Cool Tube with XL Hood Vs Air cooled Hood

[ryanj91]

Have a 10 x 5 tent. Growing with 2 x 600w MH for Veg and 2 x 1000w HPS for flower.

I need the hoods to be able to cover 5 x 5 area each.

Ive searched lots of threads on this, cool tube vs air cooled hood. it seems most agree cool tube cools the light better, but hoods provide better light spread. But its hard finding anyone who talks about cool tubes with big bat wing type reflectors. They are literally half the price. I know its almost always worth it to spend for quality, but how much of a difference is it really?

I found a 6 in cool tube with XL reflector that is 26x25 in for 75$

Air cooled hoods running around same price are 24 x 17 in

Air cooled hoods that are much larger like Big Kahuna run about 150$ each and are 33 x 27

What is worth it? If the light spread of the BK is worth the money ill pay for it.

 

[Richard Drysift]

Have a 10 x 5 tent. Growing with 2 x 600w MH for Veg and 2 x 1000w HPS for flower.

I need the hoods to be able to cover 5 x 5 area each.

Ive searched lots of threads on this, cool tube vs air cooled hood. it seems most agree cool tube cools the light better, but hoods provide better light spread. But its hard finding anyone who talks about cool tubes with big bat wing type reflectors. They are literally half the price. I know its almost always worth it to spend for quality, but how much of a difference is it really?

I found a 6 in cool tube with XL reflector that is 26x25 in for 75$

Air cooled hoods running around same price are 24 x 17 in

Air cooled hoods that are much larger like Big Kahuna run about 150$ each and are 33 x 27

What is worth it? If the light spread of the BK is worth the money ill pay for it.

I invested in an xl air hood years ago and it's still paying off. Cool tubes are ok for small tents but they have hotspots: they don't distribute light evenly. Bat/gull wings are total garbage; might as well just hang bare vertical bulbs
The wider footprint of the xl hood is definitely worth it. My grow space is about the same size as yours but I'm only running one 600w in an xl hood which covers the area fairly well. I also employ a couple small leds and a full spectrum T5 w/UVB for side lighting & finishing.
More importantly be sure to acquire an inline exhaust fan that will clear out your tent very quickly. You want a fan powerful enough to exchange the air every few seconds to pull off most of the heat.