lighting New Lighting Setup

Ignite

Ignite

We recently switched out our (6) 600W HPS/MH lights for newer technology 315W CMH/CDM setups and I finally managed to get some pictures uploaded.  These lights are absolutely killing our old 600W setups, in every way possible.  They're 240v only and won't work with digital HPS/MH ballasts and sockets but the electrical savings and reduced cooling costs more than make up for the difference.  We custom fitted Sun Systems Blockbuster A/C hoods with ours and are using one light per 4x4 area.  
 
We put the ballasts in custom heatsink cases, but you can run them bare if needed.  I would recommend protecting the wires and connections since you're dealing with 200V+.  You can mount these in your walls as well, just give them 3" clearance to meet fire codes.  You can use step up transformer to power them from a 120v outlet, I used one to test each ballast and it worked well.  You'll need a 500W unit for the 315w ballast.
 
CMH_1.jpg

 
Blockbuster Hood with 315W CDM dual spectrum bulb
 
CMH_2.jpg

 
CMH_3.jpg

 
Here's an Aleppo that is one of 100% indoor plants.  This plant is almost 3 months old and has over 50 pods currently hanging from it.  
 
Aleppo.jpg

 
Thanks!
 
Thanks! The reduced operating costs were enough to make me happy but the plants love the new lights. We're adding 6 more by May once the new building gets finished.
 
queequeg152 said:
have you calculated the time to ROI? its probably going to be in the single digit years.
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It's very short compared to what we saw when we started using the 600W systems.  We never see ourselves going back to HPS/MH setups.  The electricity savings are nice, but more importantly the HVAC costs have gown down because these lights just don't generate that much heat.  We use our existing ventilation system and 6 inch inline fans to help control humidity inside of the tents, but in a month we'll break the tents down and go back to running them in the open room.  We also switched to cold / water-cooled CO2 generators so the temperatures will be very easy to control.  The increase in yields will help us keep with demand and allow us to produce an even better product.  
 
Thanks! 
 
miguelovic said:
Bitchin' kitchin', my favourite HID. Did you get them from Advanced Tech?
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I tried ordering the ballasts through them but he didn't respond until about 2 weeks after we found another distributor.  It seems that he is hit or miss when it comes to customer service and I didn't want to send someone that kind of money without talking to him first.  There is quite a few places in the USA that are now shipping the ballasts for about $180.
 
We didn't use the 4200k Mogul version (Advanced) because I was hesitant to use it in an open hood and we already had a few LEC systems that use the 3100k Agro bulb.  I switched all of the hoods from mogul to PGZ18 sockets so that we can run the PGZ18 T12 bulbs along with the Phillips ballasts.  I ordered 6 of the 4200k T12 bulbs last night so I'm going to test them for the enhanced blue they put out compared to the 3100k Agro.
 
Thanks!
 
Not sure if you've seen it, but there's a huge megathread on CMH and another smaller one dedicated to the 315 on ICmag. Many links on where to source ballasts, moguls, etc.
 
I've heard much of the same regarding ATL, apparently he started responding to email/phone calls a week or so ago, but I would still be very hesitant to order.
 
miguelovic said:
Not sure if you've seen it, but there's a huge megathread on CMH and another smaller one dedicated to the 315 on ICmag. Many links on where to source ballasts, moguls, etc.
 
I've heard much of the same regarding ATL, apparently he started responding to email/phone calls a week or so ago, but I would still be very hesitant to order.
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I've been following that one, along with Rives CMH 315w only thread as well.  When we started looking at CMH lights there wasn't a whole lot of information on them so luckily I found those guys that were able to give me some advice.  Not many people are using these lights for peppers so Rives as well as guys at Sunlight have been in contact with me to see how they are performing.
 
Thanks again!  One of these days I'll get around to updating my Glog with new pictures and setup advice.
 
Very nice! I haven't really looked into these at all.  I am currently looking at doing a custom LED setup but from a cost basis this may be better. Any good SPD charts for these for comparison? 
 
Capsicum Select said:
Very nice! I haven't really looked into these at all.  I am currently looking at doing a custom LED setup but from a cost basis this may be better. Any good SPD charts for these for comparison? 
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I hope this helps.  Advanced Lighting Tech has SPD charts for both the 3100k (930) and 4200k (942) CDM-T Elite bulbs.  You can pull spec sheets from Phillips as well, but they don't contain any pretty graphs.
 
The Phillips ballast can be run in either 210w or 315w mode.  We operate ours in the 315w setting without dimming at this point.
 
cdmmwcmprspd.gif
 
Ignite said:
 
I hope this helps.  Advanced Lighting Tech has SPD charts for both the 3100k (930) and 4200k (942) CDM-T Elite bulbs.  You can pull spec sheets from Phillips as well, but they don't contain any pretty graphs.
 
The Phillips ballast can be run in either 210w or 315w mode.  We operate ours in the 315w setting without dimming at this point.
 
 
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Awesome! Thank you. That is helpful. That is a HUGE difference compared to standard HPS and MH bulbs holy crap. I feel like CMH will be cheaper than LED at this point to get that full spectrum power.
 
so still nothing bigger than 400w after about 7 years when I was using a Philips Retrowhite CMH and trying to tell people about them?
 
how old is that ICMAG thread?
 
Is CDM a new type of light or did someone just rename CMH for sales?
I dont know if this is the same light you were talking about a chart for Philips. But they have always had the pretty graphic for the retrowhite CMH. Its why I jumped all over it.
 
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I think it's related to operating pressure/temperature re: restrictions on wattage. There is a Double dPapillon fixture but it's just two 315's.
 
I don't believe Retro Whites are available any more (I did look quite thoroughly for my own needs but only found out of stock listings) and it was an HPS conversion to start with. Similar tech but the newer CMH have unique ballasts at a much higher price. Greenbeams are the prefered reflector but the cost will make you cringe. The start up cost is steep even without a Greenbeam unless you're growing cannabis with it's higher ROI or don't mind spending to get what you believe is the best.
 
The CMH thread is 8 years old. The 315 thread is 8 monthes old. Just different wording for the same thing, one company even uses LEC (light emitting ceramic).
 
Thanks for the response. Lot of info in there.
 
But yeah they make great veg lights and maybe flowering for peppers.  I had to go 1k.
 
I argued an admin down over those lights. All the way to calling him a fucking retard. :D No ban no anything. Ah the good old days.
That was prolly 2004-2005. I guess my math was off per usual.
 
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