Growing with Car / 12VDC HID Lights

so i went looking for some time about growing with HID lights from a car. the only thing i seemed to find were people asking whether it could be done, but everyone shooting them down telling them it would never work (obviously without scientific backing), or that it would cost far too much to set up an operable 12 volt system that could actually power all the accessories necessary.... well.... i didnt start this thread for nothing right... so here it is.

I started the first test trial over a year ago to see if the lighting would even sustain plant life. original temps of the bulbs i used were 6000K for Veg. worked like a charm and sprouted 4 seedlings under that light setup... fast forward a month... plants are growing sufficiently but noticeable stunted height was apparent. this was all done in a 4 x 4 x 8 grow box with the lights crafted into a standard air cooled hood with glass. obviously the glass was killing some of the lighting power, but at this point the overall idea of the test was proven...the lights supported plant growth. wish i can find the pictures and if i do ill post them.

brings us to present day... re set the test lighting up but using a "flowering" shade of the hid bulbs offered. i picked up some 3500K temp lights and got back to setting up the 12 volt system. so your aware, i am at this point just consolidating my previous ideas into a space suitable for the amount of light i feel these lights give off. if i prove that i can effectively flower with this set up, i will build something a bit more sturdy... but for the time being, a rubbermaid bin flipped on top of another is suiting my needs just fine. i had all of this laying around from the last set up, but i can honestly say i spent under 150 for the entire set up and that is all new equip. you can piece this system together for under 50 bucks on craigslist.

NOW ON TO THE PART I KNOW YOU ALL WANT.... THE PICTURES...

Dr. Doom

Now for the equipment list...

power is upplied by a single 500W computer supply picked up on amazon for right around 90 bucks.

lights and ballasts are DDMTuning HID replacement kits with the cheaper "Raptor" ballasts (i run the thin ballasts in my truck and they do run much cooler! i just had these laying around already) the way i am cooling them is a custom bracket that bolts a computer fan to the ballast for constant air movement.

Bulbs as mentioned are DDMTuning 3500K temp HID Lights

the holder is a few pieces of PVC assembled together and slotted for the wiring to run through.

panda film the walls of 2 rubbermaids and here we go.

all of the ladies you see in there are cuttings rooted under 18/6 MH lighting in my normal veg room. upon being well rooted enough for transplant, they went into dixie cups and under another week of MH lighting to stabilize the plants after the transplant. all was well with all but one as he seems to be the bastard cutting, but he was tossed into the room as well and best of luck to him. as of october 15th, all of these cuttings went directly into 12/12 under 12V HID lighting... these pictures were taken about an hour ago....

there you have it guys... hope this inspires others to seek just how far we can go with this style lighting....

Dr. Doom

If this works, it means I won't be able to drive at night anymore.

Keep updating. Grow on...

sub'd. Wondered this for awhile.

Nice! Great findings there man!. Im subbed, i hope it works, really.

glad to see interest! this has been something ive wondered for some time, finally had the crap laying around, and just got baked enough to do it.... i will continue to update as things progress... i can say right now that today was watering day, and they were all neon green and happy just before lights on. promising to say the least. i will continue the grow through the entire cycle whether it be insignificant popcorn buds all the way through, or massive can colas as i would like the input of many others to possibly come up with a way to integrate this into growing if possible.

Dr. Doom

Interesting, I have most of these parts lying around already. I will be watching your progress. Good luck to you sir.

update on them today as well as a bit more info i forgot to mention... alive and well. first signs of flowers have started to emerge. i will say that the stretch so far on a few is noticeable, but they are also the 2 strains i was having stretch issues with in the large grow room. the MK Ultra has stayed bushy and stout but my Pineapple chunk which i have never had any stretch issues with stretched out a bit.

now info on the lights... the downfall so far to these style lights and something i failed to mention was the type of lighting they are. when they advertise a 3400k bulb (cant remeber the exact temp i picked up but its near there), it is really just the lowest color bulb they can get in white (around 4200) with some yellow tint wrapped around the bulb. also, these are mini metal halides so expect more blue out of them then red.... either way... we will see how it goes.

Update? Im really curious to see if this works. Best of luck, bro.

well i was actually updating tonight anyways! they are actually doing suprisingly well. i have taken a few pictures that i will upload once they get into my email from my phone. the box they are in is staying at a steady 78 degrees with a little elbow greases together fan i made out of a high velocity 12v fan, a few pieces of plywood, some of that one sided sticky insulation roll stuff they sell to seal windows, and some boredom. pulls very strong to my advantage i guess.

Wow, very nice. Wouldn't have thought this was possible but what do ya know xD nice plants you got there bro. Keep up the good work.

Awesome write up! I am really excited to see how these turn out. If you wanted to save some money on the power bill and the purchase of the PSU, just find a 12v power supply, if you run 50w HID kits then you need around 5 amps.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__6256__12V_5A_110_240V_50_60Hz_Power_Supply.html

$10 w00t

How hot do the bulbs run?

Holly Shit man! You should take some pics of ur cab!

Haha my cab in the background is the pride and joy of my grow career. Maybe ill do another thread eventually but for now she stays a little known secret.

Great idea and setup.Of course it's possible to grow with car lights, but is it practical? How hot do they get?

Actually not hot at all. Bare bulbs at the top I am able to get the back of my hand within inches before I even feel warmth.

another update... they are doing great. i guess i have a lovely case of thrips on my hands so i have some pest control to do. other than that, check them out.....

looking good man, are you going to transplant them into larger containers or just keep the solo cups?

its always great to see growers think outside the box.. and inside the growbox

Keeping them in solo cups. This was strictly a test setup only to see how will it works. May go larger scale after this and see what one plant in a 3 or 5 gal can push out under these lights. All pending on these ones finishing flowering and allowing me to strip the parts back down into a pile.