Can I make a Reflector/Hoodshade for my 250w HPS light with household items?

[str8_pimpin]

I have a 250watt HPS growing system. But i dont have a reflector to Put the bulb into. Is there any items at home i can use to make a reflector and still get the maximum light and heat?

 

[abudsmoker]

this IS a area i recomend you dont skimp. if you make one make sure your materials are fire PROOF

 

[cali-high]

use a cardboard box

lol

no joke i did it for about 2 wks until i hooked up my other fixture

 

[o'rly]

go get a scrap piece of sheet metal somewhere. Any scrap yard, junkyard, should have some that will work

 

[o'rly]

maybe cut and fold a cookie sheet:dunno:

 

[str8_pimpin]

Cookie Sheet, WTF...lol

What about a Cardboard box, with foil wrapped all around the cardboard.

 

[o'rly]

foil is a no no I guess. They say it causes heat spots. Wouldn't cardboard act as a sponge for moisture?

I think I like my cookie sheet idea

 

[str8_pimpin]

A cookie sheet would burn though. At least i think it would.

 

[1134206]

id be wary about using cardboard for an hps. go to home depot and pick up some thin sheet metal. they have it in the right size pieces, and some really reflective varietys. just bend it up yourself. good luck

 

[cali-high]

what are you talking about?

cardboard sucks in moisture.

dont tell me...put a piece of wet hash on a piece of cardboard and try to lift it up in like 10min and it will be stuck once you finally get it off. look at the cardboard it will be wet.

 

[str8_pimpin]

thx you guys...im taking a trip to home depot today.

 

[str8_pimpin]

id be wary about using cardboard for an hps. go to home depot and pick up some thin sheet metal. they have it in the right size pieces, and some really reflective varietys. just bend it up yourself. good luck

The thing is After i bend it up, How would i connect the Socket to it....to actually hold it into place to put the bulb in??

 

[paddy510]

bit of flat bar on one end from one wing to the other, /v\ bit like that
... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . /=O=\ <--
either weld it or screw it on.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Cardboard isn't the way to go over an HPS- if it doesn't ignite, it'll char and fall to bits in a few days.

Here's one easy way to make an efficient batwing reflector.

This can be made from aluminum sheeting, easy to bend and cut. Your hardware store will have sheets at least large enough to cover the bottom panel of a screen door. You can always pop-rivet a couple of sheets together to make larger reflectors.

Mark the centre of a piece of aluminum.

Roll it into a cylinder of about 12" dia

Unroll partially and C-clamp the sheet to a workbench, aligning the centreline marks up to the bench's edge. The edge of the bench will allow you to bend a fairly straight 90 degree crease in the sheet.

Form the double parabola reflector shape as shown in side view.

Adding a couple more 90 degree folds about an inch inward from the outer edges, parallel to the centre fold, will add some stiffness to the reflector.

Paint the underside with high-temp flat white paint.


Attach the socket by wrapping a 12" x 3" piece of sheet aluminum around the porcelain socket, pop-rivet or bolt the sheet to itself to pinch the socket in place.

The tail of the sheet can then be pop-riveted to the reflector.

Hang the fixture with open-link or jack chain.

 

[green_nobody]

^^ home-made spread-a-wing reflector, cool thumbs up dude

 

[paddy510]

thats a bit better than my lame effort
good one Al

 

[Al B. Fuct]

thanks folks.

This can be scaled down to the size of a large CFL. I think FilthyFletch has a 12" CFL which is supposed to be equiv to 300W of incandescent. A little batwing like this made to that size, perhaps for a pair of those jumbo CFLs would be kinda cool.

 

[str8_pimpin]

Cardboard isn't the way to go over an HPS- if it doesn't ignite, it'll char and fall to bits in a few days.

Here's one easy way to make an efficient batwing reflector.

This can be made from aluminum sheeting, easy to bend and cut. Your hardware store will have sheets at least large enough to cover the bottom panel of a screen door. You can always pop-rivet a couple of sheets together to make larger reflectors.

Mark the centre of a piece of aluminum.

Roll it into a cylinder of about 12" dia

Unroll partially and C-clamp the sheet to a workbench, aligning the centreline marks up to the bench's edge. The edge of the bench will allow you to bend a fairly straight 90 degree crease in the sheet.

Form the double parabola reflector shape as shown in side view.

Adding a couple more 90 degree folds about an inch inward from the outer edges, parallel to the centre fold, will add some stiffness to the reflector.

Paint the underside with high-temp flat white paint.


Attach the socket by wrapping a 12" x 3" piece of sheet aluminum around the porcelain socket, pop-rivet or bolt the sheet to itself to pinch the socket in place.

The tail of the sheet can then be pop-riveted to the reflector.

Hang the fixture with open-link or jack chain.

Thanks a million Al, But I got confused about the part where you say how to "Pop-Rivet" the Socket into place. What does Pop-Rivet mean and how do you do it. And What is the size of this sheet

??

 

[Al B. Fuct]

Thanks a million Al, But I got confused about the part where you say how to "Pop-Rivet" the Socket into place. What does Pop-Rivet mean and how do you do it.

Pop rivets are a very inexpensive permanent fastener.

They come in assorted sizes and are fitted with a special pop rivet tool. The tool pulls a nail-like shank backward through the rivet body, deforming it until it fits the hole perfectly.

When the rivet is as tight as possible, the shank will break off, making a loud POP noise- hence the name.

Pop rivet tools are cheap as chips in dollar or discount shops.

And What is the size of this sheet??

The size can be anything you want, or at least limited to the size of sheets of aluminum you can get at your local giantmuthafuckinhardware store.

The width should probably be about 1.5x the length of the HPS tube you're going to install, but it can be anything you like. The double parabola shape will duct heat away from the tube even in a very large reflector.

You could also make the reflector smaller, perhaps 2.5' wide, put a couple of standard sockets near the outside edges and fit a pair of very big 12", 300W incand. equiv CFLs like FilthyFletch's, tube ends near one another.

 

[Al B. Fuct]

I've had another pass at the socket mounting bracket. It would work better with only a minimal increase in materials if made as shown:

Increase the length of the aluminum sheet from 12" x 3" to about 20" x 3". Form two tails and bend into a Y suiting the shape of the batwing. Pop rivet both tails to the reflector.

This will improve the stiffness of the socket mount, especially for 1000W HPS lamps, as well as stiffen the reflector itself a bit.