So I'm in the market for a light. I found that about $350 gets me a air cooled 600 watt digital setup. Then I also see that I could get 2 400 watt setups for about the same price. What's the pros and cons to these?
The 400 watts will give you two sources of light which will better fill in the canopy. I know people who have gone from one 1000w light to two 600w lights for this very reason.
[quote name='"HydroBuilderCom"']The 400 watts will give you two sources of light which will better fill in the canopy. I know people who have gone from one 1000w light to two 600w lights for this very reason.[/quote] The first part is right, the second adds 200 more watts and the smaller wattage runs cooler....
600 watt hps are the most efficient of all the bulbs, giving more lumens per watt than any other bulb, but not by a lot. If 600 is enough light for you then stick with the 600. Also, a ballast will use up 20-50 watts on top of the rating on the bulb. So a 600 watt will use about 630 watts, but two 400 watters will use about 860. The more ballasts u are using the more energy will be used. It depends on the size of your room. a 4x4ft room or less will be fine with one light. if your room is any larger, such as 5x5 then two 400 watters are good for that The Green Pages - Lighting
Not as much as you would think Tihspeed, I have seen both a 1000w in a 4x4 and two 600s in a 4x4, and the exhaust kicked on in the two 600w tent like 10-15 quicker than the 1000w tent... So yes the two 600s will produce more heat, but not as much as I thought it would... I always thought two lights would produce WAY more heat than 1 lamp... But the 600w bulbs run a LOT cooler than the 1000w, so there is a difference, but nothing like what I would have thought it to be.... You also can get the 600s a lot closer to the plants too, which of course increases the lumen.. Like my 4x8 tent, if I knew then what I know now (and had the money to do so), I would have got four 600s over the two 1000w lamps... So if I ever setup that 4x8 again, I most likely will get three or four 600s for the tent... I lost my two 1000 watters in the flood...
There is a better reason to use two 600w over one 1000w and not just the extra 200 watt. 1200 watt as two 600w lights is more efficient on the amount of electricity to lumens. It is a pretty large amount as well. You can do the research yourself but I think most people would agree with this. You don't need more light necessarily to fill your canopy. In most cases I have seen it is better reflection that is needed. Just get a longer wider hood. It will spread the light better and is cheaper than running two lights either way. That may not be viable of course but if it is it can make loads of difference. Depending on your space I like the Magnum XXXL 6" AIR COOLED HOODS. They are a nice rectangular shape I need and the seal on it works great. It is also not that expensive.