I have a 4' (4) bulb HO t-5 set up right now. the bulbs run 54w each. 4x54=216w total the VHO bulbs put out 95w each 4x95=380w My question: what do i have to do to my ballasts/fixture to put those VHO bulbs in there and get the full 380w? or is it as simple as just pulling the old HO bulbs and putting in the new VHO bulbs. thanks blades -Teapot
Well I'm not sure what sites you found for selling VHO because I haven't heard of it until I read it here. For some data I found it appears as if it is a different setup than T-5 and the only info I found shows that it only has about 78 lumens per watt or so whereas a normal T5 HO is about 93 lumens per watt. Also it appears as if VHO is an older technology if you check these results. Sure they are more wattage than the T5 but I hear you can potentially overdrive them for more watts but that is a different story... If you want some more watts, see if you can't squeeze a few more T-5's in.
should have linked them. They are T-5's. just a higher output t-5. http://www.greners.com/grow-lights/...-vho-6500k-blue-4-fluorescent-grow-lamps.html im pretty sure i need to change the ballasts out or add one or two. i just dont know which to get or what to do. thanks for the help.
Ahhh those are interesting indeed, except those are only about 50% brighter for almost double the wattage cost. It breaks down to like 73ish lumens per watt for that bulb. As for the ballast, it doesn't appear there is going to be a great DIY option because you would have to purchase an icecap ballast (or similar brand) with a price range of still $150 which is only like $50-60 cheaper for a 4 bulb set-up once you factor in misc costs you will incur. IMO I would stick with T-5 HO's because of the Lumens per watt, but I like more efficiency in my set-ups to keep costs lower. Also if you upgraded to those bulbs, you would only be gaining 8800 lumens while adding 162 watts for your power. A better solution would be to add two more T-5 HO which would add even more lumens (10,000 total) it would also add less wattage to your powerbill at only 108 more watts. tl;dr.... Adding 2 T-5 HO Bulbs 10,000 additional lumens 108 additional watts Approx. only $60 cost Upgrading to T-5VHO 8,800 additional lumens 162 additional watts Approx. min. cost $150 Possibly runs hotter than a normal T-5?