Just need some info on parabolic umbrella reflector ??????

will Anyone give me an honest answer plzz ?????

not sure about reducing heat, but footcandles to the plants will be great. if heat is an issue you need to look at air cooled hoods. if you have very good control of your room enviroment than parabolics are the way to grow. get a good one that has adjustments for bulb socket, this, along with raising and lowering, allows you to really fine tune the spread. i had read about the glass in air cooled reflectors reducing output by up to 20%, but you have to give that up for the benefits of air cooling, and i was shocked. spend the money and get a foot candle meter(lumens are not best measure) to find the best settings for your setup. also with bare bulbs humidty at lights on becomes a non issue, they burn it off. in fact i had to add a cold water humidifier because my rh was dropping to 30%.

Thanks... Iv been told the aircooled reflectors are not that good and as you explained before dont give off as much light, i have a major heat issue my temps r goin upto 92f and with summer around the corner its goin to get even hotter i was talkin to a freind who grows and he said a parabolic refclector is the way to go and reduces heat spots and so on ....

i measured footcandles before and after my air cooled, and it did not drop at all.
if you dont maintain the glass, there will be a drop, but really, how long does it take to clean a 2x3 piece of glass.

Originally Posted by DontSnitch

Thanks... Iv been told the aircooled reflectors are not that good and as you explained before dont give off as much light, i have a major heat issue my temps r goin upto 92f and with summer around the corner its goin to get even hotter i was talkin to a freind who grows and he said a parabolic refclector is the way to go and reduces heat spots and so on ....

The amount of heat given off by any one particular light bulb is going to be the same no matter what reflector or not is used. The big difference is the way you deal with it. Air or water cooled reflectors help you get at it immediately; a fan will blow it away from the bulbs but you are still left with the heat, only it's dissipated. The bottom line is that the heat issue must be dealt with or else you will surly stagnate the plants growth or worse yet, kill it. 1.000 watt bulbs have a significantly higher heat to watt ratio over 600 watt. I use splitters that change y output from a 1,000 HPS ballast to two @ 600W MH and I absolutely love them. Two reflectors from one ballast, I increase the footprint almost 2X, less heat from the two vs. the one bulb, and save dollars on not buying two ballasts.

Im running a 400 watt hps at the moment an the temp is stupidly warm in the grow tent but i put my hygrometer in difrent areas in ther an it will show a different reading out everytime ... Its really getting me down now i just need a easy and cheap(ish) solution

when light goes through glass, there is loss. scientific fact. yes keeping clean is important but not what i was getting at.

Originally Posted by sfttailpaul

The amount of heat given off by any one particular light bulb is going to be the same no matter what reflector or not is used. The big difference is the way you deal with it. Air or water cooled reflectors help you get at it immediately; a fan will blow it away from the bulbs but you are still left with the heat, only it's dissipated. The bottom line is that the heat issue must be dealt with or else you will surly stagnate the plants growth or worse yet, kill it. 1.000 watt bulbs have a significantly higher heat to watt ratio over 600 watt. I use splitters that change y output from a 1,000 HPS ballast to two @ 600W MH and I absolutely love them. Two reflectors from one ballast, I increase the footprint almost 2X, less heat from the two vs. the one bulb, and save dollars on not buying two ballasts.

exactly how did you do this sounds pretty interesting!