Why is there not a 800 Watt HPS system? I need the appropiate system for a 4x4 room.

[rudolfskis]

Funny Farmer i was just comming back on to ask IF I should use 2 400 watts? due to having a 400 watt system in flower right now for 2 plants and thinking im gonna use that one for the veg..Put Metal H bulb in...I know itll be awsome in veg mode.........Now as i said im gonna have aprox 6-8 plants in Flower first thought was a 800 or 1000 watt HPS
But thinking 2 400s then id have ready bulbs all the time not having to buy differnt kinds IPO metal and HPS of course

Your thoughts 2 400's or 2 600's?
Thinking id be able to keep temps in check more with the 400's?
and costs
BUT want a good high yeald and tight ass buds!
Jus Wonderin

rudolfskis Reviewed by rudolfskis on 12-09-2012. Why is there not a 800 Watt HPS system? I need the appropiate system for a 4x4 room. All the online calculators say for my 4X4 room, I need 800 watts. Thats all fine and dandy, but I cannot find a 800 watt system.. I found 400, 600 and 1000.. Is the 600 enough? Or is the 1000 too much? Rating: 5

[low_rdr]

Rudolf,

I'd like to suggest 2 600 watt lights, even if you don't need the additional light right now, your going to use it eventually - You can also get adjustable digital balasts, but honestly, if you can keep the temps under control, there is no such thing as "too much light". Heat on the other hand... Well that is another story - I would think that a 14k btu portable or even a 12k portable would keep those temps under control, I've seen them brand new with a dehumidifier built in for less than $300, I've seen them used for $75

A portable in room unit can also cut down on your filtering issues, but I'd still always recomend a carbon filter, even if you do a DIY filter, they're cheap, and very good at their jobs. I've got a 2200sq ft apt I'm in with less than a 2x3 footprint, without my carbon filter, I can smell it outside of my house - This isn't an issue where I'm at, but I don't like the smell ALL THE TIME, I built a $10 carbon filter (actually $7) and viola, no more smell!

Venting, exaust, intake, cooling, all very easy stuff to do, and I'm more than willing to help, as are other people here.

As far as lighting, don't go smaller, always go bigger. You can dial a light down, but you can't turn one up, so if you get 400's now, when you expand to a 10x10, they're practically useless, they'd just be veg lights, which would be a TOTAL waste of power (IMO)

Just my 2 cents

[rudolfskis]

Totally understand and apprecieate the advice!
Think ill go with the 2 - 600's HPS
Dont think ill go bigger BUT thinking I can always dial them down.
Thanks good advice

[Farmer Rich]

You'll like the 600's. Mine can be dialed down to 400 and 360.. I never use super lumen mode as I'm pretty sure the bulb life will decrease.

Another configuration in a space your size would be 2 x 4' - 8 tube T-5 panels. You'd be surprised how well they produce.. You can get them pretty close to the plants with no probs.

Fyi - I used to use 1k's and switching to 600's was a good change. Yield went up.

[DrFever]

1000w lights are a waste of energy IMO. I started out growing with 1000w lights for a few years and when I switched to 600w lights I was suprised to see my yields actually increase
and my energy bill dropped significantly.
The reason my yield increased is because I was able to put 600w of light over each plant and, because heat was much less intense, I was able to move the lights closer which made better use of the
light I already had.

600w lights also create less heat overall, which cut down on cooling costs in the room environment.

so...a 600w light is what you want...hands down.

in a 4'x4' space I highly recomend not going above 600w because cooling the light will be nearly impossible.
also, 1000w lights will significantly cut down on the height you can grow your plants because the heat they put off ( even when 1000cfm fan is pulling through 6" hoods) prevents you from allowing the plant to get closer to the light than 16-18".
So with that in mind you can cut 18" from your usable plant height for the light, 12-20" are gone for container height, plus hood (16"). So if you use a 1000w light you will lose roughly 4ft of vertical grow space.
600w: you will gain 1ft or more of vertical grow space because the foliage can almost touch the hoods when using a 600w light in a sealed, well ventilated hood.

hope this helps...

Hmmmm i find that ironic 600 is more efficient cost wise but as for production ii think not place a 600 30" away from top of plant an see how much stretch occurs ????, you always here well i can place my 600 lower to canopy so whats your point ??? i can place 1000 14 -16 " from tops open reflector what kind of power / lumen you think will hit the plants ???? remember the lumen out put difference between 1000 and 600
i am very curious what you yield with your 600 in your 4 x 4 area ???? or you even getting close to gram per watt ???
1000 watt in a 4 x 4 area = 16 sq feet 1000 divide by 16 = 62 .5 watts per foot
600 watt in a 4 x 4 are = 37.5 watts per sq foot so in reality 600 doesn;t even compete
heat = power
you think a 600 can compare in penetration rate compared to a 1000 again your wrong, you can have your 600 watt on top of your plant 14" away i will place 1000 24" away and smoke it as for penetration rate a 1000 watt is one mean mother
you mention you get better yields with a 600 could it be you just become a better grower cause if you were to do 2 rooms identical 600 vs 1000 1000 would kill it as for bigger denser buds there are allot of growers not worried about electrical costs just bud production