[Lemon]

(*Note - This is of course, by no means a new idea. This is simply meant to be an informative tutorial based on my experience while searching for a cool tube solution. I was unable to find any detailed or clean instructions on how to make a cool tube using a Pyrex bake-a-round. They all ommited small details or used a ton of duct tape, random scraps, etc. This is intended for those who want a durable, clean, easy to assemble piece of equipment for thier setup. )



Lemon's Clean and Easy Cool Tube

This is a detailed tutorial on how to put together your very own cool tube. You can assemble one of these in about 20 minutes. This is based on a 150 watt HPS, but may be adapted as needed.

What You Need:



1 x Pyrex Bake-A-Round tube (long discontinued, but available readily on EBay and in classifieds, Flea markets etc – surprisingly common) - $10-15
1 x pair of Café Rod brackets (hardware store, where window fittings are located) - $1.50
1 x Ceramic medium or mogul lamp base with standard mounting hole - $0.99
1 x 1”-1.5” (approx) hose clamp - $0.80
1 x 3.5”-4” (approx) hose clamp - $1.00
2 x 4.5”-5” (approx) hose clamps - $2.50
1 x roll of self adhesive insulting foam for hot water pipes. - $2.50
1 x #6 – 32 x 3/8” (machine screws with nuts) - $0.99
1 x multipurpose (including glass) glue or epoxy (optional) - $3.00
1 x 400°F small tube of silicone sealant - $2.50
Your HPS/4” duct system – N/A


Step 1:

Collect your café rod brackets, lamp base, and screws.




Remove one of the café rods and bend into roughly the shape illustrated in the next photo (you may need a something to help such as a pair of pliers).




Attach the café rod to the lamp socket’s mounting hole using a screw and nut.






Connect the wires from your power source line to the lamp socket. The white wire should connect to the silver screw, and the black wire to the brass / darker screw (this is standard color coding). I used a little bit of solder for good measure. Leave the ground wire (green) unconnected for now, ideally left a little longer than the others.
Cut and bend the remaining café rod into three pieces with tabs on the end as shown. The longest/middle section should measure 1&1/8” on each (medium) or 7/8" (mogul). The other sections are of negligible length, but around ½” is good. These are your spacers.




Fasten the spacers to the lamp socket as shown. Use your epoxy or glue if desired in addition to the clamp to make sure everything is firmly in place.



Step 2:

Hang your bulb assembly over the end of the Bake-a-Round. You will notice that there is a slight bit of play between the spacers attached to the socket, and the inner walls of the tube (if you measured correctly and don’t have an oddly sized socket). This is deliberate and is to account for possible thermal expansion in the metal. Fitting the spacers firmly could result in a cracked or broken tube!




Place the bulb in the socket and clamp the hook hanging over the side of the glass tube with the ~4” Clamp. Tack the hook and clamp with epoxy/glue for added strength (The glued clamp can still be popped off, so don’t worry too much about how you will change the bulb).




Step 3:

Wrap self adhesive insulating foam around each end on the tube as shown (or only one if you are using exhaust only). This will allow 4” duct to fit very snugly to the tube (which it’s self is 3 ¾” O.D.), and will also act as a gasket/seal when clamped.




Thread wiring through the ducting, attach the ducting to the tube, and clamp in place. Finish with silicone sealant if desired. Connect the ground to the duct or the café rod hook.




Add an optional reflector made from unclosed rigid duct (you can find this in your hardware store – it’s a piece of sheet metal with a snap together seam that hasn’t been connected). Simply cut to length, cut flanges a half inch from the ends, and clamp those to the duct/tube. Hang your lamp with light chain available from your hardware store by the foot. The chain attaches under the clamps on the duct. You’re done!




The End


-

[TaxiBoy]

This is a GREAT tutorial, Lemon! The cool tube DIY tuts that are floating around now are not nearly as detailed or clean as this. I think the DIY gurus on ICmag will really be into this!

I especially like the way you made use of the adhesive pipe insulation as a gasket material. Also, your socket spacers are top notch. K+++++!

[FunkBomb]

Two words for you:

BAD ASS


Great work that thing looks just as good as the $100 ones online


-Funk

[Arkaya]

Great job, someone get that damn "add this to the archive" picture in a post here stat! This is the cleanest looking cooltube I have seen DIY yet!

[1hitWONDER]

clean work Lemon how much for the tube?

This Qualifies for ~DIY~ LINK-O-RAMA

[NightFire]

FYI, the Pyrex Bake-a-round goes in spurts on eBay... When I built my cool tube a few years back, there were no more than 3 bake a rounds on ebay at a time for over a month... and they were not cheap... about $35.00-$40.00 (USD) each with shipping.

Other than that it works great.... kept my 1kW HPS in it inside a 4x4x6 room, kept the room nice and cool (I was using a 8" Vortex)

[Lemon]

Thanks for the feedback, glad you like it.

Originally Posted by 1hitWONDER

how much for the tube?

As mentioned above, Bake-A-Rounds vary in price since they are only found used. Now for instance, there are quite a few on e-bay, available from $5 to $16. with $10 average (+shipping).

Check out Craigslist for better local deals.

-

[PHB]

Great tutorial! Thanks

nice, complete, simple!!!!

great!

lemon, this is a great contribution to the site and i'm very happy you shared. the other cooltube designs on here are usually overcomplicated and/or incomplete like you said
k+

[superchido1]

Great tutorial! This just might be my solution to my hot cab. Thanks to all the McHighvers out there who contribute to the cause! Viva la revolucion!