# CMH grow



## leafminer (Mar 5, 2010)

I've been looking for ppl with CMH grows (nobody here seems to use CMH) and was happy to find this:
hXXp://www.icmag.com/gallery/data/500/30219P10100151.JPG
Impressive looking plants.
I can hardly wait to try my new bulbs!


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## BBFan (Mar 5, 2010)

That's impressive.  You gonna beat that?


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## leafminer (Mar 5, 2010)

I bet he's using 250's at the least or maybe 400's I dunno. I have to check.
I'm bidding on a 150W ballast too, so if I win that hopefully I will be running 3 x 150 CMH. 
After I build the new flower room this summer I decided I'm going to buy a cheap 400W mag ballast and a 400W CMH lamp for it. I should be able to get a great yield of rock hard nugs with that. So I'll veg to 3 ft using the 3 x 150's and flower under the 400. Of course I still have the greenhouse and outdoor too.


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## PsyJiM (Mar 6, 2010)

Looking good !!! :farm:


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## DonJones (Mar 7, 2010)

leafminer,

Was there any information to go along with the picture?


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## DonJones (Mar 7, 2010)

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 			 			 		 		 		 		leafminer,

Do you have any links for information on CMH lights?  I couldn't find much information besides listings for sale.
And then it was for either low wattage or weird fixtures, usually both.

Are they available in 400 watts or higher?  

Will they work with conventional MH ballasts and mogul fixtures?  

Are they the same light spectrum that a regular MH puts out or are they a different spectrum?

What is the price range for 400 watts bulbs and ballasts?

Thanks. I'm terrible at finding information on the Internet.


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## ishnish (Mar 7, 2010)

http://www.marijuanapassion.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34875

found that from 2008...

can't find much else..


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## leafminer (Mar 7, 2010)

DonJones said:
			
		

> Posts: 1,058
> Thanks: 61
> Thanked 48 Times in 40 Posts
> 
> ...



I've done a lot of research on this now. I even joined another forum  where ppl are using CMH so as to get more info. OK here goes:

1. They are available in 400W - that's the max size right now. 400's use a standard HPS Mag ballast.

2. You use HPS ballast for that size not MH.
BUT I am getting info from suppliers and hydro specialists that "they think" that for the lower sizes like the 150's, you use a standard MH ballast. But nobody seems to really know for sure. I am going to test mine using the 150HPS non-ignitor ballast and if it doesn't work I am buying some MH ballasts for them.

3. No, they don't have a spectrum like MH. They are far superior to an MH lamp. Compare the spectrums in the images below. The sun emits a broadband spectrum, not one made up of a load of different peaks. It's an end to the "veg on MH, flower on HPS" story. Use CMH for every stage of growth. Same as growing outdoors basically except without clouds getting in the way.

4. If you buy them retail they COST. 
However you can find them on EBay etc dirt cheap. I paid $13 each including carriage for my 150W bulbs. You can find the 100W PAR's for as little as $7 apiece - and they have built-in reflectors! Of course you need the ballast, but they are also cheap on EBay etc. if you're patient.

If my CMH bulbs don't work on my existing ballasts I'll just buy 3 more ballasts. In the end I am after super tight internodes and this is just another factor in my method - the other factor is to use insulated pots.


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## ishnish (Mar 7, 2010)

i'll be :watchplant:

hXXp://www.growlightexpress.com/pages/ceramic-metal-halide-pv-c0-2.html

some good info there...

hXXp://www.growlightexpress.com/ceramic-metal-halide-bulbs-9/mastercolor-ceramic-metal-halide-400-watt-horizontal-79.html

$52.50 for the 400w with these guys (just the bulb)


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## ishnish (Mar 8, 2010)

so no one on MP has been using CMH's yet?


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## bombbudpuffa (Mar 8, 2010)

You need a pulse start ballast to run anything under a 250W. I learned the hard way.


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## nouvellechef (Mar 8, 2010)

When 1000 watt hits, I am on it.


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## leafminer (Mar 8, 2010)

Yes Bombud, you're right! I just learned that this morning.
Damn.
Must make sure I get the 150 MHP ballast I am bidding on, and get a couple more on order.


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## ishnish (Mar 8, 2010)

so are the pulse start ballast only for MH??
i read the 400W uses magnetic HPS for sure, but no info on the smaller wattages..


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## leafminer (Mar 8, 2010)

According to a grower on ICMAG the 250's are definitely standard HPS. So you lucky devils with 250 and 400W mag ballasts, can just twist 'n go!


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## OldSkool (Mar 9, 2010)

Just don't try to light up a Ceramic Metal Halide bulb with an electronic ballast. It won't work. Don't even try it! Mag HPS ballasts ONLY (for those who might skim past the important stuff).
I ordered up a CMH 400 watter (Phillips retro white) and a ballast 'kit' to build my own setup.
HTG musta been out of the 'kits' because they sent me the whole shebang with reflector and a 400 HPS bulb. All for $54.00! Yeah, scored didn't I?

Anyway, the growth is phenomenol! Six inches in a week and a half, flowers budding like crazy, resin glands covering even the 9 inch fan leaves 3 sets down below the meristem! Temps in my cab approach 80f when light on, down to approx. 50f when off. Lots of air moving, light 10 to 12 inches from the plant tops. Leaves are all dark green and HUGE! Best $ I ever spent to grow weed without a doubt. The light has less lumens than others but has the spectrum that the plant actually uses rather than the light WE see, which is lumens. It  is also brighter than hell. Will give you a friggin sunburn if you screw around in there with the lights on too long!
I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this bulb to ANYONE with an HPS MAG BALLAST!!!
At approx $50 you can toss your eye-horty's and the other $100+ bulbs into the trash. Just remember, NO ELECTRONIC BALLASTS. MAG ONLY.

I'll get some pics up soon in the grow area forum.
Luck all! Oldskool


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## leafminer (Mar 9, 2010)

Great! This is the news I was hoping for, thanks OldSkool.


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## bombbudpuffa (Mar 9, 2010)

Me too. Gonna grab a 250 and a 400 and see what they do.


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## ishnish (Mar 9, 2010)

dag nabit!
now i gotta get a job...  
student loan ran dry...
Thanks for the input OldSkool!  i'll be watching for that GJ


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## leafminer (Mar 9, 2010)

I just got lucky. Won a new 150W metal halide ballast kit on EBay. 
All of $0.99 plus carriage. I feel guilty buying it for that.
All i need now is one more.
I have the feeling that my HPS ballasts are going to be relegated the "things I don't use any more for grows" as THG puts it.


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