Vertical Multi PL-L Bulb Cab Design Idea

[LittleBuds]

I'm curious what people think of this design? This is pretty rough but you get the idea. Plant -> 3x 55w PLL -> Plant -> 3x 55w PLL, etc.

Yeah, you would have to do some decent cooling and yeah that would be a lot of light.

If you trained the plants to a vertical screen between the lights the screen would be getting hit from both sides.

I'm not sold on the 3" / 6" distances. You you would really have to stay on top of training I think to keep the plants out of trouble.

The 55w PLL bulbs are pretty efficient so I'm really curious how they would do in a vertical setup like this

Edit: The width is 14".

 

[LearningTheWays]

Not to sure either on the maximum widths. I recommend buying light bulb covers at homedepot. Basically convert in the bulb covers into cool tubes. Have the tubes go all the way through the setup. So cool air can flow over them. Have the tubes cut maybe an inch from the top of the setup and exhaust from the top.

 

[garage grower]

yes use the t12 bulbcovers and exhaust threw them.i have this same style set up but from the top down.i spaced mine 7" apart to allow for moving pots around for cleaning.and mine is2x4x4.

G.G.

 

[LittleBuds]

yes use the t12 bulbcovers and exhaust threw them.i have this same style set up but from the top down.i spaced mine 7" apart to allow for moving pots around for cleaning.and mine is2x4x4.

G.G.

Awesome, do you have a journal up or any pictures of your setup? I'm curious how it looks in action. Do you feel that it's a good setup? Yield? How did you train your plants? Oh i've got so many questions!

 

[garage grower]

no journal or pics.but yes i feel this isa good setup.get a good fan.in the process of changing cabs.going with 12 of these.

G.G.

 

[Guest 88950]

check out Antis micro cab build using pl-l's

Tilt also uses them as well as SuperPedro

i use them in veg so not sure about flowering with them.

 

[LittleBuds]

Thanks bro! Just checked those out!

 

[rives]

I was going to mention Tilt's cab, but SSH beat me to it. Also, US Plastics offers clear plastic tubing in various sizes that is much higher quality than the standard lamp covers that you can buy.

 

[LittleBuds]

Hey Rives,

Man, now that I've got you in my thread I've got a damn expert! No offense to any other experts that already posted

Your LED/PL light is freaking awesome bro! As a big DIY kinda guy I have nothing but respect for you.

So, do you think it's worth doing something like that or do you think I'm better off doing the tried and true SCROG?

 

[rives]

I've always been intrigued by the idea of vertical PL-Ls, but have no experience with them. I think they would work really well for a perpetual setup like Tilt (and I think Anti's old cab), but it is awfully hard to beat a scrog for production. I think it comes down to what you want out of it and the space that you have - I've been leaning away from the scrog lately because I am mostly interested in topical oils, and the leaves are supposed to be where the bulk of the cbd's are to be found. With a scrog, there are damn few leaves by the time they really get going. I've been using LST all the way through this current run instead of just using it for pre-training before the screen goes in, and it seems to be giving me both pretty good bud production and lot's more leaf material than a scrog would.

Your design might work well with a vertical scrog - you could possibly put 2 plants beside each row of lights that way, with each single row of lamps lighting a plant on each side. Kind of like this - xIoIx xIoIx, with x=plant, I=screen, and o=lamp. This arrangement would give you the same plant count with a third less wattage & heat. It might be worth kicking around.

Thanks for the kind words about my light! I've just ordered up the parts for a new design that will be just LEDs, to be used in conjunction with a CMH fixture. I'm hoping to come up with something that would be easier and cheaper for people to build, and with enough penetration to match it up with CMH lamps to for full spectrum.

 

[LittleBuds]

Yeah, that's how I would describe my self "intrigued".

What I find so fascinating is that with a vertical scrog like this you're lighting BOTH sides of the screen AND you aren't wasting any light.

That's I think what makes me want to explore this.

I actually plan a perceptual system. That's what my 4 plants are, each harvested around ~ 20 days apart.

I do like your suggestion and it would be the best solution if heat / wattage is/becomes a concern. You lose your light on both sides of the screen though.

I'm finishing my first plant now and it was heavily LST during veg. The end result is a canopy that is almost as even as a good SCROG and yeah you're right there is a TON of undergrowth. Honestly, I didn't have the option of defoliating because it's so thick in there.

Do you have pics of any of your grows with your PLL/LED design?

I believe you're like me man. I'm a project / idea man. I like exploring and designing something and then building it. Once i know it works I'm bored and want to do something else...

Thanks for your time man!

 

[rives]

I do like your suggestion and it would be the best solution if heat / wattage is/becomes a concern. You lose your light on both sides of the screen though.

True, but if you are v-scrogged, it wouldn't matter - you would be lighting the underside of the buds/plant with the second lamp. In my scenario, each row of lamps would have a screen adjacent to either side, with a plant outboard of the screen. Having the plants lit from each side like the center locations in your drawing wouldn't be desirable with if screens were holding all of the buds oriented toward one lamp. I modified the above post to more clearly explain what I was talking about.

Do you have pics of any of your grows with your PLL/LED design?

I'm on my first run with that fixture, here is a Sweet Tooth at 42 days. Only one plant this time because I ran from seed, and the other two turned out to be male.

 

[LittleBuds]

I was imagining training the plant to have bud sights on both sides. I see what you mean if you were just training to one side you would only need the lights you suggested. That might be the way to go.

 

[SOTF420]

Nice Swt #4 you got there brother rives she is looking mighty fine Your light is doing an EXCELLENT job that looks perfect for 6 weeks of bloom!

 

[Stonefree69]

I'm curious what people think of this design? This is pretty rough but you get the idea. Plant -> 3x 55w PLL -> Plant -> 3x 55w PLL, etc.View Image

Super idea! I'd like to use PL-Ls in early veg w/vertical if possible. I have 12-5 gallon rdwc buckets & would like to arrange them in a clock centered around 6-55 watters
(hexagon) in middle.

I don't know if T5s would be better for early veg over PL-Ls. I'd like to put seedlings straight into 5 gallon buckets (heard they can really shoot up) and unless I got 12-16
4' T5 bulbs I don't think it'd cover those 12-12" buckets. That's where the PL-Ls could come in to cover my buckets during early veg and be a lot cheaper w/bare fixtures
as well as bulbs.

I'd figure 3-5,000 lumens/sq ft for that, before I switch to HIDs later in veg.