Lightrail , what do you think?

[englishgrower]

Hi guys

recently i invested in a light mover/ rail, 6ft long, to save on having a 600 and 400 light , as reviews said you could just use one light, they get better light, avoids hotspots etc, i am not so sure, the plants seem to be growing well, but its simple things , like, it takes a couple of mins, for it to go one end of the tent to the other, so its almost semi darkness till the light passes back over them.
secondly, i had to bend a top head, as it was stretching, normally it would perk up over night, but it took a couple of days to bend back up towards the light.

would just be interested to know if anyone else uses them , or what general opinions are, I am tempted to just sell it on, and use 2 lights again.

any opinions or advice is appreciated!

cheers

 

[The Weed]

Check out PitViper and Hogdady's grow Journals.
Both Using Movers.

The VipersNest Continuous

Welcome to da Shack!

Awesome!

 

[PitViper]

movers are great. what size area are you covering? what rpm are the movers? I like 4 rpm..slower
but Im using 7 ft rails and 2 1k lamps and they alternate back and forth..there is never a "dark" area.
im in a 10x10 area

 

[englishgrower]

its a 6ft rail, covering a 5foot by 2 foot tent with 7 plants in, not sure on the rpm, its not stupidly slow, and the plants are very healthy and doing well. i just have one 600w light on it at present

 

[Hogdady]

without the mover, you have 60 watts per ft³. with the mover (%125), you have 75 watts per ft³. 50 watts per ft³ is considered very good. you should have more than enough light.

 

[englishgrower]

excellent , thanks for the help and advice guys!

 

[Bigbud13]

Viper I want to do about a 10' by 10' area what kind of mover do you use. I was thinking of getting a multiple lamp mover. Good idea or not. Any info would b helpful

 

[PitViper]

Viper I want to do about a 10' by 10' area what kind of mover do you use. I was thinking of getting a multiple lamp mover. Good idea or not. Any info would b helpful

I would go with 4 1K HID's.....2 rails....7 ft each they will only need to move a few feet either way....get some big blowers

 

[Bigbud13]

Thanx. What do you think about the single rail with supports for multiple lights. I think they are called light rail 5

 

[Hogdady]

Thanx. What do you think about the single rail with supports for multiple lights. I think they are called light rail 5

Here's a 5.0 Lightrail that I added two arms to hang 4-1k's from. Way below maximum weight rating....

 

[PitViper]

here's a 5.0 lightrail that i added two arms to hang 4-1k's from. Way below maximum weight rating....

uber pimp +10

 

[jgy2001]

do you use timer? if yes, what is your on / off time cycle duration? do you turn off the AC for each rail? what wattage is your timer? different cycle period for veg and flower stage? thanks.

 

[BigManRestles]

I've been using a light rail on and off (depending on the number of plants) for over 12 years, and have not had many issues with it. The area I light is roughly 4' wide x 8' long. I originally used it with a 600w Son Agro HPS, which I eventually upgraded to 1000w. I can understand your ambivalence about the the areas not under the light while it is moving, I had the same concerns. My mentor at the time, who worked at the hydro store, explained to me as it's similar to a partly cloudy day in so much as the plant doesn't get direct sunlight for only several minutes and the plants wouldn't know the difference. Apparently this is the case, since I've had pretty good success using it. My only concern was the plants at the ends of the run, since they wouldn't get the pass each way that the plants in the middle get. This was solved with an in-line on-delay timer (made by the same company), which causes the mover to pause at each end for a moment before starting back in the opposite direction. I think newer light movers have this bult in.

A big advantage with a light mover is that you can keep the light alot closer to the plant. I currently upgraded my reflector in the flowering room to a Large Adjust-A-Wing (AAW) with a 600w Hortilux HPS, and have the light well under a foot above the tops, with no signs of being too close. Key thing here is to make sure you have good air movement across the plants to dissapate heat. One of the things I really like about the AAW, is that it is set up to use a single 600 or 1000 watt bulb, or dual 600 or 400 watt bulbs under the same hood with the addition of another socket, and of course another ballast. Since I have an extra 600w HPS ballast lying around, I decided to go with dual 600's instead of a single 1000w. The additional socket is on order at my local hydro store, and I plan on using 2 new Hortilux bulbs after I install it. This allows for a huge boost in lumens (the 600w HPS has the best lumen/watt ratio for HID lights) over the single 1000w, with only 200 watts of additional power used. If starting from scratch, this would mean a larger initial investment, but one I think would pay off in the long run.

 

[Bigbud13]

Thanx for the pic bro. Do you use the stabilizer arms with that?