what size light?

[prolificgrower]

i have a 48Lx24Wx36H i havent gotten the fan yet but i wanna keep it some what quiet and ima be runnin a sog in 16oz party cups. would a 400 be overkill and hard to keep cool and if it is ide like to do duel lights with 2x250s thanks all

 

[prolificgrower]

any help?

 

[One Love]

I've done the 2 x 250w thing for a while and am currently building to switch to a single 400w in a 3.5'W x 2.25'L. I use a 170cfm vortex and my temps are usually no problem. I'm hoping the 170cfm will work the same with the 400w as i'm dropping 100watts and using the same fan.

I think you will be fine as long as you get a 170cfm fan or higher. I would suggest getting a 6" fan with a speed controller. That way you are set for high and low temps, plus it should help to reduce the sound. Anyone else have any encouraging thoughts?

 

[dj.scotfree]

yea a 400 watt would be overkill

 

[prolificgrower]

aight so it sounds like 2 250 watt hps with at least a 180 cfm fan

 

[One Love]

I don't think it would be 'that' overkill. I would say that your footprint is actually perfect for a 400w (@ 50wpsf). you said it was 4' x 2', but the problem is your headroom. With 3' of height you would need a foot or so for the pots, then another foot or so for the reflector, leaving you with hardly any room for plants. If you can get some more headroom in your cab then you should be fine.

Also, it may not be any easier to cool 2 x 250. It is more WPSF (watts per square foot) than the 400w. Its all a matter of height imo. Anyhow, just my two pence worth.

An afterthought: You may be able to mount your reflector onto the top of your cab, instead of actually hanging the lamp down into the space. In 'NZJays' 'growing in bunkbeds' thread, he actually mounted his reflectors like this and it worked very well for him. Sorry for the rambling, hope some of this helped.

 

[Quazi]

yea a 400 watt would be overkill

I don't think I can agree with this necessarily.

Watts per square footage with that would be 50W per sq ft. which is ideal, not overkill.

Vertical space is going to the difficult part for you.

Spreading a single 400 2 feet in either direction would require a good reflector and you'll probably still get a bit of loss of light at the ends of the cabinet.

2x250W will get you plenty of watts per sq. ft and shouldn't be too hard to cool with some innovation. I'd recommend checking out the CMH sticky thread in these forums if you're gonna be going for 250s as they are superior to the HPS and can be run in regular magnetic HPS ballasts.



-Q

 

[prolificgrower]

im only guna need 6 inches for height cup ima be using party cups... but what f i painted everything white and the top a peice of metal and mounted the light with no reflector? as for ventalation i wanted to have a peice of glass the size of the cab directly under the light but thered be 3 inches missing off one side so air could flow and the fan would suck air through the gap over the light ..... so would you still go with a 400? or 2x 250

 

[One Love]

I vote 400, just because i've been doing the dual 250w thing. At times, with the dual 250w, I felt like i was simply running two different 250watt grows side by side. I think with SOG you will get some better sized colas with the single 400w.
I totally forgot you were going with Solo cups. I think a 400w would be great for you. Its just my opinion, of course, but I hope this helps.

 

[HeadyPete]

No such thing as overkill if you want fat solid buds....you won't be disappointed in a 400 as long as you can keep it cool.

I run a 600 in a 60 x 24 x 60 space.

Proven that plants do better under a single light source.

The best technique for big, even buds under any light? Turn them 1/4 turn every day so that all parts get light at some point.

A good air cooled sealed hood is a must! Your temps will be too high without a sealed hood.

 

[jordas]

I run a 400w in a 2' x 4' space.......and it is nice! I too would recommend using an air cooled reflector as this will help with any heat probs....... I am running a 6" fan with a speed controller so I can dial it down to make less noise when necessary...... I would use a cool tube or similar type of air cooled reflector because your going to want to be able to get your plants very close to that reflector.....

 

[green_grow]

check out the 400 watt club at icmag ... lots of good stuff there and they should be able to guide you with the cooling aspect.

 

[RockyMountainHi]

here's a link to a cabby grow using CFL's

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=1937233#post1937233

it's a long thread, but worth concieration in any cabinet design.