Light rail 4.0
- Thread starter charface
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- light mover
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
There's been a lot of hype about them. Crap like people saying a 315 can do what a 600 or even a 1000w Super HPS can do. The spectrum they put out is solid right across the board so they will do veg or flower really good. But a lot of that spectrum is in wavelengths that the plant can't use anyway where something like the Hortilux Super HPS is more finely tuned to the wavelengths that plants can actually make use of. The Hortilux has a decent amount of blue so can also work pretty well in veg tho I'd rather use an MH bulb that should work better for that.
What bulbs are you using? I got a couple of 1000W Super HPS made by a company called Light EnerG that has a light spectrum on the box almost identical to the one on the Hortilux box. Have yet to do a full flower with them so can't really say nay or yeah but they came highly recommended by the hydro guy that could have sold me two Hortilux bulbs for 2.5x the price as I had cash to spare at the time. They work with E or Mag ballasts and I had just picked up a used 1000w MH/HPS mag ballast for $70 at another store.
charface
Well-Known Member
I honestly don't know what they are
I Just buy them and throw the box away.
Hortilux does sound familiar though.
Im not really up on tech specs.
There are so many options now its overwhelming.
My usual tactic in life is to avoid the cheapest and the most expensive.
Same with bulbs.
Always afraid to be the mark overpaying for negligible increase.
And tired of the cheap shit falling apart
And becoming expensive and a waste of time.
I have issues. Lol
I Just buy them and throw the box away.
Hortilux does sound familiar though.
Im not really up on tech specs.
There are so many options now its overwhelming.
My usual tactic in life is to avoid the cheapest and the most expensive.
Same with bulbs.
Always afraid to be the mark overpaying for negligible increase.
And tired of the cheap shit falling apart
And becoming expensive and a waste of time.
I have issues. Lol
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
I'll have a similar situation installing mine in the new space. There's a big wooden beam about 5' down so that will be my high point so will likely have 3 points of attachment. I scored a bunch of free,used commercial shelving years back and one of the shelf bracket holder rails is just right to attach to the rail for the motor and keep it dead level. Already have the screw mounts to be able to adjust level to the nth degree and a 6' carpenter's level to get it damn near perfect.
A piece of thin gauge angle iron like from an unused bed frame would work great too. The rail motor can move somethin like 40lbs or so but if the bare rail was hung at each end it would likely bow a bit in the middle under full load. With a simple open hood like I'm using it only weighs 3.5lbs so likely wouldn't be a problem.
You can get a kit for them to run two lights spread apart so one rail could easily cover the whole 9x6 area. Either in line with the rail using a second wheel carriage to hang a light from or perpendicular to the rail with a bracket and arm to set them at the distance you want. Run the rail down the center of the 9' and have the lights about a foot or so on either side and you would have total coverage with lots of overlap in the center. Could do as well running down the 6" length too. Just thinking that with a 6'6" rail, (only 6' of it really usable), going down the 6' would be better tho you can get an extra 3'3" piece of rail and just add it to the other.
As far as investments in your grow I think a light mover is a damn good one.
charface
Well-Known Member
Awesome, ill let ya know how I rig it.I'll have a similar situation installing mine in the new space. There's a big wooden beam about 5' down so that will be my high point so will likely have 3 points of attachment. I scored a bunch of free,used commercial shelving years back and one of the shelf bracket holder rails is just right to attach to the rail for the motor and keep it dead level. Already have the screw mounts to be able to adjust level to the nth degree and a 6' carpenter's level to get it damn near perfect.
A piece of thin gauge angle iron like from an unused bed frame would work great too. The rail motor can move somethin like 40lbs or so but if the bare rail was hung at each end it would likely bow a bit in the middle under full load. With a simple open hood like I'm using it only weighs 3.5lbs so likely wouldn't be a problem.
You can get a kit for them to run two lights spread apart so one rail could easily cover the whole 9x6 area. Either in line with the rail using a second wheel carriage to hang a light from or perpendicular to the rail with a bracket and arm to set them at the distance you want. Run the rail down the center of the 9' and have the lights about a foot or so on either side and you would have total coverage with lots of overlap in the center. Could do as well running down the 6" length too. Just thinking that with a 6'6" rail, (only 6' of it really usable), going down the 6' would be better tho you can get an extra 3'3" piece of rail and just add it to the other.
As far as investments in your grow I think a light mover is a damn good one.
I have about a month before this crop is finished n dry. Then ill hang the rails.
Im going with moving them
Across the 6 ft run so i don't get shade
For extended periods.
I see you can get trollies for the cooling duct and wiring but I will probably
Diy that problem.
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Those aren't issues, they're common sense.
It's an old but true adage, You get what you pay for. Grab up the cheap Chinese/Walmart junk and you'll be back grabbing more in no time so it ends up costing a lot more. Like with tools. I'd like nothing but Snap-On but I'm not a pro so something like the old Sears Craftsmen tools are very well made, have a lifetime warranty and cost 1/3 as much.
I get great results with the Hortilux and find they work for years. Screw the change every 2nd or 3rd grow. The unproven extra 5 or10% isn't worth an extra $100 every 3rd grow to me. I'm still running a 15 yo EYE Hortilux conversion bulb that gives me MH light off an HPS ballast and the plants don't seem to mind. Using a 400w PlantMax cheapo now with my one MH ballast and think it's crap. Gonna swap it out for the old one.
charface
Well-Known Member
Im with you,Those aren't issues, they're common sense.
It's an old but true adage, You get what you pay for. Grab up the cheap Chinese/Walmart junk and you'll be back grabbing more in no time so it ends up costing a lot more. Like with tools. I'd like nothing but Snap-On but I'm not a pro so something like the old Sears Craftsmen tools are very well made, have a lifetime warranty and cost 1/3 as much.
I get great results with the Hortilux and find they work for years. Screw the change every 2nd or 3rd grow. The unproven extra 5 or10% isn't worth an extra $100 every 3rd grow to me. I'm still running a 15 yo EYE Hortilux conversion bulb that gives me MH light off an HPS ballast and the plants don't seem to mind. Using a 400w PlantMax cheapo now with my one MH ballast and think it's crap. Gonna swap it out for the old one.
I knew a guy who is dead now but he
Changed bulbs every time.
45 of them 1000w
The grow store checked them with a meter and sold them again in great working order dirt cheap
Dude was nuts. Lol
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
I bet a pair of 630w CMH would do a great job but you're looking at a grand to get them. I'm not fond of the hoods that come with them or the ballasts being attached but I gather you can buy those parts separately. You can also get an adapter that lets you screw those two-pronged ends into your standard mogul socket so you could use your hoods without changing the sockets and they're ready to go in case you need a backup light and want to use a 1000w.
As long as they are moving you can probably run them less than two feet away. Those hoods I was bitching about focus the light into too small a footprint for my liking. I use open Adjust-A-Wing type hoods.
OldMedUser
Well-Known Member
Unless it's a PAR meter any old camera light meter or an app you can get for a smart phone will show you the light levels well enough. I have an old 2-prong Light/pH/moisture meter that does that just fine. No real numbers you can use for scientific research but can show intensity all over the canopy and where you might want to move things around to even up the light or add a reflective surface to bounce light back that is wasted shining on the floor.
