S---l---o---w

So, as I have said before, my seedlings are growing SLOW!!! I have three bagssed plants under fluoros (2 40w tubes) The first two are 18 days old, and the third is 5 days old. Pics and specifics are in my grow journal (see signature). What I am writing for, is I am picking up my 400w MH today, and plan to put them under the MH this weekend. I have afew questions about this.
How much heat signature will a 400w MH pur off? The hydro store told me that this model doesn't get hot barely at all, but that sounds far fetched....I am just curious if it will be a strong heat sign.
Secondly, I have been on 24/0 light cycle with the fluoros. Should I continue 24/0 under the MH or go to 18/6. as you can see my plants are way too small for almost three weeks, although they are healthy.
Anyway...hopefully I canget some feedback. Sometimes that is hard to do...LOL. Anyway....any and all feedback would be great.
Thanks!!

i use a 1000w light and it gets pretty warm. if there is a reason why "they" would be interested in you (like a lot of traffic in and out of your house or prior growing conviction) then I can understand your concern. Otherwise you may be being a bit paranoid over a 400w light. I think my computers CPU gets hotter than my 1000w light - at least i can touch the glass -- i wouldn't dare touch a heat sink!

Having said that - i don't know for certain, but i would think a 400w would show up in a heat signature - anything over a certain temp would i'd think.

There is no doubt in my mind that your plants would benefit greatly from the MH bulb. as for 24/0 vs. 18/6 - it is my understanding that the growers who use 18/6 do so because they believe one or more of the following:
1) reduces electrical cost
2) reduces heat problems
3) reduces number of males (not sure if this has been verified)
4) plants need a rest (not sure about this one)
5) dark times help roots grow (not sure about this one either)

of course you could split the difference and do 20/4

anyway - my two cents...

The heat sensors are not xray machines, all they can detect is if the outer surface of the building is hot. Therefore if you grow in an inner room of the house and vent the heat out the chimney, then it will just look like u are running a fireplace.
Another thing people do is build a room inside of a room and double or tripple insulate the walls of the inner room to prevent any heat seepage. In this case you will definately need a good vent system, preferably out the roof! This is only a problem if your grow room is 10-20+ degrees hotter than the rest of your house or if your house is 10-20+ degrees hotter than every other house on the block, in that case the grow area/house will show up as a brighter color of heat than the rest of the house/s. Just remember, contrary to popular belief HEAT SENSORS ARE NOT XRAY MACHINES!!! They can only tell if the outer surface is hot.

pasadenabri said:

The heat sensors are not xray machines, all they can detect is if the outer surface of the building is hot. Therefore if you grow in an inner room of the house and vent the heat out the chimney, then it will just look like u are running a fireplace.
Another thing people do is build a room inside of a room and double or tripple insulate the walls of the inner room to prevent any heat seepage. In this case you will definately need a good vent system, preferably out the roof! This is only a problem if your grow room is 10-20+ degrees hotter than the rest of your house or if your house is 10-20+ degrees hotter than every other house on the block, in that case the grow area/house will show up as a brighter color of heat than the rest of the house/s. Just remember, contrary to popular belief HEAT SENSORS ARE NOT XRAY MACHINES!!! They can only tell if the outer surface is hot.

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thanks for that info.

Damn coppers. as far as i'm concerned, the pricks can heat sensor my ass!

what tubes are you using to do your seedlings?, mine looked like this at the start of veg but i was using 4 4ft tubes high in the far blues and reds.

Think of it like this,compare the wattage of your hid light to the wattage of an electric space heater,its not exact science but its in the ballpark.

Little 400 watters are not that hot at all.

Sweet....and yes I may have a prior conviction for major possession...but that was in 1989...haven't even had a traffic ticket since, and my grow room is very well vented and in a lower interior room, with a computer in it and a 40" tv, so I guess I am worried for no reason. YAY!!! I wouldn't evem worry but I ordered some seeds (not shipped to my house of course) and I haven't got them yet (only 2 weeks from UK...I did get a shipment notice), so naturally I have slight trepidation. I've done some days in jailllllnot wanting any more. Anyway, Thanks much!!! I will post new pics in the grow journal after i get them vegging under my MH! Peaz!!

email468 said:

thanks for that info.

Damn coppers. as far as i'm concerned, the pricks can heat sensor my ass!

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I hate those stupid $%cks! They treat people that arent cops like they arent people.... Your welcome for that info, It was actually on 2different videos I watched and confirmed by an ex-officer on one of those videos, I watched so many, I don't know which ones. It does make sense tho, I know I explained it like three times but I wanted to make sure people understood it, and I didn't forget anything.

Platypusmann: Is your reflector insulated? It'll get pretty hot right under the bulb, but otherwise it's not much of a problem if you have a fan circulating air or blowing near the light (maybe between the light and the plants). Might only be a concern if the grow area is too small, otherwise it's as hot as having two PCs on w/ heatsinks exposed.

And about 24/0, with fluoros 24/0 isn't a prob cause they don't pull much wattage, but you'd save money using 18/6 w/ the HID... and there's no real benefit from 24/0. Invest in a timer, IMO.

Damn email, you can touch the glass of a 1K Watt bulb? I had a 400w and it got pretty hot. Nothing to be concerned about, but I got a serious burn touching the glass.

As for heat sensors, what exactly shows up? Let's say my grow room is near the edge of my house (only one wall separating it from the street outside), but the temperature of this room is the same as the temp in the rest of the house? all around room temperature...

would this show anything on the heat sensor? Before your comment, I did think they were like Xray machines, showing an area where the heat was emitting from (so they'd see a bright spot where my light is behind the wall).

Thanks for clarifying, I hope I didn't misunderstand.