new flower cab, light advice needed.

[emmpey]

i'm putting together a new flower cab so I can get a crop every couple of months. its 3'x2'x5' and raised up 18" to save my back. I will grow SOG style eventually.

at the moment I grow and flower in the white wardrobe to the right using 200w red and blue envirolites. it's 3.75' square foot.

I was gonna get another 200w red CFL for the new cab, but I only got them originally cos a) they're cheap and b) I was worried about the heat.

after a couple of grows with them I am frustrated that flowering seems to take 2-3 weeks longer than people growing the same strains with HID.

now I'm thinking maybe its time for some proper light ;), i.e. HID 400w but I don't want to get into having extractor fans and all that mallachi.

the cab is in a spare room with no heating, the passive air inlet and outlet are 40" square - do you think i'll get away with a 400w HID in there? i.e. no heat problems.

sorry about pic quality :)

[emmpey]

OK let me rephrase that question...

can you run a HID light in a cab with just passive air intake?

If so, what kind of wattage for 6 square feet?

Anyone?

[turtle420]

I don't think you'll be able to pull it off....
Just my opinion, I'd love to see me proven wrong.


Side questions:::: Your cab has no kinds of fans? (I didn't get that part correctly).

I mean, nothing at all?
Do the plants get fresh air from the outside?

You can build/buy a cool tube... those keep the temps within' check very nicely.

I ran a 400W MH inside a cool tube, with a 50CFM fart fan ($15), and it worked fine. More CFMs would have been much better, but it worked as it was.

Best emmpey,

-turtle420 :cool:
.

[emmpey]

Your cab has no kinds of fans? (I didn't get that part correctly). I mean, nothing at all? Do the plants get fresh air from the outside?


Nah nothing, I just have one large air inlet at the bottom and one at the top - it works like a chimney, as the hot air rises it goes out the top and fresh air is drawn at the bottom. It works quite well - you can feel a nice little breeze on the outlet.

OK, it was just a thought I had while putting this new cab together. I think i'll stick with the CFL even though it adds a few weeks to flower time - I might put in some clones every 5-6 weeks so I can get a crop more often.

Thanks for setting me straight. :thumbsup:

oh yeah, quick question for ya -I see lots of sites/people use 420 in their name, what is the significance of that number? cheers.

[xcrispi]

i have a c-13 cab. myself ,
like 6 sq. ft. of floor space and i run a 250 hps in it w/ a 19.00 4in. inductor duct fan pulling the heat out of the hood and exits outside of the cab, and another 4in. duct fan pulling heat out the top of cab. like a chimney so it pulls fresh air in thru passive intake holes near the floor. and i can keep temps in the hi 70's low 80's .
peace

[emmpey]

i will stick with cfl for now, but will alter cab design slightly to allow for easy fitting of a duct outlet for air cooled hood or a cool tube in the future. 250w hps put out same lumens or more as 400w cfl. quite a saving on electric.

[emmpey]

main build of my flower cab nearly finished, just need to cover, paint and fit lights and door. so far its cost me 10 quid for additional wood and fixings.

I deceided to keep my options open for future hps light by making a removable light proof vent which I can simply blank off, and attaching a removable side panel for fitting any future air-duct outlets with minimum grow disruption.

I like the idea of being able to easily switch from a passive to active air-flow cab - If temps get too high under hps in the summer I can switch back to cfls for a week or two.

that wallpapers nice init?

[907PokeSmot]

well my flower room is 32 sq feet. and with a 600w HPS, 465cfm squirl fan and a cool tube im still at 80 degreese F with the light on if that helps hehe without the fan on it will get past 100. so yea without vents it will heat up. but you got a little more space and 400s dont get as hot. IMP a cooltube with like a like 200ish cfm fan to exaust and that passive intake will be min to keep the heat down in thier

[emmpey]

hi pokesmot - that's my passive outlet :) , the passive inlet will be at the bottom.

it's ok for 400w cfl, but yeah, I'll need a fan for hps. I'm thinkin of getting a 250w, cool tube and TD160 eventually - seems a popular setup fro my cab size.

[BlueBear]

I run a 1000w in a cabinet that is 12 SQF and the temps stay in the 70's, I use 2 active intakes to keep it that way though.
Adieu

[emmpey]

thanks bear,

do you think 250w its a bit on the small side for 6 sq ft?

I was originally thinking of a 400w HPS with a TD160 fan. If this is too hot I can change the lamp to 250w right?

[emmpey]

i got some cardboard from the local bike shop - nice big peices they deliver new bikes in - and painted it flat white. now waiting for another 200w cfl. will fit a door in the week and maybe get a bit of mylar in there.
still only costing 10 quid :yippee:

[emmpey]

put some mylar on the walls, made some light brackets and reflectors from the box the lights come in, and lined them with mylar. tomorrow I will fix in the power and put the door up. its very bright in there - hope my girls like it.

[SDK SLAYER]

yo emmpey....well nice set-up m8....go for a 400w if you can, yer ladies will love you for it....but make sure you got plenty of airflow in there... :thumbsup: :greenthumb:

[emmpey]

cheers m8, aint got the spons at the mo. maybe next year - unless Santa's packing me a 400w HPS with ballast, reflector, ducting and fan. I should be ok for a harvest or two in there though.

[GreenShamen]

hey, are those the massive 100w cfl's in there?? i like the setup. when u gonna start it all off cant wait to see

later

[emmpey]

hey thanks shamen, they're two 200w red envirolites giving off about 36,000 lumens, which works out at 6000 per sq ft :D

I got some ladies vegging at the mo - white widow X skunk, should start flowering them in the next week or two once I take some clones.

[emmpey]

ok, i'm all done. had a nightmare with the zipper, forgot I cut the bottom off and run the slider off the bottom, after I had fixed the door to the cab. had to take the top bit of the zipper apart to get it back on :(

it's cost me about £30 total excluding the lights (they're £40 each with free sockets). the last pic is with the lights on and door closed - it's light tight.

should be using it in a week or too :dance: