has anyone used a light mover?

Discussion in 'Advanced Growing Techniques' started by jiggaboojones, Apr 10, 2010.

  1. I used a 1000w for years and had it on a mover. later I got two 400w units and used them with no movers. The two 400s, just hangin there, made that 1000/mover look silly. When I used the mover it was helpfull for sure, but had I went with the two 400s I would have been much happier. Track style light movers can be helpfull to improve on a lighting issue (mostly too big a fixture) but 50% of the time the bulb is not in optimal position for a given plant, therefore ya end up robing one to pay the other. I would say from what I know of your setup/grow op that lower wattage aux lighting would pay off bigger than a mover. a couple 64 watt cfl bulbs with that 600 would crank up that tent bigtime and get rid of a lot of shadowing.
     

  2. thanx g45 . i am as you know moving soon and have alot more space opening up but only have about 50 more dollars free to use on the electric bill than i'm using now. my current grow will be ending this month and i will build a new room . i am doing some research on the movers mostly for heat issues and access to plants . it seems i can use my 600 to cover 6ft x 4ft with the mover and have more plants. the 56x56 tent i can only comfortably work with 6- 8 plants . i want to get into about 20 plants for my breeding .
     
  3. i dont know if this is your thing but they have the verticle gardens that are very impressive with duel end cool tube lights. 3600watt 200 plant vertical grow with pics - 420 Magazine
     
  4. I have used light movers in the past and have recently started using my light mover again. For spacial constraints, it's a big help to more evenly disperse light. I notice more even growth among the plants and I can keep my hood ultimately closer to the tops since it moves back and forth. They are relatively silent. A slight hum when it's moving, and I mean VERY SLIGHT HUM.

    My reasoning for a light mover is simply this: the angles at which the sunlight contacts plants throughout the day is everchanging, therefore, having some sort of light mover will somewhat imitate the motion of changing angles of sunlight as opposed to a stationary lighting source.
     
  5. now this one is thinkin the right way ( the angles ) I always preach this and these angles are the reason that two 400s do me better than one 1000, its the delivery. I always think of a basketball sitting in the middle of the grow area, if you get light to as much of the surface as possible you will see what your optimum positioning is for the light/lights that you are using. but be realistic a 6 ft mover is not a good plan unless you are dedicated to the lighting that you already have. circular movers tend to pay off a bit better by changing the angle of the light without going so far away that the intensity drops. just some ideas I have always used.
     

  6. i am tring to eliminate the need for huge 500 intake /outtake cfm for more lights n cooling . i am simply trying to cover as much ground or plants:p with my single cool tube . i want to be able to set up a 15 - 20 plant flower op with all the supplies i already have xcept maybe another light . n some panda film. i only want to spend 500.00 at most total . so it is not an easy task. the real trick is only using 1500-2000 watts total for 20 plants with all fans n equip. already used up 12-1300 . so it doesnt leave much to work with. my current base supply is my t5 for veg514watt . a 600 watt cooltube ,4 flower . 435 cfm centrafgl 135 watt. window ac unit at least a 100watts. so until i can get a safe design im just going to use my tent . if only they had design books for a small op.:rolleyes:
     
  7. For what you are trying to do, a linear mover is a good idea. If you only want to run one light, there is no question that you'll be able to cover an area with more even light distribution. You'll be able to get more out of your single light source than if it were static.

    guerilla45 is definitely right about it being preferable to have multiple light sources as opposed to one powerful source.

    I disagree about linear movers being a bad idea, and with the assertion that circular movers do a better job.

    Clearly, you'd do best to maximize the amount of light in your grow area, but if you have already done so, adding movers is never a bad idea.

    With regards to the changing light intensity, that can easily be overcome by staggering two or more rails. This way, the lights are always running on opposite ends of the rail so no side is ever in low light.
     
  8. this is the what I would buy (again just my thoughts) this motor is very quiet and eficient. it has a keyway in the rod. the trick is to fashion a custom arm to hang the light from. make it like a propeller with counter weight for balance the blage should be 36 inches extending your range on the 600x by 3ft in width and 3ft in lenth basicly 18 inches all around. it really easy to do and saves you about 200 bucks over a circle. the line style movers are a mess with a tent. these are 130 bucks if you want to know more I'll send some more info. oh, and if you order this model built after 98 it moves faster, so you can be a little closer to the plant.

    View attachment 382327
     

  9. he's in a grow tent...I like the mover Idea with a dedicated light, I'm just sayin that I would'nt plan it that way (with the exception of a circular mover) and the tent is not huge, a 4ft mover needs 6ft minimum with a 600 and venting hanging from it and the venting has to travel all that distance too without crashing stuff. with an 18in off center rotation the vents would only need 18in of extra lenth of travel........you get my idea right, keep the 45degree supply and lumens high as possible
     

  10. Yeah, I hear you. I forgot that he was in a tent. That would definitely make things more difficult.
     
  11. hey FJ have you ever made a prop for the motor I posted or somthing simular? I tell ya for the money it sure is a sweet set up. I'm tying to find an old pic of how I did it but its been a long time so hard tellin'. it seems to me that they hit ya pretty hard for them movers lately, was lookin at the costs, whew.........expensive!!!
     
  12. hey guys thanx for the interest . i am setting up in a garage so i have some room to work with . about 4 times the size of my 5 ft tent. the 2 movers might be the way to cover the whole area without doubt . they were 200 - 300$ last i checked . what did you pay fj? the circular mover sounds good too but wil it work with a cooltube? if i get each light to cover at least 4ft apeice this gives me 8ft x at least 6 ft to fill with only 2 lights evenly. i can fit some plants in that. 2 movers 2 tubes one each way . sounds good . bt i'm open to options
     
  13. yeah it'll work , hang it with a dog leash clip so it turns and the cord and vent dont tangle, the motor I posted is the best in the business imo.
     
  14. damn g i trust ya but i just cant visualize it . i'm not sure how to picture it all set up or anything. ,aybe i'm fried from work but idk what to think of it set up or how its gonna cover the area... i know how they work it just moves in a circle right. but how can i get it to cover 8x8 room? set them on a straight rod about so far apart then the bar would be how far between to overap the light?
     
  15. if the room is 8x8 then the circle of movement only needs to be 4 ft. the light should be between the center of plant area and the wall, ( two ft. off the wall all the way around) then one 600 will do it. with the motor in place in the center, make a 4ft arm with some cheap angle iron or aluminum or whatever and fasten it to the motor like a propeller. hanng the light on one side and add weight to the other untill it balances, on the side that has no light it can be cut shorter and then weight added acordingly. with slinky venting you just leave some slop in the length so that as the motor turns the light goes around but always holds its north/south alignment.

    I'm tryin' but you know how I explain things bro.............I even get frustrated with me!! I gotta find that pic........
     
  16. lol , i have the idea of it i just dont realy know first hand how to do the fastening till i have the machine in my hands . would a 1000 watt econo wing give me peroblems with heat you think ? i could just get one of those for 200.00 and the motor if it wont bake the room. ahh i'l just start with what i have . i just need to picture how to do the ducting with the swival... if only i knew how to draw on my computor i could send or post a pic of design.
     
  17. I can do a little lay out for ya and scan it or something, see if that helps, idk....I'll see what I can find tomarrow morn for ya bro and put it up here.
     
  18. mucho aprciate the time to do that .. i have to work till like 5;30 so i'll catch up with ya then . late g.
     

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