dilemma

[bloodbrother]

ok so here it is.. after putting my DIY cooltube together the center of the 1000W HPS is approx. 2,5 ft from where the flexible ducting is able to bend... the box is 5ftx4ft(x,y) and my question is should i still run the cooltube parallel to the short side of the box and have the center of the light located in center of the 5 foot dimension and about a half foot over on the four foot dimension (being located at about (2.5ft, 2.5ft) or should i position it parallel to the 5 ft walls so that it the center of lamp is in the center (2.5ft,2ft) of box but running parallel with the wrong side?

[Rusty Trichome]

The Readers Digest answer is...do what works, without screwing it up, lol. :jointsmile:

[bloodbrother]

well both work but i guess i was wondering whichwould be more efficient lighting lol

[Rusty Trichome]

The only way to tell, is to put the plants in there and see. :jointsmile:

[the image reaper]

this exact question was explained to me by a genius friend, and a grower ... 'Custom39' :thumbsup: ... the short answer: place the LONG side of the lamp/reflector towards the SHORT sides of the cabinet ... I know that sounds the opposite of what you'd first assume, but realize, a minimum of light is projected from the ends of the lamp, more from the sides of the lamp/reflector ... thus, more light is reflected towards the distant ends of the cabinet ... :jointsmile: (by the way, my cabinet had it the 'wrong' way, because I had no choice, limited space) :jointsmile:

[Puffzter]

Yes that's what you should do. The cooltube needs to be paralell with the short walls.
At least if you want the best light distribution you can get. This is especially important with a cooltube. It reflects very little light in the direction of the ducts.

Puffzter