter off I was telling you abou earlier, so the starters don't fry, switchable is just a new thing manufactures came out with to rack up the cost, and use cheaper parts. get your homeboys, trust me... I run 12 400w analogs, and I change half of them to MH towards the end of my cycle. been doing it this way for years, not to mention the plethera of usless knowledge i've retained over the years, I don't give advice without thinking it over thoroughly....

its more costly to buy an mh and hps ballast separately than a switchable. mine is a standard magnetic ballast. not digital.

i hope you are not trying to discredit anyone on this forum or say that no one thinks things thru. everyone grows different and we are here to offer advice to those who seek it. a lot of us have been doing this for years. some of us evne engineer the very products that are discussed on these forums

 

[ru8fru]

yeah using cash on everything would be nice. yeah Im not going to go that high in wattage, I wouldnt be able to control the heat and the increase on the elec. bill would make me nervous. So if i get my friends 250 ballast/fixture/whatever I can run a 250 MH in it? what would I need to make it work without cause my apt. to blow up? A new starter you said? what is that? sorry so much to take in at one time. I keep saying it but thanks so much!

 

[The Ganj Father]

an HPS conversion bulb is a bulb that does not require a starter, and can run in a MH ballast. they are garbage, they lose lumen intensity very quickly and need to be replaced more often.

 

[storzbickel]

there you go

i was unsure of that conversion crap and i thought it might be something like that. without a starter what is the point, weak shit

 

[ru8fru]

I think im still confused lol

 

[storzbickel]

basically dont get a dual ballast from that site, because its not a true HPS bulb, its modified to work with their ballast. its just not as good.

G father says that you can put an MH bulb in the HPS ballast without negative happenings....so going off what he says, you can do that with your friends rig. If MH bulbs dont require a specific starter then you dont have to add anything- it should just be plug and play.

 

[The Ganj Father]

your ok man, relax your babies aren't going anywhere. why don't you grab a J and sit back and reread this thread, it'll start to make sense the more you study. its not easy at first, but once you understand the basic principles all the other pieces just start to make sense.

 

[The Ganj Father]

as long as you get a 250w MH bulb its plug and play, don't try and stick any different wattages in your ballast/fixture and your gravy. no explosions, or anything like that, lol.

 

[ru8fru]

lol perfect, plug and play is the way to be. So if I do that then I can run my MH and then if I get say a 400 wat HPS setup I could run that at the same time and have MH and HPS on the babies?

 

[storzbickel]

yes you certainly can. the possiblities are endless.

im heading out but ill be back on with those pics in a half hour or so.

 

[The Ganj Father]

yes for sure, like I said you would be providing a more full spectrum of light through to harvest. if you get a 400w and a 250w your looking at abou 54wpsf, which is still good. get some fans and make sure to keep your lights as close to your plants without damaging them as you can and they will grow nice and strong.