Air cooled lights....

[OldMedUser]

Do you use mag or e ballast? Looking for a 400 w mh ballast but don't want an eballast haven't been able to find a complete mag mh set up just parts

Just mags. Was in BC a couple months ago and picked up a used 1000W MH/HPS magnetic ballast at a hydro store for $70. Fired up at the store but haven't put it to use at home yet. Was thinking of going with 2 - 600W instead but at that price it fit my budget better and will work with my future plans. I used my 1000W MH with a Hortilux conversion bulb for my last grow but new bulbs are about $225 now so was cheaper to get the used ballast and a couple of non-Hortilux SuperHPS bulbs to use with it. Now I got backup if the pricey bulb dies.

I see complete ballasts for sale online tho never shop online for grow stuff so they're out there. I have 3 - 400Whps and 1 - 400Wmh ballasts that are upwards of 30 years old and they still work fine. Buddy gave me a dead 400hps and I replaced the capacitor to make the third one for $35. The only one in a proper case. The other ones look like this.

 

[Kingrow1]

Wish I had it that easy a garage in the middle of summer in az don't stay cool very well specially said cabinet in garage lol

So theoretically if we us an ac to bring the garage air to say 22c and extracted that through the tent then wouldnt that also be our tent temperature as well..... problem solved no cool tube needed

 

[OldMedUser]

Better to feed the A/C output directly into the grow area than cool the whole garage.

 

[MichiganMedGrower]

They do not cool radiant heat given off by the bulb but they do suck hot air out of the room, simple extractor and bare bulbs seems the same temps in my grow room

The glass blocks some of the radiant heat and if they are set up properly they will be on their own circuit self cooling so the need for ac in the room is drastically reduced.

I would not be able to cool my little room without a much larger exhaust fan if I had to remove the heat from bare bulbs in the whole room.

I have read that they remove almost 50% of the lamp heat. Again. Ducted properly.

But even used as the extractor themselves like a tent set up they are still cooler than open fixtures with 6" extraction in my room.

And I only want a 6" hole so right tools for the job is the only motto to go with.

And I would certainly need more height without the sealed glass air cooled lamps.

I use fans in between the lamp and canopy regardless to remove ambient heat and add air circulation.

 

[Kingrow1]

The glass blocks some of the radiant heat

I have read that they remove almost 50% of the lamp heat. Again. Ducted properly.

How does a thin layer of glass and air absorb 50% of heat, the sun wouldnt warm the earth much if this were the case?

I guess thats more the point on cool shades, radiant heat is not stopped much by glass although uv and infa red i believe can be with certain glasses and that thin layer of fast moving air probably has even less effect than the glass.

I i put you in front of 6mm glass and point a high powered laser at the other side would the glass have any effect even a tiny percentage or are you going to get burnt.

The light from the sun travels a long way, still it gets hot here

 

[klozetgrow]

Have a small wall ac unit breathing from garage into cabinet 600w air cooled mag ran hps with a 442cfm carbon filter ducted hopefully correctly in a 6x3x8 cabinet running her first grow in her in a week

 

[Kingrow1]

Better to feed the A/C output directly into the grow area than cool the whole garage.

I dispute this logic and hope you can see why

 

[klozetgrow]

Do got to say king I see ur point however practicality shows ur room is cooler when running aircoolhood are there ways around this absolutly

 

[klozetgrow]

How can you dispute that? cooling a 6x3 area is going to be MUCH more efficient then cooling a 28x18 garage

 

[klozetgrow]

Specially when said garage can reach temps 125°f plus


Those exposed wires scare the shit out of me in my new house oldmed that's one reason haven't just picked up a lot to put together was contemplating just putting a couple 250 w cfl bulbs

 

[Kingrow1]

Do got to say king I see ur point

Keep your thermometer in shade and out of the light, it reads closer to the room temps your tent is in, all else is radiant heat given off by radiant bodies and is not true air temp. Cool the room and the thermometer in the tent reads cooler

 

[Kingrow1]

How can you dispute that? cooling a 6x3 area is going to be MUCH more efficient then cooling a 28x18 garage

Your tent exhaust all air into the room very quickly, also the ac will reach thermal stability with the room much easier than with a 6x3 and 400 odd cfm attached to a vented port

 

[vostok]

Just mags. Was in BC a couple months ago and picked up a used 1000W MH/HPS magnetic ballast at a hydro store for $70. Fired up at the store but haven't put it to use at home yet. Was thinking of going with 2 - 600W instead but at that price it fit my budget better and will work with my future plans. I used my 1000W MH with a Hortilux conversion bulb for my last grow but new bulbs are about $225 now so was cheaper to get the used ballast and a couple of non-Hortilux SuperHPS bulbs to use with it. Now I got backup if the pricey bulb dies.

I see complete ballasts for sale online tho never shop online for grow stuff so they're out there. I have 3 - 400Whps and 1 - 400Wmh ballasts that are upwards of 30 years old and they still work fine. Buddy gave me a dead 400hps and I replaced the capacitor to make the third one for $35. The only one in a proper case. The other ones look like this.

View attachment 4042630

There was a usa site some years back that sold HID light parts very very cheap

many guys were building their own lights outta them parts

I know longer use MH lights just for the simple reason that each on/off happens

theirs always some reason why I have to go back into/out of the room

and takes fucking years for the lights to return on ....Dah!

 

[klozetgrow]

The unit will eventually cool a 3x15x8 area, the carbon filter daisy chained to 3 lights haven't decided or tested if the one inline will be able to do this not opposed to running another smaller inlin

There was a usa site some years back that sold HID light parts very very cheap

many guys were building their own lights outta them parts

I know longer use MH lights just for the simple reason that each on/off happens

theirs always some reason why I have to go back into/out of the room

and takes fucking years for the lights to return on ....Dah!

What do you use for veg?

 

[vostok]

T5's and COB's

 

[Kingrow1]

COB's

I knew it

 

[vostok]

I knew it

Dude you gotta move with the times ..lol

 

[klozetgrow]

Eventually want to go led and smaller hps but good leds have a good price tag

 

[Kingrow1]

Dude you gotta move with the times ..lol

Leds are such a fad now, cmh is growing fast and im seeing no downsides

 

[MichiganMedGrower]

How does a thin layer of glass and air absorb 50% of heat, the sun wouldnt warm the earth much if this were the case?

I guess thats more the point on cool shades, radiant heat is not stopped much by glass although uv and infa red i believe can be with certain glasses and that thin layer of fast moving air probably has even less effect than the glass.

I i put you in front of 6mm glass and point a high powered laser at the other side would the glass have any effect even a tiny percentage or are you going to get burnt.

The light from the sun travels a long way, still it gets hot here

Well your lazer analogy has little to do with light bulb reflectors but I said I read the 50% thing.

i still know I can't cool my 2 reflectors open without glass with the same fans I use with them sealed and air cooled. And I am just exhausting my room through them. They aren't even isolated.

I also can't get them as close to the plants without stress open without glass. Further proving they are cooler behind fan cooled glass.

And glass does cut a bunch of uv and ir and along with it radiant heat.

So I guess I disagree with your premise from my own testing and research.

I have to stop air cooling through the lamps in winter just to keep room heat up. Just running fans on low is not enough without disconnecting the ducts to the lamps. Doesn't that prove they are cooler in sealed air cooled fixtures?

The radiant heat and the heat from the lamps are continually removed immediately from the source.

It works so well lamps that rely on temp for their output like de hps shouldn't be air cooled. It lowers their temp too much to work properly.

The more I think about it the more evidence there is that they run much cooler.