Hi-PAR S-One 315w CMH

[nesil]

Hi, I am wanting to pull the trigger and buy this lighting system however I haven't been able to find many solid reviews on it. If anyone in the community owns one of these, could you please share your thoughts.

[merl1n]

Hey Nesil,

It's been a while since I've looked at CMH, but the prices have dropped heaps since I last looked.

The light spectrum of CMH is impressive when compared to MH or HPS although I've never been a fan of some of the growth comparisons advertised because growth isn't just about light.

Personally I have an issue with anything listed as 'All-in-one', 'cos if one part dies, the whole thing dies. Having a separate ballast can benefit here.

I've got some older ballasts and I certainly wouldn't want to be suspending them above my plant. Early on I had my lighting rig collapse, if the ballasts had been up there too, ohh the damage would have been ugly. But I'd suspect those are all electronic/digital ballasts now so fairly light componentry now.

 

They are decent brand and there's a few 'reviews' I found which basically spew out the salesman line, but when you get past that sales crap. There are some decent reviews.

 

Merl1n

[nesil]

Thanks for your reply merl1n. Many years ago I had a 400w HPS ballast/hood all in one and it seemed to be ok, never had any issues. I am keen to upgrade from HPS to CMH or Led to reduce heat/power bill and also get a better light spectrum. These Hi-Par products caught my attention a year or so ago but I couldn't justify upgrading at the time. I like the idea of having an all in one light system as I am wanting to try out the Blumat watering system with easy as organics growing medium this time around. With the blumats I will be having an external reservoir from the tent being gravity fed so I just wanted to minimize external components hence the all in one lighting system. Last night I came across this deal from Hyalite https://hyalite.com.au/products/hortitek-forester-315w-cmh-all-in-one I have never used a Hortitek product any thoughts on these?

Edited April 22, 2021 by nesil

[itchybromusic]

can't comment on the hi par cmh , in the past they seemed to be coming out of china under different brand names , all the lights looked exactly the same 

 

good luck with the blumats they are fantastic although they take a bit of dialing in , i would suggest getting the digital water meter as well & set the system based on the numbers 

you get on the meter , 100 to 120 MBars in veg , 120 to 150 MBars in flower ( meter reading , lower the number higher the moisture level ) 

 

my thoughts on blumat set up , sorry if i'm telling you stuff you already know

when you transplant a seedling into it's final pot & water it in , push in the digital meter , over the coming days keep checking the meter , once it reads over 100 MBars , setup the 

blumat carrots , leave them in the pot turned off for a couple hours to acclimate the carrots to the soil , then dial the carrots in 

once you get well into flower , say about halfway through , you can dial the carrots back by very small increments over time , watch your meter & look to get the meter reading over 120 MBars

do this slowly  

 

blumats don't like air , air in the lines or air around the carrots , buy a blumat tap or valve https://www.eurolux-australia.com.au/blumat-drip-system-shut-off-valve & add that to the end of the line

once the system is setup , b4 dialing the carrots in turn the tap on to run water through the system to remove any air in the lines , do the same if your reservoir ever runs dry , once refilled turn the

tap on to again remove any air 

 

not as much of a prob but can be a prob is scoria ( aeration ) in the soil mix , stones around the carrots can create an air pocket causing the carrot to dry out a little quicker & water more frequently 

only way to check that is to keep an eye on the carrots & watch for over watering , to fix this get some of the same soil , remove any aeration from the mix then remove the carrot from the soil , fill the 

hole left by the carrot with the soil without aeration & push the carrot back into it's soil filled hole , this should solve the problem but again it's not a major problem to begin with , it's just something

to keep an eye on 

 

hope that makes sense & sorry i can't help with the CMH choice 

good luck with the great EAO soil mix & the use of blumats , both together should give you great results  

Edited April 23, 2021 by itchybromusic

[pug1010]

hi nesil

 

this thread might help a bit with your choice ... carbcon gives a good summary of cmh systems:

https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/82380-looking-for-a-315w-cmh-ballast/

 

____

thanks itchy ... that helps with my blumat setup mate.

 

i've been playing with the trophs for a few months now and still haven't found the sweet spot.

Edited April 23, 2021 by pug1010

[itchybromusic]

my first go with them wasn't so great but using the digital meter has definitely helped pug 

 

i was getting over watering to begin with & kept dialing the carrots back which ultimately 

completely dried out some of the carrots , results then were under watering plants causing yellowing 

the meter will put you in the right range imho 

[pug1010]

thx itchy

 

i've also found it challenging getting a nice moisture level where the hay meets the soil

[itchybromusic]

yeah i understand that 

 

so far i think you might have to let the top soil go a little drier than we'd like which has a few flow on effects 

but i think we can live with that considering a couple of centimetres below the top is consistently moist letting the 

soil dwellers thrive , imo if they are thriving nutrients & plant protection are less of an issue 

 

in saying that the more we use the blumats the more we know & might think a little differently with more experience   

[pug1010]

i hear you itchy.

 

i'm also trying my hand at moving away from inputs that require surface hand watering .... not sure how it will work out, but would love to avoid the hassle of grinding malted barley and mixing neem or fulvic acid with potassium silicate

[nesil]

Itchy Thankyou for all those suggestions, especially about the air pockets around the carrots, that one I haven't heard about but is a great tip.