Tape mylar to inside of a reflector?

[etinarcadiaego]

I'm wondering if it's alright to tape some 2 mil mylar to the inside of my air cooler reflector . . .

The inside of the angled portion is painted white and I thought the mylar might help me squeeze a few more drops of light from my setup.

Any issues with this?

Hotspots are what I'm concerned about . . . thanks to anyone who can help!

 

[EvilTwin]

Hey etinarcadiaego,
I wouldn't think that would be a good idea. The white is probably just as good and you'd be putting tape and mylar in the dangerously high heat situation. I don't know what sort of fire or fume hazard that would cause but I wouldn't want to try and find out. I vote no.
ET

 

[etinarcadiaego]

Hey etinarcadiaego,
I wouldn't think that would be a good idea. The white is probably just as good and you'd be putting tape and mylar in the dangerously high heat situation. I don't know what sort of fire or fume hazard that would cause but I wouldn't want to try and find out. I vote no.
ET

I was thinking this as well, but it's air cooled hood with a 435CFM inline fan attached . . .

You're probably right about the white being as reflective . . . thanks for looking!

 

[EvilTwin]

...had another thought. They don't happen that frequently! lol

If you can find a good flat white heat resistant paint, you might get better dispersion then a gloss white. I used to make my own reflectors and always painted them. Worked good.
ET

 

[etinarcadiaego]

Maybe this stuff would do it for me:

LINK

 

[-v-]

be careful to put anything inside the air cooled reflector or in the exhaust line, it may become dislodged and sucked up into the fan motor.

 

[EvilTwin]

Maybe this stuff would do it for me:

LINK

That's damn good reflectivity and the pebbled texture, I understand, is best for even light dispersion. Very much like my Sun reflectors have in them. Some work and expense for how much gain? You'll have to decide if it's worth it.

And V made a good point. Secure it good.
ET

PS: I just noticed the price on that German aluminum sheet. Almost like buying gold! You know you could buy an entire new reflector for the price of one 2x4 sheet.

 

[etinarcadiaego]

That's a good call -v-

That stuff I linked to is like $128, lol, eff that

I was thinking of using double sided tape, the scotch industrial stuff, like carpet tape kind of, but still, I can't afford Sun Sheets.

Why oh why does hydrofarm not use specular alum on the insides of their reflectors . . .

I use this hydrofarm reflector (Xtrasun Mondo):

 

[-v-]

not only is there a danger from the fan motor but if you are placing anything with a low combustion temperature near your lamps it could be very bad. my opinion there is just too much risk dude, not worth it. those lamps burn hot, please do not put anything easily comburstable (sp) near them. spend the extra loot for piece of mind, for mine! that shit would have me buggin out all the time.

while at work, at the market, at the store, driving, walking, sleeping, all the fucking time it would have me buggin out. lol im going to toke, don't mind me just ocd. i think of risk like this. never pile it on with more what if's, limit them to only to what mother nature can throw your way. live in a tornado prone area, grow goes in the cellar.

lol nom nom nom

p.s. the reflector looks like a nice shape and good footprint, sorry to hear it is not reflective on that angled portion.

 

[ThePizzaMan]

too much risk of fire. Not a smart idea. Buy another reflector your current one isn't suiting your needs.

And the light reflected using that that stuff is negligible.

 

[danimal7]

FIRE!!! DO NOT DO IT

 

[danimal7]

I REPEAT, FIRE! MYLAR IS HIGHLY FLAMMABLE

 

[etinarcadiaego]

not only is there a danger from the fan motor but if you are placing anything with a low combustion temperature near your lamps it could be very bad. my opinion there is just too much risk dude, not worth it. those lamps burn hot, please do not put anything easily comburstable (sp) near them. spend the extra loot for piece of mind, for mine! that shit would have me buggin out all the time.

while at work, at the market, at the store, driving, walking, sleeping, all the fucking time it would have me buggin out. lol im going to toke, don't mind me just ocd. i think of risk like this. never pile it on with more what if's, limit them to only to what mother nature can throw your way. live in a tornado prone area, grow goes in the cellar.

lol nom nom nom

p.s. the reflector looks like a nice shape and good footprint, sorry to hear it is not reflective on that angled portion.

Thanks man, great post! It's reflective and all, lol, the standard Hydrofarm white powder coat, I just thought I'd see if I could add some DIY efficiency

too much risk of fire. Not a smart idea. Buy another reflector your current one isn't suiting your needs.

And the light reflected using that that stuff is negligible.

Buy another reflector? Lol. My grow room is 32" x 26", the reflector is 31" x 23" - thats the reason I use it - the perfect footprint There are no other reflectors with a footprint like that, NONE! The XXL and such are are 32 1/2" long . . .

I REPEAT, FIRE! MYLAR IS HIGHLY FLAMMABLE

Yes I'm aware, but it requires higher temps than I have in my hood, which is why I was wondering. Temps in my hood (I taped my remote probe inside) are 82F over 12 hours. Still I agree, risk of fire is great.

I guess I'll just have to live with the white powder coat . . .

 

[-v-]

The XXXL 6" is 32.5" x 26.25", almost but not quite. There is another option called the great white 6". It is 32" x 26" flat, but that may or may not include room for your ducting.

also depending on the powdercoat white on the reflector you use, i want to say the difference in reflectivity from the dupont powdercoat white versus the top of the line reflective inserts they put in reflectors is somewhere between 4 and 5 percent. some of the inserts are actually worse at reflecting light than a good powdercoat white finish.

the 6" great white reflector advertised with powdercoat white by dupont is listed as 90.5% reflective, where the same reflector with the optional top of the line aluminum insert is 95% reflective. nom nom nom

the reflector you have now is better than buying a new one if it were me. buy some new seeds instead! or a new lamp, a fresh lamp is a sweet thing.

 

[etinarcadiaego]

The XXXL 6" is 32.5" x 26.25", almost but not quite. There is another option called the great white 6". It is 32" x 26" flat, but that may or may not include room for your ducting.

also depending on the powdercoat white on the reflector you use, i want to say the difference in reflectivity from the dupont powdercoat white versus the top of the line reflective inserts they put in reflectors is somewhere between 4 and 5 percent. some of the inserts are actually worse at reflecting light than a good powdercoat white finish.

the 6" great white reflector advertised with powdercoat white by dupont is listed as 90.5% reflective, where the same reflector with the optional top of the line aluminum insert is 95% reflective. nom nom nom

the reflector you have now is better than buying a new one if it were me. buy some new seeds instead! or a new lamp, a fresh lamp is a sweet thing.

Thanks man!! Good post again!!!

my cab is EXACTLY 32" x 26" . . . I have zero room for error as I built it myself . . . lol

I think you're right though about the powder coat being almost the same in terms of reflectivity . . . I think I'll just be happy with what I have

Still, it's just in my nature to want what I don't have . . . lol

 

[ScrubNinja]

Something to consider is that there are 2 things being reflected that may matter to us; luminous energy (light) and radiant energy (heat, causer of the fore-mentioned hot spots).

A flat white surface will reflect a good amount of luminous energy, and not much heat, whereas a shiny mirrorlike surface like mylar (as far as I'm aware) is going to reflect more light, but also more of that heat energy.

 

[ChaosCatalunya]

Cheap flat white emulsion paint is only a gnats cock away from Mylar in reflectiveness % anyway, so I would use that. Should be less hotspot problems than you would get with a mirror finish.

+ A big to all the previous posters who pointed out several basic safety issues you should be aware of.

Get yourself a Fire Extinguisher too in case anything else goes up in flames, they can work out a lot cheaper than getting the Fire Brigade round.

 

[311]

I'm actually interested in this topic. I JUST purchased the Great White about 3 hours ago, cause I found it for $5 more($139) than wat I was gonna pay for the Cool Sun 6($134). What I didn't know until 2 hours after I ordered it was that it didn't come with any reflective panels. I'm kinda iffy about it now because of the fact that I'm not sure if the fact that there is no reflection panel will make a difference as far as having a decrease in my yields. However, I have seen this Great White around, and it seems to run for $190, and around here it's about $225, so I thought it was a good deal. And I've read good things about it. It seems to be the Magnum XXL, without the reflective panel. Actually I'm certain it is! I hope I didn't make a mistake. If anyone has used this/these reflectors, please shed some light on them.