1kw 4x8 tent lights? Gavita vs DEva vs PL Light vs Nanolux

I'm looking to run pairs of 1kws in 4x8x8 tents that can be computer controlled to run 12/12 flip schedules. Preferably low profile designs that allow for a closer to cieling mounting option. The top of the list was the gavita pro 1000e but there's no low pro design and I don't want to chance the RFI problems with their remote ballast setup. This brought me to the nanolux and pl light low profile designs. The pl light has no smart controller and I'd prefer to not use a mechanical timer setup to control input power to the ballast. The nanolux has a controller (although it's wifi) and low profile design. Plus it's cheaper than the rest and we'll documented for its use. So I was on the nanolux train until I read up on these square wave Revolution Micro DEva de hps lights. The design is very tight and compact as well as low profile. They give off no RFI at all and they utilize a hard wired controller so no chance of neighbors picking up a "grow light" wifi signal. The problem is no one appears to be using them and at 500 a pop with not much of a distributor base it appears a bit of a gamble to try them. There's no logs of anyone using them.

gavitas aren't really made for tents , if you gonna use one in a tent i'd recommend the 6/750 flex.

Any reason to not do the easy thing and get a cheap ballest and reflector and get going?

Doing the math on it like... spend 500 a light vs 100 a light. Brand new 1kw hortilux phs bulbs for 60 bucks. You can get magnetic ballests super cheap used and around 100 new. Seen em free tons of times, 20-50 bucks commonly.



Maybe there is at most 5-10% differance in a new hortilux bulb and a mew gavita DE bulb.

Your gonna have bigger % differances just by watering correctly, keeping temps in line, not stressing the plants, etc etc etc.

Spending another 1000 bucks wont help that much. It wont be the differance of a lb, especially not in your first couple years. Maybe when your first set of hortilux bulbs need replaced upgrade the whole system and keep the "stsrter" gear as backup.

Magnetic ballasts can last nearly forever, and are fairly simple to repair cheaply.

If your digital ballast fucks up better hope its warrentied and you can ship it out for replacement or return to grow shop without it hurting your timeline.

growingforfun said:

Any reason to not do the easy thing and get a cheap ballest and reflector and get going?

Doing the math on it like... spend 500 a light vs 100 a light. Brand new 1kw hortilux phs bulbs for 60 bucks. You can get magnetic ballests super cheap used and around 100 new. Seen em free tons of times, 20-50 bucks commonly.



Maybe there is at most 5-10% differance in a new hortilux bulb and a mew gavita DE bulb.

Your gonna have bigger % differances just by watering correctly, keeping temps in line, not stressing the plants, etc etc etc.

Spending another 1000 bucks wont help that much. It wont be the differance of a lb, especially not in your first couple years. Maybe when your first set of hortilux bulbs need replaced upgrade the whole system and keep the "stsrter" gear as backup.

Magnetic ballasts can last nearly forever, and are fairly simple to repair cheaply.

If your digital ballast fucks up better hope its warrentied and you can ship it out for replacement or return to grow shop without it hurting your timeline.

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yea but digital ballasts are more efficient and make your bulbs last longer so once you find a good one it's worth it.

Yodaweed said:

yea but digital ballasts are more efficient and make your bulbs last longer so once you find a good one it's worth it.

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"Worth it" judging how? Break it down for me, at what point does the saving on power bill or grams harvested pass the point on the graph of entry price?

Im saying if you only get another half oz with the more expensive light, at what point is it worth it? Sure, for a pro already maxing out other areas maybe go for a better light, as i said above, however if this person is kinda a noob, it wont be worth it to have all this expense upfront and the stress to "pay the bills"

Thats kinda how i feel about leds to an extent. Sure, im excited about the new lighting tech, but it has to actually make sence. A 1kw hps costs the same as a 1kw led on the bill, but costs a fraction to buy, maybe the led grows a bit more, but it has to make sence in your area.



A "more efficient" light may take 10 grows to pay itself off on paper.

I'm not against a cheap ballast/light setup like this. But they are emf/rfi monsters and very easily pinpointed in a clustered neighborhood like mine from what I'm reading. Ive got 2 radio/ham hobbiests next to my house. Id like to see 2lb per light or 4lb per 4x8. 9 plants under each light scrogd and veg for 2-3 weeks

p0opstlnksal0t said:

I'm not against a cheap ballast/light setup like this. But they are emf/rfi monsters and very easily pinpointed in a clustered neighborhood like mine from what I'm reading. Ive got 2 radio/ham hobbiests next to my house. Id like to see 2lb per light or 4lb per 4x8. 9 plants under each light scrogd and veg for 2-3 weeks

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Then build your own LED, straight DC cc drivers with no fancy dimming. For extra EMI/F protection happiness, use chicken wire to create a Faraday cage around your growing area. Could double as a scrog netting.

I'm not sure what LED's would offer over the DEva at probably 2-3 times the cost to build a 1000w led

Im ditching my Rev Micro DEVA lights. they do not hold up in a room with high humidity and possible water vapor condensing on the fixture. the PCB will short out or get hard water residue on it and cause them not to work. just a result of having a PCB fully exposed to the grow room environment. none of my gavita, gavita china knockoffs or phantom DE lights have an issue since they are all sealed. ive now gotta throw away half of my 400+ dollar lights and getting a new PCB from revmicro cost as much as just buying a new sealed fixture from a different maker and a wait time of over 6 weeks. Just warning others who may have high humidity rooms with possible condensation on the fixtures. Don't even think about using these in a light assisted greenhouse.

http://instagr.am/p/B5JIB_zhVjq/

In a tent I would suggest throwing in vented hoods to move the heat out. You’ll have plenty of light but the big issue with tents is heat.

p0opstlnksal0t said:

I'm not against a cheap ballast/light setup like this. But they are emf/rfi monsters and very easily pinpointed in a clustered neighborhood like mine from what I'm reading. Ive got 2 radio/ham hobbiests next to my house. Id like to see 2lb per light or 4lb per 4x8. 9 plants under each light scrogd and veg for 2-3 weeks

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This is what concerns me with the cheap ebay HIDs, anyone got any info? Might have to go to the hydro shop and grab some magnetics.

2lb to 4lb per light? What medium are you using to get this sort of yield?

I'm actually switching my de lights over to gavita knock-offs found on eBay typically for 160 bucks shipped.

Also Im building out a 12 Light room. I sold off the tent. My ceilings are almost eight foot in the basement. I run 100% coco top feed drain to waste