Think your Bulb Doesn't matter? Hortilux comparison blowout ! Pictures say it ALL!

Damn good comparison bro. +rep for sure. Here's a sight I found that has the cheapest price I've seen. 67 bucks and around 10 for shipping. Definitely ordering 1 SOON. Thanks again http://www.growlightsupply.com/hps-lamps-400-watt-hps-lamp-c-6_44_60_72.html

damn +rep people need to do more experiments like this. We might get somewhere. maybe compare the other good bulbs with each other(digilux, sunpulse, etc.)? i'm scared to use hortilux because i have heard they blow out in digital ballasts and i love those digital ballasts.

Does anyone kno what wattage bulb this was done with? I remember seeing somethin about ordering 1k bulbs but nothing definitive that I remember. Sorry is I just missed

I think it's great that people do comparisons. Props for conducting some experimentation. Much better than simply speculating what's better or worse. But while better than nothing, this sort of testing and conclusions isn't definitive at all. Obviously full scale comparative testing would require the control of a lot more variables. And testing of a lot more than two bulb brands. I certainly don't totally discount the results presented here, but let's face it, the results could have been influenced by other factors.

At best we could conclude that the Ultra Sun didn't work as well as the Hort bulb. I could tentatively agree with that. Could be a bad lot of Ultra Suns, could be the sum of a lot of things. Those are untold variables. So again, at best this would tell us to avoid the Ultra Sun. That in no way, shape or form directs us to conclude that people should buy Hort bulbs now. I'm surprised that was the message that people came away with. "I'm gonna buy nothing but Hortilux now.." What about Ushio, Phillips, Sunmaster, SolarMax or even a "value" bulb? How do we know that some of these other, potentially significantly cheaper bulbs don't actually kick the Hort's ass? WE DON'T.

After looking at this comparison I'm left with the idea that I would maybe avoid the Ultra Sun, but I am not at all left with the idea that I should buy Hort bulbs. The thread quickly concluded that this was proof that we all should overlook essentially all other bulbs than Hort, which is ridiculous. This informal comparison may tell us that Hort is better than Ultra Sun, but it does not tell us that Hort is better than everything out there.

Having some loose data to compare is great, but we can't logically make such sweeping generalizations.

I just wanted to post up in here to let everyone read know, as of now, the best bulb upgrade is going to be a ceramic metal halide

sixteenounces said:

I just wanted to post up in here to let everyone read know, as of now, the best bulb upgrade is going to be a ceramic metal halide

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Only if you like growing with 400w......

I missed this thread, cool comparison. I think it's well known now that Hortilux bulbs don't fare well with digital ballasts. Maybe someone should do a Digilux vs USHIO now!!

Stump, you feel the CMH isn't the way to go for a 1000W setup? I appreciate your quick thought, and don't want to hijack this cool thread.

Rrog said:

Stump, you feel the CMH isn't the way to go for a 1000W setup? I appreciate your quick thought, and don't want to hijack this cool thread.

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CMH bulbs only go up to 400w...

Thank you for the clarification

If they made a 600w CMH I would definitely make the switch. I currently run a 600w HPS but I have contemplated switching to 2 400w CMH..

I might also run a 400w CMH as supplemental lighting to my HPS.. CMH bulbs have the best spectrum including UVB which increases potency..

Anyways, enough hijacking this thread.

The bulb certainly does matter.

For 400 Watt magnetic, CMH looks pretty with its white light, but it sucks big time for flowering. A cheap GE creates massive results. Never tried a Hortilux in 400 W size.

For 600 Watt Digital (Lumatek), the Hortilux loses light output too fast (as measured by a meter). Bulbs need changing in 6 months. Heard rumors they have fixed this, but don't need to waste the money to test.
The Sun Pulse, like the CMH, looks pretty but don't waste your time, yields and quality suffer.
The Digilux and Plantmax produce good results with decent life.

So far, the differences in bulbs have been dramatic. No need for extensive testing. If you wanted to test Digilux/Plantmax/Ushio/Lumatek, that would take some doing. Someone please go for it.

In summary, you don't need the blue light or wide spectrum in flower. You also don't need the most expensive bulb. You should get a light meter so you can tell when to replace your bulbs.
Build a bracket/sling for your light meter that attaches to your fixture so that you can locate it in the same place every time for every reading.

ghbond said:

In summary, you don't need the blue light or wide spectrum in flower. You also don't need the most expensive bulb.

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There ya go

stumpjumper said:

Only if you like growing with 400w......

I missed this thread, cool comparison. I think it's well known now that Hortilux bulbs don't fare well with digital ballasts. Maybe someone should do a Digilux vs USHIO now!!

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i've noticed a lot of people say this also, but just an fyi i've been running the same eye hortilux super hps (400w) for nearly 2 years in my lumatek digital ballast with zero complications. someone a few posts back made mention of the GE bulbs and the claim of a higher initial lumen output than the hortilux. i'd like to try the ge bulbs because they are about a third of the price but i don't think "initial lumen output" claims are the end-all of bulbs. i've seen side by sides with ge floros vs other brands and the ge wins every time. i'd like to give their hid stuff a whirl.

ghbond said:

The bulb certainly does matter.

For 400 Watt magnetic, CMH looks pretty with its white light, but it sucks big time for flowering. A cheap GE creates massive results. Never tried a Hortilux in 400 W size.

For 600 Watt Digital (Lumatek), the Hortilux loses light output too fast (as measured by a meter). Bulbs need changing in 6 months. Heard rumors they have fixed this, but don't need to waste the money to test.
The Sun Pulse, like the CMH, looks pretty but don't waste your time, yields and quality suffer.
The Digilux and Plantmax produce good results with decent life.

So far, the differences in bulbs have been dramatic. No need for extensive testing. If you wanted to test Digilux/Plantmax/Ushio/Lumatek, that would take some doing. Someone please go for it.

In summary, you don't need the blue light or wide spectrum in flower. You also don't need the most expensive bulb. You should get a light meter so you can tell when to replace your bulbs.
Build a bracket/sling for your light meter that attaches to your fixture so that you can locate it in the same place every time for every reading.

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bullshit as it produces MORE red and far red than does hps with the added beneficial blue that hps does not have at all...and from having grown with both it goes like this

cmh+hps=best
cmh only=better
hps+mh+good
hps only adequate...just sayin

carokann said:

how can u compare a brand new bulb to a two year old bulb. everybody knows bulbs lose there juice after 6 monthes. u should have thought about this before u tryed to compare two brands.

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Did you even read his post? The hortilux is old the other brand is new!

carokann said:

how can u compare a brand new bulb to a two year old bulb. everybody knows bulbs lose there juice after 6 monthes. u should have thought about this before u tryed to compare two brands.

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The 2 yr old bulbs beat the new 1s

This is a dumb f-ing thread. Yes Eye's are good but they are not the best and they are over-priced.

Please quit bringing dead threads back to life. I know I just did but you get my point, the OP posted this 2 1/2 years ago. Come on people.

Rancho Cucamonga said:

This is a dumb f-ing thread. Yes Eye's are good but they are not the best and they are over-priced.

Please quit bringing dead threads back to life. I know I just did but you get my point, the OP posted this 2 1/2 years ago. Come on people.

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yeah that^^^^ everybody knows ultra sun bulbs blow eyes are good but damn pricey huh.i like my ushios and digilux,both seem to grow just as nice plants and are quite a bit cheaper then eyes..02

Hortilux Bulbs have come down a LOT in price--I just got a 1000w HPS shipped to my door for~$70.00. By the way, I've been using 1000w Digilux HPS for quite some time in a Solis Tek ballast. I have to say, it been a flawless combo--great results. I've been wanting to try some other bulbs, so I decided to try a Hortilux next. After that Ushio and Solis Tek bulbs.

That reminds me: has anyone had a chance to try the new Solis Tek bulbs? Their ballasts are excellent, I'm hoping the same quality goes into their bulbs.

Also, does anyone have any input on how the new e-ballast compatible Hortilux bulbs have been doing on digital ballasts? Has this solved the problem of premature bulb burnout and lumen depreciation?

Bud