DIY Batwing reflector with cool tube

So...I was given a 1000watt ballast, I would have to air cool it and the reflector? it came with was a big circle, the light was hung verticle. So off to buy a piece of aluminum and start. I got a 24" by 36" piece of aluminum for a little under $20.00, a bender and 4 'S' strips. Marked the center and attached it to a piece of aluminim scrap I had and started to shape it. I bought a 5' long piece of aluminum angle with holes to keep the shape. Here we go on the road again..turn the page...VV

oh yeah, I want one in there and when I got it and asked Al B the dimensions of his reflector the plan comes together. All I had to do was cut the reflector in half and get some strips of aluminum to attach them to the cool tube. Soo back to the store, the aluminum strap, 1 1/2" wide by 4' works. Clamp it and bend it to match your cooltube if you got one with the reflective top. I bought a bender to make the 'ears' that I attached the parts of the reflectors to. As long as I was there anyway, and had found out the width should be closer to 36" than 30", I got a couple more of those angle irons. Now this reflector is complete, its 39" wide. Here we go up on stage....turn the page.... VV

Now if you plan this ahead, like you should, then you will have an easier time with it than I did. You will need a 36" by 24" aluminum sheet, (4) 'S' strips and (2) 39" long pieces of aluminum angle. The stores I go to only have it in 5' lengths so I have some left over. If you don't have them already you will want a bunch of small screws. nuts and lockwashers.
Aluminum sheet $20.00
S strips @ .89 $4.00
2 5' long angle pieces $14.00
1 1/2" by 4' flat aliminum $5.00
Cool tube $100.00
Total about $150.00 VV

Nice post man! That thing looks professional!

Thats only because the pictures are blurry.lol I did take Al's advice on some of the details. The S-strip on the 1" bend gives it good rigidity along the outside edge. In the center I used that same bender I showed (Around $9.00 @ Menards) to bend that edge 3/8" and used a rubber mallet to flatten it down. This gave me (2) layers of the Aluminum right in the center, by the time you add the double 1-1/8" straps and fasten that together the only thing left is the sides. The s-strips are 14" and the sheet is 24" wide so the bend on the end of them gave me a nice 90 for attaching the Aluminum angle (I keep wanting to say iron) Al B Fuct Posted the design and measured his for me (its one he bought and has used for a long time). His reasoning was the cooltube comes with the cord and socket, by buying the Batwing Reflector you would be spending that money for the socket twice, easier to make the reflector than it is to make the cool tube. I agree with him 1000 percent. JUst the aluminum collars on this cool tube would be hard to duplicate for the $100.00 it cost, has a reflective top, goes about 1/2 way around the tube. I figure I got the glass for free, came with hanging hardware for vertical mounting as well as the horizontal that iI used. It's almost like someone thought this thru. Its a 6" cool tube, the reflector makes it take up exactly 6" of space in the middle of the reflector, and it makes the angle of your panels give the right curve or real close to it. Al said his was 2". I used eyehooks at the corner junctions. He mentioned some type of an adjustment arrangment using small steel cables. If I do try something like that I can use the eyehooks for it and in the meantime I will use the to 'balance' the light fixture. VV

very awesome contraption VV...

captain792000 said:

very awesome contraption VV...

Click to expand...

Thanx, here is what I am going to do with the contraption. VV

Very Nice VV!!
Welcome back to HPS...lol.... I still have to say T5 are good for certain situations, but not for this kind of op.
I just bought my equiptment for the perpetual...
I'm almost ready to start my mother selection. I'm assuming the cool tube's side reflectors are just not sufficient enough to keep all the light on the garden. When I hung mine up, I was wondering if that would be the case.
How heavy is that setup?

I was thinking, if people want to make a lighter version, maybe u could tell me if this would work...
Since I have my cool tubes hanging on Easy Risers and they can only hold 25 lbs together. Do u think I could use Roof Flashing? It's really thin aluminum, easily bendable, but I don't know if it is too thin. When u try to bend it it kind of crinkles, like a soda can would if you try to bend a straight line in it. It's not quite as thin as a soda can, it's probably double... Any advice?

CustomHydro said:

I was thinking, if people want to make a lighter version, maybe u could tell me if this would work...
Since I have my cool tubes hanging on Easy Risers and they can only hold 25 lbs together. Do u think I could use Roof Flashing? It's really thin aluminum, easily bendable, but I don't know if it is too thin. When u try to bend it it kind of crinkles, like a soda can would if you try to bend a straight line in it. It's not quite as thin as a soda can, it's probably double... Any advice?

Click to expand...

There is as much weight in the s strip as there is in this 18 ga aluminum.
I am using the same chain for this that is used for all the rest of the lights. If I were going to do this again, and I probably will, I would just get aluminum angle for the sides, its available in 1/2 by 1/2 by 1/8. I used the one with holes in it this time so I could adjust if I made a mistake. lol Imagine that. And I would probably use flat aluminum instead of the s strip's, you dont really need a 1" bend at the end to stablize it, a 3/8" bend with a 1/2" flat would work as well, you would only have 2 surfaces to drill thru and and the flat will let you 'thread' #6 screw if you drill a 9/64" hole. Cost would be about the same, it would just look better. VV

what a pro...cant wait to build my new home with more room to have an awesome setup like that... for now im stuck with a little ghetto wine celler room...cant knock it to much though....it works...lol

captain792000 said:

what a pro...cant wait to build my new home with more room to have an awesome setup like that... for now im stuck with a little ghetto wine celler room...cant knock it to much though....it works...lol

Click to expand...

I bet it's easy to keep cool

One other thing about these aluminum panels compared to the 'roof flashing', these will reflect the light much better. You would probably want to use High Temperature white paint if you use the flashing. VV

VictorVIcious said:

One other thing about these aluminum panels compared to the 'roof flashing', these will reflect the light much better. You would probably want to use High Temperature white paint if you use the flashing. VV

Click to expand...

I have 3 hoods made from 6 inch wide roof flashing. maybe I'll put together a how-to over the weekend. they are painted with ordinary spray paint, less then an inch from the bulbs, but only barely get warm to the touch when there's no fan moving air around it. works well for now, but I'm dieing for an hid.

captain792000 said:

what a pro...cant wait to build my new home with more room to have an awesome setup like that... for now im stuck with a little ghetto wine celler room...cant knock it to much though....it works...lol

Click to expand...

Fuck yeah, nice and dry and cool that would be a great room to have!
I know everyone wants to go big, but a skilled grower only needs so much to make a living..
Me, I'm not so skilled so I had to make up for it in room size...lol

Originally Posted by VictorVIcious
One other thing about these aluminum panels compared to the 'roof flashing', these will reflect the light much better. You would probably want to use High Temperature white paint if you use the flashing. VV

True, it does come with a very dull finish. To paint it wouldn't be that great of an idea unless u prime,andeven then most likely it will peel and make a mess in your grow room.

CustomHydro said:

Originally Posted by VictorVIcious
One other thing about these aluminum panels compared to the 'roof flashing', these will reflect the light much better. You would probably want to use High Temperature white paint if you use the flashing. VV

True, it does come with a very dull finish. To paint it wouldn't be that great of an idea unless u prime,andeven then most likely it will peel and make a mess in your grow room.

Click to expand...

I just used kills oil based spray paint. got a bunch of cans on sale once. seems like a good quality paint. if it does peal and the hood is no good, I'm out $1 at the most, and an hour of work. until then, I'm very happy with it's performance.

i wanna make a batwing reflector man, can i still use this?

im still reading over it sorry

havefungodumb said:

i wanna make a batwing reflector man, can i still use this?

im still reading over it sorry

Click to expand...

I don't see any reason why you couldn't, that is the reason I posted the thread. lol VV

lol oh i thought it only worked for the part with glass in it..

ill be asking a few questions if thats alright

im gonna read over it right now.


what you think of the top pz's on this hood i thought that would be a good idea for safety i dont know if u got them, but then again that hood is a moveable batwing.

thanks for quick reply broskee..