I air cooled my 800w California Lightworks LED

So I have come into possession of a California Lightworks solar system 1100 led and traded in the two 315 cmh I was running in the 4x4. also going back to plastic pots from fabric- whole different discussion. This system still runs hot!! Its 800w at the wall with all spectrums running full and basically a heat pad in the top of my tent. Running 88 F without supplemental cooling. I am sick of battling heat at the expense of humidity in my tent. Solution: I built a drop ceiling in the tent with foam insulation and pull air over the light from one intake port to the other and outside. My tent is now running at ambient temp 72ish and I can control the humidity perfectly in the growing space. Thought others might be able to add to this idea or speak of other solutions of all lights running hot in a tent including powerful led's.

Oh Forgot to mention this is an incredibly inexpensive way to air cool your led, however beware of putting any electric component in a space with combustible foam. I don't plan on adjusting its height either. The par values on this light in a 4x4 are absurd so the higher in the tent the better.

grimplestix said:

So I have come into possession of a California Lightworks solar system 1100 led and traded in the two 315 cmh I was running in the 4x4. also going back to plastic pots from fabric- whole different discussion. This system still runs hot!! Its 800w at the wall with all spectrums running full and basically a heat pad in the top of my tent. Running 88 F without supplemental cooling. I am sick of battling heat at the expense of humidity in my tent. Solution: I built a drop ceiling in the tent with foam insulation and pull air over the light from one intake port to the other and outside. My tent is now running at ambient temp 72ish and I can control the humidity perfectly in the growing space. Thought others might be able to add to this idea or speak of other solutions of all lights running hot in a tent including powerful led's.View attachment 4494285View attachment 4494286

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nice setup bud! Intrigued about the going back to plastic pots from fabric?!

Lol I knew it. Short story- Ive been running fabric for a while now. I had a gut feeling to mix some plastics back in. So, plastic has been better in multiple side by sides I've done now. It waters more evenly and require less water to drench and run off, likewise its easier to avoid salt build up which does build up in the fabric of those pots. I like the more stout form that I can grab with one hand and not disturb the roots as well. Not to mention you can really only go into fabric for final potting due to root tear during fabric transplants. My plastic pots have been producing substantially better than fabs now that I'm slowly dialing my grows in.

grimplestix said:

So I have come into possession of a California Lightworks solar system 1100 led and traded in the two 315 cmh I was running in the 4x4. also going back to plastic pots from fabric- whole different discussion. This system still runs hot!! Its 800w at the wall with all spectrums running full and basically a heat pad in the top of my tent. Running 88 F without supplemental cooling. I am sick of battling heat at the expense of humidity in my tent. Solution: I built a drop ceiling in the tent with foam insulation and pull air over the light from one intake port to the other and outside. My tent is now running at ambient temp 72ish and I can control the humidity perfectly in the growing space. Thought others might be able to add to this idea or speak of other solutions of all lights running hot in a tent including powerful led's.View attachment 4494285View attachment 4494286

Click to expand...

Why dont you get a bigger exhaust fan surely the foam is stopping your light bouncing around?
Also yi think you're blocking airflow

Im not really worried about the lost reflectivity from the ceiling. I live in the northeast us, the heat in my home is dry to begin with for about 2/3 of the year, and then way too humid for a 1/3. With high light heat I am forced to pull so much "dry home air" through the grow chamber with my 480cfm inline fan that humidity within the grow chamber drops to unacceptable levels. This light is a commercial unit not some Chinese crap, it still runs hot based on its high output. I run a humidifier for all stages of growth as I have seen the increased bounty of proper VPD. However, the humidifier cannot keep up with the high amount of exhaust volume in this scenario. So this mod allows me to separate my airflow and humidity needs in the grow chamber, from light cooling requirements. Makes adjustments nice and easy. And I agree I should cut an angle to allow better light at the edges of the foam. My goal was to create a cheap and easy "air cooling" of an LED unit, while accentuating its already robust heat sink. Again this light actually replaces a 1000w has and runs at a similar heat to HID.

What do you think of your light so far?

it's bright..also has UVB wings to add on, can't even put the next transplants in for about a week. 'Romulan' S1s and 'The Bling' S1s going in next. Don't worry I'll string this one along for everybody I swear.

I run the same light it is bright having the controller is nice but expensive