400w or 250w? Cabinet

tempelton27

tempelton27

Active Member
Hey all Happy New Year! well anyway I let a friend borrow my 400w and the ballast went out. I was looking to get a new ballast because i just acquired some new grow space! It's a lil tight but Im using a Sterilite 4 shelf cabinet from wal-mart ( http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8206253#ProductDetail ). Measures approximately 25-3/4" L x 19" W x 69-1/2" H. I'm going to use a DIY hurricane colltube setup hooked up to a 200cfm s&p 5" outake fan. OPEN--> COOLTUBE-->CARBON FILTER-->FAN. Do you think this will be enough ventilation to keep it cool with a remote 400w.Oh ya its fukin cold where i am(like 10f) but inside its like 60 to 75f my heater keeps going out so this box will also be my room heater. :-P.Its not gunna be cold all year tho so i dont want to run into probs later.
im kinda low on cash so i dont wanna buy the 400w and have to get the 250w later cuz it was tooo much.
 
hazyintentions

hazyintentions

Well-Known Member
tempelton27 said:
Hey all Happy New Year! well anyway I let a friend borrow my 400w and the ballast went out. I was looking to get a new ballast because i just acquired some new grow space! It's a lil tight but Im using a Sterilite 4 shelf cabinet from wal-mart ( http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8206253#ProductDetail ). Measures approximately 25-3/4" L x 19" W x 69-1/2" H. I'm going to use a DIY hurricane colltube setup hooked up to a 200cfm s&p 5" outake fan. OPEN--> COOLTUBE-->CARBON FILTER-->FAN. Do you think this will be enough ventilation to keep it cool with a remote 400w.Oh ya its fukin cold where i am(like 10f) but inside its like 60 to 75f my heater keeps going out so this box will also be my room heater. :-P.Its not gunna be cold all year tho so i dont want to run into probs later.
im kinda low on cash so i dont wanna buy the 400w and have to get the 250w later cuz it was tooo much.
Click to expand...

General rule of thumb has always been more wattage = bigger yields

I have a 250w HPS in a 24"x24"x48" cabinet and without any ventilation temps would hit ~100 in 60 F ambient temps.

If that helps, as it stands now with about 120 CFM worth of ventilation I can heat my room (~450 sq. ft.) and temps stay at about 82 F with a 9" fan in the cab.

With 400w you should be fine in the colder weather but during summer months I'd say keeping the A/C set to 72~71 would be best to avoid any major mishaps.

If 400 isn't too much more than a 250w ballast go for it. The enclosure is small though so I'd give it extra attention until you know how it'll behave.
 
tempelton27

tempelton27

Active Member
hazyintentions said:
General rule of thumb has always been more wattage = bigger yields

I have a 250w HPS in a 24"x24"x48" cabinet and without any ventilation temps would hit ~100 in 60 F ambient temps.

If that helps, as it stands now with about 120 CFM worth of ventilation I can heat my room (~450 sq. ft.) and temps stay at about 82 F with a 9" fan in the cab.

With 400w you should be fine in the colder weather but during summer months I'd say keeping the A/C set to 72~71 would be best to avoid any major mishaps.

If 400 isn't too much more than a 250w ballast go for it. The enclosure is small though so I'd give it extra attention until you know how it'll behave.
Click to expand...

thank you for your input. i really want the 400w but i think ill be better off with 1 250w or 2 150w's. errr. damn small spaces. i still kinda dont know.
 
Bigol'Bong

Bigol'Bong

Well-Known Member
yo could always just get a smaller one and add come CFL's into the box to give additional lighting, and then if its too hot just take out the CFL's
 
M

mikeohle

Member
I'm not sure what will work for you, but for reference sake, I have a 400w in a 22"x30" cabinet and it hovers about 4 degrees above ambient.
 
REFRIGINATOR

REFRIGINATOR

Active Member
I've got a 400 in a fridge. The glass on the reflector is pretty hot, but it's not noticeably warmer in there than when I had a 250 watt bulb.

Get the 400 watt. You should be all set with the cool tube and the fan. I use one of those 6" inline fans from Home Depot and even that crappy fan moves enough air to keep it comfortable in there.
 
tempelton27

tempelton27

Active Member
i think i should be good with a 400w considering im using almost all the space for flowering( little space left over is for clones). I was thinkin about building the ballast from a kit and mounting in a grounded box. anybody know where to get a good cheap ballast box? OR maybe just a cheap ballast?
 
hazyintentions

hazyintentions

Well-Known Member
tempelton27 said:
i think i should be good with a 400w considering im using almost all the space for flowering( little space left over is for clones). I was thinkin about building the ballast from a kit and mounting in a grounded box. anybody know where to get a good cheap ballast box? OR maybe just a cheap ballast?
Click to expand...

What kind of budget are you talking? HTG supply has great prices, I got a complete 250w HPS set up shipped for $140. Pretty good imo. Not sure if you can get just ballast parts but I wouldn't doubt it.

If you just want a ballast box grab a big "new work" gang box or something of that sort from Home Depot/Lowes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top