209 Cali closet grower
Well-Known Member
[video=youtube;5zuhxfrXocw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zuhxfrXocw[/video]
Don't worry about the power.You're good, just pay on time $.My lights running 12/12 was $120I have a hypothetical question for the club. If one wanted to try to grow with 2 600hps, with digital ballasts of course, what kind of electrical footprint can one expect. Is this a more rural area grow style o can urban enviroments get away with this much power consumption? That being said of all the available enclosed hoods or cooltubes(lov em both) Which are truly the mot energy efficent? I'd love t here the clubs insighton this!View attachment 2396501
I wish i coulda just framed my question like this lol, how can i find ballasts that are rated for below 5 amps lol. Thats what i was trying to get at, and was using the wrong terminology so iaplolgize for the confusion. My issue is the ballast i currently use is rated for 6 amps and id like to improve upon that, plus the idea of being able to adjust my lights output via ballast dimmer istruly sexy to me.If you want little power consumption you can use LED's. Otherwise a 600w ballast is going to draw 600w. Digital or magnetic. What exactly is your concern, money? Security?
You can run the 2 lights in two different tents, with exactly opposite lights on times.... so you are drawing a constant amount 24 hours a day. instead of a shit load for 12 hours and very little the next.
Happy saturday peeps. Hope it's nice wherever you are.
See my first mistake was taking a used hid sytem from a family friend who has now since passed(may he rest in peace), i did NO research on what i was given nor did i pay attenton to the specifics and info the ballast had in bold print right by the handle lol! I was like a kid wih his first schwinn or huffy bike when i got my first hid system. I need to research these things alittle better before i throw questions at the club without thoroughly thinking through what im trying to ask(yes im high)lmao. So i apologize now for the confusion my inital post may have created! thankyou for your insight guys!Hey VTM, the question is a little confusing. Footprint to me means the spread of light but I think what you're talking about is power consumption. The part that counts as far as the pocketbook is concerned is wattage, or Kilowatt hours. A 600W device, be it a HID ballast or anything else rated for 600W will use 600W's of electricity per hour, or .6 Kwh X 12hrs X (your rate for that time of day) = cost/day in the case of the ballast. Electric heaters average 750-1500W but don't normally run a straight 12hrs.
The other thing you have to consider but has nothing to do with your electric bill is the load of the circuit. It's measured in amperes and I don't know about the EU but the average outlet circuit in North America (plugs, lights) is rated for a maximum load of 15amps and allows about 12 outlets per circuit (including lights and such). I have 2 600W digi ballasts and one is rated for just over 4 amps and the other just over 6. Add them up and this alone is nearing the true maximum of your circuits load, because you don't want to push that full 15, and you're not counting anything else you have plugged in on it. Remember, you still have inline and circulation fans to throw in there.
I run two tents with a 600 in each, with one 8" inline drawing both tents. I'm fortunate to be able to draw power from two separate circuits in my room, but if I couldn't I'd have to run power from somewhere else or scrap the idea. The other thing you could do if you're stuck with one circuit is alternate you're 12hr shifts, which you'll have to actually set for 11hrs 45mins so they don't overlap. (unless you have a digital timer you can set to the minute, then 11:55)
Hope that's what you meant and that it helped.
And good to hear your brother made it out okay!
My SunMax is 4.1 but I'm not sure it's available in your area. Is there a reason you're trying to gain that 2 amps? If it's to create more room on the circuit then ok but if it's to save electricity then that will have zero effect on that.I wish i coulda just framed my question like this lol, how can i find ballasts that are rated for below 5 amps lol. Thats what i was trying to get at, and was using the wrong terminology so iaplolgize for the confusion. My issue is the ballast i currently use is rated for 6 amps and id like to improve upon that, plus the idea of being able to adjust my lights output via ballast dimmer istruly sexy to me.
Ok, I'll accept that you're high and just so it's clear, High Pressure Sodium and Metal Halide are both HID (High Intensity Discharge).See my first mistake was taking a used hid sytem from a family friend who has now since passed(may he rest in peace), i did NO research on what i was given nor did i pay attenton to the specifics and info the ballast had in bold print right by the handle lol! I was like a kid wih his first schwinn or huffy bike when i got my first hid system. I need to research these things alittle better before i throw questions at the club without thoroughly thinking through what im trying to ask(yes im high)lmao. So i apologize now for the confusion my inital post may have created! thankyou for your insight guys!