- Joined
- Apr 15, 2023
- Messages
- 2,225
- Reaction score
- 14,954
Just back from visiting some friends. We chatted a little about getting close to harvesting my first grow. I mentioned buying a tent and etc. to dry in. Also, said I might get a light and try a small indoor grow when I'm done using the tent for drying. My buddy gets up, goes to the basement and brings this HPS light up. He told me to take it and and use it if I can. If not, no foul. He said it has a newish bulb. I haven't studied lights much and the little nosing around I have done has been LEDs. So, time to study up.
View attachment 72667View attachment 72668View attachment 72669
Nice score Bob!
You have a solid and well cared for 14 year old HPS/MH all in one light. These have been discontinued but inside parts like the ignitor which is what usually breaks down can be bought and swapped out if it ever stops working but these ballasts are workhorses and can accrue a lot of hours before that happens.
You can use a 400 watt MH lamp for veg then a 400 watt HPS for flower. In the final two weeks before harvest you can switch back to the MH for a ripening blue spectrum that can enhance resin production.
The caveat to these lights are they need to run hot to get to full brilliance. You'll have help with the glass between lamp and canopy acting as a heat shield so it won't burn up the plants and on the exhaust you'll need an inline fan to pull heat out.
What you don't want to do is have cool air go thru one side of the vent, passing over the lamp, and cooling it down reducing it's effectiveness. So ya figure a way to remove heat but not cool the lamp if that makes any sense.
It will cover a footprint for flowering around 3.5'x3.5' and you'll want it around 12-20" above canopy during flower. For seedlings and veg, much higher at 30"-40". It will easily grow plants up to around 3-4' tall