contemplating upping my wattage

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by R squaRed, Jan 4, 2013.

  1. i have a 400w hps mech ballast & im thinking of moving up to a dimmable 600w digital ballast, i'm curious how much more heat the 600w bulb will produce over the 400w? i have my setup tuned fairly well with my 400w, i run mid to high 80's on temp, with all things equal(ballast is outside of grow area) will the 200w extra bulb cause me to have over heating problems. i am thinking of getting a 600w dimmable ballast that way if i run into heat problems i can dial it back to 400w to what i know is running good.

    ive noticed if i get a lumatek 400w digital, it has a super lumen setting that will allow me to push a 400w bulb harder. which im curious about the dimmable 600w ballast, the knob that allows you to change wattage, do they have a detent that clicks in at 400w & 600w? or is it infinitly variable? thus allowing me to also over power the 400w bulb, similar to the super lumen output?

    just a lil info on the setup its a 2x3 foot closet that has 2 plants in dwc in it. they repeatedly are producing about 10-11 oz every 8-9 weeks.:smoking: will an increase in wattage make more of a larger yield or denser buds or quicker maturation or maybe all? i'm curious if trying to raise my wattage is even worth the trouble, i am buying a new digital ballast either way, im just not sure which i should get. any thoughts or experiences? thanks guys this site rocks!!!!
     
  2. If you're running high 80s, which is pretty warm for pot, going to a 600 will probably be too hot.
     
  3. [quote name='"ohspyro89"']If you're running high 80s, which is pretty warm for pot, going to a 600 will probably be too hot.[/quote]

    What he said. Are you running a cooled hood?
     
  4. yes its an air cooled hood but im only running a small 6" inline fan, my high 80's temps are just 1nches away from hood..i have it hard plumbed from my ceiling up to roof w/stovepipe, then i have a 6 to 4" adapter at ceiling, bc my hood is a sunburst type hood converted for air cooling & the fittings i bought for it to attach the ducting were 4"... i can run it just inches above foliage w/o any ill effects

    my main question is do the controls on a dimmable 600w digital ballasts have detents at the different wattage settings(400w/600w)or are the infinitly adjustable?

    reason i really want to know is bc if they do have indents that only allow 400w & 600w, i will want to buy the dimmable lumatek 400w bc it allows me to push the 400w bulb a little harder with the super lumen setting. if the 600w will also allow me to push the 400w a little harder i will go with it & eventually maybe even step up to the 600w bulb and change to a hood intended to be air cooled w/6" flanges... or maybe just raise the hood some. so if i can get so close to plant w/400w would there be any gain going to a 600w if i have to raise the hood way up? ..some pics just so ya'll know i aint just blowing...uhh..smoke its bagseed we call it alice...
    the stalk in 1st pic is close to big as a normal sized finger & the 2nd pic is showing the closet packed if you need password for pic, its rudedog

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  5. All the adjustable ballast I have seem come with 3 specific settings. Allowing 100%, around 75%, and around 50% but not completely variable control.
     
  6. I've gone from a 400 in a 2x4 tent to a 600 and the heat is an issue. You will need a bigger fan and to exhaust outside the area entirely. Cooled hood or not. I eventually took down the tents and put up 2 600s, 2 400s and a 1000 but I added an air conditioner and the room is like 8x10 and its still 80 in there.
     
  7. To answer your question about the detents. Yes, I've got the 600W lumatek and while I leave mine on the "super lumens" setting as I recall the knob did stop on each setting so it is not variable beyond the 360-400-600-SL settings.
     

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