new flower cab, light advice needed.

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 :)

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?

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:
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Quote:

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Originally Posted by turtle420

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?

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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.

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

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.

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?

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

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.

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

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?

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:

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.

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:

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.

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

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.

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: