CFL Advantages....

[Gank]

So here I am waked and baked, thinking of my CFL build coming up. Just a couple of questions....Do you need exhaust fans being there is hardly any heat, or do I still need one for smell? If yes where is the best place to vent out? How many lights for a box 4 ft. sq. x 8 ft. tall? Max plants per that area? Reps to all that answers...with a legit answer not some smartass.

 

[jesus of Cannabis]

vent fo rthe smell, CFL dont have a huge heat output. I exhaust mine thru a window and it goes outside between a shed and the house. I have a 5ft box and grew 12 last harvest, but that was with HPS and I veg with my T5 CFL's.

 

[LeeroySlim]

you need air fresh air coming and the old aire going out, so the plants have a constant flow of new Co2. u can seal it and add Co2 yourself, but CFL's are not strong enough to benifit the extra Co2. venting is best at the top of your grow room as heat rises so it sucks out the hottest part of your room.

the number of plants will depend on how long u veg for and overall hight, if u will Scrog or SOG or LST, or top etc. there are too many factors to no this question

 

[Gank]

cool. Rep to ya.

 

[ghb]

you need and intake an exhaust.
the intake should be less powerful than the exhaust.
the intake should be at the bottom of the cab.
the exhaust should be at the top of the cab.
you will need a carbon filter for the exhaust.
in a box that size you could use up to 36 cfls depending on how many plants, how big they are, what power the bulbs are,spectrum etc.


these points are all my own opinion, in a space this size i think cfls are pointless use either a hps400w or mh 400w.

 

[shovit]

Many people assumes that CFL doesn't produce heat but that's all wrong. 150w HPS and 150w CFL produces THE same amount of heat but HPS has higher efficiency thus making more light/w. The problem with HPS is that it produces tons of IR heat that goes thru glass making it hard to control the temperature in small spaces. CFL makes much less IR therefore more suited for small spaces.

You want to exchange the air atleast once every minute. 2x2x8 = 32cft, 32cfm fan is enough but probably loss in pressure and faked numbers by the manufacturer so I recommend a 50-60cfm pc fan. If you going to use carbonfilter I suggest using a 38mm thick pc fan because of the higher pressure. It doesn't hurt to use stronger fans but that makes everything more noisy.

Also I assume you meant 2x2ft floorspace?

 

[matticus408]

shovit is mostly correct. I just moved from one grow room to another in my house. I currently use about 500 watts CFL and let me tell you. its a huge difference in room temperature. It use to be my office space and it never, ever got that hot in there. I don't know exactly temperature wise because i dont really monitor it but id say its at least 8 to 9 degrees F.

 

[faderharley]

My grow room never got above 85 degrees, thats using 10 large CFLs
I used a couple small fans

 

[Gank]

Many people assumes that CFL doesn't produce heat but that's all wrong. 150w HPS and 150w CFL produces THE same amount of heat but HPS has higher efficiency thus making more light/w. The problem with HPS is that it produces tons of IR heat that goes thru glass making it hard to control the temperature in small spaces. CFL makes much less IR therefore more suited for small spaces.

You want to exchange the air atleast once every minute. 2x2x8 = 32cft, 32cfm fan is enough but probably loss in pressure and faked numbers by the manufacturer so I recommend a 50-60cfm pc fan. If you going to use carbonfilter I suggest using a 38mm thick pc fan because of the higher pressure. It doesn't hurt to use stronger fans but that makes everything more noisy.

Also I assume you meant 2x2ft floorspace?

I am building out of 4 sheets of 4x8 plywood 4 ft.square x 8 ft. tall.

 

[methias]

For odor control I use a carbon scrubber that I found how to build here https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/101248-best-diy-ez-walmart-carbon.html.
I have no odor outside my cabinet but when I open it up a blind guy could tell what I'm growing from outside.
I use an inline Fantech fan to pull air through the scrubber and exhaust out of the cabinet. I filter the incoming air to help prevent bugs from getting in.
Since I got rid of the borg I have had no critter issues. I have 1 clone, 2 seedlings and a clipping from my clone that I am trying to clone to keep the strain going. I set the scrubber up high to exhaust the hottest air and I even set up a cooling system of sorts that keeps the cabinet below 93 on the hottest days.

Hope this helps

 

[jAKEs BAKeD]

i see you have mutipul plants in one planter im doing the same, i have 20 plants in one 10 gallon planter did you have a pronlem with root bond?

 

[ghb]

let me just say to all the people bitching about the heat that comes from cfls.

if you buy the proper growing cfl's they do not give off virtually any heat. iam not talking about the ones you guys buy from home depot that are supposed to be used for reading your book at night time, i mean big 150w true output ones like you buy in a hydro store. i leave mine on 24/7 and i can always pick it up and it only feels warm at most. i have 4 23w ones i bought from diy shop, they get hot as hell.