150w HPS Club and Resource Guide......

[eLiguL]

My cabinet is made of particle board/MDF. I can't see an overwhelming reason to chose one over the other aside from cost. I like MDF because its smootther/cleaner looking and can be bought with a melamine laminated surface in various colors. Particle board will hold fasteners better.

particle board cab under construction:

Ya the guy in the building supply section that I spoke to said MDF is bad if moisture is present, it warps apparently. I think ill go with plywood since it is cheaper and also lighter (I dont wanna break my back if I ever need to transport my cab).

 

[dope_roor]

Just wanted to say that this thread/club has been invaluable to me in the past few months! I've just recently completed my 150 watt HPS cab and am pumped to see what these HID's can do!

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?p=1199116

 

[hardhat22]

You should do fine with particle board,though it's not near as strong nor has the longevity of plywood.Also,high temperatures can affect particle board,making the edges of the individual particles curl upwards leaving a terribly rough texture,so you would have to keep the top of your light source away from the wood.But,in my experience,it takes a long period of time before that happens.

If I remember correctly from my old days working in a saw-shop,particle board and fibre board is glued together with formaldehyde,which releases a cancer causing gas,or something of that nature.Myself and another sawman used to keep sinus infections from breathing the dust.We had to resign when we finally found out the cause.

But I wouldn't think that would be a concern to you,being as you don't work with it daily.Good Luck Man.
Peace

 

[Banjoboy]

Ya the guy in the building supply section that I spoke to said MDF is bad if moisture is present, it warps apparently. I think ill go with plywood since it is cheaper and also lighter (I dont wanna break my back if I ever need to transport my cab).

Plywood, MDF, HDF, MDO, Mellamine(sp?) will all delaminate(or swellup and fall to bits) when exsposed to water. Prime and paint all surfaces.
Also get the wright kind of screws, drywall screws are only good for drywall, you will snap the off in HDF
Pre drill all screw all holes.
Glue all your seems for added durability.
Re-inforce where you will hang your lights with a some 1x2 running from side to side to stop the top from sagging over time.

BB
Measure twice cut once,
get a new piece and start over

P.S. Plywood also uses formaldehyde based glues, wear a dust mask when cutting. Once you paint it out gasing should not be an issue

 

[Bulénath]

Hi everyone!

Yes it has been quite a while. Since posting last, I had another harvest of Sugabear's OB1 strain. All three phenos of OB1 were clones and went through a second cycle. Also, the lonely year old Nuclear Cloud sister strain was flowered in the small box. But it turned out to be a Nuclear Cloud clone that went mislabled! Ever see a purple bonsai Nuclear Cloud? hehe. You will soon.
Funny it finished it roughly 100 days in the small cab, opposed to 133 in the large cabinet. Probably because of the smaller pot size and height restrictions, coupled with a much more mature plant (a whole year old!).

Well, two OB1's and a single bonsai Nuclear Cloud flowering in 17" total height, thats a problem. But I still got 2 ounces from it, which is okay, considering my square footage and height. The small cab's HPS-wiring wasn't perfect and the light didn't turn on a few times. This caused my plants to go hermie! So they all gave me about 300 seeds and I have one bad ass cross:

(Oregon 90 x Burmese)-aka OB1 X [(G-13 x Molokai) x Ducksfoot]-aka Nuclear Cloud.

What should I name it? The Tropical Chubacka? hehehehe

On another note, I tried to re-use my perfect soil mixture for the third time!
That is the: Perlite/Worm Castings/Black Gold Organic Soil. 33.3333% each.
Well on this third run, I finnaly saw my first deficiency! All I did was hit the plant harder with Pure Blend Pro, and they bounced right back & finished perfectly!
But I learned something very important: I always looked at Pure Blend Pro as a "stand alone fertilizer". Meaning it can be used for Hydro operations aswell. But there were subtle differences between using a fresh mixture of soil VS. re-using the same soil for three grows. The biggest difference being I dont have to worry so much about "riding my plants" along the fine line between over-fert and under-fert, which seems to be exclusively a hydro problem. Fresh soil gave me the option of not fertilizing my plant to the fullest every time, which means peace of mind with any new strain!!! Becasue of the Def, there was a difference in vigour and health, which was never a problem with fresh soil. Infact, I will never re-use my soil more than 2 times, ever again!!

Well the OB1 smoke is so superb, its twice the potency of Nuclear Cloud, and much more of a narcotic high...That goes for all three phenos!


EDIT:
My new 150HPS goal:

To use my two 150HPS cabinets to grow 10+ bonsai plants ready to go, and a few mothers ready to go. Exclusively the OB1 strain. Vegging mother plants under a 150HPS should give me a huge array of clones, for two 600HPS's! Im movin on up, and movin on out! Im going to get my own place and im going professional
Everything I learned from using a 150HPS can be applied to a 600watt grow. Everything about efficiency and stealth needs to be applied. There are not many growers here who make thier 600HPS grows look as "dailed in" as ANY OF OUR 150 MEMEBERS. Sure their plants are beefy and nice, but that's a no brainer with such light. Its time to step it up

But I wont give up my 150HPS's! I still have much to learn from growing plants under a 150HPS, especially flowering my bonsai stativa's under 17" of flower, with 7" pots. Thats 10" bonsai plants! Awwwww aint that just cute? How could I resist something soooo precious.... :kitty:

 

[Pipedream]

I always thought, and still do, that if I were to build another enclosure I would use melamine laminated MDF. I've learned that mylar can be a PITA, and flat white paint hard to clean unless it has a car-like smooth finish. I think the smooth white melamine would likely be the best compromise for an interior finish. And.......... if you look around wood-working stores, you can find the same cam-lock fasteners that are used to make all of those cheap cabinets and desks that you assemble yourself. They all seem to be plenty strong, and can be taken apart for flat storage. Just me thought.

WAZEN, WAZEN, WAZEN, WAZEN. How totally wonderful it is to know that you are still out and about and doing well. You were surely missed!

 

[greenhead]

I always thought, and still do, that if I were to build another enclosure I would use melamine laminated MDF. I've learned that mylar can be a PITA, and flat white paint hard to clean unless it has a car-like smooth finish. I think the smooth white melamine would likely be the best compromise for an interior finish.

My current cabinet is smooth white melamine I believe, and it seems to be alright, it's very easy to clean, but I was curious to know how mylar can be a PITA, because I was eventually thinking of picking up a roll sometime.

 

[eLiguL]

And.......... if you look around wood-working stores, you can find the same cam-lock fasteners that are used to make all of those cheap cabinets and desks that you assemble yourself. They all seem to be plenty strong, and can be taken apart for flat storage. Just me thought.

I never even thought of using those fasteners and its the perfect solution to my problems. Just curious but are these pieces expensive??

Greenhead - Mylar is a PITA to clean, hang properly and should be replaced every so often to ensure maximum reflectivity.

 

[Pipedream]

I'm happy. I'm once again finally in a position to be a contributing member of the thread. For those of you that have followed my trials & tribulations, you know that my last major set-back came when I had to have my garage demolished and rebuilt thanks to termites and water damage. The cabinet had to be torn down and stored away, and the plants relocated to other homes. Well, I'm glad to report that Jr & I are back up and running in a nice new clean garage. My sons were nice enough to set everything up for their old Dad, and even went as far as painting the garage, getting me a work table for my grow area, and finishing the old concrete floor with an epoxy coating. Now it feels more like a "clean room" than a garage. This morning, I went out in my sox!!!

I brought back the one surviving plant, and will now take the clipper to it. While away, it didn't get the care it needed and as a result looks a bit sad, weak, and deficient. Considering its age & size, I'm surprised there are no preflowers. It does give me a masculine impression though. Non the less, I'll cut it up and try to make about a dozen good clones. As soon as one has roots, it will be flowered and the resulting sex will determine the fate of all the others.

Meanwhile I'm just glad to be back up and running, so here are a couple of pic's of my Grow-Station and my hopeful mom-to-be.

 

[dope_roor]

My current cabinet is smooth white melamine I believe, and it seems to be alright, it's very easy to clean, but I was curious to know how mylar can be a PITA, because I was eventually thinking of picking up a roll sometime.

i've never purchased mylar from a gardening/hydroponic shop but i have used the emergency blankets from WalMart numerous times and it's a PITA because the material is very very thin and small tears quickly expand.

 

[hardhat22]

Lookin good PipeDream.I love the cabinet.I have something similar I'm slowly but surely putting together,though alot more raggedy looking.Can ya give me a suggestion,please?With my door closed,I can see light coming out in places around the door.Is there some weather stripping or something similar that can be used to seal it off?
And just how old is that plant?It looks like the top is still putting out.I would love to see that cola in flower,man.
Peace

 

[Guest]

Lookin good PipeDream.I love the cabinet.I have something similar I'm slowly but surely putting together,though alot more raggedy looking.Can ya give me a suggestion,please?With my door closed,I can see light coming out in places around the door.Is there some weather stripping or something similar that can be used to seal it off?
And just how old is that plant?It looks like the top is still putting out.I would love to see that cola in flower,man.
Peace

Try getting some 3/8" weather stripping from Home Depot or a similiar hardware store. It should cost less than 4-5 dollars. Take off the doors and wipe the edge of the cabinet (not the doors) with alcohol to get the surface good and clean. Place the weather stripping down on the cabinet side and leave the slick paper cover on so that it won't pull the stripping off when you open the doors. Plan to replace and readjust after a few months. Negative pressure will also help seal the cab nice a light tight, especially wth doors which might not be 100% straight. You may need to use the hinge screw adjustments to get everything 100% light sealed.

 

[DrHydro]

Hey pipedream... Do you or anyone you know buy the lights from that e-conolight link on the first page?... Just wondering if they worked without any problems because i know of cheap 400 watt set-ups from insidesun that have alot of problems with differnt people were the lights burnt out really fast.. Like a month or less(The lights are cheap but i think there was somthing with the ballast as well that caused the problems)... If theres no problems... Then thats the best deal you could ever expect.. Just wondering cuz i plan on buying some shit from there..

 

[eLiguL]

Hey pipedream... Do you or anyone you know buy the lights from that e-conolight link on the first page?... Just wondering if they worked without any problems because i know of cheap 400 watt set-ups from insidesun that have alot of problems with differnt people were the lights burnt out really fast.. Like a month or less(The lights are cheap but i think there was somthing with the ballast as well that caused the problems)... If theres no problems... Then thats the best deal you could ever expect.. Just wondering cuz i plan on buying some shit from there..

They are quality lights, many people on this forum as well as OG are and still using them.

 

[DrHydro]

Alright... Thanks for the quick reply...

 

[hardhat22]

Try getting some 3/8" weather stripping....

Preciate it man.
Peace

 

[Pipedream]

I second both the comment about the weather stripping (that's what I'm using)

and

The statement about e-conolight (again, that's what I'm using)
I've also purchased quite a few emergency exit lights and outdoor MH lights from them for my house of worship and always very happy with the service, quality, and price.

The plant is just over two months old, but had a very tough time due to being relocated twice and dealing with a nute def. She got a bath change-out today. Fresh rain-water and new Maxi-Grow nutes. Trying to strengthen it up before it gets cut into clones.

 

[hardhat22]

..Plywood also uses formaldehyde based glues....

THAT,I didn't know.Should have assumed it though..Thanks,I'm slightly less ignorant now.

i've never purchased mylar from a gardening/hydroponic shop but i have used the emergency blankets from WalMart numerous times....

Ok,I don't mean to beat a dead horse,but after all the debates I've been involved with,all the way back to OverGrow in the early part of the mellinium,I still can't grasp the need for reflective surfaces.
I'm doing great to get my light within 4-6 inches from the bud surfaces for maximum penetration,while keeping temps at an average of 82 degrees F.The light that passes the buds and hits my walls reflect back,but they have traveled 5 times the distance.How could these reflected light waves possibly benefits my plants??
Does this need for reflective surfaces only apply to the 400-1000 watt lights.Sorry,but my experience is limited to 150w hps. Thanks.
Peace

 

[bounty29]

hardhat22 - I don't worry too much about reflective walls, because the majority of the light from the 150w is useful mainly at the canopy. As you can see, that's where the action is gonna happen, so the walls wouldn't help much. That's why I'm not worrying about painting them too much.

Here's my girls just starting to bud, I'm so pumped to see the buds fill out!



I know it looks like it's pretty sparse, but the fan leaves create a pretty solid canopy.

 

[green_grow]

hardhat : i found that painting the walls flat white was an easy, low maintenance way of getting more out of your light. some use mylar, some, like bounty, use bare wood. it all depends on how much you are concerned with maximizing your harvest. with a 150, reflectivity is even more important than with a bigger wattage bulb. having said that, you can see from his links that bounty does just fine with his style of growing, and i cant outsmoke my own 150; not by a long-shot. so, aside from squeezing the last gram out of each and every grow, it just comes down to personal preference, IMHO.