86-88 Degrees too Hot?

[disoBAYish]

Always match bulb with output. Underdriving a bulb, just like underdriving any electronic device (unless it is designed to handle such things,) can cause undue stress on the electronics, the bulb, and more.

So I should buy a 600w HPS bulb then? Thanks for the tip, the last thing I wanna do is fry all of my shit. :thumbsup:

[disoBAYish]

Sorry about the double post guys.

Anyway....

I went into my local hydro store and asked about the issue you brought up Khyber. That being me running a 1,000w bulb converted by an interchangable ballast at 600w. I told the guys exactly what I had, and how I was running it. He told me the exact opposite of what you said. He told me that running the 1000w bulb at 600w was not only conserving energy, but prolonging the life of the bulb itself.

2 very different opinions.... someone please clarify.

[khyberkitsune]

Sorry about the double post guys.

Anyway....

I went into my local hydro store and asked about the issue you brought up Khyber. That being me running a 1,000w bulb converted by an interchangable ballast at 600w. I told the guys exactly what I had, and how I was running it. He told me the exact opposite of what you said. He told me that running the 1000w bulb at 600w was not only conserving energy, but prolonging the life of the bulb itself.

2 very different opinions.... someone please clarify.

I used to install street lighting when I worked for Memphis Concrete Cutting. Any experienced electrician will tell you to match wattage for wattage.

That 1000w bulb is still going to try drawing more than it's being fed, this will damage ANY ballast, magnetic or electronic. It shortens the life of the ballast, and those tubes are designed for MINIMUM 800w input power at 480-660V. Anything less will cause damage.

[killerweed420]

So I should buy a 600w HPS bulb then? Thanks for the tip, the last thing I wanna do is fry all of my shit. :thumbsup:

That must be a Galaxy ballast? Nice ballasts. You're in the neighbourhood with temps, if you run into too many problems turn it down to 600w. You are supposed to use a 1000w bulb for all settings. I imagine its to keep people from screwing up if they put a 400w bulb in and cranked it up to 1000w.

[disoBAYish]

That must be a Galaxy ballast? Nice ballasts. You're in the neighbourhood with temps, if you run into too many problems turn it down to 600w. You are supposed to use a 1000w bulb for all settings. I imagine its to keep people from screwing up if they put a 400w bulb in and cranked it up to 1000w.

My ballast is a digital 1,000w Lumitek.... The purple kind. It makes sense to me that you would use a 1,000w bulb for all settings, for reasons like you stated. However I also trust Khyber's judgement.

What to do, what to do....

[disoBAYish]

Update:

After many readjustments, I have my grow room down to a consistant 77 degrees. Thanks for all the help guys, the grow is going well. :thumbsup:

[bigtopsfinn]

Update:

After many readjustments, I have my grow room down to a consistant 77 degrees. Thanks for all the help guys, the grow is going well. :thumbsup:

Cooltube? I'd like to know how you managed that nice 10 degree drop :jointsmile:

[disoBAYish]

Cooltube? I'd like to know how you managed that nice 10 degree drop :jointsmile:

It was a 3 step process that transpired over the course of a week and a half as I slowly adjusted things with it a little here and there.

1.) Simply introducing the plants into the grow room cooled the temp by 2 degrees. I think this is mostly because of the cool damp soil. I water them every other day with 48 degree water at a 7.0 PH level.

2.) I removed the ballast from the grow room. That dropped temps about 1-2 degrees.

3.) I trimmed a few feet of ducting off of the blower fan to give it a little more horsepower. This did me wonders as it dropped temps down about 4-6 degrees. The seals to the blower were not air tight either, fixing that halped as well.

So in short... I introduced plants, removed ballast, then fixed the blower ducting.

[Dutch Pimp]

It was a 3 step process that transpired over the course of a week and a half as I slowly adjusted things with it a little here and there.

1.) Simply introducing the plants into the grow room cooled the temp by 2 degrees. I think this is mostly because of the cool damp soil. I water them every other day with 48 degree water at a 7.0 PH level.

2.) I removed the ballast from the grow room. That dropped temps about 1-2 degrees.

3.) I trimmed a few feet of ducting off of the blower fan to give it a little more horsepower. This did me wonders as it dropped temps down about 4-6 degrees. The seals to the blower were not air tight either, fixing that halped as well.

So in short... I introduced plants, removed ballast, then fixed the blower ducting.

That my friends is the KISS principle in action...:thumbsup:..(Keep it Simple, Stoner)