Hi! First time poster long time fan. Love the site and forums!! So much information and knowledge thanks all for sharing your knowledge and experiences. Heres my issue : Outside day time temps here are quite high. I experimented with a 48w CFL in my box but found that box temps would get up to 42C (108F) which was unnaceptable. I Went back to the drawing board and decided to use 2x18w T8 fluoro's but still found that temps would be 40C+ (104F). I did some investigation and found that while the fluoro's put out 18w the ballast used about 10-15w and got quite hot (much hotter than the tubes) which added to the heat load in the box. The ballasts in question are older magnetic ballasts from what I understand the newer electronic ballasts use a fraction of this power (in the range of a watt or so). Heres my solution : So with a bit of experimentation ive mounted the fluoro holders outside of the box with the twist lock contacts poking through two holes in the side. For saftey ive insulted around the entry points and also grounded the alfoil inside. Doing this has bought daytime box temp down to 32-35C (89-95F) which I will live with! I have airconditioning but cant run it during the day due to running costs and suspicion factor while im at work. I do run the airconditioner at night which means that I could also run the 48w CFL on top of the fluoros at night. NOW TO MY QUESTION! : Would using the 48w CFL on top of the fluoros when airconditioning is available (12-14hrs a day) mess with veg cycle or cause and adverse effects on my babies? 2x 18w 6500k = 2600 Lumens 1x 48w CFL = 2500 Lumens Daytime total = 2600 Lumens Nighttime Total = 5100 Lumens Will post some photos once everything is ready to go. Sorry for the long post!
hey iitool, first question, are you running your lights 24/7? im guessing you are else you wouldnt be asking this, as to temps, 32C is DEFINITELY too hot, iv been told on more than one occasion to keep temps between 20 and 25 degrees C, your plants are gona get stressed out from temps that high. i dont think the extra light would mess with your veg cycle, but im not sure cos im a pretty new grower myself! best to wait for a more experienced member to reply, good luck