How the heck do you remove the reflector inside a cooltube??!?

[DeezyH]

I know this has been asked before but I cannot find the thread.

Basically I bought a cooltube with an internal reflector and I want to remove it for vertical growing. The damn thing has these weird square-holed screw and round nuts and nothing I have will fit. It looks like something propeitary that was not included in the box.

How the heck do I remove this thing?!

 

[Hundred Gram Oz]

Is it pop rivits? drill a hole right through em, pics would be good, also can you go into any detail about your grow? I love vertical growing

 

[DeezyH]

This is what I'm dealing with. I'd like to avoid drilling them out if I can, mostly because I tried and my drill failed.

The vertical setup will be in a cab similar to this:

I found with the cool tube that even with a 600 watt it just wasn't good at spreading the light fore and aft of the lamp. The plant count will remain the same but with better light distribution having the cooltube in the middle with the plants on the outer edges. I think someone on icmag is doing this already with a similar cab.

 

[PharmaCan]

You can buy a square-head bit that will fit in your drill at any home improvement store. They're just like the phillips-head bits but square on the end. Hold the round nuts with pliers.

If you want you can put the square-head bit into a small socket and use a socket wrench to take it apart.

PC

 

[circadian clock]

just make sure u buy the right size, I had to buy one for my glass on my reflector

 

[bdomina]

go buy a pack of alan wrenches. they are cheap.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Allen heads are hex heads, he needs squares. Speaking of which, that design is just mean. Too many standard drivers would've worked here for them to go out of their way like that. Tsk on them I say.

 

[PharmaCan]

Tsk on them I say.

Tsk on them - ROFLMAO Gettin' a little harsh there aren't you FB?

Actually those square heads are getting very common among construction-type screws. I'm not quite sure why. Their heads strip just as easy as a Phillips head screw

PC.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Their heads strip just as easy as a Phillips head screw

That's all I'm sayin'. Some things are too stupid to live. bdomina's choice of Allen heads would've been much better.

 

[DeezyH]

Update:

Visited Home Depot today and found square head bit for about $2.50, and it worked. The bit is a No.2 size and comes in a pack of two.

Internal reflector is off and I will be starting a vertical grow soon.

 

[SmokinSHO]

-

 

[toastfighter2]

I was just reading this post and he got luck to have the use a easy to find size and tip. When I took my Xbox apart, I had to go out and get a $20 torx kit just for the two really odd sized screws that they use

 

[DeezyH]

I know exactly how you feel toastfighter, been there done that.

I was working on my car (german) and got to a point where I needed a particular torx bit. The only problem was nobody carried the size I needed and it had to be special ordered from the manufacturer. It wasn't cheap either, and all I needed it for was to remove a particular hose clamp thingy.

 

[FreezerBoy]

This could be a job for Harbor Freight. While many of their tools are are cheap assed crap, sometimes that's enough. I wouldn't be surprised if they had a "Every Screw Bit Known to Man" kit for $3.89

 

[swampy_nz]

Tsk on them - ROFLMAO Gettin' a little harsh there aren't you FB?

Actually those square heads are getting very common among construction-type screws. I'm not quite sure why. Their heads strip just as easy as a Phillips head screw

PC.

I have been making furniture and fishtank stands for a while now and only ever use square heads.you get a better bite and are no where near as prone to stripping as philips.

 

[FreezerBoy]

Phillips didn't do itself any good when they added PosiDrive heads either. They look nearly identical to Phillips but, the wrong driver will strip them clean.

 

[PharmaCan]

I have been making furniture and fishtank stands for a while now and only ever use square heads.you get a better bite and are no where near as prone to stripping as philips.

You're right - they do go in pretty nice. As I recall the problem with the head stripping happened when you went to take them out.

PC