Grow Light Reflectors

If you don’t have a lot to spend but are looking for a great affordable reflector get yourself a Xtrasun Wing Reflector. The Xtrasun Wing is an inexpensive reflector that provides big value. It is a very lightweight reflector that gives really uniform light and good penetration.

The Xtrasun Wing Reflector Is The Best Reflector For The Money

When I started growing this is what I used and I was able to grow some really good crops with it. The Xtrasun Wing Reflector was one of the top rated reflectors in Greners reflector tests blowing away a lot of hoods that cost 5 times as much.

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I have 2 of these Sun System Blockbuster 6 Inch Air Cooled Reflectors in my grow room with 600 watt bulbs and they work great. The glass only gets warm and the tops are cool to the touch.

Sun System Blockbuster 6 Inch Air Cooled Reflectors Put Out

The Blockbuster is square and perfect for a 4 x 4 area. They really put out the light and give great penetration into the canopy.

They are great for keeping the heat down. Sturdy and well made and easy to open too. This is a top performing light hood with an intense square footprint that gives great penetration.
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The Sun System Blockbuster 8 Inch Air Cooled Reflector was designed to be a really efficient grow hood especially for a 4×4 footprint. I run the Blockbuster 6 Reflector but the Blockbuster 8 is a better choice if you are running 3 or more reflectors is a series. They are sturdy and the glass is easy to open and shut. These units run so cool you would never know its on just by touching the top. They give a very intense and focused square pattern with great canopy penetration too.

Sun System Blockbuster 8 Inch Air Cooled Reflector

Scroll down and read customer reviews and find out why the Blockbuster 8 is such a great reflector for growing weed. This really is the best in my opinion and even  outperforms a Magnum or Raptor when it comes to getting light to your plants.
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Who makes the best grow hood? There are a lot of different grow hoods on the market and it can be hard to choose the right one for your grow. Every manufacturer claims theirs is best, but there is very little comparison data to back these claims up. While not exactly an independent comparison (because they sell reflectors) Greners has provided a comparison table of some popular reflectors. To date it is the best guide I have been able to find.

They measured reflector efficiency by measuring how much light a reflector puts out on a 4 x 4 area at 24 inches in height using a 1000W HPS, making this a pretty good comparison to what you would get inside a 4 x 4 grow tent or grow area.

Here Is The Grow Hood Comparison Chart

Reflector	Efficiency	Value	Price	ePerimeter	eInside
Luxor 8″ r2 *	779	3.12	$249.95	272.7	506.3
Luxor 8″ r1	777.2	3.11	$249.95	267.8	509.4
Blockbuster 6″	728.8	4.86	$149.94	305.0	423.8
Radiant 6″	711.3	5.93	$119.95	292.4	418.9
Blockbuster 8″	677.4	4.37	$154.95	287.6	389.8
Raptor 8″ – At 23″	666.2	3.10	$214.95	317.2	349.0
Raptor 8″ – At 24″	657.2	3.06	$214.95	316.1	341.1
Radiant 8″	641.6	5.35	$119.95	263.4	378.2
Magnum XXXL 6″	638.6	3.19	$199.95	303.4	335.2
Raptor 8″ – At 25″	630.3	2.93	$214.95	310.6	319.7
Adjust-A-Wing Medium **	612.4	4.47	$136.95	291.9	320.5
Xtrasun Wing	610.8	16.09	$37.95	224.2	386.6
Arctic Sun 6″	555.6	4.75	$116.95	222.7	332.9
Daystar AC 6″	540.4	5.75	$93.95	256.0	284.4
Xtrasun 6″	535.8	6.23	$85.95	254.8	281.0
Melonhead 8″	533.8	3.96	$134.95	231.5	302.3
Cooltube w/ Reflector Wing 6″	516.4	4.92	$104.95	195.7	320.7
Sunspot 6″	507.2	4.83	$104.95	243.6	263.6
Adjust-A-Wing Large **	489.4	2.58	$189.95	322.0	167.4
Penetrator ***	450.8	3.79	$118.95	218.4	232.4
Parabolic 32″ Vertical White ***	396.8	10.19	$38.95	213.1	183.7
Cooltube w/o Reflector Wing 6″	315.9	3.01	$104.95	144.0	171.9

*r2 = Repeat of test
**Without super spreader
***We don’t carry this item

Reflector efficiency – the total amount of light the reflector puts on a 4’x4′ area using a 1000 watt hps bulb, measured at 25 spots (5×5 grid) with the reflector 24″ above the surface. Reflector value – efficiency divided by price (bigger numbers are better). We did this testing to answer your questions, provide the best grow light packages, provide accurate recommendations, and save you money by cutting through the hype and letting you pay for performance, not marketing. www.greners.com/reflector-test.html

Best Grow Hood? I Think The Blockbuster Is The Best Reflector

So looking at this comparison the Luxor 8 leads the pack but it is also the most expensive. Not a good option for most, especially if headroom is an issue.

The Blockbuster 6 is clearly the best combination of high performance and value. Its output is just a bit below the Luxor but about $100 cheaper. I own two of these and I am really happy with them. I doubt I will ever upgrade to anything else. Penetration and light spread are excellent and even the 6 inch blockbuster runs very cool.

The Radiant 6 proves to be a good value for those who don’t want to spend a lot but also don’t want to compromise performance.

The Xtrasun Wing is the best over all value. If you are on a limited budget this is a great choice. I started with one of these and grew some great crops. They spread the light uniformly and penetration is pretty good too, but they are not air cooled.

I know the Raptor and Magnum hoods are very popular with growers. These are large units and in my opinion they achieve even light spread at the cost of penetration. The same could be said for the popular Adjust-A-Wing, especially the large one.

A lot will also depend on your grow room set up too. Some growers will want to use 2 600 watt bulbs instead of a single 1000 watt bulb. With two hoods your light is much more uniform and the 600 watt size is the most efficient HPS bulb size. Rectangular grow rooms (over 5 feet long) will be much better off using 2 reflectors instead of trying to get by with a single reflector.

I hope this article has helped clear up some of the confusion over what the best grow hood is. The best grow hood is the one that fits your grow room and one you can afford and doesn’t charge you extra for marketing hype.

The Adjust A Wing Avenger comes in medium and large sizes. The medium adjust a wing scored higher in efficiency than the large one possibly because it spreads the light too thin. The light spread is adjustable from 22” x 24” to 22″ x 27″ which is a good size for most grows. Folks that have these wings just love them and the fact you can adjust light intensity to match the stage of your grow.

 

I Love My Adjust A Wing Avenger

I went with the medium Avenger because my grow closet was too narrow for the large one. I t really does a good job of spreading the light out evenly and the penetration is good too.

Some people have said there is an area of low light in the back but I haven’t found this to be true. I have mine spread as wide as it will go.

Don’t waste your money buying the Super Spreader you really don’t need it. It makes no sense limiting light when you are trying to give plants as much as possible.

You can control temperature by just raising the light and having good fans to provide air movement. Actually I think this grow hood runs very cool considering it isn’t air cooled.
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