Headstash RdWc setup

[londoncitygenetics]

Chiller is only essential if you cannot keep on top of water temperature look at all the big players as well as a lot of smaller growers like myself, but i suppose its food for thought each to there own, and as you, i also used hps for well over 20 years until i saw the light so to speak and moved with the times but youre doing a good enough job with your set up thats for sure best of luck

I'm not sure how you could keep ontop of temps without a chiller, room temps and root temps need to differ greatly, the buckets also act as heat sinks....

Every major player I know with a multi room rdwc system has a chiller.

I'm just stuck in my ways lol as you say it works for me, I do like the blurple colour that the LEDs give off though...

Thank you, please stick around!

 

[londoncitygenetics]

Filling up the left quadrant (RIP subby) will be this girl....

 

[RoostaPhish]

@Piff Rhys Jones the higher the voltage, the lower the amount of amps it draws. There for more lights can be run on the same circuit. Or more equipment without blowing the fuse.

 

[Piff Rhys Jones]

@Piff Rhys Jones the higher the voltage, the lower the amount of amps it draws. There for more lights can be run on the same circuit. Or more equipment without blowing the fuse.

Thanks for that explanation, that kindof makes sense, but surely adding a bigger fuse or an additional circuit is cheaper than the increased cost of the 400V units and bulbs?

Peace

 

[G.O. Joe]

A chiller is essential! Not only does it keep bad bacteria down 18degs hold the perfect amount of DO (dissolved oxygen) that make the roots thrive....

I didnt use a chiller for years and i thought my results were great, get a chiller and youll see what rdwc can really do!

Could be, yet many things are possible. There are water treatment options, cheaper than chilling.

Maybe a place to start for temperature control would be no black gear. I have none except for irrigation tube, coincidentally my water doesn't get warm.

Cooling aerated pure water from 30 to 20 C increases oxygen by 1.5 mg per liter. 25 to 20 is 0.8 mg. Perhaps there are better ways to provide oxygen than cooling.

 

[londoncitygenetics]

Im sorry but No there isn't lol, the effect of covering the buckets in reflective sheeting or painting them white is negligible...you may drop 1 deg if your lucky.

The room needs to be st 25degs, of you have ever left any liquid on a side you will notice it will warm or cool to match the surrounding environment...25degs for roots is death.

No amount of frozen bottles or reflective sheeting will get you to a constant 18degs under 1200w

You mention cheaper but that is not my main concern, providing the best possible conditions for the girld with the resources I have available to me at the time is.

It's well known 18degs is the perfect temp and chillers are essential, this is not new news...and as said before if you think you have good/fast growth without a chiller your in for a shock!

 

[RoostaPhish]

@Piff Rhys Jones you typically get charged by wattage not volts, and the wattage doesnt change with a higher voltage. Neither does the bulb, it is the same wattage and bulb. The volts goes up and the amperage goes down. Typically the ballasts cost the same as 120 or 240 volt. Bout as simple as I can explain it.

 

[RoostaPhish]

So a 600 watt sodium at 120volts usually draws about 6 amps. But a 600 watt sodium at 240 volts is only about 3 amps. A 600 watt sodium at 400 volts is somewhere in the 1.5 amps range. But they all still use 600 watts. I dont know what the amperage on a typical circut is in Europe, but here a typical circut is 15 amps. So for safety sake you could run 2, 600 watt sodiums at 120 volts. But at 240 volts you could run 4 safely. And at 400 volts you could run 8.

 

[londoncitygenetics]

So a 600 watt sodium at 120volts usually draws about 6 amps. But a 600 watt sodium at 240 volts is only about 3 amps. A 600 watt sodium at 400 volts is somewhere in the 1.5 amps range. But they all still use 600 watts. I dont know what the amperage on a typical circut is in Europe, but here a typical circut is 15 amps. So for safety sake you could run 2, 600 watt sodiums at 120 volts. But at 240 volts you could run 4 safely. And at 400 volts you could run 8.

Just looked them up and I remember getting them because the 400v bulbs produce approx 10-15% mor Par output then a 240v

"The 400V lamps are superior to the 240V lamps traditionally used in the hobby hydroponics and indoor garden markets due to their increased efficiency and greater PAR spectrum output."

400V RANGE​

Offer 10% - 15% more PAR light than standard 240V ballastsThe 400V lamps. It also features full circuit protection including open/short circuit, over temperature, over/low voltage, end of lamp life/rectification and EMI supression.​

​

​

 

[RoostaPhish]

Even more reason. 10-15% is significant.

 

[DARKSIDER]

I'm not sure how you could keep ontop of temps without a chiller, room temps and root temps need to differ greatly, the buckets also act as heat sinks....

Every major player I know with a multi room rdwc system has a chiller.

I'm just stuck in my ways lol as you say it works for me, I do like the blurple colour that the LEDs give off though...

Thank you, please stick around!

Plenty Ways. i will be sticking around for a while good luck

 

[Piff Rhys Jones]

@Piff Rhys Jones you typically get charged by wattage not volts, and the wattage doesnt change with a higher voltage. Neither does the bulb, it is the same wattage and bulb. The volts goes up and the amperage goes down. Typically the ballasts cost the same as 120 or 240 volt. Bout as simple as I can explain it.

I was referring to the price of the equipment as opposed to the running costs, the 400v ballasts are more expensive to buy so was wondering if the fact they require less amps is worth the increased price. But if they are more efficient in terms of PAR that explains it.

Peace

 

[Mudraya]

Filling up the left quadrant (RIP subby) will be this girl....

View attachment 18827447

hey there, very cool stuff. i’m just getting back into rdwc after years of top drip auto. what’s going on with your repot there? did you cut a hole in the bottom of the net pot for the roots? looks like a technique i might wanna go with the next go-round.

 

[londoncitygenetics]

hey there, very cool stuff. i’m just getting back into rdwc after years of top drip auto. what’s going on with your repot there? did you cut a hole in the bottom of the net pot for the roots? looks like a technique i might wanna go with the next go-round.

Hey thanks for stopping, I did and use foam flooring sheets as a net pot collar.

Saves a fortune on messy media (PHing clay pebs is a hassle.

The roots also hit the rez instantly instead of having to make there way through the media.

The Bluchi clone above end of week1 12/12

 

[Sweaty]

Hey thanks for stopping, I did and use foam flooring sheets as a net pot collar.

Saves a fortune on messy media (PHing clay pebs is a hassle.

The roots also hit the rez instantly instead of having to make there way through the media.

The Bluchi clone above end of week1 12/12

View attachment 18832206

Looking great! What temp do you keep your aero-cloner at?
I’m giving one a go for the first time, only used coco and jiffy’s before

 

[Tynehead Tom]

how are you supplying 400V ? Do you guys have that much availlable from a residential panel?
I'm no electrician and I'm midway thru a killer joint so maybe I'm not following.
Here in Canada the max I have availlable at the panel is 240V @100amps. This is typical in Canada although many new builds are installing 300amp service which I wish I had and am saving to updrade too.
My old school metal halide and HPS ballasts though.... they have power input wires that go into the 400V range. There are 4 or 5 choices on the ballasts but the only 2 I can use is the 110/120V and the 220/240V.
Standard househould circuits here in Canuckistan are 110V at 15amps and it's generally safe to run grow equipment on the 15amp circuit totally 10amps. I was taught by an electrician..... only use 2/3rds of the load for safety reasons. Then we have kitchen and bathroom circuits 110V @20amps and these are protected with thier own circuit breakers on the plug in receptacle face... GFCI I think they are called.?. I think that is code here. For those circuits my notes say to not exceed 80% of the load , leaving 20% unused.
Then we combine two 110V lines to give us a 3 wire +ground wire 220/240V connection. That is typical of Canada's electrical code across the country. My buddy has a farm so he has 3 phase power at 360V so I don't get this 400V option..... that's a lotta juice hehehe but not really because it's less amps. electrical math confuses me LOL
But these bulbs and ballasts sure sound interesting.

 

[Sweaty]

how are you supplying 400V ? Do you guys have that much availlable from a residential panel?
I'm no electrician and I'm midway thru a killer joint so maybe I'm not following.
Here in Canada the max I have availlable at the panel is 240V @100amps. This is typical in Canada although many new builds are installing 300amp service which I wish I had and am saving to updrade too.
My old school metal halide and HPS ballasts though.... they have power input wires that go into the 400V range. There are 4 or 5 choices on the ballasts but the only 2 I can use is the 110/120V and the 220/240V.
Standard househould circuits here in Canuckistan are 110V at 15amps and it's generally safe to run grow equipment on the 15amp circuit totally 10amps. I was taught by an electrician..... only use 2/3rds of the load for safety reasons. Then we have kitchen and bathroom circuits 110V @20amps and these are protected with thier own circuit breakers on the plug in receptacle face... GFCI I think they are called.?. I think that is code here. For those circuits my notes say to not exceed 80% of the load , leaving 20% unused.
Then we combine two 110V lines to give us a 3 wire +ground wire 220/240V connection. That is typical of Canada's electrical code across the country. My buddy has a farm so he has 3 phase power at 360V so I don't get this 400V option..... that's a lotta juice hehehe but not really because it's less amps. electrical math confuses me LOL
But these bulbs and ballasts sure sound interesting.

I’m not too familiar with electrics, but in the UK we also run 240v at the socket.

My understanding is that we can buy HPS ballasts that have a converter, which have an output of 400v at the bulb.

I’ve run lumatek 400v alongside 240v lumatek, but any differences to plants were negligible

 

[farmerlion]

50 to 55 gal they are 13 gal modules and i keep the water level about 1 inch below the net pots

How often do you have to change out the reservoir in your system? Does it depend or vary on the type of nutrients you use?
Peace farmerlion

 

[Hiddenjems]

I'm not sure how you could keep ontop of temps without a chiller, room temps and root temps need to differ greatly, the buckets also act as heat sinks....

Every major player I know with a multi room rdwc system has a chiller.

I'm just stuck in my ways lol as you say it works for me, I do like the blurple colour that the LEDs give off though...

Thank you, please stick around!

Growing in a basement can nix the need for a chiller. When the Rez and buckets all sit on a concrete slab 6’ below grade, they stay pretty cool.

I use hps so I can keep my air temps in my rooms at 72* and still get a lot of transpiration because the leaf temps are a good bit higher. That’s one beef I have with led and hydro. If I went led I’d have to buy 4-5 chillers to keep up with the 5-8* temp increase for leds to work right.

 

[negative37dBA]

It always amazes me how people spend hours trying to figure out how to deal with temps in hydro. 1 and only correct way, a chiller. Then you all bitch about the cost.....wa wa wa. You guys are trying to tell me your entire crop and dozens in the future are not worth the 1 time investment of a chiller?? BULLSHIT. Buy a chiller and be done.
Have a nice day.
Peace, negative