Hello fellow gardners... As my first grow is progressing, I am now working on a second and now THIRD go round of new plants. I now have a need for a staggered lighting and growing area so I can run veg and flower seperately. I already sank what felt like an arm into an HID kit and exhaust, and I don't wanna invest that much more into this hobby again so I can run veg/flower atleast at staggered times, rather than one or the other. So I started digging into my other "know-abouts" and started thinking about HID car lights. They are offered in EVERY TEMPERATURE IMAGINABLE, run fairly cool, and are easily sourceable! I was wondering, am I the only one that has come up with this idea? Lights: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-HID-Xenon-Kit-Bulbs-H1-12000K-Lamp-Headlight-Black-Slim-Ballast-12V-55W-/200835589503?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec2bbe57f&vxp=mtr Less than $30 shipped, you can pick the temperature you want. Yellow is tougher to find (which I imagine must be HPS or similar) you could pick up seperately for around $10 Power: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120W-15V-Laptop-Power-AC-Adapter-Charger-For-Toshiba-XKM-971-/130664549732?pt=Laptop_Adapters_Chargers&hash=item1e6c36cd64 $17 shipped A couple of the clamp on light reflectors and connect to it somehow, $7 X2 from Walmart if you don't ahve any laying around For less than $70, that is 2 bulbs 55w of HID lighting with reflectors. Replacement bulbs are $10. Output for a 100W MH bulb is 9000 lumens roughly... Each 55W car bulb is rated at 5200 each, it varies by the color temperature. Any ideas, suggestions, whatever you got I'd love to hear it. Gardeners are always the most awesome basement scientists, I wonder what can happen when you put a few of them together Edit: Had another brain storm... I'm feeling quite pleasant and my mind is in OD! Electronic EMI shielding, grounding, and a bigger more reliable air cooled power supply for a few more bucks. A computer case and power supply! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Enlight-Micro-ATX-Desktop-Case-w-Power-Supply-/320619391903?pt=US_Computer_Cases&hash=item4aa667ab9f Use one of those for power, housing, and asthetics
It sounds like a fun project so long as the bulbs are safe for indoor use and they can be cooled properly, as they would be in a vehicle (they really *should* be safe, but you may want to look into it... the safety standards for outdoor equipment are sometimes lower than those for indoor equipment, for exposure reasons etc.)! I only know that HID headlamps use high pressure xenon which can potentially produce fewer lumens per watt, than the argon used in the MH bulbs growers use. It may be tough finding the right spectrum, as well, where in spite of the variety the halide/gas blends used in the individual bulbs aren't often of the same ratio as those used for growing plants (the blend determines the precise color temperature, and even the intensity of the bulb, another reason why lumen output vaires). If you have some of the parts already, and it's something you're looking forward to putting together, it should certainly produce living plants and home made projects are always satisfying! Just keep in mind, if you're not doing it for the fun of the project, and if saving money and producing an efficient grow are your specific and primary goals, that you can spend a little less money, and get a finished horticultural lighting system around 50% more powerful, with horti-quality bulbs to boot, increasing your lumens per watt, as well! This way, you know you have the right spectrum, and you're not spending more money (or time, if such a project is not your cup of tea ) than you really need to during set-up. Here's an example of a system, $59, 150watts, 16,500 lumens, ballast, reflector, cords, and a 110 lumen per watt starter/horti bulb.... in this case, I did just noticed it's HPS rather than MH, but they do produce more lumens per watt than MH anyhow, which is why HPS systems are preferred by the vast majority of growers who choose to use one, and not both systems... if the project is for efficiency rather than for fun, it's probably the choice you'd want to make. http://www.discount-hydro.com/c-a-p-the-mini-sun-light-system/ If it helps, on ebay you can also usually find 50w - 150watt street light systems for $30 - $60, both MH and HPS. They can even be dismantled and redesigned using a plethora of online tutorials, to separate and distance their ballasts from the bulbs, if needed.
All of my reading (and believe me I do alot of it around here... you people taught me everything!) says we shouldnt use HPS for seedlings or vegging. I'm aiming for a low power (and esp low power consumption) and low cost way to replace the two CFL reflector lights I have. I thought it'd be groovy to be able to selectively run 55w or 110w of power (add a toggle switch to turn one on or off) and have 2 seperate bulbs to work with so I can space the ladies further apart. I already have several parts on hand, so I would mainly need the HID kit and a few odds/ends from Home depot. I wouldn't need to change color temps as they would be used for vegging, so go for the most lumen output. (diff colors have diff outputs) Thinking about what you were saying about the ballasts, they are usually pretty sealed up. Under the hood will see oil, water, gasoline, extreme hot and cold. I'd probably trust one of the automotive ones more than an indoor one, theyre usually very sealed up and enclosed for an apocolypse. The other fun thing I thought about was using these for side lighting. Using these bulbs and a short glass cylinder, hang the bulbs around the sides of the plant with a yoyo hanger or something similar. All total would probably weight 2-3 lbs depending on the cylinder. I'm curious of these redesigns, have a link?
