aluminum foil ?

K

kcweedguy

Member
ok so in reading some things i have come across some mixed feelings about the use for light reflection. what is the difference in aluminum foil and milar? and why not use mirrors? and what is the best to use? im using foil now 6 1/2 weeks into 12-12 cycle. any and all help pls
 
dyzel

dyzel

Well-Known Member
foil wrinkles easily, and creates heat spots. It also only effectively reflects 50% of the light.
Mylar is more reflective, and easier to apply. It doesn't get heat spots either, and so, is a great option for growing with.

Mirrirs, I suppose are not used due to bulkiness and expense. They also are fragile, and may not withstand the wear and tear.

Good luck! I would use mylar!
 
smallclosetgrowr

smallclosetgrowr

Well-Known Member
foil is fine but mylar is alot better because it reflects something like 98% light where as foils like 75% just remember the use the dull side on the foil and never keep it to close to your plants or burning could occur
 
Islander5000

Islander5000

Active Member
You don't want mirrors because the light has to pass through glass to be reflected. This diminishes their reflective ability overall and leaves you with random hotspots. Once foil creases it's reflectivity (which is already much less than mylar) is compromised and decreases. Mylar is easier to mangae and way more reflective.

Mylar 90-95% reflective
Flat white paint 85-93% reflective
Semi gloss white paint 75-80% reflective
Foil 70-75% reflective
 
LadyKimi

LadyKimi

Well-Known Member
I started with foil before finding these boards, I decided to switch to something and found the emergency blankets at Walmart. They are amazing! You can really see how much more reflective they are. They are inexpensive and HUGE.

Hope this is helpful...

~Lady
 
GrizzlyAdams

GrizzlyAdams

Well-Known Member
LadyKimi said:
I started with foil before finding these boards, I decided to switch to something and found the emergency blankets at Walmart. They are amazing! You can really see how much more reflective they are. They are inexpensive and HUGE.

Hope this is helpful...

~Lady
Click to expand...
How reflective are they? You have a percent or just saying that because they're shiny? From what I've found, emergency blankets are as much a waste as tin foil. You can buy industrial grade insulation vermiculite for way cheaper than horticultural vermiculite. . . . for the love of christ. White paint or mylar, stop using materials that aren't designed for it, its not genius. . .its bad growing.
 
jimmy130380

jimmy130380

Well-Known Member
yeah sprayed my whole room white flat paint
works well and i find mylar a pain in the ass to hang really neat (i like stuff neat ok)
 
colind

colind

Well-Known Member
milar is the way to go its so reflective its unreal as for foil i have used it in past and it worked but it has a horrible habbit of captuing heat and it made cooling a lot harder in comparison foil is ok but to be honest if you use brilliant white paint it is just as good as foil with out heat issues hope this is some way of use to you
 
Bonzi Lighthouse

Bonzi Lighthouse

Well-Known Member
GrizzlyAdams said:
How reflective are they? You have a percent or just saying that because they're shiny? From what I've found, emergency blankets are as much a waste as tin foil. You can buy industrial grade insulation vermiculite for way cheaper than horticultural vermiculite. . . . for the love of christ. White paint or mylar, stop using materials that aren't designed for it, its not genius. . .its bad growing.
Click to expand...
You have to take the "MYLAR" Emergency blankets out of the box for it to be effective. You're doing it wrong!
 
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