Sunpulse Bulbs - Anyone with Experience or Knowledge?

I have been using the sunpulse bulbs for a few months now and they are amazing. The growth rate is phenomenal.

I have a question for someone with knowledge of lux, (or foot candles).

How far away do you put these lights? I always measured a distance in the past and used an ir thermometer to get the surface temp of the leaves. Recently i have been told by sunpulse that the light shouldnt be throwing any more than 50,000 lux onto the canopy or they are too close. Can anyone confirm this?

I was told that photosynthesis actually is slowed down when the light is too intense (obviously) which is over 50k lux. Has anyone else ever heard this or have an experience with sunpulse bubls?

I always get stretching during veg, so recently ive moved the light super close to the canopy. These bulbs actually run cooler than others so the temp is not compromised.

Anyone with advanced knowledge please reply.

Thanks

That is correct - light should be between 25,000 and 50,000 Lumens per meter square which is around 10 square feet. LUX is determined by dividing Lumens by the square meter of area illuminated. To use square feet just divide by 10, so it's 2,500-5,000 Lumens per square foot.

You want to be on the lower end of that scale and use all illuminated space to be using your light efficiently.

rick,

do you ever get stretching with the 6.4k?

what do you mean by the lower end? near 25,000 lumens?

the sunpulse rep said try to keep at 40-50?

would this mean all bulbs or just sunpulse you think?

I'm not familiar with that bulb but it is universal.

If you measure in square feet, divide your total lumens by your area and it should be between 2,500 and 5,000 Lumens / sq foot. (25,000 - 50,000 per M^2)

eg. 90,000 Lumens / 25 sq feet = 3,600 Lumins/ sq foot

IMO, you get diminishing returns as you go much over 2,500. Better to rather fill a larger area than to cram into a small one.

thanks alot for the info, it really helps. But where did you get this 2,500 figure? personal experience or is there literature behind it?

theskiysblue6 said:

thanks alot for the info, it really helps. But where did you get this 2,500 figure? personal experience or is there literature behind it?

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Optimal growth is said to occur at 25,000 - 50,000 LUX. 1LUX = 1Lumen/M^2. 1m = about 10 sq feet.

So, optimal growth on a per sq foot basis ocurs at 2,500 - 5,000 Lumens/sq foot.

You can go up to (but not above) 5,000. But you are better off on the lower end with a larger area and well spaced plants. Over crowding is the single largest noobie mistake IMO.

Yea, i was an overcrowder. thanks for all the info, it pretty much backed up what i've been told. whats your yield like: g/watt?

theskiysblue6 said:

Yea, i was an overcrowder. thanks for all the info, it pretty much backed up what i've been told. whats your yield like: g/watt?

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I'm not sure. But, it depends on the strain anyway. And breeders give yields in g/sq foot or meter. I can promise you that 2,500 Lumens per sq foot over more area will beat 5,000 over a smaller one on a watt per watt basis.

Rick thats not totally correct.. lumens add up but lux does not..

for instance if you have 3 1000w over a 4x8 table thats 145k lumens per bulb which would be 435k lumens divided by an area of 32 sq feet would be approximately 13,594 lumens per sq foot

running 2 1000s over a 4x8 which is considered optimal would be over 9000 lumens per sq foot.

im not sure but i dont think it converts like that.. but i have been wrong before

FLoJo said:

Rick thats not totally correct.. lumens add up but lux does not..

for instance if you have 3 1000w over a 4x8 table thats 145k lumens per bulb which would be 435k lumens divided by an area of 32 sq feet would be approximately 13,594 lumens per sq foot

running 2 1000s over a 4x8 which is considered optimal would be over 9000 lumens per sq foot.

im not sure but i dont think it converts like that.. but i have been wrong before

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I'm not sure what you are saying. Your math is correct but 9000 per sq foot is too much. For a 4X8 you would use two 400W bulbs. A 1000W bulb is good for something like 7X7.

Anyway, the point is if you have the space and you need to limit your power consumption you are going to do better on a per watt basis by staying closer to 2,500 that to 5,000 Lumens per square foot.

To clear it up the difference between lux and lumens,,,,,,,,,,

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]LUX is an abbreviation for Lumens per square meter.
Foot-candles equal the amount of Lumens per square feet of area.[/FONT]

great explanation here

http://www.theledlight.com/lumens.html

there is no way 2 400w bulbs will adequately cover a 4x8 area that is for sure.. the industry standard for a 4x4 area is a 1000w bulb.. i can barely keep my 4x4 veg area covered with a 400w hortilux MH with a 6 inch radiant hood

FLoJo said:

there is no way 2 400w bulbs will adequately cover a 4x8 area that is for sure.. the industry standard for a 4x4 area is a 1000w bulb.. i can barely keep my 4x4 veg area covered with a 400w hortilux MH with a 6 inch radiant hood

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i concur. 1k does a 4x4 area. You could maybe get 4.5x4.5 and 5x5 is pushing it with the plants on the outskirts getting less than "intense" light.

It says 7x7 on the box but the outer 2x2 is really supplemental light. i put my lights on 4 foot centers and that keeps my garden illuminated perfectly. Any further apart and i have "dark" spots in my canopy.

I run 2 sun pulse 3k bulbs in my 5x5 with the SunPulse splitter and I love it. My grow area is much better,my corners are no longer neglected, it runs cooler. I'm probably gonna try out their whole line.

Can someone please tell me how many degrees cooler, there grow tent or room is now that they went from say hortilux to sunpulse my tent is at 73 to 75f inside if i keep the outside at 68fwith a 600 hoti. but with summer commin thats gonna be harder. anyone hear say 2 degrees? or just one degree what was your wattage and your original bulb>?

Detroit J420 said:

Can someone please tell me how many degrees cooler, there grow tent or room is now that they went from say hortilux to sunpulse my tent is at 73 to 75f inside if i keep the outside at 68fwith a 600 hoti. but with summer commin thats gonna be harder. anyone hear say 2 degrees? or just one degree what was your wattage and your original bulb>?

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It will totally depend on what wattage you're comparing to, and what the volume of your tent is. Nobody else's answer will be analogues to yours unless they're running the same gear, in the same area.

RickWhite said:

I'm not sure what you are saying. Your math is correct but 9000 per sq foot is too much. For a 4X8 you would use two 400W bulbs. A 1000W bulb is good for something like 7X7.

Anyway, the point is if you have the space and you need to limit your power consumption you are going to do better on a per watt basis by staying closer to 2,500 that to 5,000 Lumens per square foot.

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Nope. 4 x 8 needs 2 x 1000watt lights. I have tried 2 - 600 watt lights on a 4 x 8 table, and the yield was half.

Back on topic, we run 4 x 1000watt Sunpulse 6.4 k in the veg room and love them. I do, however, first hit the plants for about a week under 2 1000 watt Horti Daylight Blues. The Horti Blue really stacks the nodes, but isn't very bright. Once the plants are about 15" tall, we put em under the Sunpulses, which are very bright. We use Digilux in the bloom room, but are considering trying the Pulse Start 3K for a test run.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/407048-20-000-watt-medical-grow.html

I just saw a thread with a side by side results from plants grown under Sunpulse(brand new) vs. Hortilux(2 years old) and I guarantee there was a difference of 30%+ between the two with the 2 YEAR OLD Hortilux coming out the winner. Clones from the same mother, different strains, same room and schedule, etc. It wasn't meant as a side by side, but he had to replace some bulbs and switched to Sunpulse because he had heard great things. I'll try to link it if I can find it.

Found it:
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/355137-think-your-bulb-doesnt-matter.html

BTW guys. There's a LOT of great lighting info here to review. Thank you all.