Stealth Cabinet with 400w HPS

[omgwt]

Going Stealth – Ikea Cabinet
I’m planning to reconfigure my cabinet Jonas, which was originally a set of drawers with a hidden workstation on the top side. I will change this quite drastically by removing all the drawers, and sealing the front. I will then move on to removing the back and adding an MDF panel and some hinges to make a good solid door, accessible from the back. I will attempt to get a passive inlet from the bottom of the cabinet. The intake should be fitted around the back – connected to the door by a 120mm duct, it will have to be flexible so that the door can open at least 90 degrees if necessary.

I will attempt to put in an massive 400 watts of HPS lightning in this smaller cabinet – the only way this is possible is by cooling that beast of a bulb with some cool air – with other words I will have to use an cooltube for this. I will attempt to use my current 120mm inline fan to do this, using a speed regulator so the noise isn’t unbearable.

I have made a simple list of the items I will need to acquire to accomplish my build – I have most of the tools needed so hopefully the price for converting this into a functioning cabinet for me will be around 200-250 dollars.
Looking into how to configure the inside – I haven’t decided on anything specific right now. Maybe you guys have some ideas on how I should plan the inside?

My instinct tells me I should hang the cooltube in a short chain (5-10 links at the most), and using the SCROG method to keep the plants growing at a specific height during the whole flowering period – removing the necessity to adjust the light. I was thinking about putting the carbon filter in one corner – with the fan ontop of it – and insulated-ducting to the cooltube. From there I would use additional insulated-ducting down to the bottom again – where I will change to flexible ducting connecting to the door with a light trap if necessary.

Is my idea workable? Is it dumb to have around 3 90 degree angels in the ducting? Keep in mind while I do want to cool my bulb – I want to make as little noise as possible, since this will be kept in my bedroom upon completion.

Feel free to give any input on this build - I will keep researching for another week then I'll start gathering materials to build it.

JONAS secretary, B80xD48xH123 cm.

 

[Jnugg]

That's too much light in that small of a space and your 4"/5" fan (especially if connected to a carbon filter) won't be able to keep canopy temps in the ideal range of 75°F to 78°F and probably way above 80°F!

And even if you could keep it cool enough,you'll definitely run into light bleaching/burn.

That area would be perfect for a 250w HPS though.

 

[omgwt]

You don't think a 400w hps is gonna fit? I have calculated that there should be atleast 50 cm or 10 inches between the bulb and the canopy.. would it really burn?

 

[Jnugg]

That's 100w per square foot and 12000 lumens per square foot,yeah,you'll get light burn.

More wattage doesn't mean better.Stay between 50w and 66w per square fiot and the environment.will be easier to dial.

A 250 is perfect for 4 square feet.

 

[stoneybud2]

That is duable. If your 400 is dimmable perfect. In a cool tube perfect. I run a 400in a 2x3x3.5 box. No problem open hood.
Your filter if want 220cfm min to 400cfm. Filter n a fan speed controller your laughing.
SB2

 

[omgwt]

That's 100w per square foot and 12000 lumens per square foot,yeah,you'll get light burn.

More wattage doesn't mean better.Stay between 50w and 66w per square fiot and the environment.will be easier to dial.

A 250 is perfect for 4 square feet.

It's not that I'm trying to get more wattage, this is the equipment I have at home, and I don't want to spend another 300 euros on another light.

 

[Jnugg]

That is duable. If your 400 is dimmable perfect. In a cool tube perfect. I run a 400in a 2x3x3.5 box. No problem open hood.
Your filter if want 220cfm min to 400cfm. Filter n a fan speed controller your laughing.
SB2

And 2x3 = 6 square feet of canopy which with a 400w HPS puts you at 66.66w per square foot,waaaay under the 100w per square foot the OP is trying to do.

OP,if your ballast is a dimmable digital ballast,I would highly recommend dimming it below 400w.If not,try to use an area that is 6 square feet rather than 4 square feet.

 

[hush]

While I do agree with Jnugg that a 400 is overkill for that space, I don't think it's as black/white as he does. I use a 400 in my 2x2 tent, inside of a cool tube, being exhausted by a 4" centrifugal, in a single-stage setup, with no carbon filter attached... and I am able to keep the temperature in the tent only about 4-5 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature in my house.

I do agree that a 250 is more appropriately-sized to my space. But I didn't want to buy a 250 which was more expensive than most 400 setups, so I went with a 400. At first I dimmed it down to 300w, but after a while I experimented with using it full blast, and it works just fine, as long as it's in a cool tube (and not an air-cooled reflector).

 

[omgwt]

While I do agree with Jnugg that a 400 is overkill for that space, I don't think it's as black/white as he does. I use a 400 in my 2x2 tent, inside of a cool tube, being exhausted by a 4" centrifugal, in a single-stage setup, with no carbon filter attached... and I am able to keep the temperature in the tent only about 4-5 degrees warmer than the ambient temperature in my house.

I do agree that a 250 is more appropriately-sized to my space. But I didn't want to buy a 250 which was more expensive than most 400 setups, so I went with a 400. At first I dimmed it down to 300w, but after a while I experimented with using it full blast, and it works just fine, as long as it's in a cool tube (and not an air-cooled reflector).

Thanks for the reply hush, I think that my cabinet should easily hold a 400w hps if your 2x2 tent does - because it's about the same size (my cabinet is a few square inches larger). While a dimmable ballast would be ideal, I don't want to spend 150 euros on one before I know it's a necessary thing.

I will purhase the equipment to build a door on the backside of the cabinet this upcomming weekend, I'll try to post in this thread with updates on the build, if someone in the future might be interested in building something similar.