LIGHTS!

Jus Naturale said:

I'm thinking you'd be better of with the cfls, or even both, if you can figure out the temperature issue. That's where I'd put my brain power, is the heat issue. How do you vent?

Cheers!

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hepzibah said:

I need to control temps in my 2.5 x 1.5 x 4 foot cab.

Will this light be enough to flower 1 plant in a 5 gal container?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160971060868?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=460151211055&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Its a 150 watt HPS for those who don't want to click.

Will that light be cooler (if ballast outside of cab) than 8-42 watt CFLS? Also, will yields be bigger?

is 150 watts even worth futzing with? Keep in mind: small space with heat issues.

Thank you.

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Admortis said:

My first grow cab had a 150hps and it worked well. Formed nice rock hard buds although, the temps is going to be an issue. Lots of ventilation will help but may not be enough..just depends on the temp of the room you draw the air from. The problem my friend had using cfl's is it has no real lumun penetration and while it produced buds they were light and fluffy. He had more watts in those cfl's than i had in my 150 and mine still outperformed his hands down. My buds were big and nice and hard while his stayed fluffy. I have heard others say they get great results from cfl's but keep in mind, they produce heat as well so you will still have to worry about the temps

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hepzibah said:

Thanks, that is good to hear. I used CFLs for my first grow and it looked like I got a good yield but all the buds were very fluffy. I still had temp issues and ended up keeping the doors open whenever the lights were on....which is not ideal.

How big was your first grow cab that had the 150hps? I am considering a dimmable 250 watt that has a cool tube too. I've heard very mixed reviews on those though (keeps cool but wonky light distribution...)

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cassinfo said:

150 is enough for one plant, but I would go 250 with a cool tube and vent the air outta the dungeon and get that killer yield your looking for.

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Admortis said:

My first cab was 20"/24" which worked well; heat being the only real issue. It might help to go to what ever the first size hps that has the ballast separate from the fixture allowing you to place it outside the cab but the real trick is ventilation. Suck that heat off the fixture and vent it outside of the cab is the only real solution. Right now I have my original cab for mothers and cloning which has 100 watt t5 in the top for moms and four cfl's in the bottom for the clones. The closet I set up has a 600 watt hps. Both of the rooms are vented with a 440 cfm fan that attaches to both lights. It draws the hot air out into the room and runs it thru a scruber. I also have a window shaker keeping the whole thing at 75 degrees.

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hepzibah said:

I think I am going to go with a 250. This one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/380807014738?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
I am worried that it is a piece of junk....but it is the shortest cool tube I can find at ~18 inches. I figure I can always buy better bulbs and replace the ballast if it craps out.


Did you have a cool tube? I am hoping that will fix my heat issues. There is a 150 hps that has a separate ballast but it is magnetic not digital (I don't know if that makes much difference) and it comes with a reflecting hood that would just barely fit into my cab (little room for ventilation). I think the cheap kit I listed above might be my best bet.



*Also* I couldn't wait to crack my seed. Planted popped bean on 8/8 and she is already breaking soil!
View attachment 3225927

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hepzibah said:

I need to control temps in my 2.5 x 1.5 x 4 foot cab.

Will this light be enough to flower 1 plant in a 5 gal container?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160971060868?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=460151211055&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Its a 150 watt HPS for those who don't want to click.

Will that light be cooler (if ballast outside of cab) than 8-42 watt CFLS? Also, will yields be bigger?

is 150 watts even worth futzing with? Keep in mind: small space with heat issues.

Thank you.

Click to expand...

hepzibah said:

I need to control temps in my 2.5 x 1.5 x 4 foot cab.
Will this light be enough to flower 1 plant in a 5 gal container?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/160971060868?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=460151211055&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Its a 150 watt HPS for those who don't want to click.
Will that light be cooler (if ballast outside of cab) than 8-42 watt CFLS? Also, will yields be bigger?
is 150 watts even worth futzing with? Keep in mind: small space with heat issues.
Thank you.

Click to expand...

FrozenChozen said:

go for the 250 watt... in my experience, cfls especially 40+ watts create TONS of heat... when I had no money, I grew with a homemade LED panel, 5 42 watt cfls, and 2 68 watt cfls, used money from that to upgrade to a 400W HID, then another 400W HID, then I got a 600, then a tent to expand my area, and this run I've switched to hydro....
If the starting cash isn't a problem, get the 250 hps, you'll really be surprised at how little heat they produce compared to larger cfls...
two things that come to thought are
-rather than exhausting with that fan, pump air into the cabinet and passive exhaust...
DIY COOL TUBE would help you tons:
start with a pyrex bake a round
( http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=pyrex bake a round&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=pyrex bake a round&_sacat=0 )
and adapt something from it... its a 4 inch pyrex tube.... little ducting and some creative engineering you'll be able to obamafy something up pretty quick...
LARGE CFLS POSE A FIRE RISK WHEN LEFT ON FOR MORE THAN 3-4 HOURS!

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