theoretical super duper reflection chamber

ok I have been thinking about this after noticing that when you hang mylar on a wall that is vertical that most of the light will actually bounce down onto the floor. I tried bouncing light at more of an angle and what do you know??? It captures the light that is going down and bounces it back to the plant better. now if the plants were arranged in a circle under the lamp you could use a center reflector that bounces light out in a circle to the plants and have walls on the outside of them bouncing light also. this way the plants would be getting light from all sides evenly "bottom too". I will make a cardboard model within a few days and post pics but for now I included a drawing.

Interesting.... ;)

Just add another light.. hehehe

I have tried such reflection techniques.. in the end, the foilage is always so dense that no light ever makes it past the canopy anyway..

i look forward to seeing your cardboard model..

i love you

or you could just not grow at all then another light wouldnt be needed :-). ok I made a small cardboard model and placed a lighter in the middle and illuminated it from the top with a little flashlight. as you can see the flashlight glows like Rudolphs nose. I also did another pic without the cardboard and as you can see the flashlight isnt nearly as bright.

maybe the idea could be perfected in a raytracing program. almost a virtual wind tunnel equivalent.
I bet this way using a 250watt light could be just as good as 1000watts in a regular grow

oh one more thing.....
Knowm.... the canopy cant go to the very edge of usable light. this way everywhere underneath becomes lit and the bottom buds will be given a lot more light and without the hassle or cost of adding more lights

i like your example.. NICE

GOOD JOB

i love you

I just noticed I used the word flashlight twice in that one post where I meant to say lighter. ooops :-).

ok I simulated a canopy for like 1 plant. i used a rolled up piece of paper and a cardboard top. again with and without reflector pics. this time you can see the flashlight "tri led".

thats a great example of thinking outside the grow box

Thats an Excellent idea!! I acutually did something like that, but it was foil circle in the top of the pot covering the dirt, it made my plants very bushy fast. Go Ahead and do it up!!!

this idea would work for bigger plants and would gather light from farther.
but yeah thanks guys
ok I also have another topic from another post to address..........
this is about foil and hot spots
if little bends in foil could create hot spots they wouldnt be able to travel out that far in the first place and heres why.......
did you ever burn ants with a magnifying glass???? there is a spot where the light is the smallest dot that gets hot, now when you bring the glass farther away it gets cooler and cooler. a tiny little wrinkle in foil couldn't focus the light out past the width of the wrinkle itself. sure there will be brighter spots from the bigger bends in the foil but nothing hot enough. same as mylar reflections just less powerfull. I always see plenty of hot spots off mylar. I will also do a pic of mylar vs foil. also I will test if light from a 1000 watt hps could be intensified using a magnifying glass. I bet it wont be anywhere near as hot as sunlight.

i'm using a combination of aluminum paint and aluminum tape in my grow box, have you tested anything similar?

no but I would guess if it were used on a big concave surface it could create a hot spot if enough light hit it in just the right way. but most people use flat walls I would imagine :-). I also bet that if the light lumen output was just enough for optimal grow conditions for the amount you have growing then the more you can bounce that amount of lumens to the plant all around then the plant will thrive. aluminum I think will actually sponge more of the lumens than even flat white paint could.
oh nice icon by the way my old band opened for Pantera back in 1994 :-)

heres my cheapo prototype version of the theoretical super duper reflection chamber, I used aluminum tape and cardboard.

Damn bro !!!!!!!! "pats on back"
thats sweet, does it seem to be reflecting good????

one thing that will help though
to make it more efficent try making the walls as high as the plants

I've got alot of ideas i want to implement for my next grow, this gives me a great jumping off point for one of them. I've had the makeshift reflectors in place since sunday, and one things for certain, its sure hasnt hurt the subjects.

I might make a bigger one tomorrow for go under my 1000w hps and take some pics.

The best reflector is a parabolic and next is a curve radius A simple Stainless steel salad bowl . Making reflectore out of any thing but METAL is asking for a fire. Now note the distance from the bulb to the reflector surface must be adjusted to make max use of the light. That why parabolic reflectors have a vertical adjustment. Also note that each surface you loose 5-15% of the bulbs output. Shenells (something like that ) has a book on reflectore.
Never use plastic,paper,wood with a hid or any other bulb that get hot. Always remember that the fire dept. WILL AND DOES CALL THE COPS ON POT GROWERS, IT CHARGES THERE CHERRY. PLUS SMOKING BODYS, SMELL IS A BITCH TO GET RID OF.
LIVE safe and live longer. :( :glugglug:

Can I recomend you doing those tests with the mini models but with normal side only reflection? We all know that having no reflection is a bad thing, but that doesn't mean that having the angles and all that would contribute more than normal and floor reflection only enough to make a difference to deal with all the hassle. Sorry if I sound like an asshole party pooper I just wanted to bring it to your attention before you go through the trouble of making a full sized chamber that might end up not really making a big difference at all. Goodluck.

I disagree Crazy dad I think it's a great idea and I've been thinking of something like this for a while.

crazy.....
the pics up above speak for themselves. sure there is reflection from vertical walls but most of that reflection goes down where you dont need it. think of a pool table and how the balls bounce off the banks. light does the same thing.
I read online years ago about a way to make solar panels more efficient. they used white cardboard strips on both sides and angled to reflect the sun. This would not be possible with vertical walls.

oldsanclem,
I have thought about the parabolic idea also but the truth is that my grow is too big for one of those. not to mention that a hot spot would be created from gathering the light and focusing it on a smaller spot. with flat walls the light would just bounce back as is.

Good idea man..but..what's up with the cheapo grow setup, mrabrego?
Water bottles for pots?
And what the hell is the medium you are using?
Bro..hit the reset button on that garden so you are using your new setup with healthy plants!
No offence intended..I just HATE seeing people risk their necks and waste power and time to grow sickly plants...you can easily do better (in fact..you may be trying too hard)

hehehehe...frickin stoners.....

you gotta luv em...... : )

Yeh, that's interesting for the tenth time probably, and I've thought about something like that for my room that's coming together right now. I at first just thought I'd paint the floor a flat white to refect light back up, but then thought better off it. Also thought about how I was going to place my mylar. For me, I think it would be better to just go with a "normal" setup; I'll have enough to keep me busy with the plants.

yeah but if you have time to hang mylar why not hang it from some pieces of cardboard and place at angles???? :thumbsup:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harmonicminor

crazy.....
the pics up above speak for themselves. sure there is reflection from vertical walls but most of that reflection goes down where you dont need it. think of a pool table and how the balls bounce off the banks. light does the same thing.
I read online years ago about a way to make solar panels more efficient. they used white cardboard strips on both sides and angled to reflect the sun. This would not be possible with vertical walls.

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Side and floor reflection is a LOT better than no relfection at all. Your tests were incomplete because you never added what most people have which is side and floor reflection. Try it and you'll see what I mean. Goodluck with your theory though. It would be great if it did in fact made a difference.

smart thinkin ill give that a go

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Da1KrayzieThug

Side and floor reflection is a LOT better than no relfection at all. Your tests were incomplete because you never added what most people have which is side and floor reflection. Try it and you'll see what I mean. Goodluck with your theory though. It would be great if it did in fact made a difference.

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due to the nature of the exponential light drop off I think by the time the light bounces off 2 surfaces and then back to your plants It will be greatly diminished in comparison to 1 bounce.
heres a pic of what I mean
If I hold the reflectors any farther then I cant see any light hitting bottom of the plants at all
I can quickly adjust and aim the reflected light also

same thing but with mirrors
I know I know, mirrors suck in lumens like a sponge but......
I see more visible reflected light for some strange reason :p

another shot

anyone can see it works (i suggest you do a light quality study - your own pics are excellent starting point- determining the amount of light reflected for promotional purposes) . now what u have to do is get it smaller (more compact for shipping) make sure its made of decent materials) and ez for nubes like me to use...LOL did i mention im a retired mkt director? PM me and ill give you my email and remember LARGER things have been started on MUCH less....good work!

how do I pm you?

[email protected]

and....did u ever see my brain enhancing protoplasmic based serum? *lights another spliff*

lol just kiddin

you got mail :-)

LOOks good yea I think that would work

Well I will try again ADJUST THE PARABOLIC SO IT GIVES A WIDE EVEN LIGHTING. It will take some time to do this but my room was only 13 x18 feet. on a suncircle and produced .468 g/w/m Its a real bitch to adjust the light because of the type of bulb , the mounting bracket. Note this picture, and remember its running on a suncircle, so the far edges 6-10 feet away will get even lighting when the suncircle get there.

whats up harmonic, check out my new "chili" box, the reflectivity is awesome.