Bazooka CFL Grow

[everblazing]

Hey everyone,
I started my indoor grow about two weeks ago. I started with 5 "Bazooka" strain seeds. I started them under my 4 foot floro plant setup and just recently moved them to a grow box. The grow box is not complete yet, but will be good enough for the next week and a half, so I can finish my final exams and then have more time to seal the box, add a permanent hinged door and install a ventilation system. When sealed up, the max temps is still acceptable at 82F and I open the box 2 times a day for some air circulation. I currently have four 23w CFL's (3 blue, 1 red), but there are 4 extra fixtures for extra lights when the plants get bigger. My plans are to use the females I get for clones and plant them outdoors. I will be keep one in the box for an LST grow.

Here are some pics. The first one is about a week old and the others are from today. Also the plants in the little red pots are tomatos. I just wanted to see the difference between my tomatos grown under my 4' floros vs. my G.B.

More to come...

[Cody3]

looks tight move those lights a bit closer... but they are nice now and put a lil fan in there to strengthen those stems.. looks good +rep

[uncleherb24]

nice little setup although you might want to put those cfls sideways since they are more effecient that way. also, make sure you keep them 2-3 inches above your plants.

[urgr8estfear]

Hi everyblazing.
Nice setup you got there but when I look at it i think :

OMFG!!!
Someone better called the fire department !!!

Meaning, that piece of cardboard or worse you're using to keep those CFLs together looks like it could ignite any second now.

Do not under estimate how much heat can build up under such a feeble piece of cardboard by 100 W of power. (cardboard has got very small air bubbles inside which make great insulators)

100 W = 100 joules per second = enough energy to heat up 100 grams of water by 1 degree celius EVERY SECOND. Water takes up to 1000 times more heat then air.

So 100 W = enough to heat up 100.000 grams = about 200 pounds of air by 1 degree or 2 pounds of air by 100 degress celcius.

I dont know how much cubic meters of air weigh around where you live.
But in my house its about 1 kilo. You do the rest of the math.

Not to discourage you from growing weed ofcourse believe me, but

You really should replace the cardboard thing with something with a lot of holes in it. A wooden plank at the least. Something with some structural integrity so you can drill holes in it. The holes will ventelate heat up in your box serving as an engine for internal air circulation which the plants really like too.

Also, mechanical ventelation seems mighty appropriate.

[everblazing]

Thanks for the concern urgr8estfear, but I dont think I have anything to worry about. What you said about the energy required to heat an object is correct, but we are not dealing with a piece of cardboard recieved a constant amount of heat energy (your joules/second). A light bulb rated at 23w will consume that much power, but give of a certain amount of light and a lot of heat. The maximum amount of heat generated from a light is a constant temperature. Lets assume that this CFL gives of 120 degrees Fahrenheight (you can easily touch it with your hand). The maximum temperature of the box can only get that high (under ideal conditions). Even if you have 100 23w CFL's in the box, it can never go over the temp of the CFL. This is known as the "First law of thermodynamics" and refers to the conservation of energy. The light is not generating Watts, it's generating a constant heat, and it cant heat an object any higher than its own temperature.

Thats the theory. In practice, my box currently has no ventilation expect some air leaks out the sides, and yet the temperature of the sealed box never goes over 82 degrees Fahrenheight. I know I have to add ventilation, but I am finishing up my final exams and will do that after. Also, the board holding up the lights is 1/8" melamine, with a self ignition temperature (fire without spark) probably around 400 degrees F. So I think the fire department can go on hold for now. As for my shotty wiring however......(lol)

[urgr8estfear]

I checked out this melamine stuff its good so you're safe.
But you application and explenation of the conservation of enery is faulty :

First law of thermodynamics : delta-U = K - W
change in energy = heat added to system - work done by system.

work done by system = emitting electromagnetic radiation + momentum exchange from atom to atom

True the air in the box wont get hotter then the CFLs but the CFLs will heat up together with the whole box.

If the box is ultimately isolated no heat can escape whatsover (how's that for conservation of energy) which can only lead to a permanent increase in temperature for the box, the air and the CFLs. ----> MELTDOWN!

Most people choose to replace the air part of this 'equation' meaning they ventilate.

Heat comes in 2 flavors.

1.contact heat from atom to atom
2.radiation heat = electromagnetic radiation.

(both of these help to make your girlfriend feel more comfortable to you, not that that matters to growing plants but I thought I'd mention it anyway)

Wood is a good insulator, cardboard even better. Its allways good advice to ventilate a wooden grow box, if it were only to expose the plants to 'wind' in order to recreate nature as best you can. This will help it assimilate carbon.

Trust me, its a bad idea to put 2300 watts into a box like that. In your case that would be 'cooking electric spaghetti wires until they are 'refracted/refined like oil' into substances that ignite a whole lot quicker then melamine.

(and I'm not even starting about the electric and magnetic fields that such an installation would induce on its environment. ('like frogs in a microwave oven')

Anyway good luck with your grow. I'll be watching this thread for sure.