Question about 400w HPS + plexiglass

[dexus]

Hey guys,

I've been working on a design for my Rubbermaid / aerogarden operation. Now I was originally going to buy a 250w HPS, but I found a 400w HPS barely used for $140; so I had to buy it!

The lamp is going to be positioned about 20~ inches above the area where the seeds, and eventually plants are going to grow. I'll post some pictures of my idea/setup so far.

Now I've got two rubbermaid tubs stacked on top of each other. The top piece is upside down, of course. On the top piece, I've cut out the bottom so I can stack an 8" high miniature tub, which contains the light. If I were to put a piece of plexi glass between the two tubs on top to keep the heat out from the plant area, would I still gain the same effects? It would be much easier to remove the heat from a smaller space if the light won't melt or ruin the plexi glass.

What I would like to accomplish:

My 400w HPS:

I took the ballast off it for now. I want to coat the entire plant container area with Mylar. I'm not sure what I should coat the light container with yet. It obviously needs to be able to withstand the temperature of the HPS bulb. But I will also be installing some type of exhaust system to keep it cooled. It would be much easier to pull the hot air out of that small area with a cheaper fan.

Any ideas?

 

[Kal-El]

That will most likely melt I would think cuz them lights get pretty hot.

 

[Mc__Nugget]

yeah a 400w in a rubbermaid is going to melt it and fill your entire house with toxic fumes, especially because it looks like it is unventilated. Here are my recommendations for ya:

1. Move this whole operation in to some kind of cabinet / sturdier enclosure. Rubbermaids really only make ok containers for CFLs. Just go to goodwill/salvation army and look around for a good sized cabinet.

2. Get that light more than 20" from the aero garden. having a 400w myself i can personally tell you that this will be ok at first. But 20" is simply not going to be enough to appreciate the full power of the 400w. You can yield a pound with some tweaking of your system, but not with your light 20" from the base of your plants. i would recommend at least 30-36".

3. If you can, make a cooltube. They are much more efficient than hoods. I made mine for about 20$

4. Stay away from the mylar, stick with the black and white plastic if you can find it. and make sure to cover the aerogarden too, as they are black and can heat up if not sheilded.

have fun!

 

[dexus]

yeah a 400w in a rubbermaid is going to melt it and fill your entire house with toxic fumes, especially because it looks like it is unventilated. Here are my recommendations for ya:

1. Move this whole operation in to some kind of cabinet / sturdier enclosure. Rubbermaids really only make ok containers for CFLs. Just go to goodwill/salvation army and look around for a good sized cabinet.

2. Get that light more than 20" from the aero garden. having a 400w myself i can personally tell you that this will be ok at first. But 20" is simply not going to be enough to appreciate the full power of the 400w. You can yield a pound with some tweaking of your system, but not with your light 20" from the base of your plants. i would recommend at least 30-36".

3. If you can, make a cooltube. They are much more efficient than hoods. I made mine for about 20$

4. Stay away from the mylar, stick with the black and white plastic if you can find it. and make sure to cover the aerogarden too, as they are black and can heat up if not sheilded.

have fun!

Appreciate the reply! What size cabinets can you pickup at a goodwill? Do you think they'd be big enough to fit my rubbermaid container (aerogarden, 16"x24"x16") inside of it, and still get 30-36" from the base of the plant?

 

[Mc__Nugget]

you really just have to look around, if you can find anything at goodwill, home depot has a ton of relatively cheap enclosures you could use. also, 30 inches is optimum height, you can go lower than that, but a scrog setup would probably be essential, especially with a hydro setup. those bitches are gonna get huge!

 

[dexus]

I had to post this Mc nugget, you've inspired me to goto Goodwill, and just look at the prize I pulled out of there for $50.00!!



That's 36" x 36" x 16 1/2" for the upper area. I might take keep the bottom droors out and build mini doors for a veg/clone area and use the entire upper case for the flowering section.

Btw, do you have any pictures of your cooltube? Or did you follow a DIY tutorial on here? I found a glass jar at homehardware for $2. It's about 2-3" longer then my HPS bulb and about 4" in diameter, so it's given me some ideas.