Please recommend a flowering light for my 3x3 tent

f series

Well-Known Member
If you diy and run like 3 hlg 240's you can set up remote drivers, and hang them in the tent for heat, it will get hot. If you need heat during lights off, just run autos :cool:
 

2com

Well-Known Member
This was the game changing factor for me.
I'm in the UP of MI, (often mistaken for Canadian eh!)...the LED had it's limitations during the frigid winter months.... worked fine, buuuuutttt....when I started "mixing" the two techs, things started getting nutty.
The ladies started doing things I hadn't seen before. Hidden potential I didn't know existed. Eye popping frost.
Do you remember what your ambient and leaf temps were before, and after the addition of the CMH?
 

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
Leaf temps I couldn't say... ambient room temperature used to be 70-75F lights on, down to 60-65F lights off....in the winter months. Summertime (all 4 weeks) was never an issue, the LEDs killed. It was late fall, when the deep freeze begins, that's when it got tricky.
I don't use tents, so I have my forced air furnace vented into my room, which is 10x12(ish). Back then, I lit up about half for plants.
In this climate, with marginal control of the conditions, it's a constant balancing act of blower speed, furnace vent dampers, and RH levels. Depending on the biomass in the room, and the ambient humidity, the dehumidifier is optional. The heat from the dehuey is great during lights out.
It's nowhere near optimal, but I've developed quite a knack for keeping things in check.
Someday, I'll be able to get the entire operation out of my basement, and have total control!!!!
I actually just did an entire overhaul, for the deeeep freeeze months. Hung 4x 315s nearer the sides of one half the room, and a DIY 240W 2x3 strip build in the middle for balance. LUX meter says I got a good 8x6 and maybe a side scraggler or two... Won't be able to run like this by April without AC, so I'll make the hay before the sun shines....
 

Brandon137

Well-Known Member
A quick look shows that a 400W air-cooled HID (even a 600W which you can dim to 300W) appears to be a fair amount cheaper than a CMH315.

You stated you wanted the lamp for flower, but my understanding is that the CMH315 is a metal halide (4100k) lamp (typically used in veg), where HPS is 2700k for flower.

Also, most 400W/600W/1000W kits come with both an MH and HPS bulb.

Forgive my ignorance, I haven't done any research on the CMH systems as of yet, so I don't know many details about them.
If using cmh for flower you would want a 3100k bulb can be used for full cycle or use the 4200k for veg and switch bulbs for flower. I recommend Phillips bulbs seem to be the best on the market I just picked up a sun system 315 it has a dimmer switch on it and the guy at the grow store claims that it is equivalent to a 600w hps guess we will see. With the sun system you can get a 240w version for half the draw from the wall. I paid just over 600$ for mine with a Phillips 3100k cant wait to give it a try.
 

2com

Well-Known Member
Leaf temps I couldn't say... ambient room temperature used to be 70-75F lights on, down to 60-65F lights off....in the winter months.
Brutal man.
Summertime (all 4 weeks) was never an issue, the LEDs killed.
Genuine lol. I know man, I know.
Hung 4x 315s nearer the sides of one half the room, and a DIY 240W 2x3 strip build in the middle for balance. LUX meter says I got a good 8x6 and maybe a side scraggler or two... Won't be able to run like this by April without AC, so I'll make the hay before the sun shines....
Nice, what do the 4 x 315s and the led have the room at?

Thanks for the details.
 

twalte

Well-Known Member
I just finished researching LEDs and I went with Timber’s cobs just based on power. There’s a nice Timber grow light that covers a 3.5x3.5. It’s available in multiple spectrums, so you could do a flowering spectrum specifically. It’s slightly over 400 watts and includes a dimmer.

best of luck in your search! Comparing LEDs is challenging.

 

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growmiester

Well-Known Member
Ya maybe but I feel like I’d be paying a similar price to a 315? I don’t have experience with HPS but I’m not opposed.
hey run a 600 hid theres to much het to powerloss with a 400 hid,i personally went thru this myself,my 600 is the bomb compared to my old 400,just a thought im still learning,you could also dim down the 600 if need be,good seein ya Hust
 

2com

Well-Known Member
hey run a 600 hid theres to much het to powerloss with a 400 hid,i personally went thru this myself,my 600 is the bomb compared to my old 400,just a thought im still learning,you could also dim down the 600 if need be,good seein ya Hust
I think 600w is a sweet spot for hps, too.
 

Chip Green

Well-Known Member
Nice, what do the 4 x 315s and the led have the room at?
It's been lit up continuously for about 16 hours, floating right around 82F +/- 3....
Started zapping leaf temps, those are 86ish, about 3 feet from the lamps, plants are still small...
Pretty satisfying to get a solid 6x8 fully saturated with about 1600W draw, all total...
 

2com

Well-Known Member
It's been lit up continuously for about 16 hours, floating right around 82F +/- 3....
Started zapping leaf temps, those are 86ish, about 3 feet from the lamps, plants are still small...
Pretty satisfying to get a solid 6x8 fully saturated with about 1600W draw, all total...
Leaf temps are 86ish? That's nice! So they're above ambient air temp. I think getting plant temp up would be a huge benefit where I'm seeing leaf temps of 75-76*F IIRC, that's while the air temp is around 80-81*F...pathetic, no? Haha.
Edit: I'll have to double check those temp difference numbers if I get a chance.
 
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Humanrob

Well-Known Member
I just finished researching LEDs and I went with Timber’s cobs just based on power. There’s a nice Timber grow light that covers a 3.5x3.5. It’s available in multiple spectrums, so you could do a flowering spectrum specifically. It’s slightly over 400 watts and includes a dimmer.

best of luck in your search! Comparing LEDs is challenging.

I've been reading about a lot of people buying that Timber light, I'm sure it's a solid deal. 100w per cob is some intense light. I built a DIY light for my 3x3 tent with 4 cobs that could go up to 100w each, and they were just way too intense for the plants, I had to keep them 3' over the canopy and the tent was only 6' tall. I ended out dimming them to about 75w each and I still had to run them 24" over the canopy in order not to burn the plants. In the end I added more cobs, and I run them at about 50w each, keeping it at about 40w/sf, and they run about 16-18" over the canopy. I'm happy with the results, but I'm just a hobby grower. For me, I could only use that light if I had 8+ vertical feet to work with and/or I don't veg for very long or if I trained the plants (scrog etc.). But that might be more about my limits as a grower or grow style, YMMV.
 
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Hust17

Well-Known Member
Ya I had my COBs about 14-16” at their lowest during flower at 50W each. I’d say I got great penetration about 12” down.
 
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