Liquid/Water Cooled Light

I have this water cooled Fresca Sol light that I am running a 600 watt hps
through. I have it recirculating through a 45 gallon waste can in a seperate
room (garage, nice and cool). The room is 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 feet, and doesnt
ever get above 78.8 degrees F. I am doing it scrog style and almost have
the spaces in the chicken wire all plugged up. 16 inches tall, DWC method,
5 weeks along. I will post some pics as soon as I have a sec..... It is operating
beautifully at the moment. Light proof, kink resistant, heavy duty tubing w/ a
750 gph pump (pondmaster 750) is moving water thru the unit 24/7. I am on
12/12 cycle already.

A concern of mine is actual lumen loss from the water cooled tube/case. I am
wondering what the true percentage of loss actually is. I have read it is 5-8%, others
say it is 10-20%. Does anyone have the slightest idea as to what the true
numbers could be?

The light is rated at 88,000 lumens (Hortilux EYE Super HPS) and is hovering
at seven inches above the tops/screen with no "radiant heat" problems. Light
case/tube is cool to the touch.

The manufacturer of the Fresca claims that it improves the light spectrum
by 9x. I dont know what to believe. Can anyone tell me the truth about these
liquid cooled lights? The idea behind it seems right on the money. After all, there
are many things that are water cooled in the world - from computers to automobiles.
Feel free to post any knowledge, opinions, facts on spectrums, links to info. I can
deal with 10% or less lumen loss - the light is super close to the tops, I am certain that
this is a good thing.

Best to all ,
-NYK

Personally I've never messed with a water cooled hood... It sounds dangerous.

You can find your answer by looking for the reflectivity properties of water...

You probably aren't losing much light, less than 20% is my guess for sure...


Be mindful of water temps in the DWC.

And for gods sake make sure it dosent leak as a air bulbble will make that sucker get a hot spot....quit using those bout 15 years ago one of my buddies was in his room when the 1000w let go he had a lot of glass in his back and make sure you know when and how they'll explode to min risk those things are dangerous sorry stay safe ps it shreded alot of his plants when it popped he said it was like a grenade going off

Yep, if water hits that hot bulb it'll explode... I wasn't even thinking of all the little magnifying glasses that are bubbles...

I know, I have heard alot of horror stories of bulbs exploding and what not. Mostly
based on peoples fears of water vs electricity though. I have never actually met
anyone who had to pick any shards of glass from their neck. Currently, I am one of
5 people who are on the bandwagon with the Fresca Sol and no-one has reported
any problems. As long as you inspect it a here and there you shouldnt have a problem.

The only reason I opted for liquid cooled is because where I live, the desert, it gets
hot as Hell and venting outside is not an option right now. It reduces your heat sig
down to a small 45 gal container that cools down pretty nicely over night. For $180
they make a "No Flow/ No Go" relay sensor that shuts the light down within seconds
of the water flow stopping. So that takes care of that problem. Rollercoasters are
pretty dangerous too, but they're alot of fun damnit!

All kidding aside, I really like the light/system. I believe in it and feel it is pretty reliable.
All I am worried about is how much light is actually diminished by filtration from water, etc;.
As long as it is around 10%, then I will be fine with that. Usually a 600w light has to be
hung around 20-28" above the tops - mine is at 7" with now heat, I am sure I am gaining
something from this. If not, then its back to the Hydrofarm Daystar AC for me. That thing
works great with a 400 watt, but it did not efficiently cool off the new 600 watt HPS I have
now. Room is 3 1/2' by 3 1/2', so I am just trying to give them as much light as possible
without stressing them out.

I am going to do a little research on "reflectivity properties of water" now to find out for sure.

-NYK

Hey I just found something interesting...
This article says that water reflectivity is directly related to the angle at which the light is hitting the water. If it is shining down at 90 degrees there virtually no loss in spectrum or lumens (around 3% - not bad):



"Water particles interact with light by absorbing certain wave lengths (see diagram). First the reds and oranges disappear, later the yellows, greens and purples and last the blue. Loss of the colour red is dramatic and is already noticeable at 50cm! At 5 metres depth some 90% has disappeared"

Good info on this topic - Check it out:

http://www.seafriends.org.nz/phgraph/water.htm

Let me know what you think

-NYK

So if 5 meters of sea water filters out around 90% of red light, that means 1 meter filters aproximately 18% of red. So that would ultimately mean that the 3/4" of clear water your light is passing through in the Fresca'sblsmoke light case is filtering around.......3% of red light?? Does that sound mathematically correct? Cause if that is the case, I think water cooled lights are awesome. Does anyone know how much light the glass actually reflects?


.... I just want to add that even air molecules filter the power/light intensity of an HPS light. That is why it diminishes the farther you get away from it.

UV glass reflects 5-10% of light passing through...

dude you went from 28 inches away from plants to 7 inches. Thats gaining way more 'usable' lumens.