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I'm planning to try this next week, temperatures are cooler than cfl. I run a small computer fan blowing across the bulbs and i removed the glass on the reflector. result is the housing of the reflector is not even warm. Without the fan the reflector is quit warm to the touch about as warm as a cfl. I think there is some real possiblities here. See pictures
I've been following this thread and eagerly awaiting an update. I've been toying with the idea of a 12v system, and I must say, this is brilliant! Simplisity is always best.
I would recommend that you get an advance disclosure agreement. Its a document filled with the patent office for a temporary time frame. It allows you to approach manufactures with the design with out the fear that they might steal the idea.
Good luck buddy.... please keep me informed!
how are the hid from cars working? i have a solar panel system on my house would be easy to hook it up to run off it since they are 12 volt. or would leds be a better choice
Hi Libraman,
I have started my HID grow and so far they are working incredible. They are outperforming our 250 watt cfl grow! They are in about a week in bud and there are noticably more buds forming than the cfl's and the plants are much more bushy. The one thing i need to figure out is the reflectors. Right now the reflector i'm using concentrates most of the light to a sq ft. so i'm limited to how many plants i can grow in my cabinet. I'll be trying diferent reflectors to try to spead the light out a bit. As for running these on a solar panel you would need a pretty big one and a bank of batteries but it can be done. These draw 70 watts for the pair. Depends on how much sun you get a day.
the pictures are of my 3000K xenons and the other is a 250 watt cfl 2700K with a 100 watt biotropic 25000K cfl
nice im really liking this idea. i have 50 watt xenon hids on my car and they are bright so thats a 100 watts which i think together is 10000 lumens which would take 15 kits to equal 1 1000watt hid lumens.and running at 12 volts is better than running a 120v hid but it would be more cost effective to go with a 1000w hid ballast (but cost isnt an issue) to get the same amount of lumens. but the heat produced by it is what im not liking and i dont know how well it would work on a dc/ac inverter since my house is ran on solar power only. i have a big enough battery bank with 2 2000 watt wind turbines for 24/7 charging not to mention 50 60watt panels. the room i built is 8x8 divided by mylar to have 4x4 for flowering and veging.
is the reflector needed why not have the bulb sitting in the middle and one on top? i think with these you could have a better light penetration since you can place the bulbs in different spots as long as they dont get to hot right?
Hi everyone,
here is some update pics on our test with HID's. These are working awesome as we thought they would. These are out performing a 250 watt 2700K cfl with a 105 watt 25000K cfl. We are using two 3000K hid with a total of 70 watts!! Check out the pictures. This is my first ever grow no c02. Let me know what you think. We are 4 weeks in bud in these pics. The pictures on the left and center are the HID and the one on the right is the cfl's. Plants are healthierand bushier than the cfl' grow.
Looks great man! I might have to check into these for the future! What brand HID's did you find the 3000K in?
Hey Redtails,
These were just a generic brand off of ebay. These were 3000K bulbs tinted with yellow coating. I'm trying to find 3000K bulbs that are not tinted to do a comparison. The key to these is a good reflector to concentrate the light.
Awesome idea. I would have thought that the cfl would win with ease. So 70wMH=/>flower power than 355w CFL. Wow.:thumbsup:
This here is some seriously advanced futuristic far out stuff man. Dude, can this be patented? You are sitting on dynamite here as this could make grow boxes smaller and quieter while growing MORE using less power! :eek:
Also the power supply would have to bring the amperage to the party. We ain't talkin' no PC supply, I don't think. Don't just assume "It's only 12V", Did you every short a car battery? Those sparks shoot all over the place and leave a burn through body panels. It's the amperage that's a big deal. :jumphappy:
Can this be patented? If you're not already, somebody else probably is! :woohoo: