I will be growing in a closet without very much ventilation, maybe just a few fans. How do the 150 watt 250 watt and 400 watt HPS compare with eachother as far as heat? I will probably just be growing a mother and a few clones, not too many plants or anything. I was told to not even bother with the 150 watt because it just doesn't give much light, I am leaning toward the 250 watt, because i'm assuming it will be a lot less heat than the 400 watt. Is there a big difference in heat between these three types of bulbs? I'll probably be buying the light setup from htgsupply, the cheapest ones they have.
hmmm... could you be more specific on the ventilation? you may want to consider flouresents if you have heat issues.
Kramer- Congratulations on your decision to grow. To get the best information possible you'll want to include some closet dimensions so people on the forum can examine how many square feet you'll be dealing with. When selecting a light you'll want to make sure you don't go below 2,000 lumens per square foot as a BARE minimum, or your growth will be slow, small, and disapppointing... Try to get around 3,000-3,500 Lumens/sq foot and you'll be happy. That said, if you're using a closet, a 250W HPS will probably be MORE light than you need for just a couple plants, and if you've done your reading, you know that extra light isn't always translated into excellent growth- it's one of many factors to consider in a balanced system. Of greater concern to me is the fact that your closet will be unventillated. This could create some overheating issues if you're not careful. You'd have to ask someone else if you can get away with a 250W HPS in there without steady air circulation, but I'd think not, in which case you'd have to go smaller, and if you've read my thread here http://forum.grasscity.com/general-indoor-growing/321760-150-watt-250-watt-400-watt-hps.html then you already know that it's pretty much a waste of wattage to buy a HID lamp smaller than 250W because they're not as efficient at all (almost the same as CFL with way more heat...) Also, you should bear in mind that ventillation isn't just for keeping your heat down... Your plants need to get constant air circulation so they can take in fresh CO2 to metabolize into food for themselves. Without that your yields will certainly suffer. I beleive the proper statistic is: air flow sufficient to produce one full air exchange of the entire grow area every five minutes or so. These are just a couple of the basic 4 or 5 fundamental needs your plants have to get in order to 'perform' the way you'd like. don't forget- indoor gardening is a situational approach. What works for others may not work for you and vice-versa. The BEST answer is the one that works for your particular case. That said, getting back to the ventillation and heat concern issues, CFL would definitely be the obvious choice for a small space with poor air flow and heat concerns. Many beginers start with CFL. They're cheap, easy to get and set up, discreet, versatile, low heat, and mostly safe. If you read enough you'll even find a few seasoned growers who won't use anything else. I've read a lot and not done much myself so take what I say with a grain of salt. By all means, if a more reputable member can convince you that a 250W HPS won't be a problem, than by all means have fun, but if you end up going any smaller than that, then get some CFL up in there. You can always take the cash you save and get something more fancy once you've got a few grows under your belt. Good luck no matter what you do. Maybe post some pics and updates? CHEERS!
straght up i agree completely with this guy above my post and i like to ad that excess light is NOT A BAD THING but sadly excess heat comes with this factor so only go with the light you need at the moment becuase you can always upsize your fixture. also i understand you are growing in a close spot w/ minimum ventilation so there is no way you can handle excess heat. so i would recommend T5's or just a 150 surrounded by single 2ft T5 strips.
I have a 250 watt MH & shit does it get hot yourwill need GOOD VENTILATION if your growing in a closet buddy DEPENDING ON Size Ive seen big closets work fine with fans..... I have a 3 1/2 wide, 9 ft high, 4 ft deep closet (<not positive but ruff estimate) & WITH FANS it just didnt work may need to run air from another room for good air in, the another hole for it to go out, Its possible Im just lazy & going with CFLS
you could also look into something like this, although i dont have any experience with them so i cant comment on how well they work. 100 led grow light
i get a lot of heat from my 250 watt HPS which i am using in a 2 x 3 grow tent (it's about 5'6 in height)....typically i grow a handful of plants with 3-4 actually ending up as females. it sounds like you probably will be better serve from CFLs. there's a downloadable book on maximizing your grow on CFLs ... i would check it out as it focuses on 1-2 plant grows.
i also have a 250hps and i have no heat issues. ...get a cool tube...they are worth thier wight in dinosaur shit. 8 feet of dryer duct and a 6 inch duct fan, vent all that heat into your attic or outside. i use the attic ...it vents out 25 feet off the ground...no smell here.
Could be because your in the attic, I have a 250 watt. mh in a homebox 5 ft , 2.5x2.5 & It gets so hot the plants just fall over & die, but now I put my air conditioner in & a small fan which pulls heat out & its fine, I was going to grow 4 small plants but i think ima just do one monster for now which is already growing ... But imo if you have a small space any hps or mh gets super hot unless there really low watts...
i have a 3 cabinet system. a rooting box,made from a dresser 2x20w x24" grow tubes. a 200w cfl and a 250hps. my veg cabinet is 24x39x75 and my bud cabinet is 30x48x75. i have both lights ducted into a central vent that dumps into my attic. both feeder fans are inside the cabinets so they draw out the warm air as it cools the light. the system works great
Why is I everytime I make up my mind then go to a thread and here shits totally different from what I was told in another thread? I hate when ppl that don't know what they're talkin about try to teach others haha. I'm tryin to figure out whether I should get a 250 or 400 watt cus of heat too I'm gunna be starting in a small closet 2x2 and there's ppl saying gets 1000 you'll be cool.hahaha
I'm running a 150W HPS that I made from a flood light and Its working great so far. I agree that you could get the same amount of light from CFLs without the amount of heat an HPS puts off.
Get a 400 watt digital balast with a air cooled hood and dont look back. You can turn it down when you dont want all the power. If there was any information that this board has given me that rings true everyday, its buy more than you need, as you will eventually need it anyway!