First PC Grow Case With 100 watt MH...build & Set Up.

Endur

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 16, 2009

• #1

Hello folks,
So I finally jumped on the bandwagon, and am going to do a PC grow with a 100 watt Metal Halide. I picked up a bare bone pc case for $50 bucks. It measures L 16 1/2...W 7 1/4... H 16 1/2...
I gutted it, and then used the power supply case and mounted my 100 watt MH ballast, ignitor, and capacitor.
So now i need to figure out what size fans to get. So anyways, I am going to purchase some Mandella Seed, HashBerry to go into this grow. All organic soil.
Ill keep this updated as i get this project rolling.

here are some pics....

more updates later.......

 

Last edited: Nov 27, 2009

Endur

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 17, 2009

• #2

picked up these this afternoon.....

This evening I started to seal up the case with foil tape. I'm also going to line it with panda film. (black/white polly).

then a pic of a nug from this past outdoor harvest...

anyone have a good recommendation for fans for a 100 watt Metal Halide?
peace
ENDUR

 

weedster

Active member

• Nov 17, 2009

• #3

sup sup Endur, i'm gonna watch this thread ;D
so good luck with box and grow

amm are u going to have MH without cooltube, only vents?

 

A

aminem

Member

• Nov 17, 2009

• #4

just one question : how are gonna cool down a 100W MH ???

 

fatigues

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 17, 2009

• #5

I like the aggressive nature of pursuing HID lighting in a PC case. Props for that.

However, if you are going to mess around with HID lighting in a PC case, you need to use reliable and safe equipment.

The ballast you intend to use looks like it was retrieved from the wreck of the HMS Titanic. There are many ballasts for low wattage HID which are small, convenient, switchable (as between HPS and MH) and generally reliable. None of those qualities are present in the ballast which you are showing us. I wouldn't use the thing as a doorstop - let alone as an electrical component in something which will be left to operate unattended and could start a fire. It is also likely to vibrate and sound loud - if it operates at all and is certain to contribute to excess heat in your system. If you want stealth and reliability - get a digital ballast that will operate your light. Yes. You will have to spend money on it. That's part of the whole growing thing. They are not that expensive.

You can Craigslist a 100w warehouse light ballast for less than $20, I would guess.

Don't use that current ballast, please. Do yourself a favor and get another ballast. If you can't find one on Craigslist, you could try one of these pulse start ballasts here. Either core and coil or digital (and yes, digital costs more). A core and coil cheapie will cost you less than $50.

 

Mk3Jetta

Member

• Nov 17, 2009

• #6

^^ what he said.

Also create a remote ballast so that it sits outside of your case and reduces temps on the inside.

Do you know how hot that MH lamp is gonna get? REALLY HOT! I hope you have some epic plans for venting as those MH lamps will cook your pc case and plants alive if you dont have adequate air flow.

Good Luck with your grow man and I hope you get everything all buttoned up. I'll check back into this grow fo sho to see how your doing and wat you planned.

 

fatigues

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 17, 2009

• #7

Mk3Jetta said:

^^ what he said.

Do you know how hot that MH lamp is gonna get? REALLY HOT! I hope you have some epic plans for venting as those MH lamps will cook your pc case and plants alive if you dont have adequate air flow.

Click to expand...

The OP would be much better off with a Ceramic Metal Halide, instead of a MH, which offers far better spectrum for both veg and bloom, and also runs at a lower temperature than either MH or HPS. Usually, MH HID lights are used on for vegging, and HPS lights are used for flowering. CMH bulbs, which are only available at 400w and less, are the new darlings on the HID market.

Please note: CMH lamps generally use HPS ballasts - not a MH ballast (but there may be special exceptions for CMH lights below 150w) - so post in the CMH thread here and ask first!

Even if the OP has his heart set on running the MH bulb he appears to already own , a reliable ballast to actually run it would be very wise.

 

Endur

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 18, 2009

• #8

ok,
thanks for all the compliments/or a better Ideas. I know the ballast looks in really bad shape, but its fairly new...haha. I had it in a plastic grocery bag, that got moisture in it, in turn caused the ballast to rust on the outside. This 100 watt bulb seems like it will be fairly easy to keep the temps under control. I closed the case up with the light on for about 10-15 minutes and the temp was only 84 F. So I hope with 2 decent size fans, I'll be able to make it possible. I definitely will upgrade to a digital ballast in the near future.
Peace...
ENDUR

 

L

Lonesome Burt

• Nov 18, 2009

• #9

..

 

?

:-(

Member

• Nov 18, 2009

• #10

I did a succesful PC grow with a 70w hps, the most efficient way to control the temperature (imo) was with a cool tube, you can grab a candle holder or hurricane tube from michaels for under 10 bux. Put a PC fan on the exhaust side and duct the cool tube straight through the case, sucking outside air over the light and exhausting straight out the back of your case. Also, consider mounting the ballast outside the case. I don't think you will be able to control the temperatures in your case with your current setup. Back to the drawing board, sir!

good luck, and i'll stay tuned.

 

Endur

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 23, 2009

• #11

:-( said:

I did a succesful PC grow with a 70w hps, the most efficient way to control the temperature (imo) was with a cool tube, you can grab a candle holder or hurricane tube from michaels for under 10 bux. Put a PC fan on the exhaust side and duct the cool tube straight through the case, sucking outside air over the light and exhausting straight out the back of your case. Also, consider mounting the ballast outside the case. I don't think you will be able to control the temperatures in your case with your current setup. Back to the drawing board, sir!

good luck, and i'll stay tuned.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input
I was leaning towards a cool tube, so i will do that. I cut & attached the panda film with velcro.
Today i picked up a fan for the intake....now i need to figure out how to mount this sucker..haha. I would like to use only regular house current to power this setup. No 12V computer stuff.
I also am going to do the remote ballast, looking at how much more room ill have to work with. I am also going to need a fan for exhaust & the cool Tube. If any one has suggestions for the cool tube/exhaust fans, I all ears.
Any comments/suggestions are welcome...

 

Mk3Jetta

Member

• Nov 23, 2009

• #12

I'd keep your cord length under 6' if possible. I've read that over that the resistance from the wire starts to lower the power getting to the lamp.

Your going to want a fan blowing on the lamp to keep your temps down.

 

Endur

Active member

Veteran

• Nov 27, 2009

• #13

hello everyone.
so my little idea wasn't going as planned. The 100 watt metal halide was way too HOT for this 1 sqf case. So I decided to just do CFL's.
My light are rated @ 23 watt = 100 output, 1600 lumens (X 3) Total watts 69. Total lumens 4800. 6500K daylight.
I also have 3 pc fans. 2 for intake & 1 for exhaust.
Will this be a ok setup?
here are a few pics of the remodel......

 

microgram

Member

• Nov 29, 2009

• #14

Two fans out bro, one in! Heat rises too, so the intake should be the lowest physical fan.
It's looking real good bro, that sucks about the MH though, it would have been real cool if you managed to keep the box lit with that sucker It's unfortunate though that you couldn't.
I'm sure you'll get decent results with those though! Remember the whole speel about temps outside your case effecting the temps inside! Keep it green bro! Scrog/LST, and you'll have some wicked output in BUDDDD. I grabbed a seat, you should try to figure out how to run the MH next time, im sure you can do it, im more than certain that you can! You'll need a double-skinned cool tube, and some max air flow to keep her cool. I'd be interesting if you tried to keep it stealth too, you'd have mad props if you got it going.

I smell popcorn in the popper, I shall be back!

 

M

mike419

New member

• Apr 2, 2010

• #15

I have also tried the pc grow with 100 watt mh and had heat issues. except i had an external ballast with 2 exhaust fans and one intake and still too hot and eventually had to switch to the 68 watt cfl 2700k witch has 4700 lumens. although the mh produces 9000 lumens thats way overkill for 1 to 1.5 sq ft of space. so all in all unless i figure out a decent coolling method then the h.i.d in the p.c is just not the way to go.