$150 is way to much to pay for 40w hps..70w security light for around $48..100w for about $79 at the 'ol home depot.
Hi guys, Just read a post about useing HPS lights for growing. Now let me state first that I'm not a toker and this is only advice from the electrical side of things and may be useless for growing, but I am an electrician who knows about HDI (High Intensity Discharge) lights. HPS lights are good for high brightness and warmth as those of you in the know have stated, but, a plant also needs UV rays to grow as well. For about the same price and energy consumption, you may want to consider a Metal Halide fixture of the same wattage as they tend to throw more UV rays from the arc tube in the middle of the bulb then an HPS light. As far as heat, the bulbs all burn about the same temp which is at the very least 150 to 200 degrees so be careful when you touch them, also , when maintaining the plant, be sure to where UV protected sunglasses because with prolonged exsposure to any of these HID lights, they'll give you headaches and screw up your vision , and not in the good way. As far as energy consumption, the real draw is only on start up where the bulb needs about 1 to 2 thousand volts to intially fire up, after it's at full brightness (useually within three minutes or less), then it's only 1 or 2 amps, especially with smaller lights like the ones being discussed. In short, it shouldn't cause any dramatic change in the electric bill to raise any red flags. Please understand, again, I'm not a grower, only an electrician, so as far as how to keep things on the down low, I'm cluless, I just wanted to offer an electrical opinion and wouldn't want any of my advice to get some one busted. Also, since I'm not a grower of anything including house plants, Metal Halide lights may not be any good so please check with the informed sources on this board before ruining a good crop.
i just bought a 70w HPS to add a separate flowering space. i am currently running 4-32watt flo's (which i used in one complete grow of 5 plants). I am going to use the flo's for mother and clone vegging. I plan on making a 3'x3' frame out of 2x2s and hanging the frame 1 foot from the ceiling. I am going to staple white and black (black on outside) contractor garabage bags to the frame so they hang down like a shower curtain. The 70w HPS is going to be hanging from the ceiling on a chain down into the shaft. I am planning on flowering 3 plants on 20 day intervals--after the initial 2 months i will be harvetsing one plant every 20 days. Will a 70 HPS provide sufficient light? What type of ventilation/cooling will i need for the light? (i'm planning on using a oscillating fan to blow from the base of the plants up towards the light and have the heat vent out of the 1 foot space btw the ceiling and frame at the top of the shaft) PS. i am growing pure sativa and indica/sativa mix
can somebody post some links where they are finding these lights?? i dont ese them at all at home depot and i dont know how to wire it myself...
fdebozo, i bought my 70 watt HPS ballast, bulb, and socket from 1000bulbs.com it comes with a schematic (sp?) for wiring. this link here might help you with wiring. once you identify the correct wiring everything else is straight forward. this link may help you. http://www.cannabis.com/growing/lig...y_light_into_a_remote_ballast_grow_light.html
Hi all, ive just bought a 70 watt hps light bulb from hardware store i tried to put it in one of those bendy desklamps and it dusnt work is ther sumthin im doin wrong ???? Any info would be much appreciated. peace out brothers
mr. s. miller, High pressure Sodium bulbs produce a special kind of light and therefore work differently than your standard household lights. Mainly, a HPS bulb needs a dedicated ballast and ignitor (and a capacitor for large watts). HPS lights have specific power requirements and a very low tolerance for variations in input voltage so a dedicated power supply--a ballast--is needed. in order to get your HPS bulb to work you need a 70w HPS ballast. also if you have touched the HPS bulb with your bare hands, oil from your hands can cause the glass to be weaked and the light can literally 'blow up' if you use it. wipe off the bulb with a soft cloth to remove oils before you turn the light on for the first time. hope this helps midnight toker.
my first "practice grow" was with 2 70W hps security lights. i made the nobber mistake of thinking it was just the light hitting the plants and not the intensity, so i made my grow box 5 ft high and placed lights at top . well long story short they got uberstreched out that only produced 4 white hairs at the nodes. D'oh total spent on that grow 300+$ knowledge gained= nothing compared to reading these forums for 2 hours
when you get down to such low wattage, isn't CFL more efficient and effective due to light placement/positioning?
I know that is an old thread but I would like to hear an educated answer to that question iffin yall dont mind.
I just bought a 70 watt hps security light (Lithonia Lightning) from Home Depot. I have zero electrical experience. How can I rig this thing up, NdicaBud? Is there a video tutorial? Or some magical step-by-step manual I can download? Please help! SOS! but at the same time .
I need to disconnect the light sensor, and I'm afraid I'll fuck something up. I don't necessarily need the "remote ballast," because that's way out of my league.
I have it all hooked up. She looks like a beaut! Along with a 70-watt HPS light, I'm going to setup three, 60-watt agro bulbs. Shoul this suffice for 5 plants?
It will, but 50 watts per plant is really the bare minimum, so i'd temper your expectations a bit. You wont get fat hard nugs with only 50 watts per plant, personally i wont go less than 150 watts per plant.
Thanks for replying. I truly appreciate the help. Here's my grow room situation, updated: (1) AK-48 female, and (2) mystery strains M or F. All three plants are about a foot tall, maybe taller. Because I don't know whether I have females in the two mystery seeds, I am waiting to determine their sex. Once I determine gender, I will eliminate the males and concentrate all of my light on the remaining female(s). I'm exactly one month in on this grow, counting back from when I germinated the seeds. When should I be able to see the female's pistols, or male's "nutsacks"?
how much space do u have? Usually plants double or tripple in size after flipping to 12/12. Its common to see ppl vegging for 30-35 days, than flip to flowering. I grew one plant inside a pc, and let it grow for 60 days, but I don't recomend this. Use fimming technic with lst to make lots of buds sites and make the plant bushier.
Today marks day 30 from germination. I have just "topped/fimmed" each plant. The first pic is of my grow situation/room. However, you can't see the 70 watt HPS from this pic. The second pic is of possible overheating symptoms. The third pic is an overview of the leaves bending downward. Am I right in assuming the plants are overheating. If so, what should I do? I can't have a fan blowing directly on them, right? Also, would you say it's about time to switch to 12/12 light?