Tinfoil Myth or Fact?

true

Active Member
I'm not one to believe everything I hear and I personally have NEVER seen one single picture of damage from tinfoil "hot spots."

People say wrinkled tinfoil can create hot spots by magnifying light. I've read that creased tinfoil reflects only up to 35% and smooth tinfoil 50%. With such a low reflectivity, it doesn't seem logical for tinfoil to cause damage unless it is literally touching the plants.

I challenge ANYONE to submit ONE conclusive picture of tinfoil burn. If you guys can't do it, then it never happened and tinfoil burn is a myth in my opinion.

Prove me wrong.
 

Resident Kush

Well-Known Member
tin foil and mylar do create hot spots, ive seen them. Not only that its loud and annoying when the fan hits it, flat white paint is by far the best
 

dahamma

Well-Known Member
I always hear that to. I think it's a myth. I only use foil and always have, never seen a burn yet.
 

true

Active Member
tin foil and mylar do create hot spots, ive seen them. Not only that its loud and annoying when the fan hits it, flat white paint is by far the best
Thanks, I agree that flat white paint is the best because it makes no noise, but I'm really after a picture of tinfoil burn because after a lot of searching I can't find a single picture and I'd like there to be a good visual depiction of this for anyone in question, like myself. Sometimes we have to see with our own eyes :P
 

Resident Kush

Well-Known Member
i think its circumstantial, it happened to me when I brought outdoor plants inside under HID, this is the only time ive ever seen hot spots from foil. I never used foil again after that, but it was probably the difference from the natural sun in fall, and 1000w hps surrounded in mylar.
 

danrasta

Well-Known Member
Yea but when you think about it most people who use tin foil are using cfl's so there not really gonna be any worry of heat spots but if your using a hps i can see you having some problems as tinfoil heats up and stays hot!
 

true

Active Member
i think its circumstantial, it happened to me when I brought outdoor plants inside under HID, this is the only time ive ever seen hot spots from foil. I never used foil again after that, but it was probably the difference from the natural sun in fall, and 1000w hps surrounded in mylar.
I don't suppose you have a pic of it... or know where any pictures are?

Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but I'm really hoping someone can dig up a picture of tinfoil burn for the skeptics. Thanks again.
 

Captn

Well-Known Member
I thought you weren't supposed to use tinfoil because its not a good reflector, not cause of hot spots.
 

true

Active Member
I thought you weren't supposed to use tinfoil because its not a good reflector, not cause of hot spots.
That's true, but in many cases a beginning grower is on a tight budget or only a small surface needs to be covered. Tinfoil beats carpet, wood, etc.

I can't remember where I saw this, but:

"Every photon that hits the floor is like a dead soldier"

Are there any google masters out there that can dig up a tinfoil burn picture? ;)
 

jimisimmortal

Well-Known Member
dunno about burns but i tryed it and it just seemed to collect condesation that was threatening to drip on my power board,so i ripped it off and stuck white paper to the still sticky spray glue
 

true

Active Member
dunno about burns but i tryed it and it just seemed to collect condesation that was threatening to drip on my power board,so i ripped it off and stuck white paper to the still sticky spray glue
Weird, must have been humid in there.
 

jcdws602

Well-Known Member
Myth or not it sucks for reflective material.There are many other things you can use like old dry wall even white bed sheets stapled to plywood.
 

jimisimmortal

Well-Known Member
a pick of what? heres a pick of the cupboard you can clearly see some tinfoil where its beed pulled off i only put white paper on the door,rest of the glue wasnt sticky enuf,i also include a pick of a wider view so you can see the powerboard it was dripping on down the bottom
 

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Blackedout

Active Member
a pick of what? heres a pick of the cupboard you can clearly see some tinfoil where its beed pulled off i only put white paper on the door,rest of the glue wasnt sticky enuf,i also include a pick of a wider view so you can see the powerboard it was dripping on down the bottom
On a side note... who puts electrical, power strips or whatever, underneath water? worse than tinfoil as far as grow room design.
 

tom__420

Well-Known Member
So maybe it doesn't cause burn spots but you said that smooth aluminum foil is only 50% reflective. It has crappy reflective properties so I think that is reason enough not to use it. That and it might cause hot spots. I don't understand why people use foil instead of something else. Mylar is cheap as hell and is much much better. Are all of you that cheap? Can't spare a few dollars to get the most out of your lighting system? I'll stick with using foil for cooking not for growing pot
 
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