technical dan
Active Member
I got a book shelf the other day that I am going to make into a floro veg cab. the book case is 36 (~90 cm) inches long by 40 (~98 cm) inches high by 12 inches (30 cm) wide. I am going to add an inch or so of depth by adding wood to the edges and then mounting some (some kind maybe fiber board) board on hinges to have split doors that open out. And I will also paint the inside white after putting gorilla tape the corners to keep light from getting out.
My biggest concern with this set up is heat and how to get it out effectively. I am going to have an exhaust somewhere and I was wondering if a ~25-30 cfm computer fan would be able to handle that the cab will be approx 10.5 cubic feet in volume so the fan meets the 5 min air exchange guideline but does anyone know if it will be able to effectively handle the heat from a 110 watt PL-55 - a fixture that runs stretched (rather than curled) cfl lamps. One of those fans does reasonably well as an exhaust in my micro cab with around 140 watts of cfls in it but it is <3 cubic feet.
my next concern is where to put the light and the pots. If I have the space i am also going to try and fit my 50 watt T5 in. My thoughts are that it would be good to take advantage of the fact that heat rises and have my exhaust (to pull heat away from the PL light) near the top of the cab. But this would mean that the pots full of soil, water, and plantys will be sitting on a shelf the entire time - wet pots are heavy which makes me wonder how well will the shelf handle this over time. The other approach would be to have the plants on the bottom and not exert nearly as much force on the shelf since it would be holding the light (assuming I can get both in) this would mean either the exhaust still at the top (so the fan would not pull heat immediately away from the light) or to have a lower exhaust which would be less efficient. Well I guess that makes me lean towards at least a top exhaust no matter what. Thoughts?
And finally with those nice drilled out shelf support holes I could get a pane of glass and put it on one under the light sectioning that off to pull heat away and keep it away from the canopy. I know from reading others' questions about this that certain materials will block some spectrum of light such as UV but I cannot find the threads or remember exactly what materials block what spectrums anybody know? Bc it would be nice to have a "cool plane" for my floro then I would have more room for the other light and blank and such and just general good things.
I will try answer/ clarify any questions or misunderstandings. Thanks for taking a look RIU
My biggest concern with this set up is heat and how to get it out effectively. I am going to have an exhaust somewhere and I was wondering if a ~25-30 cfm computer fan would be able to handle that the cab will be approx 10.5 cubic feet in volume so the fan meets the 5 min air exchange guideline but does anyone know if it will be able to effectively handle the heat from a 110 watt PL-55 - a fixture that runs stretched (rather than curled) cfl lamps. One of those fans does reasonably well as an exhaust in my micro cab with around 140 watts of cfls in it but it is <3 cubic feet.
my next concern is where to put the light and the pots. If I have the space i am also going to try and fit my 50 watt T5 in. My thoughts are that it would be good to take advantage of the fact that heat rises and have my exhaust (to pull heat away from the PL light) near the top of the cab. But this would mean that the pots full of soil, water, and plantys will be sitting on a shelf the entire time - wet pots are heavy which makes me wonder how well will the shelf handle this over time. The other approach would be to have the plants on the bottom and not exert nearly as much force on the shelf since it would be holding the light (assuming I can get both in) this would mean either the exhaust still at the top (so the fan would not pull heat immediately away from the light) or to have a lower exhaust which would be less efficient. Well I guess that makes me lean towards at least a top exhaust no matter what. Thoughts?
And finally with those nice drilled out shelf support holes I could get a pane of glass and put it on one under the light sectioning that off to pull heat away and keep it away from the canopy. I know from reading others' questions about this that certain materials will block some spectrum of light such as UV but I cannot find the threads or remember exactly what materials block what spectrums anybody know? Bc it would be nice to have a "cool plane" for my floro then I would have more room for the other light and blank and such and just general good things.
I will try answer/ clarify any questions or misunderstandings. Thanks for taking a look RIU
