pc veg case 105watts cfl

anon128

Active Member
finished building my micro case strictly for vegging. i got a 105watt 5k cfl for the case. its lined with mylar and has passive front intake with 2 80mm exhaust on top. made a reflector housing out of cardboard and the inside is lined with mylar, and i cut a vent on top.

sadly once i did a heat test run it doesnt take to long for the inside of the case to heat up to triple digits in heat, mainly around 102. outside ambient temp was ~80. once i move that should drop down and help out a bit.

so now im going to get some plexiglass cut and put it on the bottom of the reflector and put an exhaust fan inside some ducting in hopes thatll drop the temps significantly. when i put the temp reader on top of the reflector temps got to around 105. i was surprised with how hot this 105watt cfl got.

or is 105watts overkill? should i get some other bulbs and use the 105 watter for my flowering cab?
 

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i got 6 plants in 4 cups so when i got them i killed 2 and put each plant in its own cup. each plant was stretched so much it was falling over on itself so when i repotted them i planted them all the way down until the petals were a bit above the dirt.(as shown in pictures)

my diagnoses of the plants seem to be they are in shock of transplant, and im guessing im over watering them. after i did the transplant (1/5 per lite 4/5 MG) i doused each cup with water till it started to pour out. they are currently on a 24/7 light exposure in hopes to bring them back to life, then ill back off to 18/6 for vegging.

im also starting to get gnats flying around and crawling so eventually im going to get some mosquito dunks as i found in a thread in the bug section.


as far as the case goes i added a 120mm front fan for an intake, added some ducting with a 80mm fan above the reflector to suck out the hot air. then i went and got some glass cut and sealed off the bottom of the reflector. my temps are now bouncing between 79-85 depending on time of day as im running my lights 24/7. i also lowered the reflector for better light on the plants
 

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hey, its not the first time i've heard about 100 watt CFL's heating up. i read it's more efficient to use a couple of 42 watters, in ur case i guess the 100 watt is a better fit... try getting some more case fans in there to help pull cool air in, newegg.com has 80mm case fans for .99 cents... good luck...
 
i was thinking about buying acouple of 42 watters, and just throwing the 105watter into a flowering cab when the time comes. after a few modifications temps are down to 79-85. the inside case temps are also effected a bit by the room its in. each time i tinker with it however , things get a bit better.
 
105 watts is over kill for that setup. I'm using two 14 watt clfs for four plants and they're growing beautifully.
 
i currently have 2 42 watters in a pc setup, im running 71-80.. i was just about to order a 115 watt but after hearing about this i dono. But the 42's are doing a alright job.
 
105 watts is over kill for that setup. I'm using two 14 watt clfs for four plants and they're growing beautifully.

14w, got some pic's for us?

O.p. 105w is great, just add more fans and the temp will come down. try to aim a fan at the bulb, that may help a little.

Old processor heat sink fans are great, very powefull.
GL.:weed:
 
Those are my Veg setups. Two 105 watt 5K CFL's and four 27 watt 55k cfl's. I made me a single vegging unit for my next LST.
 

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theres a thread here of a guy who grows w cfl's, and its a tutorial, step by step guide, and he explains why he uses the 42 watts instead of the 100+ watts.... i didnt reach that far down in the tutorial, it's REALLY LONG, but i think he mentioned the heat.... anyways, just make sure the intake is low to the ground and that way the coolest air in the room is getting sucked into the box...

me personally use 2 42 watt, and 2 23 watt lights in my box and it's working, my box is 1.23 sqr feet n 3.7 feet high..... my plants are growing fine.... i was using 2 more lights but in this new small box they cling to one another too much when I moved them, so i'm going on the safe side... dnt want no mercury n shit fallin on them.... peace!!
 
srry didnt realize it was just a vegg cab. yeah u should be alright for that many vegging at least if ur grow is small enough
 
finally got my tools so i could modify the case again. i cut out the honecomb parts where the fans are so that blows alot more air. then i flipped around the reflector so to top 120mm fan blows on the top of the bulb and not the base of the bulb like it was before.

temperature is now around 82 degrees. still plants look a little wilted but they are still growing surely.

though im still thinking about getting two 40 watt bulbs. i was looking at 42 watt bulbs and couldnt justify spending an extra 10 buks for just 2 more watts.

im now thinking about adding another 120mm exhaust fan underneath the two 80mm exhaust fans.
 

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I don't know much about growing but I do know this. 101 degrees is too hot for weed. I think it's your temps killing them plants.
 
finally got my tools so i could modify the case again. i cut out the honecomb parts where the fans are so that blows alot more air. then i flipped around the reflector so to top 120mm fan blows on the top of the bulb and not the base of the bulb like it was before.

temperature is now around 82 degrees. still plants look a little wilted but they are still growing surely.

though im still thinking about getting two 40 watt bulbs. i was looking at 42 watt bulbs and couldnt justify spending an extra 10 buks for just 2 more watts.

im now thinking about adding another 120mm exhaust fan underneath the two 80mm exhaust fans.
They also look wayyy over watered...water them when the first inch or two is dry...
 
got some good updates, its odd watching a grow from your own eyes.

temperatures are good now, between 74-82 depending on night and day.

took a clone from a female plant and starting vegging it . hopefully within a week to 10 days ill post back with the results. or sooner if all is not well.

im proud to say though that i resurrected the babies that i received and they are really starting to take off. i also planted 3 new seeds and going to see how i do with a plant from day 1.
 

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