new flower cab, light advice needed.

[emmpey]

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

emmpey Reviewed by emmpey on 11-01-2006. 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 Rating: 5

[emmpey]

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?

[turtle420]

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
.

[emmpey]

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?

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.

[xcrispi]

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

[emmpey]

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.

[emmpey]

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?

[907PokeSmot]

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

[emmpey]

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.

[BlueBear]

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