A specific light problem, advice needed.

What kind of setup would you suggest for someone looking to grow something like 3-4 plants for personal use who just so happens to have a nervous disorder that makes them more or less terrified of light bulbs? It's not the bulbs themselves, I guess, it's an anxiety disorder and I tend to have moderate panic attacks around light bulbs, balloons and pretty much anything that can pop. Is there any hope for me to be able to grow properly?

Led lamps i guess

I would say HPS are dangerous to be honest but its a fact of life. The bulbs run at like 2000 C inside the filament or something stupid like that.

You have to plan how you work with things as powerful as this. Buy an air cooled hood this will contain the bulb completely ensuring if anything were to happen you would be completely safe.

Always handle the bulb using a tea towel or rag to ensure you do not put any oils from your fingers onto the bulb this can heat up and cause them to crack.

Only turn on the electrics when the bulb is fully enclosed in the air cooled hood.

Working with anything like this can be simple with you take the proper steps to ensure you do things safely and efficiently.

Read plenty and ensure you know your stuff.

You'll be looking proudly at an excellent crop in no time I assure you.

This is just the ramblings of a guy who likes to grow good pot. Take it or leave it.

Mouse

I'm not ignoring the advice, really, but I'll be the first to tell you that rationally I shouldn't be worried about light bulbs and then freak the hell out when you try to hand me one.

As for LEDs, would something like this be worth it? http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Four-Pack---LED-Spotlight-Bulb-TriBand-Spectrum.asp

No. I would not buy an LED light with anything other than 3watt cree or bridgelux diodes or something similar the only panels that I personally would install in my garden are over £400 pounds.

Just my 2 cents.

LED's work well but the ones that get results cost £££££££

Mouse

The higher wattage the diode the more penetration is a general rule of thumb. Penetration is everything when it comes to light.

Mouse

mouse said:

No. I would not buy an LED light with anything other than 3watt cree or bridgelux diodes or something similar the only panels that I personally would install in my garden are over £400 pounds.

Just my 2 cents.

LED's work well but the ones that get results cost £££££££

Mouse

Click to expand...

Hmmm, it might be less than I've spent trying to get over the issue previously. Another question - seeing as I've got a bulb-changing volunteer now - with a 400w HPS, would you get a cooled hood or a cooled tube?

If you have issues with bulbs then you should spent some money to buy led panel
Then, even if you have panic attacks, there will be no bulb for you to break and possibly heart yourself seriously

But if your choice is leds then you should spend a good amount of money to have your job done

I use an air cooled supernova

I love it and I think its the shit. By keeping the bulb so cool in the air cooled hood you will take almost all the heat away meaning you can run your lights a lot closer. Look up 'Inverse square law' to see the massive benefits this will give you. HPS is cheap and effective. LED is not quite ready for the mass market yet IMHO.

Just my stoned ramble take it or leave it

Mouse

EDIT : I recommend a 600 watter they are the most efficient lumen per watt. A digital ballast will prolong the life of your bulb, if you want to keep safe change it every 6 months or so. Stick to the guidelines I gave you and I assure you that you will be absolutely fine.

tolakra said:

If you have issues with bulbs then you should spent some money to buy led panel
Then, even if you have panic attacks, there will be no bulb for you to break and possibly heart yourself seriously

But if your choice is leds then you should spend a good amount of money to have your job done

Click to expand...

It's not an unwillingness to spend money, it's an inability. I only have around $150 to work with for getting some lights. I'd prefer to be able to do this on my own, but I do have someone who would deal with bulbs if need be, see?

Orithil said:

Hmmm, it might be less than I've spent trying to get over the issue previously. Another question - seeing as I've got a bulb-changing volunteer now - with a 400w HPS, would you get a cooled hood or a cooled tube?

Click to expand...

Personal preference kinda on the tube/hood.Depends also on your grow area on which will perform best for ya.

Maybe growing will get you past your fears.

150 will not be enough for serious LED lights. It is all down to how you feel. I personally feel safe working with HPS because I always take precautions when I do work with them. Having them inclosed with a tempered glass front will keep you safe and your bulb changer can keep it in excellent working order

Sorry to bash LED's but you need a lot of knowledge to know which ones are the best and you need a lot of $$$ to buy them.

Mouse

Dankster4Life said:

Personal preference kinda on the tube/hood.Depends also on your grow area on which will perform best for ya.

Maybe growing will get you past your fears.

Click to expand...

I'd just have a few plants in a walk-in closet. maybe 6'x3'x8'

mouse said:

150 will not be enough for serious LED lights. It is all down to how you feel. I personally feel safe working with HPS because I always take precautions when I do work with them. Having them inclosed with a tempered glass front will keep you safe and your bulb changer can keep it in excellent working order

Sorry to bash LED's but you need a lot of knowledge to know which ones are the best and you need a lot of $$$ to buy them.

Mouse

Click to expand...

It doesn't seem like you're bashing them, you actually seem pretty positive about their future, just not their current state. The tech's too new and it's just not cost effective for a small time personal guy like myself. I totally understand, Mouse.

OH, and P.S. - No I won't take you out of the fade with me.

I've pretty much decided there isn't a reasonably priced way for me to avoid getting a HPS light. Ah well, thanks for all the tips, people.

big CFL's 125 watt you couls get away with 2 one on each side of your plants

They are not enclosed he needs something safe and protected.

Mouse

I agree with the air-cooled 400W. You only need to change it once or twice a year, and the enclosure protects you in the very unlikely event that the bulb pops. As to whether or not you should use a tube or a hood, a hood is better for horizontal mounting because you can get one that gives a footprint of the right size for your grow. If you're going vertical you need a tube with no reflector.

not to hijack the thread but hey mouse, you mind discussing your setup to keep your hood cool? fan size, placement, lights per fan/cfm, length of duct runs in and out, etc. Just a rundown for noobs trying to keep their room cool. This will also give him an idea of additional costs to get things going correctly

Have a look at my journal its here ! https://www.rollitup.org/general-marijuana-growing/465639-my-never-ending-quest-best.html

it has a rundown of my nutrients and kit on the first page and if you go to the last it has almost a full list of my gear.

I run one set of ducting just for air cooled lights from outside the tent through the lights to outside the tent.

I then have the filter hung in my tent which is connected to a second fan for my outtake. I leave some of the vents that face the wall open for a passive intake and my negative pressure is massive !

I use an SMSCOM Fan speed controller. In the day I run the air cooled lights on 100 percent and use the second fan to regulate the temperature at night only the outake stays on at a very low speed. I connected the air cooled lights to the outake of the SMSCOM controller and the outtake to the intake. Sounds counterintuative but I always want the air cooled lights running faster than the outtake.

I use RVK 150 L1 fans they are rated at 660 cm4h which is just under 400 CFM. The fans are overkill but my temps are completely stable at 27 and my humidity is easily adjustable by having the most of the cooling done by the air cooled hoods. This leaves a fan free just to regulate the temp and humidity.

Check my thread for more details.

Mouse

EDIT I use two air cooled supernova 600's in a budbox xxl. (2.4 metres by 1.2 metres by 2 metres tall)