Lighting question - Please answer!

[RichiRich]

Can someone briefly explain the basics of how a "cool tube" set up works on HPS lamps? I can't seem to find anything on google...

Is it a fan connected to a duct that sucks air? I'm really not getting the picture - please explain!

BTW - I want to run a cooling system for two - three 1000 watt HPS lamps.

Thanks

 

[jawbrodt]

Can someone briefly explain the basics of how a "cool tube" set up works on HPS lamps? I can't seem to find anything on google...

Is it a fan connected to a duct that sucks air? I'm really not getting the picture - please explain!

BTW - I want to run a cooling system for two - three 1000 watt HPS lamps.

Thanks

Bingo. You're basically pulling cool air through the reflectors, past the light bulbs, drawing the heat away. Either you can be pulling in fresh air from outside, another room, etc....or pull air right out of your growroom. Keep in mind, that if you choose to pull air out of your growroom, it'll already be hot/warm, reducing cooling efficiency, and most importantly....will smell like weed, unless you have carbon filter/s attached at the end, pulling air through the filter,(which further reduces efficiency, by reducing airflow) before it goes through the cooltube. Either way will work, but keeping them seperate, is most effective.

 

[Serapis]

I strongly recommend that you use an inline fan for pulling air through air cooled reflectors and use a separate fan for scrubbing air.

 

[RichiRich]

Bingo. You're basically pulling cool air through the reflectors, past the light bulbs, drawing the heat away. Either you can be pulling in fresh air from outside, another room, etc....or pull air right out of your growroom. Keep in mind, that if you choose to pull air out of your growroom, it'll already be hot/warm, reducing cooling efficiency, and most importantly....will smell like weed, unless you have carbon filter/s attached at the end, pulling air through the filter,(which further reduces efficiency, by reducing airflow) before it goes through the cooltube. Either way will work, but keeping them seperate, is most effective.

So you're saying if I have a fan that sucks air from the cool tubes, it will just release hot air that smells like weed. However, it wouldn't be as effective as blowing air through a duct, which would not only get rid of the hot air, but also cool the lamp - is that correct?

Isn't there a way though, to have at the beginning of the duct, a fan the blows air ---> to the bulb --> which goes through another duct --> to the next bulb --> and then through the duct --> to a fan that sucks the air out? Meaning I would have 2 fans doing the job - one blowing, the other sucking?

Thanks

 

[RichiRich]

bump bump bump

 

[RichiRich]

buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuump

 

[jawbrodt]

So you're saying if I have a fan that sucks air from the cool tubes, it will just release hot air that smells like weed. However, it wouldn't be as effective as blowing air through a duct, which would not only get rid of the hot air, but also cool the lamp - is that correct?

Isn't there a way though, to have at the beginning of the duct, a fan the blows air ---> to the bulb --> which goes through another duct --> to the next bulb --> and then through the duct --> to a fan that sucks the air out? Meaning I would have 2 fans doing the job - one blowing, the other sucking?

Thanks

Yes, you could have two fans, one on each end. That would work fine. But, one fan blowing air, wouldn't work. There has to be a fan pulling air through, in order for it to work properly/efficiently. The fan that's blowing, would just boost it a little.

ANY air pulled from your growroom, will smell like weed, unless it's filtered. So, in order to cool your lights, you have to be drawing fresh air in, from outside the growroom.

The carbon filter setup, should be a seperate system, altogether. That draws air from the growroom, filters out the odors, then blows it outside.

 

[Xiphos]

The carbon filter setup, should be a seperate system, altogether. That draws air from the growroom, filters out the odors, then blows it outside.

Or you can put the carbon filter on your intake and only have one simply system..

Edit: Or the exhaust whichever works

 

[jawbrodt]

Or you can put the carbon filter on your intake and only have one simply system..

Edit: Or the exhaust whichever works

Agreed. The only drawback to that, is that the lights won't run quite as cool, as if they're on their own system. Temps will be 5* higher, or so. Give or take a little.