Putting a liquer bottle around HPS bulb??

So im trying to eliminate the heat from the 400wHPS bulb to the canopy which is destroying the plants. I know of CoolTubes but are too pricy. Can I put a liquer bottle around the bulb and attach a duck to a fan outside like you would do with cooltube or is the glass not good for some reason? I want to find a big bottle so I can fit the whole bulb inside. I will have to break both ends perfectly to fit the socket on one end and a duck on the other end..

Is this plausuble? Is liquer bottle safe for this? the only reason I say liquer bottle is becuase thats the only large piece of circular glass I can think of that is both long and wide enough to fit this long ass (10inch by 2inch bulb) bulb into.

any comments on this idea appreciated!

ALSO, I was wondering if covering a HPS bulb, which gets very hot (I'de say around 100degrees at the bulb since the canopy can get up to 96), is safe...I mean, A very hot bulb is going to be about half an inch or less surrounded by glass. Will liquer bottle glass (which is very thick) be able to sustain the high temperatures from the bulb?

WILL THIS WORK EFFICIENTLY AS COOLTUBE? WILL GLASS BREAK??

i dont know if i would try it

HPS bulbs get much hotter the 100 degrees at the bulb and the heat will build up to much higher in a very short period of time. Also the bottle with scatter and focus light creating hot spots while decreacing overall light output. I wouldn't use a liquor bottle for this, your better chance is using a flat piece of tempered glass to construct your own air cooled reflector. You could try ebay for a cheaper source for a new reflector. When your dealing with such high heat you should always play it safe, if the bulb failed violently and the bottle did as well you could seriously burn down your home and/or get yourself killed. This is one of those times when spending a little cash is really the way to go...

I am using a 400w hps and it's not destroying a damn thing.

If the above was my only answer, I would have told you as much as you told me.

So for me to help you, I need you to help me.
My room is 4x4x6.5 ft
I have multiple passive intakes and one outake that is 465 CFM
I can get my plants within 6 inches of the light
and I don't have a cool tube.

Do not use the bottle, it is not temepered glass made for heat resistance.

Sounds like a diaster waiting to happen. Either deal with the heat or buy a cool tube.

thanks guys. I dont think I will try this. I found a cheap cooltube for like 80bucks on ebay so hopefully I dont get ripped off like the last time I bought something on ebay and I'll be good to get past this damn HPS roadblock!

SILK, if your box is similar to mine, post a picture..especially if you say you only have one outake and can still get within 6 inches without a cooltube and no burning!!!!!!!! This I not only want to see, but need to see!!

typo, i would suggest getting a glass lamp (candle) surround from Michaels or something. like a replacement one. it's open on both ends and is made to take heat and display light.

Make sure the ebay seller has alot of positive ratings and you should be ok.

TyPo said:

SILK, if your box is similar to mine, post a picture..especially if you say you only have one outake and can still get within 6 inches without a cooltube and no burning!!!!!!!! This I not only want to see, but need to see!!

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Sure. I'm lights off at the moment, but I'll snap some pix tomorrow. I have a super nice looking plant in there which is way ahead of it's sisters. It's a rather bizzare grow. I'm not sure our boxes are similar. Did I miss something?
also my environmental control is awesome. More importantly, what do you want to see? Plants close to light? outake? what?

Cheers!

I think you should try it and let us know the results.

silk, I would like to see an overall pic of the whole box. if you even read this, you can take pics of the individual outtakes as well if needed. It might even help me to see the size relationships between the outtakes and the intakes for when I re-do my box's intakes.

Cool-tubes are just as expensive as another HPS lighting system. There has got to be someone who knows what kind of glass or plastic will resist heat and will safely cover an HPS bulb. I checked at Home Depot and they said that a piece of glass that big and round is a specialty item, but im sure there has to be something I can use that will be sufficient as well as safe.

all i need is the glass part, I already bought the ballast and socket/bulb, I just need something to fit over the bulb to connect to a duct.

daydrops said:

typo, i would suggest getting a glass lamp (candle) surround from Michaels or something. like a replacement one. it's open on both ends and is made to take heat and display light.

Click to expand...

I was going to suggest the same thing. They have the 4" glass cylinder(open on both ends) at micheals and you can use any 4" duct(solid or flexible), which you can get at any hardware or Home Depot. Get a fan on the exhaust end of it, some computer fans work ok or any fan you can find around the house that is relatively small and you can get mounted to your duct work. Remember you want the suction so being sealed is kind of important. Well this is just a few little suggestions on the topic. Maybe somebody can tweak it a little more. Open to any suggestion and I hope this can help some of the small scale indoor growers. Enjoy your crops!