upgrade from 400w to 600w got ??'s

UnderCoverAgentOrange

Well-Known Member
im going to upgrde from a 400 to a 600 and was just wondering what am i looking at as far as improvement wise? like a 10% increase in the weight? or?? thanks in advance
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
The difference can be as much as 50% but not very likely.

If you figure you are getting an average yield of 0.5g/w - 0.7g/w and your using a 400W lamp you should be harvesting 200g to 280g, now the exact calculations with a 600W would yield 300g to 420g :bigjoint: <-- That's why I grow with 600W and aim for 0.7g/w

The plus being is your popcorn buds will start to become more like nugs, SCRoG with 600W and you will get no popcorn buds and most likely yield close to 0.85g/w which would be ~ 500g (1+ lbs)

regards,
 

UnderCoverAgentOrange

Well-Known Member
very helpful thanks a ton guys and yea im gettin a air cooled hood so less heat actually ') good lookin guys really appreciated

+ plus rep for you both gys good looks
 

whitegato777

Well-Known Member
Is 600w going to make a hugh difference during veg compaired to 400w? Because I thought u use less Watt's during veg then flowing.
 

full of purple

Well-Known Member
get a dimmable ballast veg with 400w mh and flower with 600 hps
for veg 400 watts will cover a 5x5 area for flower a 600w will cover a 4x4 area
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
what if he told you guys he was only doing 2 plants that he lst'd and put to flower when they were about 8" tall. and that they only got about 24" tall in bloom. that they were nice and bushy and about 1.5sq.ft around each. would you still think adding a 600w light would increase yield? i think it depends on what you are trying to grow with it as opposed to what you were growing with it.
 

missnu

Well-Known Member
The difference can be as much as 50% but not very likely.

If you figure you are getting an average yield of 0.5g/w - 0.7g/w and your using a 400W lamp you should be harvesting 200g to 280g, now the exact calculations with a 600W would yield 300g to 420g :bigjoint: <-- That's why I grow with 600W and aim for 0.7g/w

The plus being is your popcorn buds will start to become more like nugs, SCRoG with 600W and you will get no popcorn buds and most likely yield close to 0.85g/w which would be ~ 500g (1+ lbs)

regards,
I am confused on this gpw thing...I mean is that for the whole grow, or per plant? Does it matter how long you veg, because that makes a big difference on the yield...so do you count all the plants flowered at the time with the light, or is the gpw per plant...I get 3 oz per plant if I do 4 plants...and total is 330 something...I use a 400w so if we measure the whole grow I am going awesome...but if it is per plant then I am doing kinda bad...lol
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
I am confused on this gpw thing...I mean is that for the whole grow, or per plant? Does it matter how long you veg, because that makes a big difference on the yield...so do you count all the plants flowered at the time with the light, or is the gpw per plant...I get 3 oz per plant if I do 4 plants...and total is 330 something...I use a 400w so if we measure the whole grow I am going awesome...but if it is per plant then I am doing kinda bad...lol
it's based on how many watts you use to flower your plants. not individual plants. all of your flowering plants. so if you had a 400w bulb and you flowered 4 plants under it an got 400g total then you would be getting 1gpw. kinda tricky to use when you are doing perpetual cycles.
 

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
what if he told you guys he was only doing 2 plants that he lst'd and put to flower when they were about 8" tall. and that they only got about 24" tall in bloom. that they were nice and bushy and about 1.5sq.ft around each. would you still think adding a 600w light would increase yield? i think it depends on what you are trying to grow with it as opposed to what you were growing with it.
That would be one of the variables I was talking about. But yes I would still say a 600 would be better. Better over all lighting for veg so plants won't be as small. In flowering the light would be farther from the plant allowing for better stretch(the good kind) and when buds start forming there would be better light penetration. Stronger lower buds. But it dose truly come do to growers skill. With out that even a 1000 could be beat by cfl in the gpw area.
 

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
I am confused on this gpw thing...I mean is that for the whole grow, or per plant? Does it matter how long you veg, because that makes a big difference on the yield...so do you count all the plants flowered at the time with the light, or is the gpw per plant...I get 3 oz per plant if I do 4 plants...and total is 330 something...I use a 400w so if we measure the whole grow I am going awesome...but if it is per plant then I am doing kinda bad...lol
GPW stands for grams per watt. So in the end you take how many grams you get divide by how many watts your running and there you go. .4 grams per watt is good. .8 is great. 1.0 and above? You wouldn't be on this site. You'd be at cabo sipping a miti.
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
what if he told you guys he was only doing 2 plants that he lst'd and put to flower when they were about 8" tall. and that they only got about 24" tall in bloom. that they were nice and bushy and about 1.5sq.ft around each. would you still think adding a 600w light would increase yield? i think it depends on what you are trying to grow with it as opposed to what you were growing with it.
Does not matter a lick, your simply going to produce a greater yield with the extra wattage. Now yield not meaning just quantity but also quality. :leaf:

I am confused on this gpw thing...I mean is that for the whole grow, or per plant? Does it matter how long you veg, because that makes a big difference on the yield...so do you count all the plants flowered at the time with the light, or is the gpw per plant...I get 3 oz per plant if I do 4 plants...and total is 330 something...I use a 400w so if we measure the whole grow I am going awesome...but if it is per plant then I am doing kinda bad...lol
Scooby beat me to it.
Is 600w going to make a hugh difference during veg compaired to 400w? Because I thought u use less Watt's during veg then flowing.
Absolutely, bigger, stronger plants faster.
GPW stands for grams per watt. So in the end you take how many grams you get divide by how many watts your running and there you go. .4 grams per watt is good. .8 is great. 1.0 and above? You wouldn't be on this site. You'd be at cabo sipping a miti.
Actually using SoG and SCRoG methods properly can change your mind on the holy 1.0gpw. 2 or 3 plant SCRoG under 400W can easily give you 1.5+ lbs of flowers with as little as 5 weeks veg and 9 weeks flower, and for SoG to rival those numbers you would have to have an incredible amount of plants; which in turn comes with it's own unique set of problems. :wall: like the feds. :finger:

regards,
 

keepitcoastal

Well-Known Member
answers in the math,, the 600 watt is more efficient lumens per watt.

400 watts initial lumens is 50,000
600 watts initial lumens is 89,000
almost doubled in lumens with only 200 watts increase proof is in the pudding
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
answers in the math,, the 600 watt is more efficient lumens per watt.

400 watts initial lumens is 50,000
600 watts initial lumens is 89,000
almost doubled in lumens with only 200 watts increase proof is in the pudding
I like math, and while were at it here are some handy formulas a grower may need.

lightsearch


  • [SIZE=-1]Demand for Power (kW)[/SIZE][SIZE=-1] = System Input Wattage (W) ÷ 1,000[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Energy Consumption (kWh) = System Input Wattage (kW) x Hours of Operation/Year[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Hours of Operation/Year = Operating Hours/Day x Operating Days/Week x Operating Weeks/Year[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Lighting System Efficacy (Lumens per Watt or LPW) = System Lumen Output ÷ Input Wattage[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Footcandles (fc) = Total Lumens (lm) ÷ Area in Square Feet
    [/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]1 Lux (lx) = 1 Footcandle (fc) x 10.76[/SIZE]
  • [SIZE=-1]Lux = Total Lumens ÷ Area in Square Meters[/SIZE]

regards,
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
wow...this thread got interesting. great info.

i still think it depends on the setup ru4r34l. like you mentioned a scrog. if you did a single plant 2x2 scrog or even a 2x2 flood table with an sog, i just don't think you will see any difference between a 400w and 600w light. being that you don't need the extra footprint or the penetration from the higher wattage. you have an even canopy with very little need for light penetration or larger footprint. in reality you'll just be spending more money on electricity and cooling/ventilation/lighting equipment. the rated footcandles and PAR value on your canopy will not be any better. you are trying to get your plants in the sweetspot (5,000-10,000fc) and a 400w could easily do that in that space. just my opinion though. any thoughts?
 

ru4r34l

Well-Known Member
wow...this thread got interesting. great info.

i still think it depends on the setup ru4r34l. like you mentioned a scrog. if you did a single plant 2x2 scrog or even a 2x2 flood table with an sog, i just don't think you will see any difference between a 400w and 600w light. being that you don't need the extra footprint or the penetration from the higher wattage. you have an even canopy with very little need for light penetration or larger footprint. in reality you'll just be spending more money on electricity and cooling/ventilation/lighting equipment. the rated footcandles and PAR value on your canopy will not be any better. you are trying to get your plants in the sweetspot (5,000-10,000fc) and a 400w could easily do that in that space. just my opinion though. any thoughts?
Your hypothesis would seem to be correct, I was using a 400W for my 3x3 tent and 600W for 4x4 tent and was producing quite well, I then upgraded to 600W for the 3x3 and 1000W for 4x4 and with the same genetics and growing method and have almost doubled my yield although my grow area would dictate that the lower wattage lamp was fully covering the area.

regards,
 

Warlock1369

Well-Known Member
Actually using SoG and SCRoG methods properly can change your mind on the holy 1.0gpw. 2 or 3 plant SCRoG under 400W can easily give you 1.5+ lbs of flowers with as little as 5 weeks veg and 9 weeks flower, and for SoG to rival those numbers you would have to have an incredible amount of plants; which in turn comes with it's own unique set of problems. :wall: like the feds. :finger:

regards,
That's for sure. I know there are many ways to maxamize yeild with minimal light. Was pretty much going for basic growing.
 

ScoobyDoobyDoo

Well-Known Member
i guess it just all depends. but in theory then it should work both ways. when i had to switch out gear and stuff a while back i ended up having only 9 plants in my flower room (perpetual leftovers :-P). so instead of cutting down to 2 lights i flowered all 9 plants under 4 1000w lights. i guess my intention at the time was to see if the yield increased. i didn't do anything different to the plants. just gave them more light. i didn't get any increases in yield though. guess it depends on application somewhat.
 

UnderCoverAgentOrange

Well-Known Member
all the info is highly appreciated fellahs, and perpetual is the way i am going atm still a newbie gonna move onto a scrog eventually though but for now heat is the main issue..once again thanks for the thoughts and info all and im glad this thread got so interesting
 
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