Attn: Lumatek ballast users

[Cr8z13]

If I were to do this would I put a therm. right on top of the canopy facing up? I remember holding it there for 5 mins right next to a top when in veg and it was the same as where the gauge sets currently (at the canopy tops) but I didnt have it facing up into the light.

If the thermometer is near the tops, then no need to take another reading. Hope you get this figured out.
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[Lennard]

I love lumatek, dont get wrong. But two
600s in a 3x6 space (18 sp ft) is way too much! Or maybe I just dont understand your measurements. (3x6x6) 3ft wide, 6ft long, 6ft high is how I take it. I use 600 lum to cover 4ftx5ft. And I think its plenty. But thats just MHO. As far as fans go. I think vortex and can fans are over rated and ove priced. Dayton squirrel cages ROCK! My 600 is cooled by a 110cfm plus helps pull air form the room. Yea you may have to McGyver a bit too hook them up. But they do move the air they claim too. Even with static loads!

I just went and measured. The lens of the light to the screen is now 48" is was 44" (Just raised it up) The lens of the light to the top of topest cola now 31"

so essentially what i have space wise in between the lights and the screen is 4ft tall, 6ft long and 3ft wide.

If the fan wasnt doing its job well enough would the only thing affected be ambient room temp?

 

[Lennard]

Go to 1000bulbs. Com and get u an eye hortilux bulb.. They're da bomb. Wish I could answer ur last ? But I am not sure if they're hotter. If so I wouldn't imagine its by much.

Im still laughing at your sig bro G1. Ive actually heard that Lumateks dont do well with those bulbs because of the firing voltage. It may / may not have been fixed by them IDK. But I would like to combo up with some Horti / Luma combo sounds top-of-the-line bro.

 

[Lennard]

If the thermometer is near the tops, then no need to take another reading. Hope you get this figured out.
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Thanks man I thinking the only way to fix it is to go up and lift the lights unfortunatly which sounds rediculously retarded for a fix when you see oregon with a 1000 right next to the lady

 

[pinspot]

Is the air being pulled through the reflectors cool air? If your pulling your air straight from the grow space, through the carbon filter then through the reflectors, it's probably some what warm air passing your lamps.
What I did was dedicated one 465 cfm inline fan to two reflectors, pulling the air from an adjacent cooled room. I added a 500 cfm inline fan with a speed controller, just to ventilate the grow space. I'm only running two 400s, but I can run the reflectors as close as 6" to the tops with no problems. Might be something to consider.

 

[Lennard]

Is the air being pulled through the reflectors cool air? If your pulling your air straight from the grow space, through the carbon filter then through the reflectors, it's probably some what warm air passing your lamps.
What I did was dedicated one 465 cfm inline fan to two reflectors, pulling the air from an adjacent cooled room. I added a 500 cfm inline fan with a speed controller, just to ventilate the grow space. I'm only running two 400s, but I can run the reflectors as close as 6" to the tops with no problems. Might be something to consider.

I have had the vent on the outside grabbing cool as well with the same result.

 

[OregonMeds]

This is exactly what im talking about open bulbs are right on top all the time. How do you control the heat in ther OM? Could I just basically have an open intake pumping out the heat? I for some reason cannot fathom the thought of not having an air cooled reflector it seems like it would be impossible to cool. I use GE HPS w/ blue spec bulb.. do some bulbs run much more hot than others?

They're all hot as hell. The difference is reflectors seem to do a lot better job of reflecting the heat than they do light.
Open bulbs radiate most of the heat straight up and away from the plants.

All I had to do to cool that room with 1kw was use house A/C on normal levels, there's a vent in there, an 8" $20 fan on the floor blowing air into that room in the doorway leaving the door open all the time, and an 8" fan blowing straight up at the bulb and the plants leaves nearest the bulb.

That worked fine but now I'm running 3 kw lights in another room and for that I'm just using a 5k btu window a/c combined with the house A/C to keep that manageable. If I add more lights like I plan too I'll have to get a 10kw portable a/c.

Just try one. It's not that hard to take the socket out of the reflector and look how simple I hung the thing in the pic...
Run one open and one in the reflector and use your hand to judge how hot each is at 1ft or less away.

The room you describe doesn't sound much smaller than the room in my picture and for 1200w you could just stick any portable A/C unit in there if you can find the room for it. Even if you hung it on the wall to get it out of the way.

9kbtu-10kbtu would be more than you need. Either that or vent with a decent 8" fan on the ceiling and passive intakes on the floor. I don't vent like that because I'm trying not to get more bugs, specifically spider mites which are all over around here.

 

[Lennard]

They're all hot as hell. The difference is reflectors seem to do a lot better job of reflecting the heat than they do light.
Open bulbs radiate most of the heat straight up and away from the plants.

All I had to do to cool that room with 1kw was use house A/C on normal levels, there's a vent in there, an 8" $20 fan on the floor blowing air into that room in the doorway leaving the door open all the time, and an 8" fan blowing straight up at the bulb and the plants leaves nearest the bulb.

That worked fine but now I'm running 3 kw lights in another room and for that I'm just using a 5k btu window a/c combined with the house A/C to keep that manageable. If I add more lights like I plan too I'll have to get a 10kw portable a/c.

Just try one. It's not that hard to take the socket out of the reflector and look how simple I hung the thing in the pic...
Run one open and one in the reflector and use your hand to judge how hot each is at 1ft or less away.

The room you describe doesn't sound much smaller than the room in my picture and for 1200w you could just stick any portable A/C unit in there if you can find the room for it. Even if you hung it on the wall to get it out of the way.

9kbtu-10kbtu would be more than you need. Either that or vent with a decent 8" fan on the ceiling and passive intakes on the floor. I don't vent like that because I'm trying not to get more bugs, specifically spider mites which are all over around here.

I have a window A/C inside the box that runs a high duty cycle... just the inline fan to cool the lighting is not enough temps up to 100 + without I bet. I had just one of these lights in a 2x4x8 and the temps rose to 128 in like five mins. without inline fan without a/c with just hood so im sure it would get hot. I may take a shot at that if not this grow surely my next... god for bid something happens and I drop shit lol. So your thinkin the hoods are hurting my situation more than helping? Your living proof of it actually. Hmmmm... Thanks man

 

[Cr8z13]

The window AC, is the back end outside of a window or is it blowing the hot exhaust into the room?

 

[madazz]

The window AC, is the back end outside of a window or is it blowing the hot exhaust into the room?

i'd say so, i vent my portable unit through a duct and out of my room.

 

[Cr8z13]

i'd say so, i vent my portable unit through a duct and out of my room.
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Right, just want to make sure the OP is doing the same.
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