1000watt in a 4x4 heat issues

FCSoldier

Well-Known Member
I just got a 1000watt MH with a switchable ballast.(don't have the money for a HPS bulb right now) I want to use it in my 4x4 grow area...(1000watt should be in a 8x8 I believe) so the problem I'm gonna have is heat. I set it up in my room last night(without ventilation) it was a little over 110 degrees. (70 degrees in my garage)

The question I have is even with ventilation am I going to be able to keep my heat down? Summers coming up, I grow in my garage which is not insulated.(gets up to 100 degrees at peak hours in my garage on average for summer) I know my lights will probably have to be on at night, just wondering if anyone has grown in a similar setup, and how did you deal with the heat?
 

usualsuspect

Active Member
Hate to say, but if you can't keep the ambient room temps around you goal temp then yes it will be hella hard to keep it cool as you'd like. That said, if you run a sealed hood, and a kick ass fan, you should at least be able to divert the hot air from the lamp to the attic or source outside the garage. You're problem will still be keeping the room at temps below 85 when the rest of your garage is at 90-100 even when 80-90 at night it will still be a task to keep any residual heat from the lamp to not heat it up even more.

Can you completely seal the box and run an AC duct from the house to the box? You might be able to work something out that way... Maybe run one to the box, put a y shape diverter, send one to the fan/hood/light and out to the attic and run the other side of the y to the bottom of the box for cool fresh air? Or just run one AC duct to the bottom of the box for cool air, and use one end of the hood open/carbon filter and the fan can pull in the cooler fresh AC air, across the light and into the attic? Not sure if that would be enough air flow to cool the lamp sufficiently but that depends on the fan. Good luck!
 

FCSoldier

Well-Known Member
thanks for the advice, I put a couple small fans in today, staying at about 90, garage temp is around the same(I have to leave the door to the room half open...(venting isn't positioned right yet)Box is light tight when the door is closed. I am thinking of using a small window a/c I have laying around I just have to cut and get supports. the room is about 8 ft tall, so that helps a little. the temps I've been taking are coming from about 1 foot to the side and a couple inches lower than the bulb...I am going to set up a few more thermostats in there(obviously one at canopy level) I have the light 18 inches from the plants right now and the heat from the light at that range doesn't feel to hot.

I would take your advice on running a duct from my existing a/c, but my garage is about 50x30(grow room in the way back) and my house is about another 10 ft from the garage. Lots of duct, and don't think much would reach it...
 

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wonderblunder

Well-Known Member
Hey, right now I am running my 1000w HPS in a 4X4X6 space. I am using all bootleg fans and keeping temps at 75 to 78. I am using (1) 8 inch fan from a bathroom vent, at my construction resale store. I also had a window fan that had 2 8" fans and you can control the direction the fan is going. I am using a large 2400cfm box type fan ($20 at walmart) to circulate and boost the exhaust fans a bit. I made sure to keep a good airflow in between the canopy and the light. THe 1000w hps is NOT aircooled by any means. I wish I had the money to aircool it.

There are pics of my setup in the link in my sig. The 1000w is now where the large parabolic reflector is now.
 

wonderblunder

Well-Known Member
Bummer the garage is that hot. Maybe a small window unit could be built in to the grow room or the garage with a vent. I have a 10,000 BTU AC in the room outside the 4X4 area the 1k is in
 
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