5-6 CFL's about 2 inches apart. Do I need an fan on them if I'm running 18/6 20/4 or 24/7? Thanks +rep for the first good answer
i grow in a very small grow box with a 150 hps that has a built in ballast and that produces double the heat that your cfls will produce. i would just keep a fan blowing on your plants. the heat from the light wont be hard to manag at all. also the fan running on them isnt just to keep the lights cool and remove heat. they blow the leaves of the plant around so light can shine down to the lower leaves that are usually covered by the cannopy
Thanks =) +rep but I'm also wondering if the lights will fail or melt ? I have an intake and exhaust fan so I'm not worried about the temp of the box
it depends what is the temp in there. also a good rule of thumb is if it is hot to your had then have a fan blowing. i had 2 65w cfl and dam did the generate some heat
I'm not worried about the ambient temperature, just the light's failing because themselves are hot. the box itself will be at most 78 degrees
I see well you can always be put a fan on them if you wanted to but there is really no need to. Light bulbs will run at a certain temp by just being on so no need to worry if you feel a light that has been on all night in your kitchen it will probably feel the same as the one in your grow box
like that one guy said do the hand check if it feels hot on your hand then just have a fan blowing. the cfls wont get hot enough to melt or fail or anything like that. if you are worried about it you can always hook ur lights up to a temperature controller that way they will shut off if your box gets over a certain temp.