Ztelthys 100W HPS TV Cabinet Conversion (Pimped Out !!!)

SteezyDee said:

YES! AN UPDATE! Looks like you got those fans to fit the cooltube nicely. Are those odor sox any good btw? the 250w doesnt look too big for the cab either.

Cheers!

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Yeah man! .. the fans slotted straight straight in and were a comfortable fit I glue gun'd them in to make them as effective as possible.. The Odor socks are great in my opinion...but I'd always use one as well as a propper Carbon Filter... I've heard good things about them but have never tested them on their own without a real Carbon Filter. - ZTELTHY

polyarcturus said:

dont know how the co2 will help if your constantly exhausting. there will be way to much heat if you dont exhaust. am i missing something? light looks good an ballast placement is a good spot too.

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I'll have to see what the temps are like.. and see if the Cool-tube fans are enough to keep the temps at bay! ..if so I'll be able to run C02 and keep the main exhaust on a timer. Cheers - Yeah I figured that be the best place for the ballast...out the way and close to the main exhaust filter and slightly adjacent to the main intake should keep it cool enough ..and if not ..I'll add a fan by the Ballast to make sure its kept cool - ZTELTHY

...and I can dim the ballast to run the Dual-Spec HPS lamp in flower at a reduced Wattage @ either 150W or 175W - so that should defo. allow me to shut off the main exhaust, C02 allows you to run slightly hotter temps too.. so that's always a bonus ...still loads to do yet though !! - ZTELTHY

Ztelthy said:

...and I can dim the ballast to run the Dual-Spec HPS lamp in flower at a reduced Wattage @ either 150W or 175W - so that should defo. allow me to shut off the main exhaust, C02 allows you to run slightly hotter temps too.. so that's always a bonus ...still loads to do yet though !! - ZTELTHY

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unfortunately youll find yourself cutting a hole on the other end for more ducting for the lights so the air will not mix with the cab air and youll probably end up wanting to move the ballast to the outside but well see.


looks great thus far!

The light is on a sealed circuit so to speak the ducting just isn't attached on the right hand side!

But I agree that the ballast could be a problem, my 250w one gets pretty damn hot.

Stay Frosty!

Matchbox said:

The light is on a sealed circuit so to speak the ducting just isn't attached on the right hand side!

But I agree that the ballast could be a problem, my 250w one gets pretty damn hot.

Stay Frosty!

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Which ballast do you have? ...I have 3 other Lumatek Ballasts a 250, 400, and 600w .. The 400 gets warm and the 600 gets warmer...but the 250 stays pretty cool, I am hoping the 'dim switch' should make a difference to the Ballasts core temp/s as well!? (Just a hunch) lol.. - ZTELTHY

Might make a difference I've only got a dodgy magnetic ballast, had a compact and a digital before, they all got hot

Matchbox said:

Might make a difference I've only got a dodgy magnetic ballast, had a compact and a digital before, they all got hot

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I'll have to setup a heat trial when its done..n see what works best oh here's a LINK to my other thread....Got some questions that need answers !!



https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/571248-ztelthy-needs-help-kelvin-k.html



The most recent question/s are the ones in my last post - ZTELTHY

I've discovered and awesome way I can attach the Ducting on the right hand side.. I am gonna buy another 3.7" CPU fan...then take the fan out of it...just keep the plastic circle, I'll cut off the corners with the Dremmel and remove the fan, and cut out a notch for the Power cable and Mogul clamp.. then connect another rounded 3.7" CPU to it and then using 4" Aluminium ducting I'll connect the lamp to the intake fan/input connector.

Sounds more complex than it really is but this will be a-lot easier in the long run (changing lamps etc..) and will give me increased air-flow ..to further reduce the running temps of the 250W lamps.. and the temps in the actual grow-space - ZTELTHY

Matchbox said:

Could just say the missus runs the hairdryer a LOT lol

Looking good Stelthy!

I did have an opinion on the lights but polyarcturus pretty much covered it good that your sticking with the 250, they are very nice lights for small grows and own it in a cool tube XD

Hows your grow turning/turned out Cues anyways?

Stay Frosty!

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LOL! Hi MB.

Pulled 6 OZ when i finally weighed it in the end but I reckon it would have been 7 if I hadn't been smoking it during late flower and cure so still hovering about the 0.75 gpw. Gutted.
I think I went wrong in not vegging long enough and the problems I had with the light getting too close. Also I understand the 250 is less lumens per watt than the 600 I ued to use.
Smoke's about average. Smooth taste (getting better as cure goes on, about 6 weeks jarred up now)
Average effect.
I dished the screen more to get another couple of inches away from the light and put two cuttings (unfortunately flowering so needed re-vegging) in there for the next run. Next time I will keep training further into stretch too.
The bonsai chillis are my main worry atm though and I have to get them through winter.
Anyway, the room i rather empty today as I potted some up into coco yesterday. Here's where I'm at right now.

UPDATE :-



This is the 3.7" CPU fan I took apart and modified.. this will be used as a coller on the right hand-side of the ducting (so the power cable can exit the Cooltube without interfering with the ducting





My 250W SunMaster Dual Spectrum lamp came...but I am gonna hold out for the 6500K MH before I connect up the rest of the ducting



I modified a PC powerlead extension cable to become the cool-tubes mogul power connector to connect up to my Lumatek Ballast



I also got these jubilee clips to make sure all the ducting was secure and sealed



The new 4" ducting has arrived, BUT its more like 4.5" Ducting which creates a problem ... I'll prob get some more, the run needs to be perfect





I decided to have a quick test of the 250 dimmable Lumatek Ballast, this is a 250W Osram Super.... Its hella-bright for the size unit...good times !!



it doesn't look to bright in this pic, but trust me its bright - ZTELTHY

Nice man. How come your photo's don't show the 'banding' I always get if I try and photograph with the light on? Do you think it's the bulb, ballast or your camera?
Love the fact you on't mess about with that ducting. It's not worth it with the other work you've put in.
Still can't help thinking that some kind of reflection would help optimise things. If not a standard reflector, maybe a 45 degree bevel around the top 4-6" of the cupboard.

cues said:

Nice man. How come your photo's don't show the 'banding' I always get if I try and photograph with the light on? Do you think it's the bulb, ballast or your camera?
Love the fact you on't mess about with that ducting. It's not worth it with the other work you've put in.
Still can't help thinking that some kind of reflection would help optimise things. If not a standard reflector, maybe a 45 degree bevel around the top 4-6" of the cupboard.

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digita ballasts run the lights at a much higher mega hertz thus no banding in pictures

So cool. I have heard this but to see it is cool.

cues said:

Nice man. How come your photo's don't show the 'banding' I always get if I try and photograph with the light on? Do you think it's the bulb, ballast or your camera?
Love the fact you on't mess about with that ducting. It's not worth it with the other work you've put in.
Still can't help thinking that some kind of reflection would help optimise things. If not a standard reflector, maybe a 45 degree bevel around the top 4-6" of the cupboard.

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Yeah..its cos its a digital ballast and a lamp thats meant for digital ballasts...if I used a EYE Hortilux lamp (meant for Magnetic Ballasts) on the Lumatek digital ballast ..it would still appear to flicker when caught on camera due to the different operating frequency ....same would happen if you used a Digi-Lux (Digital Lamp) on a Magnetic ballast...it would still flicker, but if you match up a digital lamp with a digital ballast ...no flicker and if you used a Magnetic Lamp on a Magnetic ballast the same "should" apply....[although I've never used a Magnetic ballast] ..(magnetic Ballast's get awful warm whilst running and most of them make a buzzing noise).

If the lamp appears to flicker the chances are the lamps life will be shortened due to the stress of flickering.. If you can use an HD Video camera to view your setup with the lights on you'll be able to tell if your running the correct type Lamp for the correct type Ballast ....an vice-versa..

I prefer Digital Ballasts and lamps..the only downside is that digital ballasts are 9 times outta 10 more expensive to buy..











I'am not to bothered about using a better/modified reflector...for now.. As I plan to re-decorate after the 1st grow - and cover the grow-space in ORCA Film, and I'll prob make a custom ORCA reflector as well....but that's all fun for another day - ZTELTHY

Nice! That Orca film does look ridiculous, very expensive though, I quite like my shiny diamond mylar, looks a bit more spacey

Those are some nice looking chilli's Cues! Mine have all finished producing and are dying off for the winter, cant be asked to save them lol XD

Matchbox said:

Nice! That Orca film does look ridiculous, very expensive though, I quite like my shiny diamond mylar, looks a bit more spacey

Those are some nice looking chilli's Cues! Mine have all finished producing and are dying off for the winter, cant be asked to save them lol XD

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Yeah ORCA Film is mega reflective and bright! ..But also crazy expensive lol, I too prefer the look of Diamond Mylar ..but I am being won over by just how much brighter ORCA film makes the grow-room and that can only be good and it'll allow us to pull more weight ..from the same lights - ZTELTHY

Nice!
Cheers MB. I,m a bit further south than you and mine are indoors. Even a sunny windowsill is enough to get them to overwinter if you prune them back hard.
Outside, cutting them back to a 6" stump and putting a plastic bottle (bottom cut off) over them will at least give them a fighting chance.

They were a bit shit lol, not very chili'esque at all going to get a better chilli strain before I decide to keep them alive over winter

Ahh, but the love is in the mix of flavours!

Today i spent 2 hrs watering my potted up ones in coco, scraping moss and lichens of the roof to add and suddenly realised the pot side (meaning the ones in pots!) all needs up-grading. It's the watering that does my head in! Takes too much time. The hydro sytem just gets on with it.

I have a 2x4 table spare and I'm going to convert it to some sort of passive hydro with the bonchis standing in the table in their pots and a manual drain of some type. Still, got winter to worry about that. May add a pump in summer if needed.

Just learned how to make T5 fixtures for next to nothing (with ballasts from energy saving cfl's) so that's my next project!