2000w cooltube or 1000w plus light mover?

[SilverSurfer_OG]

High!

I have a new space to grow in that measures 2m x 2m x 2.8m

Was going to order two times 1000w cooltube setup with digi ballasts but now thinking might be more economical and less heat issues with a light moving rail... think i might be sacrificing yield or will the mover make up for this and not be too hot??

Cheers.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Well i have gone for option number 3. 2 x 600w digital ballast with cooltube. Shouldnt have to worry bout heat issues and still good coverage for a SOG type setup.

Skanktastic!!

 

[habeeb]

cool tube has bad reflector

 

[kiwiboy]

I think option 4 is better, 2 1000x with cooltubes on a light mover. 2000w / 42.25 square feet = 47.33 w per square foot. Still on the low side.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Yeah option 4 sounds interesting... but i have already paid for my lights so have to make do. What can be done to improve cool tube reflector?

Cheers!

 

[geopolitical]

I wouldn't worry too much about the reflector being bad. I've never had an issue with having hot/cool spots even with the crap reflector design in most cool tubes. In theory, you should have a really optimum reflector setup, but in practice areas that get more light will yield more heavily, and areas that get less will yield less, all other things being equal. A better reflector will give you a more consistent yield across plants, but it won't necessarily give you an increased yield over an entire room.

 

[JustanotherDave]

OK...you already have the lights. (I would have recommended the 1K's had I seen this earlier)

You can still add a mover and you WILL increase your yield...but only if you move it 12" or less.
And remember...have the bulbs face each other...not end to end just for the sake of having a straight duct line. The overlapping light is valuable.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

I wanted to go 1kw but figured the lumatek will give an extra boost. Bit worried about heat issues in summer. Cool tubes and a mover? Once i am more cashed up will see...

Would i get an increase in yield similar to 3 x 600 with 2 x 600 plus the mover?

 

[*mistress*]

2 1k's, bare bulb.

8-10k btu ac.

sealed area; lots of internal air circulation...

high 80s-low 90s temp fine. they will love the bright light & higher temps accompanying.

enjoy your garden!

 

[MrMcBean]

Im interested in the "mover". I have heard about it and seen it but is it something you can purchase or do you have to build it yourself? How would you build something like that?

 

[Lazyman]

Movers are not a replacement for additional lights, they are merely a replacement for having to manually rotate your plants by hand.

You need at least 50 watts per square foot of flowering space/canopy, 60-70W is better. In your room you would need 2151W minimum, I would recommend 3X1000 or 4X600W, and skip the mover (very hard/inefficient to air-cool hoods with any mover, plus one more thing to buy/maintain/replace when it breaks.)

 

[Philosophelon]

It's not really that difficult to air-cool reflectors on a mover, imo. I'm running most of my F-rooms with vertical bare bulbs these days, but I used to air-cool multiple reflectors on a mover. I always run movers, as they give me a much more even, dense canopy, and they increased my yields by a larger amount than any other factor except supplemental CO2. The trick is to only move your reflectors by ~18" total max (less is fine), so that you still maintain adequate light intensity.

Here is my preferred method:

I mount three or four reflectors to an aluminum pole, and then suspend that from the mover -- I use rigid ducting in between the reflectors, and flex ducting on the ends for intake and exhaust. As long as the reflector only moves ~18" total, you don't need too much flex duct, and you still get good airflow through the reflectors. Also important is to insulate the rigid ducting, and the reflector housing if possible.

I should note that it is less initial labor, as well as less to go wrong, if you don't use A/C hoods. If you're running a sealed room, I would only recommend A/C reflectors if you are at or close to your maximum power consumption at a given location. Otherwise, it's easier to just run a larger air conditioner.

However, if you aren't running a sealed room, it will be easier to cool your room if you use A/C reflectors, because you won't have to exhaust as many cfms to maintain an adequate ambient air temp.

Anyway, that's my two cents about air-cooled lights, and remember, ymmv.

 

[SilverSurfer_OG]

Thanks for the replies...

I do have 2 400w CMH lights currently in my flower area that i can add to the mix. They are in cool tubes. Going to use my current flower area as a mother room so i can replace with the big compact fluros. This would give me the 2kw.

My grow space would actually be a bit smaller as i am giving myself 1 foot around the plants to move in. So the real grow area is 7ft x 4.5ft.