Overkill with my lighting setup???

MajesticWhelk

MajesticWhelk

Well-Known Member
Hey guys,

I am planning on starting a new grow based on Al B. Fuct's perpetual harvest operation found here:

https://www.rollitup.org/hydroponics-aeroponics/6592-get-harvest-every-2-weeks.html


It will be about half the size of that operation, and I am aiming to harvest about a lb or hopefully a bit over every two weeks.

I will have my two flowering trays located in an 8' x 5' tent and I am trying to decide what kind of lighting to go with.






Al's setup uses 2000w for an area about double the size of the one I am using. Would it be overkill to use 2000w in the smaller area or will two 600 watters be plenty?


Thanks for the help guys!
 
Tyrannabudz

Tyrannabudz

Well-Known Member
I would say as long as you can keep it cool enough, go for it. Al though you can get the 600's a lil closer, it all comes down to lumens. 2 1000's = 290,000 lumens 2 600's 180,000 lumens. But again heat and distance are a factor.:joint:
 
MajesticWhelk

MajesticWhelk

Well-Known Member
Tyrannabudz said:
I would say as long as you can keep it cool enough, go for it. Al though you can get the 600's a lil closer, it all comes down to lumens. 2 1000's = 290,000 lumens 2 600's 180,000 lumens. But again heat and distance are a factor.:joint:
Click to expand...
Do you think it would be hard to keep 2000w cool in an area that small without AC?
 
MajesticWhelk

MajesticWhelk

Well-Known Member
Tyrannabudz said:
You should be able to. Use a 6" inline fan to pull the air through your reflectors. :joint:
Click to expand...
Ok thanks guys.

I also have an electricity question. I'm assuming (with a rather high degree of certainty) that I won't be able to fit 2000w+ on a single garage circuit. If this is the case, then I'll need an electrician to come in and wire a few circuits specifically for use with the grow.


When I hire the electrician, what should I ask him to wire?
 
Hairy Bob

Hairy Bob

Well-Known Member
Just say you are wanting to setup a home fabrication shop and want plenty of amps for running a welder, bench grinders, press drills etc. Do a bit of reading first so you can sound like you know what you're talking about and you'll be good. Most electricians aren't going to ask too many questions if you don't act suspicious and you pay them for their work.
If you want to work out exactly how big a sub panel to wire, simply add up the wattages of all the equipment you plan to use (remember to add 10% for each bulb, to account for the current drawn by the ballast) and divide the watts by the voltage (typically 110) to determine the current you will draw. Breakers typically trip at 80% of their rated load for continuous use, so a 50amp breaker is good for up to 40amp.
I would recommend getting a bigger breaker box than you require, to allow for future expansion in case you want to add more lights or an ac. It's better to have more and never use it than to need more and have to clear out the growroom so another electrician can come in imo.
To answer your earlier question about light cooling, it will mostly depend on your intake temperatures. If they stay below 75f all year round then you won't need an ac, just a good fan or pair of fans.
With hid lighting the rule of thumb is to have enough ventilation to move the volume of the room 2-3 times in a minute. To find the volume of the room, multiply the length x width x height, in your case giving roughly 250-300 cubic feet, depending on the height of your tent.
I would suggest a 250-300cfm fan to cool your lights, and one about twice the size running through a carbon filter to vent the room. The light cooling should be a closed system, with it's own intake and exhaust so the air cooling your lights never mixes with the air in the room, and should run the whole time the lights are on, and ideally for 30 mins after the lights turn off.
The other fan should be wired up to a thermostat, possibly in parallel with a fan speed controller so that it runs at maybe 50% power constantly (enough to keep the room cool for most of the time but not so much that it lowers the humidity) and when the temp gets above 80f, the thermostat should kick it up to full power to quickly cool the room.
Hope that covered everything, if I missed anything try this https://www.rollitup.org/view.php?pg=faq&cmd=article&id=581
 
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