Looking to Buy a 1000 watt hortilux w/coolable refelctor

[rickyanny]

what is the best bang for your buck when buying a 100watt light system with the ability to hook up ventilation right to the reflective hood?

I would wanna build a cool tube like I saw in the FAQ section, but im not too good of an electrician and cant quite figure what exactly the steps are.

What is everyone's opinion?:rasta:

[Dnutz]

in my opinion, i would go to Hydroponics | Hydroponic Supplies (http://www.bghydro.com) and get one of the sunsystems hoods with the knock outs on both sides so you can get an adaptor and put it on there and blam its a rectangular reflector thats air cooled and focuses more lumens to your plants. and if you have the money, get a digital ballast!

[rhizome]

I agree- Sunlight makes quality stuff. Don't go for the removeable louvers, though, if you're sure that you're going to air-cool the hood. It's a pain to make them really air-tight, which can allow for smell leaks in yer lighting exhaust. Also, they're by definition offset- you'll get better efficiancy if airflow is laminar over the bulb, with the built in vent flanges.

Fer Sunlight stuff, I really like the EconoCool- CoolSun if ya got the scratch.

I'll second the rec on the digi ballast- more lumens=more mojo.

Cool tubes are a drag to keep clean- dust builds up inside, foliar sprays outside. Not my favorite distribution pattern, either, unless you're gonna run a bunch of them in parallel.

My $.02

[xcrispi]

Rhizome tells the truth about cooltubes being a pita to clean .
I ended up using a furnace filter over my air intake for mine . But I love em . I can get up to 6in away from plants once they're adults w/o bleaching or heat issues . Before buying a digi ballast do some research on them - when they first came out I heard you cant use just any bulbs in them , bulb life issues ?
Peace
Crispi :jointsmile:

[rhizome]

2nd gen digis are a lot better.

Only compatibility issue I've seen was Hort Blue halide 1ks not firing off one run of early lumateks- sucked, returned ballasts cause, well, Hort Blues rock.

[rickyanny]

So it sounds like the digital ballasts are unreliable? If there suggested to use what is a good brand?

Are those 1000 watt hortilux blues the bulbs that you can use throughout the entire life cycle of the plant.

[rickyanny]

also where can I get the best deals on sunlight stuff, Insidesun.com

[rickyanny]

found this on ebay, is this what your talking about Rhizome

eBay: SUN SYSTEM I HPS 1000 WATT ECONOCOOL REFLECTOR COMPLETE (item 3981343644 end time Jul-06-07 22:53:02 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/SUN-SYSTEM-I-HPS-1000-WATT-ECONOCOOL-REFLECTOR-COMPLETE_W0QQitemZ3981343644QQihZ018QQcategoryZ422 25QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)

[rickyanny]

Also this

eBay: 1000 Watt Evolution Ballast & EconoCool Hood 1000W (item 230130936694 end time Jul-15-07 10:57:53 PDT) (http://cgi.ebay.com/1000-Watt-Evolution-Ballast-EconoCool-Hood-1000W_W0QQitemZ230130936694QQihZ013QQcategoryZ4355 5QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem)

[xcrispi]

So it sounds like the digital ballasts are unreliable? If there suggested to use what is a good brand?

Are those 1000 watt hortilux blues the bulbs that you can use throughout the entire life cycle of the plant.

If I'm not mistaken hortilux enhanced spectrum hps is dif. than the hortulux blue mh . I do use the old-school hortilux hps start to finish though because I don't have switchable ballasts or digi ballasts to run the new style ones.
Peace
Crispi :jointsmile:

[rhizome]

I know some folks who run the Hort BlueMH right through and love 'em.

Yes, that's the reflector I'm talking about. Go the extra $ for the decent bulb.

Remember, if you buy off Ebay- somebody has your name, Paypal #, and shipping address.

Walk into the Grow Shop w/ paper money- drive somebody else's car.