Fridge and LED spotlight

Gday all,

I normally grow outside.

Has been a very miserable day today and i was mucking around in the shed when i came across a LED floodlight (http://au.renesola.com/product/LED/LED FLOODLIGHTS/Riva LED Floodlight) I was going to put on the deck but got sidetracked. I then started to eye off an old fridge i had stripped the internals off to make into an esky (cooler) but got side tracked..

Sooo, I wired up the spotlight , (20w, 1500 lumens, 4000 color spectrum- cool white) into the top freezer compartment of the fridge. I was thinking i could use it to sprout and start vegging.

I relase its probably not the best light spectrum, etc, but it gave me something to do for an hr and should work OK i guess.

Q. What distances should the plant be from the light source ? I can hold my hand pretty damn close to the light without discomfort. Is that a good enough indicator?

Q If i get bored again (its ment to rain again tomorrow) and I buy an LED spotlight for the fridge compartment (for flowering) what Lumens and color spectrum should i look at?

Not looking at doing anything to serious, just a bit of off season mucking around.

Any thoughts, answers and opinions welcomed.

Cheers.

Lucky Luke said:

Gday all,

I normally grow outside.

Has been a very miserable day today and i was mucking around in the shed when i came across a LED floodlight i was going to put on the deck but got sidetracked. I then started to eye off an old fridge i had stripped the internals off to make into an esky (cooler) but got side tracked..

Sooo, I wired up the spotlight , (20w, 1500 lumens, 4000 color spectrum) into the top freezer compartment of the fridge. I was thinking i could use it to sprout and start vegging.

I relase its probably not the best light spectrum, etc, but it gave me something to do for an hr and should work OK i guess.

Q. What distances should the plant be from the light source ? I can hold my hand pretty damn close to the light without discomfort. Is that a good enough indicator?

Q If i get bored again (its ment to rain again tomorrow) and I buy an LED spotlight for the fridge compartment (for flowering) what Lumens and color spectrum should i look at?

Not looking at doing anything to serious, just a bit of off season mucking around.

Any thoughts, answers and opinions welcomed.

Cheers.

Click to expand...

It'd be a waste of time. If you wanna grow anything even half worthy of smoking, you'd need at least 1 cxb3590. Plus you havent gotten any ventilation Goin on in thurr.

I dont think that would fit..lol. And not going to spend much money on this project.

I dont need any smoko. Im sweet till this time next year on that front.

So it wont work at all you dont think?

Lucky Luke said:

I dont think that would fit..lol. And not going to spend much money on this project.

I dont need any smoko. Im sweet till this time next year on that front.

So it wont work at all you dont think?

Click to expand...

I mean it might? But you won't be able to flower anything worth 2 shits, no.

Hello,

Sorry to hear the weather has got you indoors mucking about with old fridges. I have seen folks grow plants with chinese flood lights before. Hell I even used one a few years ago on a planted aquarium.

There are quite a few videos on youtube on this very subject. I am not sure how big the fridges are downunder but there is nothing stopping you giving it a go.
Starting a few seeds does not take a whole lot of light or space. If you decide to flower do it early and keep em small. Back in the day people were rocking with T12 fluorescents. Scrog one plant see how you get on. You will be short on photons for flowering maybe get your hands on a higher wattage flood light. Warm white is better for flowering. 4000k is good but you need the lumens higher.

Edit* added more content

My opinion is go for it. What have you got to lose mate? If might even get you interested in exploring this LED lark proper like.

Cheers,
Will

I grabbed 3 mystery seeds and some seed raising mix an put em under the light.

I'll see if they sprout. If they do i'll see how they veg and keep em short and bushy.

If that works ill grab a more suited flowing light and use the lower (and larger) Part of the fridge to handle the stretch and flower.

Be a fun little project.

If it doesnt work at all then im only down one hours labor and 3 seeds of questionable heritage..

Perfect project for a rainy day eh.
Living in Old Blighty we have lots of rainy days so I have lots of projects on the go.

Is there still a strain in your neck of the woods called Bronze whaler?I got some seeds from a bloke called Mullumbimby Madness on a seed swap forum back in the 90's. He use to post photos of some of the monster trees folks were growing outside down under.

Cheers,
Will

Mullumbimy madness..the king, the tree, the hugeness of this Sativa. Very hard to find (close to impossable id venture to say.) 15 plus pounds per plant fairly easy ive heard.
I did come across this grow journal when i was trying to find some seeds. https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=175243. maybe grab a wine and have a read..

I havent heard of Bronze whaler but allot of our strains are fairly specific to region.

[QUOTE="Airwalker16, post: 1276437\ Plus you havent gotten any ventilation Goin on in thurr.[/QUOTE]

I just re read ur post. Ventilation......There is some going on naturally due to drain hole at the bottom of the fridge and a hole (thats fairly light proof) at the top where my power cable comes in from.. but your right theres not allot. If the seeds sprout its something ill have to get onto......Ill need to take some temp readings.

I like the idea of using the old hot air rises science thing....and maybe a small fan to assist that......

I would recommend actively moving air. Passive would lead to trouble. Active exhaust and passive intakes from the bottom would do. Cheap bathroom extractor fan is better than a poke in the eye if you're on a budget. Maybe a computer fan with an old phone charger to circulate the air inside the fridge. The fridge will be insulated and heat would build up quickly. Sounds like a fun little project, get her up and running and post some photos. That link to them photos was brilliant just how I remembered it from the 90's. Couple of them bloody monsters would see anybody right for a year or two.

Best of luck to you mate.

Cheers,
Will

Rained again today..and some snow flurries...

I put in a 110mil extractor fan. Dont need it as yet as the temp is around 20C (68F) in the fridge with light on.

I also moved the light to the main part of the fridge.

The freezer section holds the extractor fan, wiring, etc. Due to the channels running from fridge to freezer it draws air nicely from the fridge compartment and doesnt show light from around the extract fan. So thats a win. May need to create a larger passive air intake as the positive pressure is fairly high. I have some water hose from an old dishwasher and i may use that.

Hey Lucky,
You do realise that you have just taken your first tentative peek down the rabbit hole. It all starts somewhere. Soon your rainy day project becomes a worthy pastime until the return of Spring has you out in the bush with your monster plants again. If you have any questions along the way I will be happy to help in whichever way I can. If I do not know the answer I will know who to ask.
Cheers,
Will

Haha..I have grown under lights before but that was 20 odd years ago. Turned out OK from what i recall. The buzzing from the ballast and the light leaking from around the cardboard walls use to keep me up for hours...lol Ahh dear..amazing it worked at all!

I'm having fun so far. Its an interesting little project. Thank you for your words and advice so far.

I'll be on the lookout for more Lumens. Ment to rain again tomorrow.....

Yeah it'll work, for an area of about 1 square foot max, so should be fine for a few seedlings. For distance, hard to say, probably start off at about 18" to be on the safe side.

Airwalker16 said:

It'd be a waste of time. If you wanna grow anything even half worthy of smoking, you'd need at least 1 cxb3590. Plus you havent gotten any ventilation Goin on in thurr.

Click to expand...

So are all you cobsnobs really recommending CXB3590 for applications where there will be less than 12" between the cob and the top of the plant?

Not all of us. I have recommended lights of America 4' shoplight and Redbird led 4' strip-it kits for over a year for all start to teens and possibly bigger.

OneHitDone said:

So are all you cobsnobs really recommending CXB3590 for applications where there will be less than 12" between the cob and the top of the plant?

Click to expand...

All of who?! one person from what I can see. Lose the chip on the shoulder dude and relax. Peace

Thought I would attach some pics to get an idea of space etc. And to maybe help anyone else who go's down the fridge path. Dimensions of the lower fridge section (the grow room) are 1000mm x 600mm x 500mm. (39 inches x 23.5 inches x 19.5 inches approx)

I Do need to add another air intake in the bottom as neg air pressure is still to high.Maybe two more..Using a foam filter on the end from a car wash sponge. Nothing says Heppa like a sponge....

As you can see ive added a fan to the fridge. Runs on a USB outlet located in the freezer.

Excuse the mess..I really do need to clean up the shed. (that is the tidy side...lol)

I really do need some good advice on canopy distance?

Due to the size of the grow room..do i need more light?

Lucky Luke said:

I really do need some good advice on canopy distance?

Due to the size of the grow room..do i need more light?

Click to expand...

Your lower fridge grow space is around 3.21 sq ft. If you wish to flower in that space you will need more light. If you intend to raise a few seedlings to get a head start for your outdoor grows you can but as they mature you will need more light.

As far as distance goes hang the flood with some jack chain or whatever you have that suits and get it as close as you can once the seedlings have their first true leaves. If they show sign of stress back it off a bit at a time. You could throw some CFL bulbs in there to increase your lumens. In the not too distance future we will stop using lumens and progress to PAR watts but lets keep things basic for now eh.

I am not used to shopping in your neck of the woods but you are pretty close to China so there must be some cheap fixtures about.

http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_odkw=compact+flourescent&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xcompact+flourescent+grow+light.TRS0&_nkw=compact+flourescent+grow+light&_sacat=0

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/10W-20W-50W-100W-150W-200W-LED-Flood-light-RGB-Or-PIR-Motion-SensorGarden-Lamp-/252321932533?var=&hash=item3abf8f24f5:m:mzc_qsG3U-TMxUc4OAoXeag

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Hydro24-T5-2-feet-4-tube-24w-Grow-Light-aluminium-reflector-4-Propagation-6500k/261539765098?_trksid=p2045573.c100034.m2102&_trkparms=aid=555012&algo=PW.MBE&ao=2&asc=20140410092834&meid=ae3584b9ec054f0498bf0021bd32be1a&pid=100034&rk=7&rkt=8&sd=351684525106

Also maybe have a look at this Bloke's website or even better get in touch with him. He is also on this forum under the username @welight. Seems a nice fellow and knows his LEDs for sure. I think he may have started out as a torch/flashlight nerd and then collaborated with another member here @Growmau5 to offer some interesting DIY options for new initiates. He is also a stones throw from you I would wager.

cutter.com.au/categories.php

Also threads like yours are great, I enjoy chatting with guys doing their own thing and seeing how they get on. This type of thread will also attract a certain amount of bickering but just put your wellies on and wade through the muck until you find the answers you need.

Cheers,
Will