Please help my cabinet heat problems!

[Guest]

Okay I have 2 x 2.5 x 4' cab I built from scratch in my closet. Lights are a 150w HPS and two 40w CFLs for early vegging and a little extra boost during the rest of the time.

While running just the CFLs the temps stay pretty much the same as outside the cab (60-70*) Problem is when the HPS is flipped on the temps head up into the low 90*s!

I recently moved the ballast outside the cab, doubled the intake and opened up the exhaust as much as possible but the temps didn't change one bit! I am sure everyone is going to say build a cool tube for the HPS but it seems there is plenty of people running small cabs with a 150w that don't run a cool tube.

Just looking for any ideas of why my temps are so dang high.

 

[MTF-Sandman]

What's the cfm of your exhaust fan? A 150 shouldn't be hard at all to cool in an area that big...

 

[NOKUY]

is your thermometer on the ceiling?

heat rises so its gonna be warmest up there...what is the temp near the plant?

...like MTF said you shouldent be having a heat problem w/ a 150 in that area.

..I'd say even w/ some ghetto ventilation it shouldent be a problem

 

[Maj.PotHead]

is your thermometer on the ceiling?

heat rises so its gonna be warmest up there...what is the temp near the plant?

...like MTF said you shouldent be having a heat problem w/ a 150 in that area.

..I'd say even w/ some ghetto ventilation it shouldent be a problem

is your thermometer on the ceiling?


sure looks like it i would place it at the plants tops

 

[Guest]

I put the thermometer up there because I thought having it in direct light would cause higher temps to show.

The exhaust fan is a 120mm Akasa case fan, I couldn't find the CFM on it anywhere. I also have a small desk fan down there to blow air around... It doesn't seem to change temps at all with it on or off.

I am really shocked that moving the ballast outside of the room didn't change anything! Here is a before picture of when everything was cluttering the cabinet and I had only 1 intake.

 

[MTF-Sandman]

If you're worried about radiant heat altering the temp reading, just block the direct light from getting to the thermo with a piece of cardboard...just make sure that the sensor had good accessibility to the room air so that it can get a good reading of the ambient temps.

You're probably gonna be disappointed in the cooling ability of that fan tho...at the minimum, make sure you've got 2x as much intake space as exhaust so that it doesn't put excessive back pressure on that little fan.

 

[mrgrowmez]

hey jesseasy,
imo, you jjust need to tweak your ventilation system...your intake looks a bitt too twisted to have with that little fan. ive had good success with just a 90degree pvc pipe painted black on the inside .

one question..is your cabinet sucking the same air it exhaust back into the cabinet after its being exhausted? i mean you say its a cab in a closet is it pushed up against the wall? is there a good clear space around the intake and also around the outlet so there isnt too much pressure?
maybe a good 12volt computer fan (or maybe two doubled up blowing directly on the bulb will help.) or even just that blue fan youve got in the corner.
avoid any unneccesary bends or hinderances in your ducting, a fans efficiency can be quite drastically reduced without much trouble,
also my temps dropped a couple of degrees when i added an active intake


check these out it helped me alot:

http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/1528.htm
http://www.drugs-forum.com/growfaq/GrowFAQ Basic Topics.htm

good luck
MRG