LED-WATER-HEATSINK

You fuse, you lose huh? Well, then I'll just have make sure the rig is tight. It's tempting to dab some sealant on the joints, but it would be nice to be able to twist the pipes tho, so I can adjust the angle the beams if needed... We'll see how it goes.

I did acquire some "plumber's tape" from the plumber-store, I guess it is the right kind as they only had that one, but the edges of the pipes are razor-sharp and shreds the tape going in... Might need to file it down a bit and get rid of that edge.

I'll post updates. Nothing is happening in the germ department yet, so I've got lots of time to get this right.

only need a wrap and half if its fairly thick tape. when you do wrap it on make sure do it like saran wrap. if it keeps giving issues you can get a liquid plumbers putty...not the stuff you use to seal sink drains. the tape should work great tho. dont file the threads use a wire brush

Newsflash! 2 seeds have popped:D I've got 2 seeds of "critical Haze" and 3 "Dreamtime" mixed strain-seeds, all of which are from Mr. Nice's seedbank.

I'm hoping they respond well to LEDs, but as I have about 80 mixed strain-seeds, there's got to be some strains well-suited for this.

I'll be looking for a wire brush, mal420xl, that would probably be perfect for this. But, what do you mean by "wrap it like saran wrap"? The plumber said to wrap it the opposite way of screwing, so the tape doesn't get unwound.

I've got the seedlings under a 250wCFL and I am planning on a short veg-time and a quick harvest to find a good mother(s) then go perpetual-H.

This is my second grow, The first one was a half-assed mess and I never got to harvest anything...

that means pull it sorta tight as youre wrapping it and yeah def want it opposite. sounds like youre well on your way...oh you can just call me mal no need for all the extra typing ya know.

Okay, mal! I just tried the tape some more without softening the edges of the pipe and I think you're right about the "wrap and a half" as I overdid it a tad the first time and that contributed to the shredding of the tape. I'll still need to get rid of that razor edge, though.

Plumbers remove that edge with a linoleum knife.
But, a Swiss army knife will do the trick.

On big jobs, I used a reamer chucked into a drill.

Use the hard metal Ts to tap threads into the soft copper pipe.
A little cutting oil will help a lot.
Once you have made and cleaned the threads the tape will work right.

Aloha,
Weeze

I just tried it with the tiny serrated knife on my wine opener (I'm more of a beer man) and it worked brilliantly. The Ts are slightly smaller than the pipe, so it doesn't thread... I'll try some other threaded bits I've got to do this, but the Ts aren't the best fit, that is a bit of a pain. With the tape and all I think it's gonna work out allright, though.

Okay, I'm done cleaning up the edges of the pipes and the Ts are an even worse fit now, but I've assembled one T as a test using a dab of glue along with the tape. The tape doesn't shred this time, but I imagine it would work better if the pipe were threaded despite the slight difference in size. I'll need to look for a "threader" piece.

The pipes I've got are an old type, according to the plumber, so next time I'll definitely do this using the current standard sizes. Doesn't feel right having to smear glue all over the place... But I decided to use what I had lying around for this project, and I'm not giving up on that yet!

Good news: All 5 seeds are in veg.

Weezard, do sativas generally respond worse to LEDs than indica's?

"Weezard, do sativas generally respond worse to LEDs than indica's?"

Generally, yes.

Skinny leaves, smaller leaf area, and they like to get too tall too fast.
That said, I do have a Sativa-leaner that loves leds.
And the fat-leafed K. O. Kush, limps and gripes until it gets sunlight.
With this small of a sample base it's hard to draw solid conclusions, but generally . . . :)

They all transpire more slowly under leds due to lack of radiant heat, so water less.
How much they "eat" seems specific to the strain.

Update:
The dryer sheet trick has a glitch.
There is at least one kind of Fungus gnat that can get through them.
Still, it's just an occasional "flyer".
I can live with that.
It was clouds of flyers and billions of root munchers.
Still no root aphids or whitefly.
And no budworms on the short plants.
(I'll tuck a sheet in the upper branches of the tall gals this season to repel the mamma moths.)

Caveat:
We tend to underestimate our pretty purple light.
I've killed a few clones by keeping the light too close.
Same goes for seedlings.

And I watched an otherwise intelligent man purchase 2 UFOs, and hang them 2" from his canopy.

That intensity stops growth.
Way too many photons.
More than the roots could possible keep up with.

He concluded that leds suck and proceeded to tell everybody how much they suck.
Never wondered at the superb results others were getting.
Kinda sad, he's a good grower.

Why am I telling you this?
A cautionary tale.
The height of the light has got to be right.

Your lights?:

'lings stretch?
Get 'em closer.

'lings fall over?
Too close.

Havin' fun yet? :D

Aloha,

Weeze

strange thing for a first post but meh here goes.

totally noob grower here, but i have done lots of plumbing.

why wouldn't you just get proper copper t's and copper caps for your sinks, ten solder all of it together?

i just see a major safety issue here.

basically from a plumbing perspective, it looks like a kid tryin ta plug a square peg in a round hole. the fittings do not match the pipe.

otherwise, te idea looks solid.