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Dual Bulb CoolTube

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cork144

Im going to be making a dual bulbed cooltube for a 3'x3' Scrog curved up and around the bulb AKA said as "half pipe of green" on other grows on this forum.

To cover the scrog area how long should i have the cooltube itself? and how would people suggest mounting he bulbs in, on ebay there is 3mm plastic tubes which come in 1m lengths and can be custom cut to size, so i need to know before ordering.
 
Bozo

Bozo

Active member
Melting point: 130–140 °C (265–285 °F)
I copied that from the link the says material info . Should be ok.
 
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cork144

thanks i didnt notice that :wallbash:

ill be running a 6" fan through it with a fan dimmer to keep the fan quiet while giving me good push power.

btw if i go ahead with dual bulb cooltube itll be 2 X 250Watt
 
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clide

Member
thats really odd because i just emailed an american supplier of acrylic and they told me that its melting point was 120*f.

that too me is a bit sketchy. im kinda torn on the plastic, there are plastics out there that can withstand the temps of a HID, but theyre kinda pricey, well just one wouldnt cost too much, 20$ i think. its lexan tho, not acrylic. im kinda more leaning toward the glass, like simax, and or, borosilicate. thats a lil more pricey, but i think local suppliers would do it, and its still 1/5 the price of the store bought ones.


does anyone know what the temps of 400w, 600w, and 1000w when theyre open air and when theyre air cooled? i know there are a billion of variables but does anyone have kinda rough ideas of what they are?
 
swampdank

swampdank

Pull my finger
Veteran
As long as you keep that fan pulling air through at all times, it shouldnt heat up that much.
 
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cork144

swampdank said:
As long as you keep that fan pulling air through at all times, it shouldnt heat up that much.
Click to expand...

exsactly what i thought, since people are abit concerned, ill buy the 150mm tube so there is plenty of space between the bulb and the plastic.
 
Aerohead

Aerohead

space gardener
Veteran
I wouldn't even think of using acrylic for a cool tube. I have melted 1/4 inch acrylic over my fish tank with a fan cooled 250w Metal Halide 5 inches away a few times. Doesn't really melt but it loses it's shape (warps). Imagine what that would burn like if it did happen to touch the bulb and catch fire.... Yikes. I have a 24 inch (glass) cool tube with 2 X 250W CMH cooled by a 6" vortec, I can put my hand on it while it's on, but it feels easily hot enough to warp acrylic based on my experience with my reef tank. Point is, acrylic likes to warp at a temp well below the melting point probably because it's a great insulator, traps the heat in itself. You are on the right track with the dual 250's in a tube, the light spread is very nice and no hot spots like when I had the 400 in it.
 
samba

samba

Active member
And then one day your fan breaks...
Don't play around or you'll end up burning the house down and everyone in it!
 
jamrockjay

jamrockjay

Member
Im going to ikea tomorrow so i think i might pick one of those up and have a go at making my own cooltube, now wheres that thread on making ur own cooltube???? thx for that info samba. :joint:
 
Sweet Inc.

Sweet Inc.

Member
The problem with using acrylic tubes or plates for other reflectors, is that they tend to yellow with time, even if they dont initially melt to shit...
I d.i.y'd a cooltube from a straight, 50cm glass-vase from wich I cut off the base. Worked alright, but warped the light some. That Ikea lantern seems excellent.
 
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