Inside Out Trees, Silo Op, custom RDWC, water cooled

[Ttystikk]

Any update on the broken/bad bulbs? I still am curious about running them. I have two bad ballasts sitting around I could just take out the ignitor and add the proper capacitor for MH.

I just took delivery of a box full to replace the bad ones. This time, the box looked terrible! Imagine my surprise when I open it up and discover that all the bulbs were in good condition- and EVERY ONE OF THEM survived its initial thirty minute run in. He owed me four, delivered six good ones, so as a man of my word I will pay him back for the extras- along with another order for more. My friends are interested in building their own Super Silos.

Begging me to help them recreate what I've done is a long step beyond flattery; it's validation for the direction I've been going for the last couple years.

 

[Ttystikk]

Wow, I guess I completely overlooked the fact that they have separate transformers.

I opened up the 1k and it had a gaggle of wires bundled in it. I think just replacing the wire may do the trick. I definitely tried different plug/socket combos. I figured just replacing the caps on them would relatively cheap and would increase light output and efficiency.

Sorry for hijacking the thread Ttystikk

It's not off topic, and I learned something! Feel free to 'jack' my thread like that anytime!

I had my electrical contractor buddy test the caps in my old ballasts. He replaced one and said the rest were okay. I think improving the power factor from .8 to the high .9 range is well worth the cost of replacement, but only if that's actually true. Does testing with a Kill-A-Watt reveal something he wouldn't have been looking for with his multimeter?

 

[Ttystikk]

Looking forward to it. The way you're dialed in, a fair comparison should result. Your water cooling/ dehumidifying methods are excellent.

Thank you, Sir! Water cooling the entire op is very efficient in many ways, but it's Achilles heel is installation. Pulling water lines everywhere is a pain. After that initial investment however, it just keeps paying me back, over and over, in ways I never expected at first but have come to appreciate.

Just as vertical growing is the future, so is water chilling.

The HPS room's biggest holdup is getting the water lines in and the condenser/heat exchanger installed. The rest of the room is a walk in the park.

 

[Jhhnn]

It's not off topic, and I learned something! Feel free to 'jack' my thread like that anytime!

I had my electrical contractor buddy test the caps in my old ballasts. He replaced one and said the rest were okay. I think improving the power factor from .8 to the high .9 range is well worth the cost of replacement, but only if that's actually true. Does testing with a Kill-A-Watt reveal something he wouldn't have been looking for with his multimeter?

The kill-a-watt meter is just a readily available & easy to use tool for the purpose & others as well- simple plug and play, no dis-assembly or technical expertise required.

My brother in law, for example, had an big ancient fridge in the garage, used it for beer & soda. After he compared the power usage with his inside fridge, he shitcanned the old thing & paid $100 for a used smaller modern unit to serve the purpose. He got his $100 back the first year.

 

[LSWM]

I just took delivery of a box full to replace the bad ones. This time, the box looked terrible! Imagine my surprise when I open it up and discover that all the bulbs were in good condition- and EVERY ONE OF THEM survived its initial thirty minute run in. He owed me four, delivered six good ones, so as a man of my word I will pay him back for the extras- along with another order for more. My friends are interested in building their own Super Silos.

Begging me to help them recreate what I've done is a long step beyond flattery; it's validation for the direction I've been going for the last couple years.

Can you link me to the seller you used?

 

[LSWM]

Also, I'd love your input on an idea for a water chilled ac dehuy I'd like to build.

If I ran my ro water into a bucket with a heat exchanger over the top with a fan, and on the return a Y that goes back to the bucket and to my nutrient reservoir. All on float valves.

It should cool and dehumidify according to the water temp running through the exchanger correct? In the winter my water comes out at 50F or even lower. And at the rate I use water I doubt it would have much time to heat up before moving to the nutrient bucket. Seems like my perfect alternative to a swamp cooler when I go sealed this winter.

 

[Jhhnn]

Can you link me to the seller you used?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Philips...493?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3392d91995

 

[Stayfoolish]

I have been reading through your thread and from what I get ismost of your plant mass is behind the screen correct? Then you bend your tops through. I run a similar setup with smaller plants and was going to run it that way also this time through. Let 2 runs they have been going past the screen and tied back. Thread is called vertical limit of you want to check it out. Do you defoliate during flower at all or. I elect read through the thread more it is just difficult on this tab. Good-looking run though.

 

[LSWM]

Jhhnn, do you have any idea if you can run the 860s on a HPS cap? Assuming there is only one cap in those new ballasts I got, will switching off the ignitor be enough?

 

[Ttystikk]

I have been reading through your thread and from what I get ismost of your plant mass is behind the screen correct? Then you bend your tops through. I run a similar setup with smaller plants and was going to run it that way also this time through. Let 2 runs they have been going past the screen and tied back. Thread is called vertical limit of you want to check it out. Do you defoliate during flower at all or. I elect read through the thread more it is just difficult on this tab. Good-looking run though.

Hey brother, nice of you to stop in! You are correct, I actually place the plant against the outside of the Super Silo and use vine clips to pin it in place. To say that most of the plant stays outside the trellis would be incorrect however, since those tips growing through end up being most of the plant mass- in BUDS!

I'll look for your thread, how are you doing yours?

I do defoliate during flower, generally starting in week five or so. That's after and different from training and topping during stretch. That's the single biggest thing that affects the quality of the yield is how well trained and trimmed up the plants are. Funny, that's no different than any other kind of growing, come to think of it!

 

[Ttystikk]

Jhhnn, do you have any idea if you can run the 860s on a HPS cap? Assuming there is only one cap in those new ballasts I got, will switching off the ignitor be enough?

I'm interested as well- I just discovered that I have two magnetic ballasts that run HPS only, and obviously they'd be worth a lot more to me if I could switch them to run MH only. Is that inexpensive, or possibly even free?

 

[Ttystikk]

Also, I'd love your input on an idea for a water chilled ac dehuy I'd like to build.

If I ran my ro water into a bucket with a heat exchanger over the top with a fan, and on the return a Y that goes back to the bucket and to my nutrient reservoir. All on float valves.

It should cool and dehumidify according to the water temp running through the exchanger correct? In the winter my water comes out at 50F or even lower. And at the rate I use water I doubt it would have much time to heat up before moving to the nutrient bucket. Seems like my perfect alternative to a swamp cooler when I go sealed this winter.

I'm not following the gist of your description, I'm afraid. If your goal is to use cold incoming water to help cool an RDWC system or even a chiller reservoir, that should be straightforward; just use a valve controlled by a thermostat. Whenever inlet water temp rises to the point where it isn't helping keep things cool, it should reroute the water through a bypass that skips the exchanger.

 

[Ttystikk]

The kill-a-watt meter is just a readily available & easy to use tool for the purpose & others as well- simple plug and play, no dis-assembly or technical expertise required.

My brother in law, for example, had an big ancient fridge in the garage, used it for beer & soda. After he compared the power usage with his inside fridge, he shitcanned the old thing & paid $100 for a used smaller modern unit to serve the purpose. He got his $100 back the first year.

Of course I just discovered my Kill-A-Watt is the 120V model, damn. I need the 240V version, huh?

How tough is it to convert magnetic HPS ballasts to MH? One want enough to bother with, but two is, lol.

 

[Jhhnn]

Jhhnn, do you have any idea if you can run the 860s on a HPS cap? Assuming there is only one cap in those new ballasts I got, will switching off the ignitor be enough?

Yes. Just flip the switch to the MH position. The 860's are designed as a screw in power saving replacement for 1000w MH.

I had to replace a failed cap in my switchable 1000w ballast- 26 uf, standard for HPS. It's what I used to test the 860's that went to Miles. The power factor reading from my kill-a-watt meter was .97, indicating that it's well within range.

 

[Jhhnn]

Of course I just discovered my Kill-A-Watt is the 120V model, damn. I need the 240V version, huh?

How tough is it to convert magnetic HPS ballasts to MH? One want enough to bother with, but two is, lol.

Dunno that they make a 240v version. My switchable ballast is also 240/120 volt switchable as well using different power cords.

I hesitate to say that it's easy to change around the guts of a ballast. It's easy for me, because it's the kind of thing I did for years before I retired. If you're handy & have the tools, it's not hard, particularly if you have a switchable ballast as a guide.

The whole switchable ballast thing is a bit of a fudge & works because the output characteristics of the most common CWA S52 HPS transformers & CWA M47 MH transformers overlap. There are also other kinds of ballasts with different ANSI designations.

To convert a S52 ballast to MH operation, remove the ignitor from the circuit, insulate all bare wire ends. To make it switchable, the most common method is to use a DPST switch on the red & blue leads to the ignitor. All other connections should remain the same in either case.

I'm just learning this stuff myself, so please do not take it as gospel.

 

[Ttystikk]

They do make a 240V version of the Kill-A-Watt, I've seen it. I was actually disappointed when I discovered the one I bought was 120V.

I've had an offer to trade ballasts, that sounds like the winning move.

 

[redclover]

Sub'd up just to give advice from my personal CMH xp

 

[Ttystikk]

Sub'd up just to give advice from my personal CMH xp

Give? Or get? LOL

I'm down for both!

 

[Ttystikk]

The ballast swap is going well so far. It's really convenient that one else has any use for theirs anymore, lol

 

[Ttystikk]

Harvest time pics, enjoy!

Harvest time pics, enjoy!

Harvest time pics; enjoy!