# noob HPS question



## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 21, 2009)

Hey everyone, my first of many questions

I found some used 400w HPS  fixtures. My main concern is the fixture not the bulb. They are the type that hang from the ceiling of shop/pole barn. Ballast on top of light socket. $25 each. some have white round hood with lens some have round metal hoods with no lens. From the few pics I have seen, I would lean towards the white ( i can pitch the lens if its useless). I have no problem removing the hood and making my own. I plan on making a rectangular hood with two or three light in it. I will have to pin down the size of my room to figure proper lumens per sq. ft. I dont want to miss out on this if they will work, so I apologize if there is an answer that I missed when I looked. Also today was my first trip to see what I could find around here. Biggest fixture was 150 watt, about 60 bucks.

Opinions anyone?


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## Newbud (Apr 22, 2009)

Well taking into account you sound like you handy with the tools you can just re-locate the ballasts out the grow room and re connect with a longer cable. If they are 400w they sound fine for the money.
Be aware these lights get hot so if your thinking of making a hood make one with a vent in both ends that you can duct to and cool with a fan, i'm sure you've seen the type i mean.

Also i like the idea of a few in one hood but depending on the intended grow area it may be beneficial to spread em across the canopy evenly.
Dont forget you want contactors as well as timers, if you dont use a contactor, it kills the timer.


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 22, 2009)

Thanks newbud. After calling I believe they are older fixtures. He said they were sodium vapor? Not sure if thats the same as HPS. They may support a HPS bulb, I'll have to find out if I can. I also stumbled across Hemp Goddess' post about SCroG. :holysheep: After reading a few of her posts the SN suits her perfectly. That setup will work very well for me, I am only looking for personal use. less than an ounce and a half is a petty offense here:hubba:.  You did mention "contacors and timers"? can you explain or point me to that info so I can read about it I must have missed that.

 The 2 150w HPS  may keep the heat down better as well. Can you have too many lumens?  I have no problems moving the ballasts to the outside of the room/box area. I am starting to think that I may be better off using a small 2-3 plant area of a self flowering lowryder for my first go around. Quick growing, compact. Also I like the idea of keeping the light at the same cycle through the whole process. This would allow me to keep plants at differnt stages in the same area. I could move on to cloning with another type after I get the hang of it. I guess I've got more planning/thinking to do. 
thanks


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## Newbud (Apr 22, 2009)

hxxp://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_vapor_lamp 

hxxp://www.growell.co.uk/p/0736/Eco-Technics-Light-Switching-Timer-Contactors.html  

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38310

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38811


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 22, 2009)

thanks for the links Newbud
I think I fried my brain.  Just soo much info here. I think I can sort that out though. The trip to get these lights is about 120mi round trip.PLUS who knows how many hrs on the ballasts :ignore:.  I think I will start with new. I want to do this right. Looking at basing my grow area on 3 150w LPS. If I can get 2 plants getting solid light under 3 bulbs. I can put a veg area w/t5's below. 

Also having thought about the plants, most of the autos are smaller plants anyway. Well there is 2 out of 323424 things to consider taken care of

1. 3 150w for 2 main plants (hempgoddess had 2 150w over her scrog)
2. Auto flower strain-- smaller plant area to manage-- shorter grow time= less B.S...  I hope lol.

just thinking out loud so to speak


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## Newbud (Apr 22, 2009)

Hps is better than Lps.
As for how many or what power you need to work out the area of your grow room out and then factor that to 5000 Lumen's per square ft, and the more the merrier 

Have you pinned down the size of the room yet?


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 23, 2009)

Hey newbud  needed a break, had a little burn out from reading yesterday. 

good to know about the Lumens. As for room size, I have as much as I need really in my basement. It's not finished, access to outside air is easy  I have a 600v 8/3 240 volt wire that I ran into my basement when finishing the house. I plan on converting that to 120v. I want to keep it simple for now so I think I will start with 5 sq.ft or so. I am going to a city nearby, they have a city clean up day tomorrow. People put out funiture, appliances, etc. So I may be able to save building a cabinet. Once I get the cabinet I'll start looking for lights. I may get lucky and find a couple tomorrow. I really appreciate the help. I'll let you know what I find.   I will have this built and pretesting by the end of May for sure. Hopefully sooner.


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## Super Silver Haze (Apr 25, 2009)

smokey, i too was inspired by THG scrog w/ dual 150 watt cool tube but instead of building the dual 150 watter i opted for a new 400 hps w/ 6" vented hood for $236.  i also have the std hood.  the vented hood is airtight so good to use co2 in room.  i am venting airconditioning into the closet @ the bottom.  my dwc has an airspace under it and the ac will hopefully keep my res temps in check.  i hope everything goes well and you have a successful grow.

btw, two plants dwc in 5.5 sq ft.  

SSH


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 25, 2009)

One of the advantages to using a single larger watt HPS rather than 2-3 smaller ones is that the larger wattage bulbs put out more lumens per watt and are more effective.  I built the dual 150W because I got the yard lights for $2 each at a yard sale.  

PM me if I can be of any help.


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## Super Silver Haze (Apr 25, 2009)

$2 EACH?  i see why you built it.  i couldnt find an inexpensive ballast so i went w/400 hps.  

SSH


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## The Hemp Goddess (Apr 25, 2009)

Super Silver Haze said:
			
		

> $2 EACH?  i see why you built it.  i couldnt find an inexpensive ballast so i went w/400 hps.
> 
> SSH



LOL--yeah, couldn't pass them up.  I love yard sales...The 400W is a great light for smaller grows and provides more lumens per watt then the 150W HPS, so it's more effective and efficient.


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 26, 2009)

Well did some looking, reading and more looking. Good news is I have a couple of good hydro shops within driving distance.

Grow room size will be 3x2 or 3x3. No bigger than that. I have a 3x2 cabinet I picked up at a city cleanup day. Free is always good. I'm not sure it has enough height, so I may look for a taller one.

After reading what was said here and elsewhere about the power of one 400 over a couple of 150's, I will check the sofa cushions for spare change and get a light w/ hood. I hope to find one with a vent. I don't want to have problems with a used ballast or light.

Should I look for a ballast separate from the light? would this help reduce heat in the grow room? prolong the life of the ballast? 

Oh while I have the notebook out. What brand model# bulb is best for HPS.

Thanks again for the help.


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## Newbud (Apr 26, 2009)

If you buy a hps new thats for growing the ballast is seperate, but if not yeah it wants to be seperate or you can do it yourself.

As for bulbs i'm guessing there be loads of different views but i use the duel spectrum sylvania bulbs cos you use same one all way through veg and flower


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## Lemmongrass (Apr 26, 2009)

Lotek's Guide to growing with highbay lighting. 
(Search Tags: dome light, highbay, stadium light, ceiling lights, HPS, MH, sodium, halide)

i have 6 of these setups but don't use them cause i don't have extra ballasts. i stuck a bulb in one to test it one time tho and i found a few things you'll need to know. 

If you do not relocate the ballast you will need an extra 3-4feet of space above the max right of your canopy. they also become little heat bombs as the heat from the bulb is trapped inside a bell, were it pools and rises to the ballast which is already hot, making it hotter and burning out the components in it much quicker. Relocating requires nothing else but a length of proper gauge cord. =] and a spool of cable to hang it with. 

To hang, drill 3 1/4th" holes equidistant from one another near the top at the level it feels stable at. place an eye bolt thru each hole(it is  closed circle onto of a threaded bolt). secure tese with a nylon lock-nut. trust me.  Now at this point you could just bend open a loop on the chain and connect it thru the eye, or you can get 3 of these little screw lock things that look like a G. cant think of the name. i use these cause if i need to take the chains off i don't have to stress the metal, it is far more secure. Anyway, take the 3 chains that are connected to the 3 eye bolts and either connect them with a 4th G loop or however you wish. Anchor this single larger support chain to a STURDY LOCKING anchor.

Secondly, the biggest thing i saw was that the light print is 
VERY narrow. you will get about a 2-3foot diameter circle of good usable light. Angle is the most important aspect of lighting. its infinitely better for your plant to be in direct line of sight to the bulb that anything else. light falloff due to distance pales in comparison to bad angle.

My solution to this was to slice the metal dome about 3/4ths of the way up starting at the bottom rim at 4 equidistant points(northsoutheastwest). this makes your hood look like a flower and by bending the quadrants up you can actually get a rather nice footprint. tho some light is still lost.

I would also suggest that you buy a 4" hole saw bit for a power drill. its about 15 bones for the  mounting bit and the saw part(kit if yr lucky for $10). drill this exhaust hole above where the quadrant slits end for support and structure reasons. hook this to an exhaust fan(fan as close to the end of the tube as possible, this is the most efficient way for a fan to work). i have my tube run out to the fan, then have the fan hooked right to a carbon filter.

Godspeed!


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## Super Silver Haze (Apr 26, 2009)

i bought my 400 hps w/ remote ballast (magnetic ballast, for about $30 more u can get an electronic) and a 6" air cooled hood @ HTG Supply for app. $236 shipping included.  the air cooled hood was a $80 upgrade from the std reflector hood.

when you pick your components you have the option of choosing the brand of hps bulb and many diff. hoods.  

i also got the reflector hood that is standard.  

i searched all over checking the price of components (light, hood, ballast..) but i foung that the package deal couldnt be beat.

im in a 33" x 22" x 54" cabinet and my vented hood barelt fits.  btw, the hood can be used w/1000 watt if you wanted.

the reflector part of both hoods hava a dimpled effect.  i guess that is supposed to give you a better disperson of light.

SSH


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Apr 28, 2009)

Thanks lotek, I found out those fixtures were LPS. Not good.
I'm still looking, although I will most likely go with a grow light ballast and fixture. I would need several backup ballasts, since the age/hours would be in question on any used equipment.

Never say never . After drawing out what and where I will be putting the room, I feel I will have a heat issue inside the cabinet I have. Also the Mrs. asked "where the hell is THAT going to go?".  I found what I think will be a better space.  My main concern was the height. The space I will use is 3'x3'x 68".The added headroom will help with heat, also allowing a bit more room for light adj. and positioning. With that much heat I want to have some clearance next to the light, the cabinet didn't give me much extra room. 
This will also allow me to step up to a 600w if I choose. (obv. I am going to add more lumens) . The area is isolated but near my furnace and water heater, giving some "cover" for the fan/ ballast noise.  

SSH-- Thanks for the heads up on HTG supply. I found a local company, Their  price is close to that. I'm going to see if they will price match. If not It looks like they will be the place to go.  I'm going to use an auto flower for first grow. The 600w will allow for  3-4 of those I think. 

Thanks again for the help everyone.


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## Super Silver Haze (Apr 28, 2009)

Smokey, no prob.  ill be keeping an eye out for your autos.

SSH


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