HPS is too expensive, any substitutes?

HPS doesn't have to be expensive. A lot of people have had a good deal of success with this 150W HPS. At $20 for 15000 lumens, you'd be hard pressed to find that many lumens for your buck with CFL.

For some reason this link won't work if I paste it whole (it's too long). So just cut and paste it (removing the spaces where you find them) into your internet browser.

http://www.e-conolight. com/Product/EProductDetail.asp? ProductFamilyID=7&FGNumber=E-MT6H151G

Happy growing!

I grow under 4 CFLs and it works great for my 3 plants, if you want to grow a very large amount of plants your gonna want a HPS or MH light but for just a few IMO CFLs work great. **Just get the highest wattage you can find**

Recommend using Envirolites and good reflector. Paint walls matt white. If you get on okay with first grow, then invest in HPS later. will still get reasonably decent yield. How I started.

OR.........................You could do what I did and call around to ALL of the electrical contractors or demolition contractors in your area and ask if they have any salvaged HID lights. Very little goes to waste when they knock down a bldg. There is a shitload of HPS and MH lights available for next to nothing as salvage from a commercial warehouse or manufacturing plant.
You will need to modify them for use in a grow room, but all that's involved is separating the reflector from the ballast. (A 25' extension cord works great!!)

I bought 5 HPS and 5 MH all 400w for about $40 apiece, bulbs and reflectors included. You'll generally find 150w, 175w, 400w or 1000w lights in a commercial environment. Any inside lighting that people work under are usually gonna be MH (easier on the eyes), and most outdoor lighting will generally be HPS. This is not graven in stone, I have seen 1000w MH outdoor security lights, but I have never seen an HPS in an area where people are working.

Good luck!!

TLP

thelastpirate said:

OR.........................You could do what I did and call around to ALL of the electrical contractors or demolition contractors in your area and ask if they have any salvaged HID lights. Very little goes to waste when they knock down a bldg. There is a shitload of HPS and MH lights available for next to nothing as salvage from a commercial warehouse or manufacturing plant.
You will need to modify them for use in a grow room, but all that's involved is separating the reflector from the ballast. (A 25' extension cord works great!!)

I bought 5 HPS and 5 MH all 400w for about $40 apiece, bulbs and reflectors included. You'll generally find 150w, 175w, 400w or 1000w lights in a commercial environment. Any inside lighting that people work under are usually gonna be MH (easier on the eyes), and most outdoor lighting will generally be HPS. This is not graven in stone, I have seen 1000w MH outdoor security lights, but I have never seen an HPS in an area where people are working.

Good luck!!

TLP

Click to expand...

Good idea have some rep

Like was mentioned once so far, get the econolight 150 HPS for $20, you can't get any other light cheaper. By the time you DIY or buy a CFL fixture you will have the same amount of money and probably more in it. You get a lot of light for $20 and if you are tight on money it will be worth every penny of it. HPS will give you the best results. The only problem is if you are in Europe I'm not sure it works on the 230 volt 50 hz system.

la9 said:

Like was mentioned once so far, get the econolight 150 HPS for $20, you can't get any other light cheaper. By the time you DIY or buy a CFL fixture you will have the same amount of money and probably more in it. You get a lot of light for $20 and if you are tight on money it will be worth every penny of it. HPS will give you the best results. The only problem is if you are in Europe I'm not sure it works on the 230 volt 50 hz system.

Click to expand...

It will if it's multi-tap, and most magnetic ballasts are. Just use a different hot lead. They are usually 120/208/240/277/480. There are only so many manufacturers of ballast coils, so they build them to suit a multitude of applications.

When you add up the cost of fixtures and bulbs for any kind of sizable grow you're almost into an HID anyway. And with that $20 HPS find you're there and change.
The only benefits to using CFLs or floro tubes is heat. If you're scared of FLIR thats right where you need to be.
A 4 bulb 48" T-12 fixture is around 40.00, and bulbs are around 2.50 ea for cool white, so we're at $50 for the set up. Thats 2 of those $20 150w HIDs, with change left.

For $50, you get a 4' 4 tube light that draws 160w (10 more than one of the $20 HID) and puts out 12,800 lumens.

OR..........you could get 2 of those $20 HPS units and have 300w of high intensity light at a whopping 28,000 lumens.

And since the Electric Co charges by the watt (Kilowatt/Hr), no matter where it comes from, 300w is 300w, and you'll pay the same for either Floro or HID.
So...........Lets recap:

4 Bulb 48" T-12 light = 160w with 13,000 lumens
or
2 150w HPS lights = 300w with 28,000 lumens

To ME, it's a no brainer. You can run a 150w HID for LESS than a 160w Floro. Twice the light per watt per dollar spent...........Where's the problem?

We all know that one can use floros and get some good bud, no doubt about it. But if you could get twice the light for less money, and bring your grow room out of the 70's, HELLO!

I would REALLY reccomend a 400 w HPS fomr High Tech Garden Supply..they ship SUPER FAST,in discreet boxes..and its only $150 TOTAL...please buy one..I have grown with cfl's and they are SO annoying IMHO..the plants grew SLOW..and were just not as healthy compared to HID's....most likely you are growing illegally..and time is EVERYTHING...you dont want to be grwoing a plant for 2 months..that looks like the plant yu are growing under a 400 w in 1 month..you get me?Please buy the hps...save yourself the hassle...

Let's get him helped out.

Here is the $20 econolight fixture

http://www.e-conolight.com/Product/EProductDetail.asp?ProductFamilyID=7&FGNumber=E-MT6H151G

Is $20 too expensive ? are you afraid of using HID lighting ?

Give us some answers and we'll get it figured out soon, this thread has been going on long enough so let's get you growing my friend !!!!

My #1 advice to all new people is skip the CFL stage (CFLS are a stage, eventually everyone moves up to HID once they figure it out lol) and go straight to HID, you will be thankful in the end.

PLUS BY THE TIME MOST PEOPLE BUY ALL THE LIGHTS, SOCKETS, HOOK UPS, EXTENSION CORDS, ECT ECT ECT YOU JUST ABOUT EQUALED THE SAME PRICE AS A DECENT HID. hmmmmmm o rly?

Proph said:

My #1 advice to all new people is skip the CFL stage (CFLS are a stage, eventually everyone moves up to HID once they figure it out lol) and go straight to HID, you will be thankful in the end.

PLUS BY THE TIME MOST PEOPLE BUY ALL THE LIGHTS, SOCKETS, HOOK UPS, EXTENSION CORDS, ECT ECT ECT YOU JUST ABOUT EQUALED THE SAME PRICE AS A DECENT HID. hmmmmmm o rly?

Click to expand...

I agree but most people are scared by stories of all this heat that HID lights put out. They think a thermonuclear explosion is going on inside the bulb and it's going to melt their house right into the ground. Then you have to add most people haven't wired anything and flourescents make all the sense in the world. The most cost effective way is to start with HID from the start except a lot of people still use flourescent for VEG still although I've went back to the tubes instead of CFL's except for seedlings.

I love my cfls but every since the $20 hps as popped up there isnt a cheaper way to grow. I argue with people about the quality of weed produced by cfls but will not argue the price. CFLs are not the cheapest option for growing, a couple of those hids would be cheaper and easier to set up. But if you have some cfls laying around you can grow some nice weed