Air Cooled CMH design

[RomulanJake]

So I thought I'd share my air cooled ceramic metal hallide design I have going on in my flowering rooms.

I took your typical glass tubes, used socket adapters and ducting, and connected it all to an AC infinity fan system. Even though Ive got 630w total in these small spaces... the temps never get high.

Before I ran things this way, I constantly had heat issues in the summer with both LED's and my old HPS set up.

 

[Grower369]

Romulanjake looks like a great setup.can i ask how far you keep the lights away from the plants

 

[ganjalfthegreen]

Your not suppose to air cool CMH bulbs directly like that as far as I'm aware... They need to hit the right operating temp to have full spectrum. That's why hoods like the ACDE use indirect cooling. From what I have seen CMH bulb arent suppose to be enclosed by glass either. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong...

 

[pop_rocks]

nice mod! i use the air cooled bulbs myself
i never thought about running a cmh bulb in an air cooled hood, but to do so all you mention is using a socket adapter?
typically, using a 600w hps i was lowering the ambient air temps by about 10* by using the contained air-cooled light; between the cmh and air flow, about how much cooler does this set up get you?

 

[Lost in a SOG]

Ive done this but the only problem imo is that cmh are great for the extra UV spectrum as well as a better overall light spectrum and you lose the UVs to the extra glass, which is a shame.. CMH are a waste of money compared to what leds do now though..

 

[RomulanJake]

Romulanjake looks like a great setup.can i ask how far you keep the lights away from the plants

24"-30"

Your not suppose to air cool CMH bulbs directly like that as far as I'm aware... They need to hit the right operating temp to have full spectrum. That's why hoods like the ACDE use indirect cooling. From what I have seen CMH bulb arent suppose to be enclosed by glass either. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong...

They are not cooled by an AC, just ambient air, which is okay based on my research.

nice mod! i use the air cooled bulbs myself
i never thought about running a cmh bulb in an air cooled hood, but to do so all you mention is using a socket adapter?
typically, using a 600w hps i was lowering the ambient air temps by about 10* by using the contained air-cooled light; between the cmh and air flow, about how much cooler does this set up get you?

HPS had me at 90f-95f+.. CMH never goes over 82f basically.

 

[RomulanJake]

Ive done this but the only problem imo is that cmh are great for the extra UV spectrum as well as a better overall light spectrum and you lose the UVs to the extra glass, which is a shame.. CMH are a waste of money compared to what leds do now though..

I have found that I have better harvests, yields and smoke from growing this way, and I've had this set up for almost 2 years now. Before that I used expensive LED lights, hotter than hell HPS/MH set-ups, and even some other lighting methods. This is by far the best outcome Ive had, and I am so thankful that I switched over.

For a total of $300-400, I have a 630w system that keeps each room cooler than anything else I've used. I would have to go spend $1k for LED lights that would be comparable, and then Id have to put one in each flower room. No way Im spending that much for indistinguishable differences.. which is what I saw from past grows to now that Im using CMH.

I get that people in here have learned far more than I have, and probably know way more than I do in these areas.. but here I am actually doing it, and things are going just fine. Not just that, but based off my past experience, this is the way to go for me from here on out.

I was only trying to share here, in the event it helped someone out. I was not looking for people to tell me how I cant do this... but again, I get that a lot of you know far more than I do in the area of lighting. But I have been at this for a while, and see no reason why this is a waste, or useless, or pointless.. like a few of you have made comments suggesting.

 

[ganjalfthegreen]

Sorry man I misunderstood and thought you were pounding AC through them. If it works, fuck what anyone says lol

 

[Vanilla Phoenix]

I use a 315 cmh in an old air cooled Daystar AC reflector for veg. Works fine for me.

 

[Drop That Sound]

On a positive note: With the expected loss of spectrum from the glass tube\panel, wouldn't the more efficient CMH still out perform a standard non air cooled bare bulb MH, and most especially another air cooled MH?

If not, then are CMHs better efficiency somewhat due to the fact they are designed to "not be enclosed in glass" as some kind of marketing terminology, in order to maintain their claims?

 

[Snook]

I like it and agreed they run cooler.. will try using the glass but no hoses sure makes the run less complex.. I have a $1500 Led that stopped booting up a year later.. Guess I could take it to an LED place but cant answer the question: what is this LED for? Even worse, they'll know what its for. Florida & paranoia you know.

 

[Lost in a SOG]

I agree on many fronts. No matter what you intended this thread for im allowed or expected even to give my opinion.

I would use cmh spectrum over hps any day because its actually balanced to some extent in blue green and red has a far more efficient PAR output per watt, so more useable photosynthetic radiation plus the UV. Cooling them only makes sense if you're dedicated to using them in a space with less than 3 feet minimum of headroom over the canopy

My other criticism is the terrible spread of light.. i have a PAR meter and they have the most uneven spread unless mounted in the vertical position within the reflector which improves it a bit, but you lose more energy to heating up the reflector.

Ill be chucking my last one after this grow.

 

[I'mback]

... the camps will remain divided for a long time I'm afraid.

 

[MedFaced]

Great post RJ! The lack of air cooled hoods had kept me away. Had no idea about adaptors. Thanks!

Enjoy all the web experts and their ability to regurgitate “facts!”

 

[RomulanJake]

I am all for people sharing their opinions. I wasn't sharing an opinion though. I was sharing something I had made. When anyone says, "Hey, I did this. Check it out!" Nobody, ever, ever, ever.. should step in and say, "that's useless, and pointless." Because that is not an opinion, but instead its senseless negativity with zero constructive criticism.

But that is just an example, and to be 100% honest Im not upset or anything remotely close to it.. I just know how experts can come into something and immediately attempt to alter or ruin it because they've learned differently at some point. And I wanted to point out, that when people come to read this post later.. but the responses from #1 - #5 all shoot it down, they wont use it. They wont even research if it is a good idea. They'll just see multiple people saying its useless and move on.

The issue is most experts, don't learn constantly.. they learn once, and regurgitate what they've read or heard. I'm one of those weirdos that want to learn constantly, so when I see something that I have an opinion on but am not sure I start with questions.. not statements. I always leave an open mind, unless its regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team. Fuck them. Forever.

I just wanted to clarify what I meant.. everyone should feel free to carry on and share their thoughts, its what makes this country and life in general great. Just try to curb the "tearing peoples nice things apart" down to a light hum.

 

[I'mback]

I am all for people sharing their opinions. I wasn't sharing an opinion though. I was sharing something I had made. When anyone says, "Hey, I did this. Check it out!" Nobody, ever, ever, ever.. should step in and say, "that's useless, and pointless." Because that is not an opinion, but instead its senseless negativity with zero constructive criticism.

But that is just an example, and to be 100% honest Im not upset or anything remotely close to it.. I just know how experts can come into something and immediately attempt to alter or ruin it because they've learned differently at some point. And I wanted to point out, that when people come to read this post later.. but the responses from #1 - #5 all shoot it down, they wont use it. They wont even research if it is a good idea. They'll just see multiple people saying its useless and move on.

The issue is most experts, don't learn constantly.. they learn once, and regurgitate what they've read or heard. I'm one of those weirdos that want to learn constantly, so when I see something that I have an opinion on but am not sure I start with questions.. not statements. I always leave an open mind, unless its regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins NHL team. Fuck them. Forever.

I just wanted to clarify what I meant.. everyone should feel free to carry on and share their thoughts, its what makes this country and life in general great. Just try to curb the "tearing peoples nice things apart" down to a light hum.

The man that never made a mistake, never learned anything!

 

[RomulanJake]

The man that never made a mistake, never learned anything!

Wise words indeed.

 

[ReprobateMind]

I use a 315 cmh in an old air cooled Daystar AC reflector for veg. Works fine for me.

I'm running a similar air cooled hood with a 315w CMH bulb. How much distance do you keep the reflector from the canopy of your plants?