crazyhazey
Well-Known Member
if its not burning them or stressing go ahead
Marijuana Plants and Aluminum foil. your opinion?
- Thread starter DJAJGROWSTOO
- Start date
Monkeyknifefight
Member
I don't believe it to be the perfect solution but neither do I believe in over engineering a solution to a problem that isnt there.
UnderBelly
Active Member
I think the point you are missing is that aluminum foil might not be better than the white paint you probably already have, and it might exacerbate your heat problems.
crazyhazey
Well-Known Member
i thought the problem was your soil drying out?
DJAJGROWSTOO
Active Member
i do not like the idea at all of white paper in a confined box with lights. thats a fire waiting to happen
crazyhazey
Well-Known Member
use paint.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
How hot does it get in your box? If it's hot enough to cause a fire, you have bigger problems.
Thank you, but I haven't missed the point.
If there is no other reflective material, aluminum foil is better than nothing.
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I totally disagree with all the people saying A-foil is garbage.
I'll bet many of them have aluminum reflectors on their HID lights.
In a small closet grow, is A-foil bad to use? No.
Are there better alternatives to A-foil out there? Yes.
If you want to use A-foil, I say go for it.
Just keep it as smooth as possible with the least amount of wrinckles.
When you're able to, step up to something better.
dadio161
Well-Known Member
I use flat white paint in my closet , but i am beginning to rethink about how important the reflective walls really are . I follow another veteran grow here and he grows some fantastic shit and in his pics , he has plain brown wood paneling. maybe someone can do a comparison grow.
roofwayne
Well-Known Member
I use Low-e which is a Radiant heat barrier insulation. It reflect 100 percent of the energy back in box, So you use the energy from light better, I have 400w hps and put out light like 600w or more. I am in roofing industry and mylar is junk compared to this stuff. I use convection heat removal, my plants stay 78 degrees at plant canopy, That is if you put a ridge above your light. You create a peak and have a passive vent across the top. I live at 5,000ft and cold is a bigger issue and this stuff has a r-7. Last night it got to 28 degree and I had to turn the fan off..rw
I picked up 12 mylar emergency blankets for ONE DOLLAR free shipping on ebay, one would line your entire box....using a. foil is not a good idea, (I used it in my first small grows just like everyone else) you have sooooo many cost effective options that are so much better, I mean seriously, paper from your printer, flat white plastic, a can of paint, MYLAR BLANKETS, better reflectivity and no hot spots, youll never use it again once you fry a branch and stunt your plant a week or betters worth of growth.
Monkeyknifefight
Member
Good to see you are keeping up with the conversation but you seem to be struggling with the last bit. The tin foil stops my soil from drying out. Your suggesting the tin foil will introduce a myriad subsequent ramifications, I don't believe this to be the case.
Mylar blankets are only marginally better than A-foil.
You may want to re-evaluate how you're using them.
Every crease in the M-blankets throws your light at all kinds of crazy angles, mostly away from where it's useful.
Plus, they're see-through! Meaning some of your light is escaping. Hold one up in front of a light and you'll see right through it.
Do they reflect light? Sure.
They're more efficient though if you glue them to cardboard, without any creases of course, and make panels instead of simply hanging it.
I've learned through the years that most "hot spots" are a figment of the indoor gardeners imagination, and usually just a poor excuse for lazy garden maintenance.
Indoors, we're trying to mimic the outdoors. Unless you use a light mover you MUST rotate your plants if you're using HID's. If not, it's like (outdoors) aiming a magnifying glass at your stationary leaves. They will eventually burn.
Tube Flouros and CFL's will rarely burn your leaves. That is, unless user-errors come into play, like having them too close.
Proper lighting is another matter of personal gardening skills, or lack there of. People mess up and blame it on everything but themselves. That's how all these myths and rumors get started and perpetuated.
Don't blame your equipment - blame yourself when you Eff-up.
*EDIT
This post isn't directed at any one in particular. Sorry, but I suck at talking in "3rd party".
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
..and they also use a special highly reflective German aluminum with a pebbled surface.
I don't understand why people make threads like this one, and then refuse to listen to the wise answers.
kpmarine
Well-Known Member
Out of curiosity, can you tell me why that doesn't burn plants yet foil does?
GanjaGod420000
Well-Known Member
A good cleaning with bleach and a new coat of flat white paint after each grow, or mylar on walls, r what I have found to be the very best reflectors by far... The paint being the easiest... Foil does not reflect like people think it does, and it also invites pests a place to hide behind in your grow spaces... I dont even use any relfectors, other than the white walls of the closet, and have open lamps, allbeit I am blasting waaaay more lumens than recommended, so I just don't care, because I know my canopy is getting a hella dose of max lumens of HPS and MH spectrums... I have outstanding results...
pharmacoping
Active Member
especially when the box heats up, and the spray adhesive begins to de gas inside the box/room. The fumes are prolly not that good for plants, or people, just a thought
SoilFarming
Member
I had good results using mirrors on my walls to reflect light,but after reading about hotspots and the glass absorbing lumens I removed them and went with mylar on the wall in my 400 watt hps grow closet and white paint in my 1k watt room.