Best open reflectors?

Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
What do you grow in, as far as an area?
If your doing single plants under a single reflector for max size in a big environment/ Then I would say get a circular.....If you in a square or several lights in rectangle - stick to the hood you have.
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
i bought a cheap chinese copy of a Luxor and took the glass out. plan on putting my 315 LEC kit into it. block off one of the 6" ducts and i'll be able to air cool it thru the bulb area.
 
papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
i bought a cheap chinese copy of a Luxor and took the glass out. plan on putting my 315 LEC kit into it. block off one of the 6" ducts and i'll be able to air cool it thru the bulb area.
Click to expand...
Actually that's not half bad of an idea.
What hood did you use prior to the luxor? I would be nervous that even with the fan it would focus the heat downward

Dr. Who said:
What do you grow in, as far as an area?
If your doing single plants under a single reflector for max size in a big environment/ Then I would say get a circular.....If you in a square or several lights in rectangle - stick to the hood you have.
Click to expand...
I have 9 plants in about a 5x5 when I spread them a bit in flower. Obviously 600 watt isn't ideal for 5x5 or 9 plants, so I'm considering adding some florescents
 
rkymtnman

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
What hood did you use prior to the luxor?
Click to expand...
started with just adjust a wings with 400hps. went to 6" cool tube with a XL reflector (like 2.5 x 3.5 ft) with 600hps. then went to luxor copy with a 600hps. now i'm on just the XL reflector (took the cool tube out) with a 400 hps and a 400 cmh under the 1 reflector.

when i get my lec kit, i'm gonna try 1 grow with just it in the luxor. if not, i'll put the lec and hps under the XL reflector for 715watts.

i bring in outside air to cool. nice to be in CO with free airconditioning. lol.
 
papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
rkymtnman said:
started with just adjust a wings with 400hps. went to 6" cool tube with a XL reflector (like 2.5 x 3.5 ft) with 600hps. then went to luxor copy with a 600hps. now i'm on just the XL reflector (took the cool tube out) with a 400 hps and a 400 cmh under the 1 reflector.

when i get my lec kit, i'm gonna try 1 grow with just it in the luxor. if not, i'll put the lec and hps under the XL reflector for 715watts.

i bring in outside air to cool. nice to be in CO with free airconditioning. lol.
Click to expand...
i think i might do the same thing you did with the luxor but i think i may go with the blockbuster.
 
papa canna

papa canna

Well-Known Member
Dr. Who said:
Gottcha....still
Click to expand...
I'm glad someone approved of a 5x5 area for blockbuster. I was thinking possibly luxor but i was worried about heat because im going for an open hood. I also have no clue what kind of light footprint it would give off. the blockbuster seems to be one of those "tried and true" types
 
Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
papa canna said:
I'm glad someone approved of a 5x5 area for blockbuster. I was thinking possibly luxor but i was worried about heat because im going for an open hood. I also have no clue what kind of light footprint it would give off. the blockbuster seems to be one of those "tried and true" types
Click to expand...
I still have 2 of them in my pile of history and back up equip......When I had a cpl of tent's that I used for "special" projects at a main grow op (Before I had the personal playground) I used the BB-6 and was VERY pleased how it preformed!
They are a GREAT no, make that THE BEST choice for a square area or a tent!
I have to LOL at those who buy the Raptors and like size fixture for a tent......WTFF?
 
Budley Doright

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Results
Reflector
Efficiency
Value
Price
ePerimeter
eInside
Luxor 8" r2 * 779 3.12 $249.95 272.7 506.3
Luxor 8" r1 777.2 3.11 $249.95 267.8 509.4
Blockbuster 6" 728.8 4.86 $149.94 305.0 423.8
Radiant 6" 711.3 5.93 $119.95 292.4 418.9
Blockbuster 8" 677.4 4.37 $154.95 287.6 389.8
Raptor 8" - At 23" 666.2 3.10 $214.95 317.2 349.0
Raptor 8" - At 24" 657.2 3.06 $214.95 316.1 341.1
Radiant 8" 641.6 5.35 $119.95 263.4 378.2
Magnum XXXL 6" 638.6 3.19 $199.95 303.4 335.2
Raptor 8" - At 25" 630.3 2.93 $214.95 310.6 319.7
Adjust-A-Wing Medium ** 612.4 4.47 $136.95 291.9 320.5
Xtrasun Wing 610.8 16.09 $37.95 224.2 386.6
Arctic Sun 6" 555.6 4.75 $116.95 222.7 332.9
Daystar AC 6" 540.4 5.75 $93.95 256.0 284.4
Xtrasun 6" 535.8 6.23 $85.95 254.8 281.0
Melonhead 8" 533.8 3.96 $134.95 231.5 302.3
Cooltube w/ Reflector Wing 6" 516.4 4.92 $104.95 195.7 320.7
Sunspot 6" 507.2 4.83 $104.95 243.6 263.6
Adjust-A-Wing Large ** 489.4 2.58 $189.95 322.0 167.4
Penetrator *** 450.8 3.79 $118.95 218.4 232.4
Parabolic 32" Vertical White *** 396.8 10.19 $38.95 213.1 183.7
Cooltube w/o Reflector Wing 6" 315.9 3.01 $104.95 144.0 171.9
*r2 = Repeat of test
**Without super spreader
***We don't carry this item

Discussion
Measurements - Lumen readings were taken on a 5x5 grid covering a 4'x4' area, using a high quality Hanna instrument, and a decent meter from China. The lowest point of each setup was placed 24" above the surface - so for the vertical parabolic reflector the tip of the bulb was at 24", for the air cooled reflectors the bottom of the glass was at 24". The bulb used was a Hortilux Super HPS EN 1000W (broken in prior to testing), powered by a Lumatek 1000W Dimmable ballast. The ePerimeter value is the sum of the readings along the edge of the grid, the outer 16 spots. The eInside value is the sum of the readings in the center, the inside 9 spots.

Surprises - The Xtrasun Wing reflector did amazingly well and easily earned the best value award. Considering their advertising we were surprised how poorly the Adjust-A-Wing medium performed (the large is intended for an area greater than 4'x4' so no surprise there). It was pleasing to see that the Luxor did live up to the expectations from being engineered from the ground up to be the top performer.

Thoughts - On the accuracy of the data... the results are accurate and useable. We did two different types tests to get a margin of error and out of that testing we get an error span of 3.2%, with 2.3% being on the low side, and 0.9% on the high side. This test does not factor usability and features, it is just about efficiency - for example the XXXL is a much lighter and easier to use reflector than the Raptor, the Melonhead has great airflow, and the Luxor is slightly unwiedly.

Attribution
This was a lot of work, please reference www.greners.com/reflector-test.htmlif sharing the results on other websites. This content is covered by federal copyright laws. Thanks.
Not sure if this chart makes sense, didn't copy and paste properly but there is a link
 
Dr. Who

Dr. Who

Well-Known Member
Budley Doright said:
Results
Reflector
Efficiency
Value
Price
ePerimeter
eInside
Luxor 8" r2 * 779 3.12 $249.95 272.7 506.3
Luxor 8" r1 777.2 3.11 $249.95 267.8 509.4
Blockbuster 6" 728.8 4.86 $149.94 305.0 423.8
Radiant 6" 711.3 5.93 $119.95 292.4 418.9
Blockbuster 8" 677.4 4.37 $154.95 287.6 389.8
Raptor 8" - At 23" 666.2 3.10 $214.95 317.2 349.0
Raptor 8" - At 24" 657.2 3.06 $214.95 316.1 341.1
Radiant 8" 641.6 5.35 $119.95 263.4 378.2
Magnum XXXL 6" 638.6 3.19 $199.95 303.4 335.2
Raptor 8" - At 25" 630.3 2.93 $214.95 310.6 319.7
Adjust-A-Wing Medium ** 612.4 4.47 $136.95 291.9 320.5
Xtrasun Wing 610.8 16.09 $37.95 224.2 386.6
Arctic Sun 6" 555.6 4.75 $116.95 222.7 332.9
Daystar AC 6" 540.4 5.75 $93.95 256.0 284.4
Xtrasun 6" 535.8 6.23 $85.95 254.8 281.0
Melonhead 8" 533.8 3.96 $134.95 231.5 302.3
Cooltube w/ Reflector Wing 6" 516.4 4.92 $104.95 195.7 320.7
Sunspot 6" 507.2 4.83 $104.95 243.6 263.6
Adjust-A-Wing Large ** 489.4 2.58 $189.95 322.0 167.4
Penetrator *** 450.8 3.79 $118.95 218.4 232.4
Parabolic 32" Vertical White *** 396.8 10.19 $38.95 213.1 183.7
Cooltube w/o Reflector Wing 6" 315.9 3.01 $104.95 144.0 171.9
*r2 = Repeat of test
**Without super spreader
***We don't carry this item

Discussion
Measurements - Lumen readings were taken on a 5x5 grid covering a 4'x4' area, using a high quality Hanna instrument, and a decent meter from China. The lowest point of each setup was placed 24" above the surface - so for the vertical parabolic reflector the tip of the bulb was at 24", for the air cooled reflectors the bottom of the glass was at 24". The bulb used was a Hortilux Super HPS EN 1000W (broken in prior to testing), powered by a Lumatek 1000W Dimmable ballast. The ePerimeter value is the sum of the readings along the edge of the grid, the outer 16 spots. The eInside value is the sum of the readings in the center, the inside 9 spots.

Surprises - The Xtrasun Wing reflector did amazingly well and easily earned the best value award. Considering their advertising we were surprised how poorly the Adjust-A-Wing medium performed (the large is intended for an area greater than 4'x4' so no surprise there). It was pleasing to see that the Luxor did live up to the expectations from being engineered from the ground up to be the top performer.

Thoughts - On the accuracy of the data... the results are accurate and useable. We did two different types tests to get a margin of error and out of that testing we get an error span of 3.2%, with 2.3% being on the low side, and 0.9% on the high side. This test does not factor usability and features, it is just about efficiency - for example the XXXL is a much lighter and easier to use reflector than the Raptor, the Melonhead has great airflow, and the Luxor is slightly unwiedly.

Attribution
This was a lot of work, please reference www.greners.com/reflector-test.htmlif sharing the results on other websites. This content is covered by federal copyright laws. Thanks.
Not sure if this chart makes sense, didn't copy and paste properly but there is a link
Click to expand...
NICE! BB-6 is 3rd with very little difference.......

I have hoods no longer being made that blow the Luxors out by 20% +....Sad they went out of business......What happens when you don't advertise! Jees I bought one when they were in business to test. The guy went under and set up to liquidate and when I went back for 11 more,,,,I had to practically pry them out of him! SOO glad I got them!
 
Phar

Phar

Member
IMO and without a shred of doubt a mirrored Parabolic Umbrella Reflector Hood hands down gets another 25% approx of light out compared to say a cheapish wing reflector.

However and it is a big however , the ones out there have a major design flaw in that they focus the bulbs reflection too high up and not a foot or so below the bulb!! I has to drop the center housing about 5 inches to get it right!

So if the female screw in housing is flush with the inside top of the umbrella it means the reflection of the bulb is unlikely to be full or even partial !! ATM I think they are all light that, doh.
 
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