Finding A Second Light For My Flowering Room

rkymtnman said:

thanks @GroErr . give me something to think about for my next run. you too @ttystikk for your COB info.

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ttystikk said:

Again, I disagree. Four COB LED chips make up that 200W and they can easily be spread around the tent however you like. Four light sources are better than one for lighting a flat surface evenly, any day.

It sounds like you're describing a 1m² footprint. Four CXB3590 chips at 50W apiece would kick ass in there. It would be very close vs 315W CMH and I'd still take the COBs. If the performance wasn't quite what you hoped for, add another 200W setup and that will definitely do the job... FOREVER, since the things won't likely need a chip replacement for ten years or more of continuous use.

@littlejacob isn't this about the size of your tent? Perhaps you can shed some more light on the subject!

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JohnCee said:

I've been interested in COB chips for quite some time.. it's just I lack the tools and ability to construct my own unit. Of course there is always room for fault and error with any device, but feel the odds are greater when I am making it myself, lol. I don't really have the money to be wasting at the moment, so I'm trying to stick with a solid solution to efficiently light my 4'x4' (3'9"x4') flowering room.

This bulb has captured my attention ( www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HXOJ1FG ) however, I can't seem to find a reasonably priced ballast to go with it. With that said, I cannot really seem to find a socket to fit it either. The 42" parabolic reflector that I previously linked to on amazon will not fit in my room properly enough.. I'm going to require a 32"-38" parabolic reflector. Ideally, I would like to order this all on amazon for as cheap as possible ($300 or under). I'm nearly considering a paypal donation to someone that can find what I am looking for.. I just don't have the time right now to browser the web for days on end and then be unable to make a decision.

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rkymtnman said:

you can get a plug in ready 315 watt LEC for about $400'ish which uses that bulb that you listed from amazon. it's bulb , reflector and ballast all as one unit.

are you wanting 120V or 240V?

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JohnCee said:

Realistically, the 315 watt LEC for $400'ish is out of my price range. I never wanted to exceed $250, but if $50 more dollars will get me to where I can flower 4-5 at once then it's worth the suffrage now, lol. I'm not sure the difference between the two, but I'm assuming standard outlet size in the states in 120v so that would be acceptable.

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az2000 said:

The All-Start bulb is $50. It uses a standard MH ballast and has a standard socket. StephenJ linked to a whole setup on the previous page (bulb, ballast and hood) for $180.

Is there a reason the Elite bulb is worth twice the money? (That's something I still don't understand.).

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ttystikk said:

Again, I disagree. Four COB LED chips make up that 200W and they can easily be spread around the tent however you like. Four light sources are better than one for lighting a flat surface evenly, any day.

It sounds like you're describing a 1m² footprint. Four CXB3590 chips at 50W apiece would kick ass in there. It would be very close vs 315W CMH and I'd still take the COBs. If the performance wasn't quite what you hoped for, add another 200W setup and that will definitely do the job... FOREVER, since the things won't likely need a chip replacement for ten years or more of continuous use.

@littlejacob isn't this about the size of your tent? Perhaps you can shed some more light on the subject!

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GroErr said:

Lots of options in this thread if you're thinking CMH, as @az2000 said that All-start with a standard ballast/hood is well within your budget. Haven't seen many grows with them but their specs are good for that price range. The best decision is a moving target, at one point you gotta pull the trigger and make the best of it. Any of these bulbs will grow some nice weed and you can afford to add-on/upgrade later, once you get it going well, that add-on/upgrade cycle never really stops

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ttystikk said:

While the upgrade cycle never stops, there's often a good reason to spend a little more to get ahead of the curve. This is one of those times, brought to you and me courtesy of COB LED. This is the best currently available technology, it's extremely long lasting and will not be superseded by newer offerings anytime soon. And, it's affordable.

Whatever HID system you buy, you'll be looking at fresh lamps every six months to a year. The manufacturer will say longer, but your yield numbers will tell you the truth. COB LED will save you that hassle and expense, as well as the hidden efficiency loss implicit in an HID lumen depreciation curve; it's only 100% of full lumens the first day, after which it's constantly dropping.

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GroErr said:

No doubt it's the most efficient tech out there and a good investment, but you can't get into it for a couple of hundred dollars in a 4x4 so there's room for the lower end, CMH also offers some decent efficiency and longer bulb life compared to hps, not a bad in between tech. There are so many markets and more opening up I think the tech innovation will continue, maybe even faster with a larger market. The more volume the more players and competition will drive it further quick. Not a lot different than the computer market with these COBs, there's so much more they can do by integrating smarter tech controllers, programming options, smaller/cooler chips and the like. Should be interesting to see where it goes.

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ttystikk said:

I bet you could DIY a 200W 4 chip CXB3590 and driver panel for less than $400. It would blast half that tent or do a reasonable job on the whole thing. Save some money and next year you build another one to go with it and that's the killer setup, no expensive and ultimately incompatible intermediate step required.

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GroErr said:

I think they would be close but maybe more like 250-275w of 3590's, watt for watt and with the 3590's, the COBs would win for sure, but we'll have to agree to disagree on 200w vs. 315's until we see someone do it, always up for a challenge but I have some 3070's that I haven't even implemented yet so 3590's are out of the question for a while. Perhaps a practice run like 300w of 3070's against the LEC? Cheers.

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Stephenj37826 said:

200 watts of 3590 will match a 315 no doubt about it. 315x1.95 is 614.5 PPF. 614.5x.80 for reflector loss is 491.4 PPF to the canopy. 200 watts of 3590 is over 525 after lens loss. Spectrum wise i don't think the 315s are better than 3590 3500k except in the uv department. Time will tell for sure.

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GroErr said:

Strictly by the numbers they should ce I don't see it (200w) covering 1 cubic metre which the 315/Sun Systems cover really well. I'd have to see or do a proper side-by-side. I wouldn't have said this a year ago but after seeing what they (315's) can put out I'm skeptical that the 3590's are that much better. But hey, I'd be happy to eat those words if these 3590's are all that

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