# dual 250, 400, or 600w HPS- HELP!!



## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 27, 2007)

Alright well I found an awesome fridge that was being thrown out by a gas station because it's cooling unit is shot. So I'm picking it up later this week to use as my grow box. Now I'm trying to decide what type of lighting to use for it. The box demensions are 57"H x 36"W X 24"D. Someone suggesting using a 250w light because it puts out lower heat so I thought maybe I could hook up two of them at the top. Or I could use a single 400w or a single 600w. The problem is I don't know how hot the 400 and 600 are going to get. I plan to ventilate with a 6" ducting fan that moves air at 250 CFM. Will this be enough to cool that 600w down enough so that my grow box isn't rediculously hot? If not, I could always use the 8" fan that moves air at 500 CFM. 

so...now that you're brain is spinning like mine is this is what I'm looking at...

-two 250w HPS mounted in cool tubes and both cooled by a 6" duct fan.

-Single 400w mounted in a cool breeze fixture cooled by 6" or 8" duct fan.

-Single 600w mounted in a cool breeze fixture cooled by 6" or 8" duct fan.

Any set up will be powered by a digital ballast mounted outside. Fresh air is going to be brought in by a fan(s) at the bottom of the box on one of the sides. I was thinking of using two 130 CFM computer fans for that. 

So many options. I need your guys' feedback on the lights though. Thank you!


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 27, 2007)

guess no one can help huh?

If I put a piece of tempered glass in would that help cut down on the heat from the 600w? At the same time would that do anything as far as light intensity and possibly screening out some of the light?


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## BSki8950 (Mar 27, 2007)

hey man sorry i dont really have any adbive for u because im a CFL guy ... but that fridge is better than  i thought it would be ... very nice snag


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 27, 2007)

yeah, the nice thing is I can mount the lights at the top and adjust the plant's height by the shelves. They're really easy to adjust up and down.


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## DLtoker (Mar 27, 2007)

Having the lights air cooled and stationary is great becuase you can have very short tubing that way.  You can also mount tube fluoros vertically.  You would probably be fine with 2 250W HIDs.  It looks as if there is only 8ft of floor space or so in there...


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## bombbudpuffa (Mar 28, 2007)

http://californiahydro.stores.yahoo.net/ht-reflectors.htmlCool tube reflector for $60.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 28, 2007)

has anyone tried out the cooltubes? How are they with light coverage. I'm either going to use the cooltube or an actual hood with 6" flange openings. 

I got really bored in class today and drew a diagram of the lighting system. Let me know what you guys think as far as the cooling fans go. I was going to have one fan blowing air over the bulb while the other sucks all the air out. Blow and **** action is always the best . This set up will work with the cooltube or a hood. Just have to decide on which to use.


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## 55DAYZNCOUNTIN (Mar 28, 2007)

I guess my question is what kind & how many plants are you wanting to grow? I would say the 400 with good venting would be best any bigger you run into heat probs. but for that space you don't need to go any bigger really? 55


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 28, 2007)

I just want to ensure my final results will be tight, dense buds. If I can get that with the 400w I would rather use that so I don't have to use as much electricity.


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## DLtoker (Mar 28, 2007)

I am pretty sure the vented hoods (sqaure shape) have a better distribution of light than the tubes do.  I used a tube for one grow, it worked alright... Lets just say I switched to fluoros though.  The more light, the more weight you will have in the end.  That simple.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 28, 2007)

the bottom of the fridge I'm using is 3w x 2d. So I'll have 6 square feet. I'll be growing 6 plants at a time. 100 watts per square foot with the 600w HPS. I think that fan set up will be enough to control the heat. I'll also have another fan sucking air out of the box through a carbon filter.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 29, 2007)

DLtoker said:
			
		

> Having the lights air cooled and stationary is great becuase you can have very short tubing that way. You can also mount tube fluoros vertically. You would probably be fine with 2 250W HIDs. It looks as if there is only 8ft of floor space or so in there...


 
I think I am going to go with the 600w mounted at the top with an isolated cooling system dedicated to just the light. The floor space is 6 sq feet so I'll be flowering 6 at a time. I was thinking about the tube fluoros. There is already a 36" tube fluoro mounted between the two glass doors. I was thinking of maybe mounting a a few more single tubes in the corners of the box so that some light reaches the rest of the plant.


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## DLtoker (Mar 29, 2007)

Good plan man.  Sounds like a very nice set up plan.  If you did go ahead with some fuoro tubes I would recommend going with 6,500K bulb to get some blue spectrum in there.


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## LaserKittensGoPewPew (Mar 29, 2007)

yup! Just what I was planning on doing. I was going to have the 600hps giving all the red spectrum. Then I was planning on install 4 3 foot single tube T5 fixtures with 6500k bulbs. The description says they each put out 39 watts or so. And then I have that one other 3 foot fixture that is mounted between the doors. So I'll just swap that tube out with a 6500k tube. This will give my plants all the red spectrum they want and a nice dose of blue.


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