t5 way too hot

H

Heresmokethis

Member
Heard t5's were cheaper and cooler. Went to home depot got a 4ft 4bulb HIGH OUTPUT fixture. got it home.......BAM!!! 95 degrees....hot to the touch....wtf?!?!?!?! Everybody talking about 1 or 2 inches from the plant????? Serious? That would burn the shit outta them. What should I do folks? 54 watt bulbs....200000 lumens. My 600 watt metal halide shot the temp up to 95 also..which means literally, this thing is NO COOLER ...AT ALL. NOT ONE LITTLE BIT. Any words of advice? I can use just 2 bulbs but thats not why I bought it. When I had this problem with the metal halide everyone said, point a fan at it....I did that....IT LITERALLY DIDNT DROP 1 SINGLE DEGREE. Just once I would like some reliable advice from an internet forum.
 
H

Heresmokethis

Member
So let me describe...... grow tent all zipped up in laundry room with full ducting and exhaust out the window...laundry room is only 12 x 12 ....is that enough exaust. I have the t5 just hanging open in the room near the tent ....no fans, no way to cool the fixture..ballast is in light....does this change anything?
 
HotShot7414

HotShot7414

Well-Known Member
Fans don't cool air they just move it,my room gets about that hot with my 400W MH and a lil cooler with the 400w HPS and my plants are about 4-6 inches away
from the light but since the fan is blowing over them and the air is not stagnant they don't burn.Kinda like putting your hand in a oven it burns,but if you put it in
for 1 second and move it away it won't burn.Couldn't think of a better example but I'm sure you get it?
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
no it wont be worthless. but you need some air movement on the light or of course it gonna build up heat honestly i like to keep my t5 about 6 inches away the growth isnt as thick but they will still grow just fine.
 
vilify

vilify

Well-Known Member
are you sure you got a t5?

i run 6bulb ho t5 in veg. plants can get burned if they touch the bulbs, but have had them inches away and be fine.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
and know thats not enough exhaust, it may be enough for the tent to cool properly but its not directly pulling air from the light its just pulling air from the room. if you wanted to cool the whole 12x12 thus keeping the light cool youll need a way bigger fan.
 
H

Heresmokethis

Member
Also how many of the 4 bulbs would you use for seedlings? Really doing this just to get the plant started and vegged to about a foot...then into the halide. Sorry for double post.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
huh? seedlings i dont know if would use t5 for seedling i mean you can grow as many seedling as you can fit under the light, thats an odd question, its just a matter of light temp and moisture as long as those are ideal doesnt matter what light(for the most part) you under itll grow...

as far as me having a t5. i do have a journal and it is show 6 bulb tek light with 2 built in fans and a 12" oscillating fan blowing across it.
 
HotShot7414

HotShot7414

Well-Known Member
Try adding an extra fan,the lower fan the cooler the air.I use 1 fan to blow plants and 1 to move cool air up.
 
H

Heresmokethis

Member
polyarcturus said:
huh? seedlings i dont know if would use t5 for seedling i mean you can grow as many seedling as you can fit under the light, thats an odd question, its just a matter of light temp and moisture as long as those are ideal doesnt matter what light(for the most part) you under itll grow...

as far as me having a t5. i do have a journal and it is show 6 bulb tek light with 2 built in fans and a 12" oscillating fan blowing across it.
Click to expand...
Forgive me for not being more clear. What I mean is, It has 4 bulbs and I can run 1, 2, 3 or all 4 bulbs....it gets hotter, and brighter the more I use ...sooooo......since seedlings are so fragile...should I leave only 1 bulb in and run it? maybe 2 bulbs? Heard to much light is bad for seedlings.....Thx.
 
polyarcturus

polyarcturus

Well-Known Member
yeah one bulb is fine and too much light can be a bad thing at first but thats a hard line to call often. strains react differently
 
Cookie_rookie

Cookie_rookie

Well-Known Member
I know this is old,
But I'm running into the same problem.
Had t12 shop lights, with decent success for vegging,
Everyone told me get t5s
You'll get stronger faster growth
So I order em
Hang em up and expect to be able to put em An inch or two above my plants, nope burned The shit outta the tops.


Everyone says you can have t5s close
BS

So if I have it about 13-14 inches always from plants, because that's the only place I can have it

Are they gonna get all stretching and shitty?
 
bbyb420

bbyb420

Well-Known Member
Cookie_rookie said:
I know this is old,
But I'm running into the same problem.
Had t12 shop lights, with decent success for vegging,
Everyone told me get t5s
You'll get stronger faster growth
So I order em
Hang em up and expect to be able to put em An inch or two above my plants, nope burned The shit outta the tops.


Everyone says you can have t5s close
BS

So if I have it about 13-14 inches always from plants, because that's the only place I can have it

Are they gonna get all stretching and shitty?
Click to expand...
You need to have a small clip on fan blowing across the tops of the plants otherwise they will just sit there baking under it. I have 2 sets of 4 bulb t5 lights and i have 2 small fans constantly blowing on the tops of the plants and the temperature stays at around 75-80.

http://www.amazon.com/Active-Air-Clip-On-Fan/dp/B005HTI6ZA This is the one I got from my local hydro store, works perfect. I have a PVC pipe frame around my plants for clipping on fans, supplemental CFLs, etc.
 
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