help me tweak my microcab!

[waveguide]

my micro has a footprint of 8" x 15", or 0.83 sq. ft

height is about 2 ft., with 3 cfls (2800k, 5600k, reptiglo UVB) totalling 118 watts, somewhere between 7000-8000 lumens. i don't want to go over 150 watts total. it's small, and it's going to get warmer in the summer.

at the present i'm losing height due to bulb suspension. i intend to rebuild the top of the cab with fixed sockets and run the bulbs horizontally instead of hanging.

before i do this, i'd like to check out some low wattage HPS options. eg. in the 70w thread, ppl mention picking up lights at lowes. lowes website has a few 70w lamps designed to be installed in things, they are all at stupid prices. prices i can buy a 400w HPS for on ebay. amazon, same story.

where are you guys finding affordable low wattage HPS lamps?


i'm also asking for fan recommendations. atm i'm using a repurposed cpu fan with rechargeable aa batteries, which doesn't move a lot of air. the next size produce i can see around are these 'personal AC units' which are designed to be carried around your neck with a damp sponge in them or something.

the fan has got to be 100% quiet. i can't use a windmere or something..

where are you guys getting all this cool gear? i know you're not all millionaires, paying $140 for a 70 watt HPS reflector..... surely these things are available for more like $40-50????????

 

[Anti]

They aren't getting them at lowe's. They're buying them online or at hydro stores. If you don't want the risk of going to the hydro store or having it mailed to you, I think CFL is the way to go.

As far as 150 watts.... if your concern is heat, put some money into your extraction.

If you have an old PSU from a PC laying around (the power supply unit) you can plug your fan into that and you just have to stick a paperclip in the #6 position (if memory serves, can be googled) to convince the PSU that the "computer" is on. I power three fans in my microcab this way. Each of the fans is on its own controller (came with the fans for under $10 a piece) so they can be sped up or slowed down to maintain a constant temperature range.

 

[GrowBox420]

.... Anti is wise between his ears!

 

[GrowBox420]

I would check out some peoples cabs...

I would suggest a 150w HPS with a remote ballast and maybe even putting a picture frame glass under the light once hung.

The remote ballast and the glass under the light with ventilation a setup will keep your temperatures in check nicely!

i.e. ambient temperatures or a few degrees above

 

[Can420]

If you add a comp PSU your just going to add more heat for a few fans. Look into a 4pin hard drive PSU, they are very small and can run a few fans with no problems. They are like 5 bucks also from ebay.

 

[waveguide]

cheers for the info. i'm not too anxious to explore indy grow shop sites and the ones i've checked didn't have anything in the 70 watt range. i also figured that since i keep seeing the same comp fans for grows (ones with LEDs on them) that they were probably retailed for growers as well. so far i've yet to find them.

ebay is looking like anything below a 400w is more expensive to get into (i picked up a noisy but functional 400w for $85 a few years ago). it's looking like for simplicity's sake i'll stick with CFLs.

 

[pacoveli]

Why not pll? for under a 100 you can get 220w with little or no heat.just need to wire them up which is a snap.
good luck.

 

[trem0lo]

To power PC fans get yourself a 12V, 5amp AC/DC converter from Performance PCs for like $15. It terminates in a 5 pin molex, grab a 5-to-3 pin header from the same site and you can plug in as many fans as you need. I tested it with like 12 PC fans (yes I have too many) and it didn't even hiccup when I plugged in one of those jet-engine tornado-on-your-desk 120 cfm server case fans.

For quiet fans I recommend Noctua (kinda pricey) and Scythe. Check the pressure rating to be sure. A good fan will pull through a filter (albeit at reduced cfm) decently but not nearly enough to cool a bunch of CFLs or worse, HPS. Like someone mentioned you'll need to isolate the lights and ventilate separately.