630w CMH or Gavita 1700e

[Teeter]

Hello! Trying to decide between a 630w Dual CMH or the Gavita 1700e LED for a 4x4 tent 8’ height. Heat is not an issue as it is a colder climate, nor is price. Growing it dirt, maybe coco. Any advice or experience with either of these is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[farmingfisherman]

Either way you are gonna get great results. Good luck

 

[NukaKola]

Timber Cypress 6 is half the price of the 1700e. If you have a cold climate and would have to supplement heat with the LEDs then the CMH might be a better option.

 

[Teeter]

Timber Cypress 6 is half the price of the 1700e. If you have a cold climate and would have to supplement heat with the LEDs then the CMH might be a better option.

Thanks for the suggestion, do you have any experience with Timber lights?

 

[NukaKola]

Thanks for the suggestion, do you have any experience with Timber lights?

Not personally but they are made to order locally where I am. I know tons of people who have had great results with them. I would say they are on par with HLG quality-wise and hard to beat the price for a US-made strip light especially with the current 15% off. The Gavita is slightly more efficient. The Cypress 8 puts out about the same amount of light as the Gavita 1700e but draws 80w more. It is also $450 cheaper.

If you are comfortable doing DIY, you can make a badass strip light as well.

 

[Teeter]

Thanks! Started doing some research on that Cypress 8. Looks great, it leaves me wondering why the Gavita 1700 is so special? I’m not too into DIY at the moment, and I come from an HID background, so the LED route is a tough sell so far.. any thoughts on density, light penetration and terp/trichrome production between the different lights?

 

[NukaKola]

Thanks! Started doing some research on that Cypress 8. Looks great, it leaves me wondering why the Gavita 1700 is so special? I’m not too into DIY at the moment, and I come from an HID background, so the LED route is a tough sell so far.. any thoughts on density, light penetration and terp/trichrome production between the different lights?

The Gavita is a known name in the commercial industry. They use the latest gen Samsung White & Osram red diodes and have a 5 year warranty. The Cypress uses last gen Samsung LM561C White diodes which are slightly less efficient.

In a commercial setting, a 10-12% difference in efficiency is huge when running 100’s of lights. For a hobby grower that efficiency may not be as important if the light is 35% cheaper.

The end result will be very similar and unless you are an extremely experienced grower with every other aspect dialed then you likely won’t notice much of a difference.

 

[farmingfisherman]

Timber Cypress 6 is half the price of the 1700e. If you have a cold climate and would have to supplement heat with the LEDs then the CMH might be a better option.

Either light will put out enough heat in a 4x4x8 tent. I've run a little over 400 watts with LEDs and was able to hold 85 degrees no problem. 1 315 puts out less but I feel the uv they put out makes it feel warmer, specially when working under them.

 

[TintEastwood]

Timber Redwood worth consideration.

Redwood VS

This 650 watt COB LED grow light features Bridgelux Vero29 COBs and dual Meanwell drivers. Remote driver placement helps with managing heat and custom color temperatures are available. Designed to cover a 4 x 4 coverage area with high PPFD for full cycle/flowering.

timbergrowlights.com

 

[Teeter]

Great specs on the Timber, but can anyone weigh in on the CMH vs. LED?

 

[TintEastwood]

No help yet. First run using both.

Previously only cmh.

I also use COBs.

 

[Renfro]

Great specs on the Timber, but can anyone weigh in on the CMH vs. LED?

I had thought that LED would lack trichrome production that you get with HID due to the lack of UV spectrum. I must say that the runs I have done with LED were really superior in quality to anything I have grown under HID. Better terpene production, denser nugs. If I was buying new lights I would be looking at LED for sure. If I was going to stick with HID I would go with HPS.

 

[farmingfisherman]

I used led and a 315 cmh in tandem with pretty good results. Next run I might try two HLG 260's along with the 315 cmh with the leds dimmed down some since I grow in a 4 x 4

 

[Teeter]

I had thought that LED would lack trichrome production that you get with HID due to the lack of UV spectrum. I must say that the runs I have done with LED were really superior in quality to anything I have grown under HID. Better terpene production, denser nugs. If I was buying new lights I would be looking at LED for sure. If I was going to stick with HID I would go with HPS.

Thanks!

 

[GrownAtHighAltitude]

The Gavita warranty is good at 5 years, but Spec Grade offers 10 years on their fixtures:

Verta - SpecGrade LED

Powerful & Uniform Spectral Accuracy, Intensity & Engineering exellence Bottom View grow light side top view modular light bars specgrade's powerful yet versatile verta is perfect for both flowering and vegging Its modular design allows you the flexibility to change out the circuit...

specgradeled.com

Kinda expensive but if you're wanting to shell out Gavita-sized money, it might pay to shop around.

Might also want to check out the GeekBeast, and compare specs:

Smart Powerful LED Grow Lights

LightGeek USA - Industry Leading LED Grow Lights

lightgeekus.com

If it were me, I'd probably stick with CMH but two 315's to spread the light source.

 

[MB-Kush]

I did pretty good for my first run using a dual 630w CMH in a 4x4, had 4 plants (26 cookies) in 7 gal pots. I had an aphid problem half way through and decided to keep going with it, I still pulled almost a pound and the aphids were brutal. I am half way through my second run, with more 26 cookies and some jack 47, got 5 plants in there now with zero aphids in sight, I should get over a pound with this run.

 

[Teeter]

I did pretty good for my first run using a dual 630w CMH in a 4x4, had 4 plants (26 cookies) in 7 gal pots. I had an aphid problem half way through and decided to keep going with it, I still pulled almost a pound and the aphids were brutal. I am half way through my second run, with more 26 cookies and some jack 47, got 5 plants in there now with zero aphids in sight, I should get over a pound with this run.

Awesome!

 

[MB-Kush]

Awesome!

Their great lights from what I've seen, just make sure you go with the Phillips 3100k bulbs if you go that route.

 

[Teeter]

Yes I’ve heard rose bulbs are great, thanks!