I reached out to the folks at Solarstorm and they are allowing me to be a part of the grower's feedback program. I have one reserved that will be shipped to me shortly. I am a few weeks away from starting since I am in currently in a grow cycle, but I thought I would start a thread now to gain feedback and suggestions. Needs of course precipitates action, so let me lay out the groundwork of what I am intending to solve.

I have about 4 years experience growing and have grown extensively in aero, hydro, soil, coco, I have grown in commercial vertical systems and have designed my own, you name it. I have consulted on very large commercial operations and small personal ones. About the only grow I haven't done is an outdoor grow . My strain of choice is Ken's GDP (the preserved original clone-only cut. The actual one that earned its legendary status and not the seeds that Ken Estes is passing off as something handed down to him from Natives). I shall be growing inland and the area is typically very hot during the summer. This is so much of a problem that operation is essentially shut down during the summer; this is the problem I am hoping to solve by growing with the Solarstorm. Ultimately, the answer that I am looking for will be "Am I going to return the Solarstorm 800w, or will I keep it?"

This will be my first ever foray into using LED's, so I am sure I will have bumps along the way. Even with experience there are always issues to solve and the only remedy for them is action; staying on top of things before they become issues. I have yet to decide upon all the factors of this grow, but here is what I know for sure:

Genetics: Ken's Grand Daddy Purple
Number of sites: 36
Grow Area: 4x8 grow table within a larger grow room
Light Source: 1/2 Solarstorm 800w; 1/2 600 or 1000 watt HPS (they will be grown side by side)

I will update this thread at least once a week, likely more. Welp, that is it for now. Feedback and ideas will be considered and appreciated!

Welcome to the forums!

You'll find that the SS puts out some heat but maybe not as much as a non-cooled 1000W HID. You may want to add a portable AC unit or something to help tame the heat issues.

You mentioned some of the growing methods/styles that you've used before but you didn't say what you're going to use with your SS vs HID test? E&F? Based on the number of sites, you plan to SOG. Do you use CO2, too? What kind of nutrients do you like? How much do your normally yield per watt with that strain?


SME

Undecided on most of these things, especially nutes since I am using an alternate brand from my norm with my current cycle as a result of some economics dealing with timing and sourcing supplies. But soil will likely be the growing medium; I want to limit the variables to be sure that the Solarstorms performs well based upon its own merits rather than the method. I use C02 from a generator when feasible. And of course, no large scale indoor grow can happen without AC.

I'll keep the grams per watt numbers guarded as to not influence everyone elses' expectations. I think that is smart.