Water Cooled Lights! Liquid Lumens! Fresca Sol!

What to buy?

  • FRESCA SOL!

    Votes: 19 30.6%
  • LIQUID LUMENS!

    Votes: 19 30.6%
  • OTHER WATER COOLED LIGHT SYSTEM!

    Votes: 5 8.1%
  • I HATE WATER COOLED LIGHTS!

    Votes: 19 30.6%

  • Total voters
    62
  • Poll closed .

Guest999

Active Member
too much fuss.too many things to go wrong and if your water jacket leaks(which is bound to happen rubber gaskets and heat do not mix) you just fuct up a 1500.00 light.my light cost me 150 bucks fan,another 100 bucks and i keep my light (400 Watt HPS) 3" off my plants and they love it.someone would have to blow me while giving the sales pitch for one of these water lights before i would even consider looking at one.
keep tokin
I'm not sure where you are getting $1500.00 from. The fresca sol costs about $225 and another $30 for the reflector. This is about the same if not less expensive than a air cooled light. Plus you get more lumens and less heat...overall based on a lumen to $$$ ration they are cheaper than air cooled lights.

The Magnum xxxl reflector is actualy smaller than a fresca sol reflector, and costs bout $200 add $100-$200 for a fan and you are at $350 for the set up...
 

Dowd1

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure where you are getting $1500.00 from. The fresca sol costs about $225 and another $30 for the reflector. This is about the same if not less expensive than a air cooled light. Plus you get more lumens and less heat...overall based on a lumen to $$$ ration they are cheaper than air cooled lights.

The Magnum xxxl reflector is actualy smaller than a fresca sol reflector, and costs bout $200 add $100-$200 for a fan and you are at $350 for the set up...
Well i just went to the web sight and the fresca sol lights are 300.00 just for the reflector,not the ballast.add another 200.00 dollars for a ballast.
so when the rubber gaskets leak you shorted out your ballast,you ruined the reflector because your bulb blew it into pieces,and your crop you were growing is now probably done,and if your lucky you didnt get electricuted.And thats assuming the short didnt go all the way back to the breaker box,a whole new problem in itself.
So yae 1500.00 dollars is a fare if not cheap assessment of the situation given a catostrophic failure of the light.Just a little bit more than i want to worry about with water cooled lights.Ill stick to air cooled.
 

Dowd1

Well-Known Member
BTW your crop would definatly be ruined do to the fact the company suggests you add chlorine to the water,so when it blows the chlorinated water will kill your crop.
 

Dowd1

Well-Known Member
I installed a fresca sol light about 3 months ago and am loving it. I went with the fresca design because it is a simpler design. I'm running a 1k hps in a 4 foot cube.
I am using a 96 gallon rez that was a trash tote from lowes. I also fabricated my own chiller from a 100.00 window AC unit. I run my water at 60. Overall I spent less on my water cooled setup than a cooltube and 6"fan.

I have more information on my setup at verticalgreen.org.
Well i know you can get a cool tube reflector and ballast for 365.00 dollars.already the cool tube is cheaper due to the fact the fresca sol costs 300 just for the reflector.A 10" inline fan runs anywhere between 40 and 100 dollars.Im not seeing the savings especially if you are using an a/c as a water chiller.The a/c alone uses more power to run than a 10" inline fan.If anything the prices are reletively the same, the cost of running yours to mine are going to be way different
 

1freezy

Well-Known Member
Sold everything a while a goan did some traveling! Been back for a bit an got a frsca sol, man I love it. I am finally gonna do a journal a decade later but unless I was doing A gigantic commercial grow. I think most everything I do will be liquid cooled now.

Hey whatever makes you happy!
Time to man up an do a Journal after a almost a decade.
 

zeekster

Member
I totally agree!:hump:

No way would I go this route. Water + Electricity + Hot HID lamp = DISASTER!
Garden ponds have used this idea for decades, with uv light to kill algae. I have worked with them for over 20 years and have never seen one leak. I have the Fresca Sol and it is simple and easy and effective. Also there is no smell being blown outside for people to smell so no need for deodorizing filters and such.
 

greensister

Well-Known Member
Where the hell are they getting the idea that a cooltube blower takes 3.8 amps to run?! The Allvent A60 pushing air through my tubes draws 35W- that's 0.145A (145mA) at 240V or 0.291A (291mA) on 120V. A "1/4 HP chiller" which draws 3.6A @ 120V is consuming 432 watts! That's enough for a 400W HPS!

Don't believe every sales pitch you read.[/QUOTE]


I was looking at that and thinking, uuuhhhh, that bullshit, what are the watts? Thanks dood.
 

budleydoright

Well-Known Member
I'm on my third round with my fresca sol. added another for my current grow.

If they leak, there is a path out for the water, it doesn't fill up the tube or touch the bulb. You do need to exercise caution, my only problems have been operator error.

Home made chiller is killer too.
 

trendy

Member
I love mine I got a Fresca, careful shopping got me one for 166 in my hands another 70 bucks in plumbing off my shower valve to cool it with a run to waste system, WAY better than air cooled like in the veg room. But I'm changing back to LED,s in there, The light bulb as we know it is just about ready for retirement anyway.
 

Dowd1

Well-Known Member
just calling them the way i see em.I know use a 600 watt 6" air cooled with a 6" inline fan and i keep my lights within 6-12" depending on the cold months,and they grow quite well.I dont think i can improve light wise
thanks man
 

mochadog70

Active Member
So I have read all this and what would be the difference in cost and all if you just had a bad A/C instead with open bulbs? Fuck FLIR not worried about that.
 

rickzilla

Member
i was thinking about switching to liquid cooled because i can NOT vent the hot air from my cooltube outside ... so far its been mixed reviews can someone please help me with this ...
 

michmed

Active Member
read 6 pages myself, wondering if I can use a Fresca Sol with a 50 gal res in the same basement room without a chilller and nominal additional heat gain? I ruined a whole hydro crop of 24 clones with too much heat (90 deg) and bad well water
 

phase

Member
If your living quarters are attached to your grow op, then why would you even want to get rid of that heat? If that is what you really want, it can be done easily without spending more money on a chiller or the power to run it, all you need is a pump.

Heat can be dumped in copper piping in your basement floor under a layer of concrete (conducting it into the ground), in copper piping buried underground outside - preferably below the frost line (same principle as a ground source heat pump), by using nearby lake/pond/river water as coolant, or even by simply circulating your coolant through an old car/truck radiator installed outside in the wind (if the bulbs get too hot you might want to consider adding more radiators for greater dissipation or a fan for better circulation). This is how water cooling works on a car, heat is dissipated through a radiator with air flowing through it, not by installing an air conditioning unit on top to cool the coolant... :shock:

Better yet, think green! Think of the advantages that water cooling offers over air cooling, everyone saying that air cooling is cheaper and just as good, is missing the bigger picture here! Heat contained in water can be integrated into your home, into your heating systems, it can be stored for later use. Good luck pulling off that trick with a stream of warm air... Not to mention the stealth-factor that water-cooling offers, as your ventilation and charcoal needs (and noise) are greatly reduced.

Since you already paid for that electricity to run the lights, why not recuperate the heat you all so struggle to get rid of? You WILL end up paying for hot water anyway, so why not try to save on that a little in combination with a stealthy solution?

The solution is so simple... Install an insulated passive boiler, one that just stores water, between your cold water feed and your hot water kettle/boiler. This arrangement will feed cold water from the city feed into the passive boiler and from there on into the hot water kettle/boiler. Now comes the "ohh"-part: You recirculate the water from the passive boiler reservoir through the watercooled HID armature(s). Imagine the (kilo)Watts you can harvest when your lights are on and then think for a second, when I tell you that most electric water boilers usually start at around 2.5 kW... The only downside is that the heat storage is limited by the size of your storage vessel (boiler), so if you plan to leave the house unattended (vacations) then make sure your boiler is sufficiently large to store the accumulating heat while you are gone, to prevent overheating.

Anyway, the heat extracted from the bulb will preheat the water fed to your hot water installation, in turn decreasing the amount of energy required to get the water up to the desired temperature, or decreasing the amount of hot water used due to the higher temperature. As a result, your heat pattern will be reduced, ventilation / active carbon filter needs and noise will decrease, stealthiness will greatly increase and with a stroke of magic, even your electrical bill will now start to decrease.. ;)
 

PurfectStorm

Well-Known Member
If your living quarters are attached to your grow op, then why would you even want to get rid of that heat? If that is what you really want, it can be done easily without spending more money on a chiller or the power to run it, all you need is a pump.

Heat can be dumped in copper piping in your basement floor under a layer of concrete (conducting it into the ground), in copper piping buried underground outside - preferably below the frost line (same principle as a ground source heat pump), by using nearby lake/pond/river water as coolant, or even by simply circulating your coolant through an old car/truck radiator installed outside in the wind (if the bulbs get too hot you might want to consider adding more radiators for greater dissipation or a fan for better circulation). This is how water cooling works on a car, heat is dissipated through a radiator with air flowing through it, not by installing an air conditioning unit on top to cool the coolant... :shock:

Better yet, think green! Think of the advantages that water cooling offers over air cooling, everyone saying that air cooling is cheaper and just as good, is missing the bigger picture here! Heat contained in water can be integrated into your home, into your heating systems, it can be stored for later use. Good luck pulling off that trick with a stream of warm air... Not to mention the stealth-factor that water-cooling offers, as your ventilation and charcoal needs (and noise) are greatly reduced.

Since you already paid for that electricity to run the lights, why not recuperate the heat you all so struggle to get rid of? You WILL end up paying for hot water anyway, so why not try to save on that a little in combination with a stealthy solution?

The solution is so simple... Install an insulated passive boiler, one that just stores water, between your cold water feed and your hot water kettle/boiler. This arrangement will feed cold water from the city feed into the passive boiler and from there on into the hot water kettle/boiler. Now comes the "ohh"-part: You recirculate the water from the passive boiler reservoir through the watercooled HID armature(s). Imagine the (kilo)Watts you can harvest when your lights are on and then think for a second, when I tell you that most electric water boilers usually start at around 2.5 kW... The only downside is that the heat storage is limited by the size of your storage vessel (boiler), so if you plan to leave the house unattended (vacations) then make sure your boiler is sufficiently large to store the accumulating heat while you are gone, to prevent overheating.

Anyway, the heat extracted from the bulb will preheat the water fed to your hot water installation, in turn decreasing the amount of energy required to get the water up to the desired temperature, or decreasing the amount of hot water used due to the higher temperature. As a result, your heat pattern will be reduced, ventilation / active carbon filter needs and noise will decrease, stealthiness will greatly increase and with a stroke of magic, even your electrical bill will now start to decrease.. ;)
Thats some good thinkin there! Keep thinkin of those green ideas for us growers :)
 

kindnugz

Active Member
Is there any data on what temps to expect on the output side of the light coolers? I like the idea of using the excess heat to preheat cold water heading into the water heater as it is used for showers, etc. During the winter, the excess heat can even be used to heat the grow room. My fan noise is a detriment to my basement stealth ops so replacing with a silent water cooled system is intriguing.
 

jacksjacksjacks

Active Member
The grow shop I go to has had one of these fresca sols set up for months, they haven't had to maintain anything other than changing the bulb, no leaks no problems, and they haven't received any complaints about anything breaking on unit, especially exploding lights. It actually makes me feel safer that everything is contained in the tube. When I think about scary I think of the people that have a bare bulb hanging, one drop of water hits that hot bulb and boom. I ordered one to run a 600 watt set up in a 4x4 tent, I'm planning on doing a journal as it is my first time doing water cooled, scrog, and a tent.
 
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