# Spin 'n' Grow!



## dirtyolsouth (Jun 5, 2009)

Hey Fellow Ganja Lovers...

So I was thinking about how it would be so cool if there was a rotating turntable that you could use to put your pots on in the indoor  garden and it would slowly spin your girls round and round for even light...   Is this brilliant or goofy or both?   I guess it would only be for soil users like me and I started to look around for ideas on how this could be done and so far I thought of rotating cake displays like the pic below...   They're made to handle a pretty heavy cake and constant use so maybe it would hold up in the garden for 8 weeks with a plant on it?    The electric A/C model wouldn't be cheap at $154...   but they do give you control over speed between 0 and 9 revolutions per minute...

Can anyone else think of a slow spinning product that has a turntable that could be used in this fashion.  Keep in mind it would have to be pretty heavy duty...   Maybe a potter's wheel...?  Maybe I'll market something and get Billy Mays to do an infomercial! 

Happy Growing!


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## UKgirl420 (Jun 5, 2009)

good idea but a little pricey ,,,
my hands can do the job for free ,,,just not constantley


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## ozzydiodude (Jun 5, 2009)

Sound like a DIY nightmare


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## purplephazes (Jun 5, 2009)

I've actually been thinking about stealing a merry- go- round from a local park up the road and putting it in my backyard ..and setting up a series of sensor lights around the place ..and then i was planning on asking the wife to rotate it on a 18/6 cycle do you think this is a good idea ! or should i wait for the local fair to start up again and use a ferris wheel and i could maybe ask the wife to hold 20'000 candles to give out about 10 lumens per cubic inch.. but i could ask her to stand really close to allow for the max possible lumens just a thought (i could even tell her i love her before asking ) do you think this would work !!! peace ! and good luck to us both !!


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## LassChance (Jun 5, 2009)

dirtyolsouth said:
			
		

> Hey Fellow Ganja Lovers...
> 
> So I was thinking about how it would be so cool if there was a rotating turntable that you could use to put your pots on in the indoor  garden and it would slowly spin your girls round and round for even light...   Is this brilliant or goofy or both?   I guess it would only be for soil users like me and I started to look around for ideas on how this could be done and so far I thought of rotating cake displays like the pic below...   They're made to handle a pretty heavy cake and constant use so maybe it would hold up in the garden for 8 weeks with a plant on it?    The electric A/C model wouldn't be cheap at $154...   but they do give you control over speed between 0 and 9 revolutions per minute...
> 
> ...



Great minds must work alike, because I had the same idea!  In my fantasy grow room, the plants would be on three shelves, each plant on a rotating turntable...with the HPS lights hung vertically so each shelf got light...while each plant turned in a slow circle.

I only thought of old record turntables, tho...which prolly aint sturdy enough.
It is a great idea, once the bugs are worked out.

Lass


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jun 5, 2009)

There is this thing with an electrical appliance sitting on the floor in a place where water is regularly used (and spilled) that would make me a little nervous...

However, with that being said, how about a microwave turntable--you may have to gear it down some.  I believe that most of them reverse direction every time they are started and stopped, so I was trying to figure out some way to use one for a light mover, but haven't come up with anything yet....


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## purplephazes (Jun 5, 2009)

Or maybe even a ceiling fan with extensions attached for a lighting idea ! and an extra special attachment to fit onto your washing machine with the top cut off it ...and maybe rig it to do a permanant wash cycle might send it into a spin ..but with the correct wiring it may be possible to slow it down to achieve some kind of funny results ! JK peace ! (keep a broom handy )


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## CoolAsAFan (Jun 5, 2009)

unless you can find something more economical, just buy more lights


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## docfishwrinkle (Jun 17, 2009)

man i also had this idea! i actually started to build so i could evenly distribute hps & mh lights run @ same time. get a washing machine motor some bearings & knowhow. just like a pig roaster but a vertical axis. well its on hold as for im in a slump.


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## scatking (Jun 17, 2009)

It might be easier to just rotate the lights.  there are quite a few light tracks and spinners that would do the same thing - and you wouldn't end up making your plants dizzy.:shocked:


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## framingman001 (Jun 18, 2009)

If im not mistakin they have already got something like that. I dont know what its called but looks like  an old water wheel like the used in an old flour mill.  the light iis in the middle and the wheel thingy spins around the light.  I seen  it in a magazines awhile back.

Looks like a fairis wheel can hold up to like 10 or more plants.


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## thedonofchronic (Jun 18, 2009)

yeah good idea but theres no point.
hemp goddess made the most sense too
theres too much water going around to have that
many chords around. i only have my HIDs light chord
and it hangs, out of the way. the fan chords are outta sight.


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## naturalhi (Jun 18, 2009)

I agree with UKgirl 420, too pricey for my wallet.

what I did was bought a couple of 12" turntables (available at hardware) 2 5' kiddy pools some plywood and pipe parts and now have 2 revolving tables side by side in the flower room. I just turn them each time I inspect the progress. by the by this is a hydro setup.>)


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## Lemmongrass (Jun 18, 2009)

they sell die cast car turntables at hobby shops to spin your cars/gems/hobby around in a display case.


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## Smokey Mcpotster (Jun 19, 2009)

If you were to put an axle through the center of the ferris wheel and extend it out the side wall of the grow room, the motor would be away from the water.

As for the turntable method. build a box in the corner of your room seal the box up. Extend a shaft through the top of the motor box. you could run it on a belt system or gear if they were close enough together.
or you could just buy more f'n lights. 


PS UNPLUG BEFORE YOU WATER


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## smokybear (Jun 19, 2009)

I agree.. buy more lights... Good idea but not as practical or user-friendly as adding more lights would be.. Just my thoughts. Take care and be safe.


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## docfishwrinkle (Jun 20, 2009)

man you guys w/ juice & water blah, blah, blah. washing machine motors are pretty much splash proof. take care in wiring & dont be stupid & u will have a cheap turntable. 

so to those saying buy more lights, how does this make sense? youll be useing more power 4 lights than turntable. so those against turntable idea would u plz propose a easy method of spinning a 400w mh mag ballast & a 600w digi hps so that it distributes equal light to all plants. yes ive seen light tracks, but w/ 2 diff ballasts how do u suppose i give all plants equal light?

plz do tell

DFW


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## VoodooSnakeDeath (Jun 28, 2009)

I saw this documentary on the current economics of marijuana where they interviewed this grower in canada, he grew for "himself and three other people" but he had this ridiculously large setup (like a warehouse) wherein the background of the flowering 15 or so footers you could see his lights set up, he had some large ballasted fixtures (looked like hps and a few mh, some where significantly more blue) hanging arranged like mobiles (pieces of art>Alexander Calder>hang from the ceiling perpetually rotating)

i assume this would be fairly easy to do and incredibly cheap, consuming no power beyond what your lights consume. its also highly scaleable, allowing it to be used in small or large setups. why rotate each individual plant when you could rotate the lights around the plants, allowing truly even light dispersion? you could do this with pvc and some wire, just thread the power cords through the pipe. if you havent seen a mobile, just google alexander calder and you will get the concept


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## naturalhi (Jun 29, 2009)

eBay has several light movers including the type that rotate. They turn 320degrees then reverse so that wires don't get tangled and ballasts are mounted on the wall adjasent to the mover, these can run up to 4 lights if needed. Any of the sites that sell lights also sell light movers, but they do get pricey but not as much as HID lights;>)


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## cubby (Jun 29, 2009)

If you go a heavy duty revolving mechanism, like an outdoor clock off a commercial building, put your plants on adequetly sized cogs with thier teeth meshed, Attach the clock to the plant cogs by way of a strong chain, maybe one off a motorcycle, you could set the clock section at a safe distance from the water. You could even use the clock to control your lights and such. And the plants rotation could be syncronized to one full rotation from every minuet to every hour, or even once a day.


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## pcduck (Jun 29, 2009)

They make grow lights that are mounted like on fan blades. I think the article was in _Maximum Yield_ And the vertical rotation was done years ago too


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## kalikisu (Jun 29, 2009)

I see your vision dude. I think it is very inventive and worth your time to explore. If the point is light distribution i'm sure you would get more lights or buy a light mover. But if the point is to come up with an idea and make it work that my friend is great. I mean hey someone came up with the light mover, so why not make and market your own idea? I'm sure someone told light mover dude to just put more lights all around your plants. But that was not the point. I can see the pro's of rotation, like control of heat and distribution of light the same as a light mover. Dude live the dream.


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