fuggin duct to axial from reflector makes stealth not so stealth...

[vindiesel]

i will b using a 250W CMH in a tent. for exhaust i have 2 4" 120 cfm 37db axial fans. 2 5" and 2 4" passive intake holes. i also have a duct running from my refector to another 4" axial. entire setup is kinda stealth, besides me and my wife, i don't want any visitors hearing shit. with the fan on running through duct, there is kinda a low howl sound. not loud but i hear it outside of that room alittle when passing by. if temps are ok in tent without that fan on, i guess i don't necessarily need to run a fan for reflector, right? anyone else run a reflector in an enclosed area without a duct and fan to it...? thanks.
vin

 

[suiteflyer]

i run a 600 hps in a 3x3 tent with no hood venting i even ran it through the summer with no problems.

 

[vindiesel]

i have the duct and fan installed already. i guess i'll just leave it hooked up but off. gonna run tent tomorrow all day w/ lights and just the 2 fans and see w/ temp gauge how it goes. i think it will b ok. the CMH runs surprisingly cooler than i expected....

 

[Murphy]

I'm running 400 watts in a 2' umbrella refelector in a pretty tight space. I'm in a (grow)space of 30 inches deep by 36 wide and I've had it as low as about 10 inches and as high as 24" and I figured out how to keep it in the mid 70's with a scrubber, 4" in line fan and a 4" axil fan. My total cab is 30" deep, 36" wide and 48" high with about a 20 gallon ebb & flow set up. I worked everything down to the lowest, shortest, whatever I could do to keep vertical grow space. Currently I have a 3 foot plant trained since seedling to lay over on it side, right now she's rocking 20' buds some are 2-3 inches up into the reflector. The tips are within 4 " from the bulb and no signs of burn.

Forget duct work, it's big shit that's just going to get in the way constantly. I took my cab measurments and cut a piece of white paneling, like a shelf would fit in a cabinet, Centered and traced and cut out the reflector so the lip seals all the way around. I created a "adjustable celing" in the cab. Large intake was cut in up high on the back of the cab. Mounted the carbonscrubber in the grow area and ran the duct straight up, mounted the inline fan on top of the cab made it stealth by putting a box around it Sorry if this is getting confusing.....I'm High..... Anyway what I did was forced the air to run where I needed it to without duct work. The hood/celing seperates the sucking scrubber in the grow area from it intake above the reflector, the only place the air can enter is where the light mounts in the reflector. Umbrella reflectors have a BIG hole, to big so a few other mods were made but not need here. I got a BAD ASS 4" 115 volt 130 CFM axil fan mounter to the "celing" blowing directly on the bulb.

Some temp info for those interested.....maybe I'm just rambling senclessly......I'm like 6 bong hits deep trying to explain this so have mercy on me. I had access to a few thermometers so I can give you some detailed numbers. First above the reflector actually a probe sitting on directly on top of the center of the reflector stays in the low 70's. Outside cab temp is only 1 or 2 degrees cooler. In the grow area I have a sensor mounted on the socket bracket, temps stays pretty solid at 85 degrees, another sensor I actually set into a bud that was about 5" directly under the bulb, hits about 87 degrees. I just did this for 2 light on periods just to see where the temps were.

In short the trick is to make the air change as much as possible, the lower I put the "celing", the lower my temps go, because the air is being exchanged at a much faster rate. It's just the opposite of what others try to fight with closet grows and things like that. I made the typical problem of heat from the higher wattage bulb my bitch because I won't give it what it need to cause the problem, air flow. Sorry guys, cool tube and air cooled reflector are not for cabinet grower..... they are just the only "public" solution so everybody jumped on the banwagon. They have thier place, just not in cabs. Witha little though, there are better solutions.

Screw that 250 watt Vin, go with the 400 watt, the cost is about the same but the 400 will get you better results and you can cool it easier than you think. PM me if you want to kick around some ideas. I just finished my cab and I've been through all the trial and errors. I'm a design guy though, I'm not a weed growing expert....I've got post my own thread and get some questions answered.

 

[Murphy]

Oh yeah, It's a CMH bulb