I am building a large utility/storage closet in my garage and am going to be building a false wall behind it to grow my plants. The size behind my false wall is 8'L X 8'H X 3'W. I am going to be hanging a 600W HPS lamp in this small area. Do you think it will be too small of an area for such a big light? Will it be safe? (My main concern) Keep in mind that I am going to be installing a bathroom exhaust fan in the ceiling to deal with moisture and I am also going to add a fresh air return to get some cood air into the small space. Another question I have rather then making another thread is: How many mature plants do you think one could grow in a space this size? Thanks guys.
If anything that light is a little under for what you'd want to cover an 8x3 footprint (assuming you want to use all of that space). Not sure how we can answer from here "will it be safe?" If you don't tell anyone, and I mean not anyone, and you don't steal electricity, and if you don't have light leaks or odors or loud fan noises, and if you don't have roommates or other people in your house who use that garage, and if you aren't on parole or otherwise familiar to LEO, and if you otherwise play it cool, then you are doing a pretty good job of keeping it safe.
Thanks for the quick reply I appreciate it. When I mean "safe" all I mean is heat wise. I have no concerns of being caught just my wife and I at home. She knows about the false wall. My concern was the walls getting to hot and causing combustion and my three dogs being killed along with my house being burnt down while were out grocery shopping . But it from what you are saying It sounds like I will be fine with having a exhaust fan and a cold air vent to keep the temps down. Any idea how many plants can be grown to maturity in a 8 x 3 footprint? Thanks again
Well I'm not vouching for your heat management set-up, only trial-and-error can get that dialed in. But very unlikely you will burn your house down just from heat, you would need an electrical problem or something combustible to actually touch the light, something like that. A general rule of thumb would be one plant per square foot, so that would be up to 24 plants if you don't leave yourself walking space. Personally I think 1.5 feet per plant is more like it unless you are doing a SOG (a technique for growing plants straight into flower so that they yield as quickly as possible and you get your volume from having lots of plants rather than a big yield per plant). So, that would mean about 16 plants.
Again thanks so much for the help. I'm not wanting to grow 16-14 plants maybe 10 - 15 so I'll have lots of space. I was going to buy feminized seeds because I did not think I would have enough space to grow seeds to the sexing stage and weed out the males but now I know that I will be fine. As for the heat issue I'm sure I'll be able to keep the room at a decent temperature, especially during the winter months when it's -30 I'm thinking an ABS tube from the cold attic down the wall and to the floor regulated with a small computer fan pulling cold air. Thanks bro,