Okay, I'm going to make this quick since most of my posts are long - I'm training myself to be simple I use to grow marijuana both outdoors and indoors until I no longer needed it for my medical conditions then stopped - which was last year, about when h4rk4t went dead. No, I haven't started growing again, I am just bored allot now in my new home. Okay, SO NOW TO THE POINT OF THIS THREAD. MYLAR IS NOT ALL THAT! Mylar seems to be first best, along side simple white surfaces right? Yes, true I guess. But, there are different types of MYLAR, not just the 40$ rolls or 20$ rolls you find on ebay. Aluminized Mylar AKA EMERGENCY BLANKETS AKA THOSE SHINY THINGS YOU TAKE CAMPING THAT KEEP YOU WARM AND ALSO PRESERVE DRY ICE LONGER WHEN IN A STYROFOAM BOX. These are 79 cents at some places, Wal-mart I believe 1.89 or something, last time I bought one was for my last grow with Neville's Haze over a year ago. THEY WORK JUST AS WELL, I TESTED THE REFLECTIVITY WITH THAT OF REGULAR GROWING MYLAR. Not only that, but from the opposite side, you can see inside somewhat....like a one way mirror. But you can't see too clearly. Not that this is a good thing, or bad. But if you don't want light leek, just put WHITE cardboard/posterboard behind them, if you're that picky about losing light that is good for the plants (it would only make a very very small difference - but I was picky, and didn't want light being let out so I did that. 2 of the 4 walls were already white anyways, but the other two were just spaces... that need a wall. So I just made some lightweight flaps hanging from the wall too the floor out of white cardboard rectangles. Then wrapped them in emergency blankets as well. I even laid it out on the ground bellow the plants, and on the ceiling, I had 2 extra ounces of real good connoisseur bud that harvest, which was just enough before I no longer needed the aid of this miraculous plant. So it works better then plain white walls, but just as good as the mylar (I will admit I did one extra grow just out of curiosity for testing purposes with REAL Mylar - and I came out with the near same yield plus/minus a few grams.). CHEAP EASY SOLUTION! Listen to me if you want, or don't. There should be a sticky with all kinds of alternate 'cheaper' methods that work just as great as normal 'regular' ways. Because really, the companies out there are just getting big bucks for old technology or simply just overcharging on the modern stuff or making it seem better then this or that. A.My < My $$$$EMERGENCY BLANKETS SAVE!$$$ Go get some A.M (aluminized mylar) now! Save yourself~~~ Hope this helps anyone... at all - H4
good advice...MYLAR BLOWS also i grew nevills haze and its funny u call it connasaur bud, because my girl and I did as well. best smoking/high EVER. longest budding plant though as well...18 weeks anyone???
HAHA oh I know! They say 16 weeks, and you think... I dunnnnnno.... sure fine. Then it ends up being 17-19 weeks. But, very, VERY, well worth it - even with the small yields it may bring depending on your space - mine were small purposefully (and my intent was never to be smoking an 8th a day or having an ounce of it in food each day - nor to sell) - I just wanted some nice, high quality, potent, DIFFERENT, personal nugs. Funny how they were the ones that helped me the most and get me healthy again and even got rid of most of my insomnia (that was for the very last extra grow i did, i just went crazy with it so I wasn't burnt out but just so buzzed all i wanted to do was lay down and ride the the sensations) Taste - amazing Smell - Haze, the piney/tangy/pure sativa-haze type of smell. (incredible) High - Amazing if you like 1.5% CBD (instead of the usual .5%-.9%) and 22% THC mine tested out as, no couchlock. And none of that fuzzy/cloudy/forhead feeling like from indica's the next morning.. but yeah emergency blankets all the way! Works for any indoor plants or even just making a really energy efficient house needing less lights.. just coat the walls and the full moon will give you a room with the ability to tell what/where objects are without a light... well, just a guess...but I'm sure of it. peace
i tried space blankets and a roll of mylar and i decided that from now on, any cabinet i build will be painted flat white lol.
i personally REALLY like killz... great white latex paint.. very reflective...fungus/mold/water resistant...easy to work with and clean up.
foil tape is great for taping things like cords to the wall and stuff...but coating an entire room in foil tape is not a good ides...it would be pricey.
yeah exactly what ganjaganja said - unless you have a roll just sitting around - that will never be used, and a small grow area, go for it, test it out. who knows.. i mean - use google and look it up and find out what it's made of, its properties both chemically and physically. it may be good, or bad...or... no different.. or just cause alot of heat or who knows...try it out, but i'd say - like the other two comments - the simplest thing, is some nice latex bright glossy white paint...realllly really works. especially if you live in a humid area. and it makes the area seem more .... clean and organized so you can detect things that aren't white... easier. but this is mainly just for if you really want to increase some production by a slight percent, its always good to have a little stored up in a jar for a rainy day from that extra gain thanks for commenting everyone
I've gotta couple of emergency blankets left over from backpacking. I'll try it out before I blow money on mylar. Shit's expensive...do they sell it at Home Depot, or do you have to buy online?
You could 411 an opperator for the neerest home depot or lowes and see, if they have mylar, or not... you never know. but ebay always is good, i've found better deals on alibaba.com. search around. but yeah the emergency blankets are just as good, esp if you had double layers.
Persoanlly, I have never used the reflective mylar, I find it quite costly and there are many comparable products which do the same thing IMO. I can get a roll of Mylar for $30 + tax, but I can buy a 2 pack of white disposable drop cloths for $7.95 + tax which have given great results. Presently in my flowering chamber I'm using simple white trash bags double layered and I find the results have been good. Below is a NL just under 3 weeks into flowering which is doing quite well. Mylar is expensive, and does work well, but I'm not trying to spend alot of money for a personal grow.
my biggest problem with mylar-like materials is that once it gets dirty, not only does it lose a vast percentage of reflectivity, but it's near impossible to polish it back to it's original shiny-ness. for me it's flat white paint or panda plastic all the way. Super easy to clean and keep its reflectivity . Although it is nice to know emergency blankets work just as well.
im going to stick to my flat white, so far my 4 girls that are flowering are loving it, and looking great.
Mylar is preferred by serious indoor growers for many reasons. Nothing out is more reflective - which means using mylar is getting the most out of your lights. Prove I'm wrong if I'm incorrect. Reflectix is also great. I don't have any experience with emergency blankets, but if they work, great. White plastic or paint can't TOUCH mylar for reflection. There's simply no comparison. I know many people prefer not to use mylar for various reasons, and that's fine. But don't say that your white plastic or paint is just as good... that's just not true by any stretch of the imagination. I guess my thing is, if you can't afford mylar, or are too cheap to pay for it - then you probably cant afford a lot of things that you need for a solid indoor grow... like good lights, decent nutrients, a decent sized grow-room or ventilation... so if you're THAT broke that mylar is putting a hurt on your pockets, I'd suggest getting a job and being more responsible with your money. $30 is NOT "expensive" by any means.
actually Mr. MJ there are a few materials that do compare to mylar, if not better and go a much further way. one of these products is a reflective tin colored roofing material. it reflects and air seals your room. Also when you say flat white, or reflective white paint can't "touch" mylar, that is somewhat correct, but a bit of an over statement. FLAT WHITE -- 90-93 % REFLECTIVE MYLAR -- 94%-98% reflective SO YES..IT IS MORE REFLECTIVE. by a lot? not really also mylar can EASILY create "hot spots" and cause severe burn marks on plants (can act like a magnifying glass) also mylar is a pain to hang (in most grow areas) and does not clean up well when water is spilled or spattered on it. Latex white paint is: --easy to put up/clean up (when it dries to a surface you don't want it on, just peal off!) --Mold resistant, fungus resistant, water resistant --No hot spots --one gallon bucket of paint last MUCH longer than 2 rolls of Mylar (which costs the same price) so overall I find (my opinion) white latex Killz paint to be not only more cost effective, but time effective, back pain effective, overall a much better product.
space blankets ftw, i spent $12 on three high quality blankets to cover our room, and they work wonders yea they reflect heat... but thats not an issue when the room is being vented with cold winter air, controlled by a thermostat that is sitting in its own shady area. our temps range from 68*-75* Another plus for mylar is that since it does reflect heat, thermal imaging has a hard time pinpointing a fully mylard room. Also it keeps the walls cool to the touch not blazing from the heat of a 1000 watt. I suggest mylar to anyone who thinks they can deal with the set up
And reflective Mylar does'nt? Anything metalic and reflective will reflect heat as well. Reflective mylar does reflect heat and if not applied correctly, can cause hot spots just like tin foil. I find flat white paint to be the most cost effective, and easiest to use. Another thing that works well, self adhesive shelf liner, you can get 2.5 ft wide by 6 yrds for like $2 and it works great and is easier than mylar to apply....and you do not get wrinkles like with mylar. less