DIY HID's being repurposed

[itsmydogs]

Hello, Totally new to this and looking for advice before I try to find a home for these.
I have a ton of old 12V 35 watt HID kits from cars. Which color (3K,5K,6K,8K) would be best suited at which stage of growing? I am repurposing some old commercial light fixtures I got for free and using an old laptop 12V power supply ($30 amazon power source can power 5-6 of these). It works great but I am wondering which color to use at which stage or if I should just use these as shop lights instead?
Thanks in advance,
PS I know LED lights are amazing (and $$!!) but I'm Covid poor and have this junk laying around

 

[Wico]

3k will be the only real usable one and can be used from seedling to harvest. 5k will be ok for vegging but not for flower. An ATX psu can be great for that too, just hook up the standby to get it work. You will need around 13 of those lamps per m² (3000 lumen each, 40k/m² in total).

 

[Hypathetical Gardener]

Hello, Totally new to this and looking for advice before I try to find a home for these.
I have a ton of old 12V 35 watt HID kits from cars. Which color (3K,5K,6K,8K) would be best suited at which stage of growing? I am repurposing some old commercial light fixtures I got for free and using an old laptop 12V power supply ($30 amazon power source can power 5-6 of these). It works great but I am wondering which color to use at which stage or if I should just use these as shop lights instead?
Thanks in advance,
PS I know LED lights are amazing (and $$!!) but I'm Covid poor and have this junk laying around

If possible i would mix spectrum at a ratio 5-3k : 4-5k
9 of these should cover a 4x4 with a lil over 300 watts pretty easily. Especially evenly spaced.

3k 5k 3k
5k 3k 5k
3k 5k 3k

 

[itsmydogs]

Oh wow, they put out that little light? Hard to believe since they're blinding. I was just thinking of using these just to add a bit more auxiliary lighting to augment a major light source. So maybe better off using a cpl small mercury vapor light instead? Only have room for 2-2.5m². I have a cpl 175 watt merc units kicking around from a garage sale buy. I read before that HID were good for veg and Merc vapor were better for flowering. Theres just too much out there to filter thru. I can get 3 bulbs per housing safely. And I have 6 more housings. Would need a decent power supply tho. I have tons of HID bulbs and ballasts kicking in all color ranges.

 

[Hypathetical Gardener]

Oh wow, they put out that little light? Hard to believe since they're blinding. I was just thinking of using these just to add a bit more auxiliary lighting to augment a major light source. So maybe better off using a cpl small mercury vapor light instead? Only have room for 2-2.5m². I have a cpl 175 watt merc units kicking around from a garage sale buy. I read before that HID were good for veg and Merc vapor were better for flowering. Theres just too much out there to filter thru. I can get 3 bulbs per housing safely. And I have 6 more housings. Would need a decent power supply tho. I have tons of HID bulbs and ballasts kicking in all color ranges.

You could prolly get away with 5 or 6 in a m2 tent. Thatd put you in the 175-210w range. And the coverage / spectrum options abound.
3k. 3k
5k.
3k. 3k
Ive never used a merc unit so i cant speak on it.
But watt is watt. I run 315w in a 4x4 and 240w (2 120 leds) in a m2.

 

[karlkutta]

If you are willing to experiment, just give it a try. People are able to veg plants under small low wattage bulbs. Just be careful how you hook it up , don't risk fire.

 

[itsmydogs]

well its easy to run 6-9 HID's bulbs total in 3 hanging units I just need the cheap power supply off amazon. I also have a setup with 4 fluorescents to use so that should be ample to try and run a low dollar tent. I know it wont achieve the insane results others get with the giant LED's but I'm not trying to be the master grower. More just a hobby with benefits for now. But what your saying is only use the 3K and 5K bulbs and just toss my 6K and 8K ones aside? Or can they be used in some certain stage? I see 5K for veg, and 3K seems good all the time. Does everyone agree thats how it should go? I can easily swap colors at stages in minutes so if ones way better for something it's easy to do. Thanks

 

[Hypathetical Gardener]

well its easy to run 6-9 HID's bulbs total in 3 hanging units I just need the cheap power supply off amazon. I also have a setup with 4 fluorescents to use so that should be ample to try and run a low dollar tent. I know it wont achieve the insane results others get with the giant LED's but I'm not trying to be the master grower. More just a hobby with benefits for now. But what your saying is only use the 3K and 5K bulbs and just toss my 6K and 8K ones aside? Or can they be used in some certain stage? I see 5K for veg, and 3K seems good all the time. Does everyone agree thats how it should go? I can easily swap colors at stages in minutes so if ones way better for something it's easy to do. Thanks

In that case, throw a 6 or 8k in the mix for the last week or 2. Call it a "finishing bulb" it cakes on the frost.

 

[itsmydogs]

I like it! Thank you for the tip. Would I just add the 8K on top of stack or should I swap it out for the 3K's and remove that yellow alltogether?

 

[Hypathetical Gardener]

I like it! Thank you for the tip. Would I just add the 8K on top of stack or should I swap it out for the 3K's and remove that yellow alltogether?

Id just swap out 1 bulb. Ya still want em building and 6 or 8k is just a supplement.