Ceramic Metal Halide?

Discussion in 'Lighting' started by x86ricer, Feb 26, 2013.

  1. Has anyone had experience growing with these lights? I like the idea of vegging and flowering under the same light. From everything I have read and the limited ammount of test data from indipendant labs, I have come to the conclusion that Philips seems to be the only maker of a CMH that is worth trying for agricultural purposes. At least judging by the spectrograph data.

    Of corse I have yet to obtain one and again there has been very little information out there about them. At least third party unbiased information. I have also been told that not all strains grow well under the CMH lights. Seemingly the broad-leafed strains that have been bread for indoor growing don't seem to do well in the flowering stage with CMH.

    These lights seem to put out more UV and Infrared as well. Especially with the higher wattages. I don't mind that they only work with core and coil ballests. I am willing to trade off the efficiency for the greater reliability and ease of repair.

    So, does anyone have experience with these or any words of wisdom?
     
  2. my HPS light is ceramic socket and could use a metal halide bulb. what makes u think only philips is good??
     
  3. Kaya, Ceramic metal halide is a light type that is sort of a combination of both metal halide and high pressure sodium. But it produces a more complete PAR spectrum than what can be achieved by using both MH and HPS. You can find out more information at the following link.

    http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceramic_discharge_metal-halide_lamp
     
  4. Yes they are great lights but the issue I believe and why they were not instantly used is they required a new ballast. Most arent going to shell out the cash to do that as a result there not widely used.

    Now they make them to work in HPS ballast's.
    Welcome To Advanced Technology Solutions ~ Lighting Divison
     
  5. I grow with a 250w CMH, have been for a couple years. If you have a 400w grow or smaller go CMH. :bongin:
     

  6. How do you like it?
     
  7. I like it, cheap, easy (1 bulb whole cycle), provides a good spectrum, lasts a long time..and the light is white so you can actually enjoy looking @ your plants. :D

    If they made larger watt bulbs I'm sure you would hear about them a lot more in the grow world.
     

  8. Yea I think so to. Sometimes better tech does not always win out or comes down to other issues. Plasma lighting would probably be the best of anything. Lower wattage....100% full spectrum well as close as they can make it. Unfortunately it costs a fortune because the applications for it are limited keeping the price up and most likely never to be adopted.

    Magnetic Induction lights also kick ass but a little pricey for it to catch on.

    You can't beat industry of volume.
     
  9. Plasma looks like it could be the greatest thing sense sliced bread, but it is so crazy expensive. I would like to go with induction, but there seems to be some lights that are misrepresented as grow lights. There is one that looks very promising that is made in china. But $600 is still a little more than I'm willing to pay right now.
     
  10. i have been using the 400 watt phillips bulbs well over 3 grows now and they seem great to me. i like the 400's also because you can keep the light more evenly spaced verses a 600 or 1k bulb.

    seedling to harvest is what i do with them. i also like the fact that they are open bulb rated, which means they are safe to use without an enclosure, bare bulb it if you want, that's what i do.

    they run a little cooler than HPS, require a solid state HPS ballast, no digital ballast's unfortunately. i have grown tomatoes, basil, Meyer Lemon tree and MJ under them without a problem and the harvest is always top notch.
     

  11. Agreed. I think to Plasma could be the future but it never will happen because of the price.

    From what I read on induction I think it would be a superior light to T5s but probably not a suitable HID replacement.

    Its crazy to think that lighting systems that were designed in almost a half a century ago. The almighty T5 that people love was developed in the 1950s! T8s were developed in the 30s.

    What really really disappoints me on LED lights...not grow but say light bulb replacements is you can do all sorts of lighting schemes with them since there so small. You could have them radiate to the ceiling for a natural light field, put them in all sorts of places... Nope we dumbasses want a LED to fit in our stupid unchanged lamp style from 100 years ago.
     
  12. What do you guys and gals recommend for the walls as a reflector? I had heard that you don't want to use things like cheap mylar. I think the reasoning was that if it becomes crinkled it will reflect light at odd angles causing hot spots. If that is the case, what about mirrors. I have several large mirriors that I could cut to fit my cabinet. What do ya think?
     
  13. I'm a flat white paint dude, mirrors are a no-no.
     
  14. That would be a poor idea. Everyday mirrors are not made to any spec. They actually reflect hardly any light 30-60% believe it or not. Usually a mirror is nothing more then glass with some sort of reflective material bonded to the back. They actually absorb more light then they reflect usually.

    Mirrors used in military, space etc are very very specialized and do what you are thinking they do...they also cost millions to billions to create.

    They also can create hotspots focusing light.

    Mylar reflects the best and distributes heat good as well. Your not trying to create a perfect mirror so crinkles don't matter. Thats why a grow tents inner liner is not smooth is rough to scatter the light. Also mylar that you buy will come on a long roll. All you do is cut the amount you need very little crinkling happens. If it does means you probably were being a maniac cutting it.

    As the above poster said flat white paint is probably the way to go it reflects 90% of the light that hits it. A can of that is cheap at home depot.

    In reality the reflected light back if its not present doesnt not amount to a huge amount. Why you can grow in a basement say with lights on top and no tent or structure. If you trying to ensure the plant gets light nearer the bottom the best bet is to buy some T5s or CFLs to provide side lighting.
     
  15. Yeah. Sounds like the white is where its at. I only considered the mirrors because I have several that came out of projection screen TVs. They are incredibly clear, they make the regular house hold mirrors look tinted by comparison.
     
  16. I'm thinking of CMH + CFL in a double bulb hood does anyone know if CMH are available in the UK or is advanced lighting in the USA the only source? Thanks in advance
     

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