Greens21
12-14-2006, 06:22 PM
Ok so here's the deal... I've been a grower for awhile now, but all I've ever done is little fluorescent grows, and I just recently decided to graduate to HID, but I have some concerns because of my inexperience with these powerful lights.
I have roommates that I don't want to know that I'm growing...and it's not as if they would call the cops or anything if they found it (potheads too) but for personal security issues I'm trying to keep it as secretive as possible.
So... I'm building a cabinet to keep in my closet, and after much deliberation I finally decided to do a 2 plant DWC Scrog with a 250w HPS. In this cabinet I have a moms/cloning section on top which will just be fluoros, so I'm not too concerned with that. The main scrog section will be the one with the HPS, (approx 2.2x1.7x4ft) and I'm a little concerned with temperature issues.
I've developed three options of how to build this cab, with option one being the most preferable and option three being the least. All three options have basically a "maze" of enclosed 1x4's surrounding the ventilation areas to prevent light leaks, so you can tell what those are in the pics.
Option 1: I get a 250w HPS with enclosed ballast and glass lens. A 260CFM fan will be put into one side of the cab near the bottom of the lamp. I think this will be the best way (if it will work) because it gives tons of fresh airflow to the plants while (hopefully) keeping the cab cool. By my calculations my cab is a little over 10 cubic feet, so all the air in the cab should be displaced about 2.5 times per minute, and I would think this would be sufficient, but I'm not sure how much heat to expect from the bulb and ballast.
Option 2: I get a 250w HPS CoolTube with remote ballast and set the ballast on top of the whole cab. This will be good because the heat from the ballast will not be in the cab and the heat from the bulb will be directed straight out of the cab by ducting so heat shouldnt be an issue. This is not as good however because there will be very little airflow for the plants and I'm worried (because of my ignorance) that the ballast will put off enough heat to fill the closet, then the fresh air intake will just be sucking in hot air, not doing any good.
Option 3: Same as option 2, but with the remote ballast outside the closet. This is least preferable because it is (obviously) not as concealed from my roommates. Also (again because of my ignorance) Im not sure how much heat output to expect from the 250w ballast. Will it put out enough heat to heat the bedroom to an uncomfortable temperature?
Any help from anyone will be greatly appreciated, or if you have more options to suggest I'm very open to hearing them.
Thanks everyone!
G21 :baggy:
I have roommates that I don't want to know that I'm growing...and it's not as if they would call the cops or anything if they found it (potheads too) but for personal security issues I'm trying to keep it as secretive as possible.
So... I'm building a cabinet to keep in my closet, and after much deliberation I finally decided to do a 2 plant DWC Scrog with a 250w HPS. In this cabinet I have a moms/cloning section on top which will just be fluoros, so I'm not too concerned with that. The main scrog section will be the one with the HPS, (approx 2.2x1.7x4ft) and I'm a little concerned with temperature issues.
I've developed three options of how to build this cab, with option one being the most preferable and option three being the least. All three options have basically a "maze" of enclosed 1x4's surrounding the ventilation areas to prevent light leaks, so you can tell what those are in the pics.
Option 1: I get a 250w HPS with enclosed ballast and glass lens. A 260CFM fan will be put into one side of the cab near the bottom of the lamp. I think this will be the best way (if it will work) because it gives tons of fresh airflow to the plants while (hopefully) keeping the cab cool. By my calculations my cab is a little over 10 cubic feet, so all the air in the cab should be displaced about 2.5 times per minute, and I would think this would be sufficient, but I'm not sure how much heat to expect from the bulb and ballast.
Option 2: I get a 250w HPS CoolTube with remote ballast and set the ballast on top of the whole cab. This will be good because the heat from the ballast will not be in the cab and the heat from the bulb will be directed straight out of the cab by ducting so heat shouldnt be an issue. This is not as good however because there will be very little airflow for the plants and I'm worried (because of my ignorance) that the ballast will put off enough heat to fill the closet, then the fresh air intake will just be sucking in hot air, not doing any good.
Option 3: Same as option 2, but with the remote ballast outside the closet. This is least preferable because it is (obviously) not as concealed from my roommates. Also (again because of my ignorance) Im not sure how much heat output to expect from the 250w ballast. Will it put out enough heat to heat the bedroom to an uncomfortable temperature?
Any help from anyone will be greatly appreciated, or if you have more options to suggest I'm very open to hearing them.
Thanks everyone!
G21 :baggy: