400W MH bulbs cheap vs pricey - what's the difference?

I found a 400W H33/ M59 ballast kit for very cheap at my local surplus store. I shopped for 400W grow bulbs and found prices from $20 - $100 !!

This will not be my primary light. I thought it would be nice to supplement my 600W HPS in the flowering cab with a 400W MH

Would someone give me some idea of what I would be paying for if I bought a mid range or high end bulb?

Thanks

All boils down to ANIS codes man, which lights provide what spectrum of light and how much. Trust me bulbs made for growing compared to the 20 dollars ones at Lowes or Home Depot make all the difference. I think the bulb isn't something to save money on.

$20 Home Depot 400 HPS bulbs yielded me 4-5 lbs a year for five years when I was using them. If you can't afford anything else, they are a great alternative.

machnak said:

All boils down to ANIS codes man, which lights provide what spectrum of light and how much. Trust me bulbs made for growing compared to the 20 dollars ones at Lowes or Home Depot make all the difference. I think the bulb isn't something to save money on.

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No I wasn't thinking of using a 4000K MH from Lowes. I am talking about a 6500K MH grow bulb. The prices range as I say.

I would expect there to be differences in the efficiencies, the spectra and the longevities of the different bulbs. But if I am paying an extra $40 for 20% more output watts or for good performance in the red end of the spectrum (for which I have an HPS) it wouldn't be worth it.

I am quite willing to spend $100 on a bulb but I want to have some idea of what I get for that price.

$20 Home Depot 400 HPS bulbs yielded me 4-5 lbs a year for five years when I was using them. If you can't afford anything else, they are a great alternative

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The HD lamps are 4000K. I didn't know they worked that well. How would you compare them against a 6500K bulb?


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Since that is a magnetic ballast, you may want to check out a CMH bulb for it.

Yes, they now have them that will run off a magnetic MH ballast.

www.advancedtechlighting.com

Do some reading, there's tons of info on that site.

Wet

diff is quality and life. loss of coliurs over time. lots to it
the ceramic deals are weeker outputs but apear brighter because of the colour used. but less output so less growth. need pentration besides a white colour. and hwiet does nothing for us.

I'm currently using this one, think I got it for around $12.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00076IMU2

So what do you guys consider a decent quality bulb? Remember this will run together with a 600W HPS so I don't need full or extended spectrum.

I think I will start with something like Shadeslay uses and once I get it set up, I might upgrade and keep the first one as a backup.

Shadeslay said:

I'm currently using this one, think I got it for around $12.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00076IMU2

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And I take it you are satisfied with it?

Added later, I see that's an HPS. I need MH. I have noticed that the MH grow lamps seem to be spendier than HPS lamps.

I really have nothing to compare it with yet, but for $12 I'm certain I've got more then got my moneys worth from that bulb. I do eventually want to try some of these other bulbs, but I'm skeptical they will be worth the extra cash for what I need.

Edit: my bad, missed the part about MH. The only one I've used was the cheap one that came with my kit. It faired slightly better then just using this HPS in the stretching department.

I think I am going to go with the Plantmax 7200k. Since I have the red well covered by the HPS , the MH should do the blue.

The PlantMax bulb has an augmented red spectrum which I don't need but I can't find another 400W 7200K MH bulb.

Thanks everyone for your input.

zvuv said:

IWould someone give me some idea of what I would be paying for if I bought a mid range or high end bulb

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the high end ones (should) have a 6500 K output spectrum, compared to a 4000 K of a standard bulb.

Check out the Ushio Opti Blue Conversion 400w MH....I looked at a bunch of different bulbs when choosing mine, the Ushio seems to put out the must lumens per watt over the other brands, as well as has a much higher blue concentration than most other MH i looked at...

im running 3 of the ushio 600 now in my room for a test over past year...so far seem fine. no major loss in colours. it did right away but then stopped or slowed within a month. blue colour dies off fast. i liked it also for colour spec and better lumen outputs than any mh for my vegging/. good german quality

4000K & 5000K MH bulbs are out of the question. This is not about a shoe string budget. I just want to spend my money wisely. I might get what I paid for, but do I need all of it?

I am considering either a 6500K or a 7200K. I think the standard 6500K is chosen because it provides more energy at the red end and when growing under a MH as the sole light source, one needs that. But using a MH in tandem with an HPS, it seems to me that the hotter bulb would be a better choice since more of its energy is in the blue and the red end is well covered by the HPS. This would be a sort of dual spectrum setup.

zvuv said:

I think the standard 6500K is chosen because it provides more energy at the red end and when growing under a MH as the sole light source, one needs that. But using a MH in tandem with an HPS, it seems to me that the hotter bulb would be a better choice since more of its energy is in the blue and the red end is well covered by the HPS. This would be a sort of dual spectrum setup.

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yup, wthat's the way to go, I'd go heavier on the 6500 K like a 600 watt and 400 HPS, in that ratio.

yup, wthat's the way to go, I'd go heavier on the 6500 K like a 600 watt and 400 HPS, in that ratio.

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Hmm... I actually have a 600W 7200k MH bulb. I could buy an ignitor for the 400W ballast and run an HPS bulb.

Hmmm... have to think about that.

Thanks

you'd want to be able to make it possible that you could give all the plants the same mix either by putting them on a rotateable platform or a rotating light mover (yeah they make em, saw one once on Craigslist)
I believe the 7200 K are better for finishing off a flowering but I have no information to substantiate that.

frmrboi said:

you'd want to be able to make it possible that you could give all the plants the same mix either by putting them on a rotateable platform or a rotating light mover (yeah they make em, saw one once on Craigslist)
I believe the 7200 K are better for finishing off a flowering but I have no information to substantiate that.

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I was thinking about that. I plan to switch my light setup to vertical, hanging low with a curtain of plants around it. I just got a cool tube that is long enough for two bulbs. That ought to distribute the light evenly among the plants, althought the tops and bottoms of the plants will get different spectra. I cant reverse the lights without taking a lot of stuff apart but I could raise and lower the whole assembly.