# Best air cooled reflector???



## old blue (Sep 4, 2008)

Hi all, I'll be buying a 1000 watt digi from htg supply soon, and was wondering which reflector would be the best choice for heat dispersing AND light coverage? My grow area will be a walkin closet, and i'll be using a space around 4x5x9' high(growing 4 plants lst'd to make big bushes). My choices are, cooltube, Easy cool 6, or Airoflow. I'm thinking Airoflow, because it's the biggest, but not sure if it's the best. Any advise would be appreciated. Btw, it will be inlet and outlet ducted outside the grow area.


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

yea,that airoflow looks like a nice hood.the bigger the better i.m.o.


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## old blue (Sep 4, 2008)

Aurora_Indicas_Dad said:
			
		

> yea,that airoflow looks like a nice hood.the bigger the better i.m.o.



Yeah, i like the looks of the airoflow(nice and big). When dealing with air cooled hoods, is it more efficient to push the air thru or pull it thru with the fan?


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## Aurora_Indicas_Dad (Sep 4, 2008)

ya know i asked the same thing b-4 hookin up my fans/duct and everybody said its better to pull the air,rather then push it.


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## old blue (Sep 4, 2008)

One more question. Is a 6" inline "duct" fan enough to just cool the light, or do u need a "vortex" style fan? I'd much rather spend $40, instead of $120. ;-)


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## buddog (Sep 4, 2008)

wasup ol blue i have a easy cool 6" air cooled hood 20x24x8 .I got from htg hooked up to a 442cfm vortex fan that i run at half speed works like a charm.


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## old blue (Sep 4, 2008)

buddog said:
			
		

> wasup ol blue i have a easy cool 6" air cooled hood 20x24x8 .I got from htg hooked up to a 442cfm vortex fan that i run at half speed works like a charm.



Besides the price, what's the difference between that one and the airoflow, buddog? And how do u have ur fan setup(push or pull)?

Btw, if u have the easy cool 6, the dimensions are 18&#8221; long, 15&#8221; wide, 7.5&#8221; deep. With the dimensions u stated, u have the AIROFLOW, bro.


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## buddog (Sep 4, 2008)

old blue as far as a hood name i dont know. But the brand name is easy cool 600 watt switchable mh+hps setup got it off ebay at a HTG store and iiiiii like it. And the fan is on the down side pulling


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## BuddyLuv (Sep 4, 2008)

I have their euro hood and it is a good hood. I am not sure if that is what they are caling the easy cool 6. I have heard good things about cool tube as well, but I think they do not have as large of a reflector. You will need a 6 inche vortex style fan to cool that light efficiently. I have 2 1000w digi systems from hgt and I am cooling them with one 8 in vortex fan and I feel I could use more cfm's.


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## TokeWithHope (Sep 4, 2008)

hey i found this link for a great deal on a complete lighting system, with a 6" inline cooled reflector. but do u guys think its legit?

http://s178454875.onlinehome.us/complete_kits.htm


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## Funkfarmer (Sep 5, 2008)

Toke, you cant find that same or better deal on e-bay?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 5, 2008)

:yeahthat: 

That seems a little costy to me, too.  The only advantage to that package seems to be that it is all inclusive, however the fan, pulleys, and timer are inexpensive items.  I would anticipate that you are going to need more fan to cool a 1000W.


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## andy52 (Sep 5, 2008)

that fan is not big enough to cool an outhouse in the winter.might as well be sitting there and blowing on the duct.that,to me,is an outrageous package.jmo


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## TokeWithHope (Sep 5, 2008)

ya but im buying the package more for the light system. because in looking online all of the deals ive found for a reflector, light and digital ballast have all added up to much more than that. to me it seemed like a good deal.

and i was planning on buying the 400 watt. plus im buying a 6'' vortex superfan with 449 cfm

but how much do u think i should pay all together, for a digital ballast (that can run MH and HPS) a reflector, HPS bulb, and a MH bulb, ??


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## The Hemp Goddess (Sep 6, 2008)

TokeWithHope said:
			
		

> ya but im buying the package more for the light system. because in looking online all of the deals ive found for a reflector, light and digital ballast have all added up to much more than that. to me it seemed like a good deal.
> 
> and i was planning on buying the 400 watt. plus im buying a 6'' vortex superfan with 449 cfm
> 
> but how much do u think i should pay all together, for a digital ballast (that can run MH and HPS) a reflector, HPS bulb, and a MH bulb, ??



A 400W light is not nearly enough light for 20 sq ft.  The vortex fan will be adequate, but it is none too big.  What is your ventilation/cooling setup?  You will need more than 1 fan.


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## TokeWithHope (Sep 6, 2008)

na im going to grow in a closet box deminsions 20'' -D, 28'' -W, 81''-h
a 6 inch oscillating fan blowing on the plants, and the 6'' vortex will be placed a foot above the box in the attic, sucking the air through a crobon filter then a foot of ducting then run outside through about another 10 feet of ducting


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## andy52 (Sep 6, 2008)

to me the higher cfm's you can get the better to cool your reflector.especially with a 1000 watter.


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## Tater (Sep 10, 2008)

You could always build your own hood and there is also a DIY post about how to build your own inline fan if thats the thing you are into.  Those inline booster fans they sell at hardware stores suck monkey butt.


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## andy52 (Sep 10, 2008)

if you are gonna run a 1000 watter you will need at least a 400+ cfm if you are going to pull thru a filter and reflector,to keep the temps down.i have went thru this helping a friend out on his setup.i have a 432cfm on my 400 watt in a 9.5 sq ft tent.and thats what it took to do it.by experience.


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## NorCalHal (Sep 11, 2008)

How ya doing Old Blue.

My 2 cents.

If $$ is an issue, ditch the digital ballast and get a regular ballast. Take the extra $$ and get yourself a good 6" Can or Vortex fan. I use a 6" can to cool 4000w with no issues. I also pull air, not push. Pushing air thru your hoods will only create leaks and "push" hot air out of those leaks. Every degree helps.

http://sunlightsupply.com/product.c...71121CBD856883B055B200D2479FE&c=23&kys=&pgi=1

I am not sure if you are able to find this hood locally, but I recommend this over all other hoods I have used. No more taping up the lenses and fittings with this hood. The lens is on a quick relese hinge with thumb screws and the lens seats on a durable gasket of foam to prevent leaks. Easy changing of bulbs and cleaning of the lens.

Bottom line, most hoods are pretty equal as far as "coverage". I don't really think one is better then the other as far as light dispersment. But there are differences in ease of use and small features.

Hope this helps.


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## old blue (Sep 11, 2008)

NorCalHal said:
			
		

> How ya doing Old Blue.
> 
> My 2 cents.
> 
> ...



I love that hood! Can u buy that online, or do u have to find a dealer that sells them?  And do u know if any of htg's hoods are hinged like that?

Btw, i'm not too worried about spending a lil more money for the digital. Gotta pay to play, right?  I'm a strong believer in spending a lil extra to get a better end result. And yeah, i'll be buying a vortex to cool it as well.


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## solarz (Sep 11, 2008)

While everyone is speaking of pulling air through the hood rather than pushing, could someone post a diagram of this, or explain it?  I am asking because with pulling air through the hood, i'm coming up with a few different ways to do it.  One being having a fan (outside the grow area) pulling cool air through ducting (that's connected to the air cooled light).  On the other side of the light having ducting leading to a fan pulling the hot from the light and pushing it back outside of the grow area?  Is this an efficient setup, or is there something easier or more efficient to use?  Thanks in advance.

Solarz


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## solarz (Sep 11, 2008)

Here is a little diagram i drew up that kind of shows what i was trying to explain in the previous post.  Please take a look at it and let me know if that is an efficient setup or not.  Thanks!


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## smokeajoint (Sep 11, 2008)

Rethink the light.  Thowie is not best option always.

get yerself a 600W digital. you will actually get more lumens absorbed by the plant and that's what matters most(IMHO). you will have to keep the 1000W 18-20 inches from plant due to how hot they run.  You can get the 600 much closer which results in higher effeciency of lumen use.

i have a 6" easy cool and its a peach. mo cfm mo betta.  

L8r


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## MootPointBlank (Oct 4, 2008)

solarz said:
			
		

> Here is a little diagram i drew up that kind of shows what i was trying to explain in the previous post.  Please take a look at it and let me know if that is an efficient setup or not.  Thanks!



I believe that it's easier to understand "pull" and "push" circulation with respect to the light housing as the system and not the room. Imagine pushing air into the housing or pulling air out of the housing as your convention for the direction of airflow. The point that was attempted to be made earlier about hot air leaks is this; the light bulb housing is a system, which is inside of a sealed grow space, which is a system, inside of a room, which is a system. Bear with me. If the light bulb housing has leaks in it, air pushed (positive pressure) into it will follow any path of least resistance, meaning that if the air pressure in the tube is greater than that of the box, air that has been heated by the bulb will travel into the grow space that we try so desperately to vent in order to keep cool. Conversely, if air is pulled (negative pressure) through the tube, any leaks in the bulb housing will draw air from the grow space. The problem here is that the air won't be treated for odor as no one typically filters their hot light bulb air. Any way you slice it, leaks are bad.

Sidenote: though not necessarily applicable here, are the thermal properties of expanding gases. As gases expand, they absorb heat. So when air is under vacuum it does a more efficient job of removing heat.

Hope this helps.


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## PUFF MONKEY (Oct 4, 2008)

if you havent bought your light yet, check out hydrowholesale....they have lumatek 1000w digi kits w/cooltube for $399....if you want a baddass hood, look for the "hydrotek silverstar"...i'm getting 2 of those and 2 1000w lumatek ballasts..also..the growbrite brand that htg carries is crap....go for the lumatek or galaxy brand light ballasts ... a 4" 180 CFM squirrel cage blower will work perfect for cooling 1 1000w light....it's what i'm using now and my cooltube barely gets warm.....you can find those for around $80...htg does have a really good deal on fans...the growbrite brand fan&filter combo is the way to go...6" 440 CFM for $199.(that includes carbon filter)..i'm buying 3 of those combos for my new setup
P.S...those little crappy $40 inline fans WILL work to cool 1 light


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