Mars Hydro - TSL-2000

The TSL-2000 is the elongated 300 watt fixture in the TS range, a little over a metre long, meant for a flowering area of 120 by 60 centimetres. Of all the lamps in this range it is the only one to have been independently measured.

What a lamp makes and what arrives are two figures

The figure quoted for almost every grow light is PPF: the total photons the fixture emits per second, in every direction. That is a property of the lamp. It does not tell you how much lands on your crop, because a portion goes past the area, onto a wall or out over the edge.

Dr MJ Coco measured this fixture in 2020 over exactly the area it is built for, 120 by 60 centimetres, at a height of 37 centimetres. What actually landed there came to roughly 524 µmol per second, from a measured draw of 286 watts. Average intensity across the area was 727 µmol per square metre per second, with 997 at the strongest point and 524 at the weakest.

That spread came out well for an elongated fixture, and the reason is its shape. The lamp is nearly as long as the area it lights, so light arrives from above the whole surface rather than from a single point in the middle. The tester gave the distribution the highest rating he awards.

Two caveats belong with this. The fixture measured already had 1,600 running hours behind it, so a new one should do slightly better. And it is one measurement by one party, not a factory specification. That is precisely why it is here: a number about this area rather than an imaginary sphere around the lamp.

Technical Specifications:

• Model: TSL-2000
• Power: 300 W ±5%, independently measured at 286 W
• Flowering area: 120 x 60 cm
• Measured average PPFD: 727 µmol/m²/s across 120 x 60 cm at 37 cm
• Measured spread: 997 µmol/m²/s highest point, 524 lowest
• Light spectrum: 660 to 665 nm, 730 to 740 nm, 3000 to 3200 K, 6000 to 6500 K
• Supply unit: separate box, detachable, with dimming knob
• Cooling: passive, no fan
• Dimensions: 101.8 x 25.3 x 6.4 cm
• Weight: 3.56 kg
• Life expectancy: nominally 50,000 hours
• Warranty: 5 year manufacturer warranty

Frequently asked questions

Why is the manufacturer's PPF not listed?
Because Mars Hydro have published several figures for this lamp that contradict one another. The measured values above refer to a stated area at a stated height.

Will it fit a 120 by 120 tent?
It fits, but lights half of it. A square tent that size needs two of these, or a square fixture.

Why is the distribution better than on a smaller lamp?
Because the fixture is nearly as long as the area beneath it, so light comes down across the full length.

Is 286 watts instead of 300 a problem?
No. The rating carries a 5% margin and the measured figure sits just inside it. Your electricity bill follows the measured value.