DIY Cool Tube How-To
- Thread starter 7th1der
- Start date
xpnsivwino
Active Member
ok, i'm lost. Don't you need a special socket for a metal halide or high pressure sodium bulb, with ballast, etc??
7th1der
Well-Known Member
a Mogul Socket
xpnsivwino
Active Member
right, but you would still need a ballast
Cannabachus
Active Member
Hey 7th, I am waiting on my bake a round to show up and its taking forever! I really need to start mocking up my dresser cab, because i need to have it all running properly by like wednesday. Can you get me the exact dimensions of your bake a round? ie. Length, Outside Diameter & Inside Diameter. If you could i would really appreciate it man. Thanks
WARNING if you use a bread tube you MUST use a T-15 shape bulb. There are lots of T-15 hps bulbs, but T-15 mh are harder to find and expensive. Bread tubes work GREAT. I have one for my 250mh and one for my 400 hps. I got them on ebay from one lady selling both 2 for $25
panhead
Well-Known Member
Excellent tutorial,the best one ive seen so far onm a diy cool tube,plus rep.
Not to hijack the thread but if you cant find one of those bake lite dealies you can still get what you need,most industrial plumbing suppliers have in stock or can order pryex tube that comes in the same sizes as other industrial plumbing pipe,ive used 4 inch as well as 6 inch diamater pyrex in corrosive plumbing applications many times over the years.
Its normally used as soil pipe vents or as other roof mount type vents in industrial or factory applications where whatever is being vented has corrosive properties,its a pretty standard item in industrial construction & im sure this is where the makers of cool tube get their glass tubing to make their products.
Home Depot,Lowes,Menards & local hardware stores are not industrial supply houses & will not carry or be able to order the pyrex tubing,it needs to be an industrial plumbing supply house which every major city in the united states has.
IM a plumber that has installed close to a1000feet of acid waste piping. What you want is acid waste piping made by a co. named Schott, or Pyrex. But that pipe is EXPENSIVE. You would be better off to just buy a real cool tube. Acid waste piping has a larger wall thickness than the bread tubes. I dont know how thick a real cool tube is.
7th1der
Well-Known Member
Sorry I have been neglecting the thread guys, its not in my newly posted threads so I don't know that there is any replies. I'll try and go through and answer the questions in a few to the best of my ability. Have to wait until I get in front of a computer. Thanks for the +Rep's! They are greatly appreciated and don't feel bad about high jacking the thread.
Rudiger
Well-Known Member
Yea man, the idea is cool and all, but I have to post my thoughts on it.
I was happy as shit to find a cheaper method of air cooling my lights, as I have 3 going. But after buying the bake-a-rounds and screwing around with different dimensions of pipe between them all, and using a 6" Vortex reduced to 4", I have come to the realization that the bake-a-rounds are not big enough inside to use 600w bulbs. Granted, I do use 3 bulbs, so I am not getting the cooling that a guy would get off 1 or 2 bulbs. But the bulb and socket and bracket take up so much internal space, that you are only getting a minimal amount of flowing air around all that. I mean they do run cooler than non air cooled lights, but not enough of a again to spend the money on it, and 3/4 of the internal volume is taken up with socket and bracket.
I managed to find proper 6" air cannons for $80 each so I jumped on that. They haven't come in yet, but I am positive that with the increased volume, the lights will work like an air cooled light should. With the price of the bake a rounds and shipping and epoxy and ducting and reducers, I paid almost as much as just buying store boughts.
Not to rain on the parade or put down this idea, as I'm sure it works mint with one or 2 lights, but just if you were thinking of cooling more lights than that in a row, then take my advice and look into a bigger glass.
I was happy as shit to find a cheaper method of air cooling my lights, as I have 3 going. But after buying the bake-a-rounds and screwing around with different dimensions of pipe between them all, and using a 6" Vortex reduced to 4", I have come to the realization that the bake-a-rounds are not big enough inside to use 600w bulbs. Granted, I do use 3 bulbs, so I am not getting the cooling that a guy would get off 1 or 2 bulbs. But the bulb and socket and bracket take up so much internal space, that you are only getting a minimal amount of flowing air around all that. I mean they do run cooler than non air cooled lights, but not enough of a again to spend the money on it, and 3/4 of the internal volume is taken up with socket and bracket.
I managed to find proper 6" air cannons for $80 each so I jumped on that. They haven't come in yet, but I am positive that with the increased volume, the lights will work like an air cooled light should. With the price of the bake a rounds and shipping and epoxy and ducting and reducers, I paid almost as much as just buying store boughts.
Not to rain on the parade or put down this idea, as I'm sure it works mint with one or 2 lights, but just if you were thinking of cooling more lights than that in a row, then take my advice and look into a bigger glass.
pennywise619
Well-Known Member
fuckin sweet
pennywise619
Well-Known Member
where cN YOU BUY THE BAKING TUBE?
7th1der
Well-Known Member
You can purchaes the bake-a-rounds from a number of places but the easiest most consistant place would be eBay for under $20. However, some threads I ran into I've seen people purchase them for as low as $2-$3 from a Salvation Army/Goodwill/Thriftstore. If you have one in the area I would definitely check there first, you might get lucky.
7th1der
Well-Known Member
Dude, I'm not worried about anyone raining on my parade. If you have a way in increase the productivity of light and/or cooling... frickin' post it already. This was just a starting point for people that needed a simple way to cool a 400w HPS like me. Whether it works with other sizes/wattages, I'm not sure cause I never delt with anything other than a 400w HPS. Perhaps when you get your bigger/better idea set up, you can create a how-to or add to mine to keep this in the top pages. What's funny is, I haven't started flowering yet and I may not even use a cool tube cause the glass blocks some of the light. Will try a couple different ways after I get my S&P fan. Plan on ordering it this week.
7th1der
Well-Known Member
I'm not too sure of the exact dimensions of the bake-a-round, but the outside must be 4 inches becuase the 4 inch side of the reducer fits nice and snug around it. If you look at a couple of the ads on eBay, you might luck up and find the dimensions posted. I'll see what I can find for you.
ganjamanuk
Well-Known Member
hey bro check mine, kinda similar, but i modded it a bit, but you were my main inspiration.
so ty
so tyAttachments
Hey man, nice work, very custom lookingjust to update this thread with a pic of the cool tube in action. It looks just as neat as the ones you buy.to all you DIY haters!
What r u using for the reflector part? Most importantly, hows the temp drop? 
