HTG $100 400 Watt HPS

[daihashi]

You're right.

High Tech Garden Supply

This one?

Yep.. that's the one!

And when you get some more money together you can hit ebay for a 4" pyrex bake around tube and a squirelly cage fan and stay super cool.

Really you should do what you feel is best. I'm not trying to persuade you one way or another, but I just want to make sure someone advocates the alternative and it's advantages so that way you can make a better informed decision.

Good luck with whatever option you settle on. :hippy:

[jackforest]

Well, I'm afraid if you believe heat will be as much of an issue as you say. I can get the 20 dollars. It would just be an inconvience and I felt pretty good about this buy. Buyers remorse with a compulsive buyer is a bitch. There is not a vent in my closet. Would pics of the closet help in the decision?

[Mr. Clandestine]

I'm betting you have more than just a 10" fan blowing on it. Probably also have an exhaust pulling hot air out of the room and probably have some form of cool fresh air being pulled back into the room. Either via a passive intake or an active one.

This is true, for the most part (the ballast itself just gets that one fan), but everything else is still passive in my veg room, where the 400 is housed. I've made due with just a 400 (for veg and flower) and passive everything before... it wasn't ideal, but it worked. Even the reflector on my 400 is just a standard "bat-wing", but I certainly have more space than Jack has at the moment... which I didn't notice before, and I've got fans galore throughout the area. You're right, this setup will be tough to manage in a Rubbermaid growbox. Still, when he's able to convert a decent sized closet into a grow area, it'll be much more accommodating with just a passive intake and exhaust.

My flower room is a much different story, housing a 1k lamp, active exhaust, air-cooled hood, carbon filter, etc. I believe that anything over 400w should be either air-cooled, or setup with at least a strong active exhaust pulling hot air out of the room.

[jackforest]

You're right, this setup will be tough to manage in a Rubbermaid growbox.

Misunderstanding - I'm not using the 400 watt in a rubbermaid growbox

Closet Space:


:wtf:

[Mr. Clandestine]

Misunderstanding - I'm not using the 400 watt in a rubbermaid growbox

Closet Space:


:wtf:

Ah, I see... my mistake. Well, the choice is yours. Daihashi is right that with a remote ballast, you'll be able to keep the ballast out of the room the light is in if you wish to do so. But, for the life of my magnetic 400, as long as a fan was trained on it at all times of operation, the transfer case never got hot... and barely warm to the touch. It was always kept in the same room as the light, mainly because I'm a lazy-ass who never took the time to route the wires through the ceiling and into the attic. I'm confident that the ballast itself doesn't contribute to much extra heat when cooled by a fan, but the bulb itself does. You'll still need to have air circulating around the growroom to keep the air from becoming stagnant.

If you can keep the ambient temperature of the room under 80F with the lights on, then it really doesn't matter which one you buy. But also bear in mind what Daihashi said about upgrades, you won't be able to do much with the standalone ballast/light fixture, where you could always turn a system with a remote ballast into an air-cooled system later on down the road.

Whichever you choose, I wish you the best with it. HPS lights are wonderful for flowering plants, so as long as temps are kept in check, I'm sure you'll love the results.

Take care. :jointsmile:

[jackforest]

Well, The temperature in there is already 75 degrees. I think that is from the hot air coming out of the rubbermaid. Heat might be an issue. You seem to think that it wont make a drastic difference either way. I'm a little complexed. I won't lie.

[Mr. Clandestine]

It doesn't make much of a temperature difference when you're able to circulate air efficiently. I have fans pushing air inside the veg room, and fans that pull hot air out. Nothing fancy, just a couple of tower fans pointed in opposite directions. But I also have fans inside the room itself that circulate the air, and as mentioned before, one on the ballast. Without these fans, the temperature inside the room would reach 90-100F pretty quick. But with them, the temps never raise above 80F.

Remember, the ballast won't be the primary source of your heat... it's the bulb that you have to worry about. I figured for the all in one system, it would maintain a steady temperature better than an open-hood reflector might, but then again, I've never used one of the all-in-one systems before. Whichever you choose to buy, just make sure that you're able to keep air circulating inside the room, and preferably somehow pulling in air from outside the closet. It doesn't have to be ultra-modern, it just has to be efficient enough to keep things cool.

[jackforest]

I think I will try it. If anything it will be a matter of heat and you have a good point about just making sure there is enough air circulation. If worse comes to worse, I'll cut a hole threw the wall for an exhaust or intake.

Thanks for all of your help Daihashi and Mr. Clandestine. It is much appreciated. I will keep everyone updated.

[elskeetro]

DARNIT!!! I just bought the exact same light, it arrived today. I was soooo excited to get a 400w HPS for $100. Now i'm reading this thread and starting to wish i bought the next model up (as suggested earlier).

Let me ask you guys what you think of my setup using this light:

My room is in the basement, pretty cool right now, had a space heater down there during winter to keep between 70-75*F. dimensions are 5' deep x 8' long x 6.5' tall.

Both Veg and Flower are in the same room, separated by black plastic curtain (only when the flower side is dark, otherwise the curtain is up and air circulates. So when the flower light is off and the curtain is down the flower side is reduced to 5' x 3' x 6.5'.

I have a tower fan in opposing corners (one in flower and one in veg) and the air moves quite well inside the room. and i currently have a 130cfm fan on the flower side (although it affects the whole room while the curtain is up) pulling heat, smell, and old air out.

I haven;t even opened the HPS yet. I'm doing an ebb and flow system on both sides. currently 2 flowering plants (although i plan on moving up to 6) and anywhere from 6-25 vegging (counting clones and babies).

do you think that i'll have a serious heat problem?

should i return it, eat the shipping charge, and get the remote ballast?

thanks for the help!
Skeet

[daihashi]

DARNIT!!! I just bought the exact same light, it arrived today. I was soooo excited to get a 400w HPS for $100. Now i'm reading this thread and starting to wish i bought the next model up (as suggested earlier).

Let me ask you guys what you think of my setup using this light:

My room is in the basement, pretty cool right now, had a space heater down there during winter to keep between 70-75*F. dimensions are 5' deep x 8' long x 6.5' tall.

Both Veg and Flower are in the same room, separated by black plastic curtain (only when the flower side is dark, otherwise the curtain is up and air circulates. So when the flower light is off and the curtain is down the flower side is reduced to 5' x 3' x 6.5'.

I have a tower fan in opposing corners (one in flower and one in veg) and the air moves quite well inside the room. and i currently have a 130cfm fan on the flower side (although it affects the whole room while the curtain is up) pulling heat, smell, and old air out.

I haven;t even opened the HPS yet. I'm doing an ebb and flow system on both sides. currently 2 flowering plants (although i plan on moving up to 6) and anywhere from 6-25 vegging (counting clones and babies).

do you think that i'll have a serious heat problem?

should i return it, eat the shipping charge, and get the remote ballast?

thanks for the help!
Skeet

nah, if you already have it there are ways to work around it. It's just if you're looking to buy a new product I feel it's better to go ahead and buy something that's more modular as opposed to something you can't upgrade.

You'll be fine if you have proper ventilation and a big enough area for heat to dissapate into.