Alphalite Plasma Grow Light Review
AKA: Alphalite Nite Grower Plasma Light (NIT400)
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Solid State Design
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Aluminum Housing/Reflector
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235 Watt Power Output
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3000K Color Temperature
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Operating Temp: 45 C/113 F
As a grower, looking for grow lighting can be a daunting experience. It’s hard enough finding the right grow light for sale to fit your grow, but with the HPS, plasma, and LED technology (More here www.plantsily.com/grow-lights/best-led-lamps-for-cannabis) evolving practically every six months, it can be hard to keep track of which products you should buy, not to mention which products you should avoid. Strangely enough, most of what the product can do relies on your ability to use it, and the Alphalite Nite Grower, like most other LEP models, is not for beginners.
…is not for beginners
Design
The Alphalite Nite Grower weighs about 10 lbs, which is relatively light compared to other plasma lamps we’ve tried. The Nite Grower is also very compact, which is ideal for low ceilings in indoor grows and small box grows. It also utilizes the same emitters that other popular brands use.
One major concern for us was the housing. Growing cannabis can be a rough business, and when you’re shopping for the best plasma light on the market, you’ll want to make sure you get something that can last. Despite the solid state design, it was pretty apparent that this thing could fall apart somewhat easily. In fact, we had to check all the nuts and screws, which by the way weren’t flush with the fixture, to make sure that it would hold itself together well. The glass shield was also not as thick as some of other plasma lamps we’ve had.
Another concern we had was the temperature. For an output of 235 watts, this thing gets relatively hot. Our general concern is that, given its already shaky design, you’ll have to find a way to provide additional cooling to the unit or else it’ll degrade pretty quickly.
Glass
One major disadvantage with the Nite Grower is its glass shield.
Other plasma lamps usually provide a special glass that is specifically meant to block out certain types of ultraviolet radiation that may be harmful to your plants. The Nite Grower uses a simple glass shield that only encases the unit. Although this seemed pretty common to us, using plasma actually requires that certain types of UV radiation be blocked. The differences were minimal and we didn’t initially see any difference on the plants, it’s still a risk that we wouldn’t want to take, even at a modest $500.
What’s in a Name?
As a consumer, you’ll tend to gravitate towards names you can trust. You may own an iPhone because you trust Apple, or a Samsung TV because of the respect that Samsung has as a brand name. The same can be said in the horticulture industry, and as a cannabis grower, you’ll develop trust for certain brand names like Gavita, Sun System, Advanced Nutrients, and so on.
The Alphalite Nite Grower, on the other hand, asks us to take a significant risk by ignoring brands altogether and focusing on the technology itself. Alphalite isn’t a big name in the horticultural lighting industry, and for good reason: They don’t only make grow lights (click here). Alphalite offers a broad range of lighting for indoor and outdoor use, including street lamps and mast lights. This is a problem, because cannabis is very specific about the type of light it wants, and other companies do plenty research to cater specifically to cannabis growers, which is why they charge so much in the first place.
Bottom Line
The apparent problem we had with the Nite Grower wasn’t in its function, but how the technology had been tested. When you go to buy a BMW, it’s easy to find satisfaction in driving it, but you can still probably get to where you need to go with a scooter. The same can be said for the Nite Grower; it might not offer the build quality that other popular brands talk about, but it utilizes the same technology, and in fact, the same exact Luxim emitter that a Gavita plasma grow light (https://plantsily.com/grow-lights/plasma-lamps-6-best-comparison/) would use. Of course, you’ll be missing out on all the extensive research and innovation that you’d get from a leading brand specialized in horticulture lighting, but the Alphalite Nite Grower, just like the scooter, can get you where you need to go, granted you know what you’re doing.
Personally, we’d rather ride the BMW 🙂
