In-progress CFL light fixture with pc fan mount

Alrighty, what's up guys? I built some light fixtures a week or so ago, check them out here:


Well, I've been tweaking them a bit to make them more compact, and then I had an idea for mounting a 120mm PC fan to the PVC pipe: SPRINGS! Like those old-timey microphones.


I really like the compact size. The fan runs great, only sound is from the air, so I may get a dimmer. The fans are 80CFM

Then I thought: crap, I hope the fan isn't too close to the CFLs where it would be too hot. What do you guys think?

Anyway, I was thinking: The fan CAN be forced up a little bit, I could probably get some sheet metal and cut out 4 trapezoids to form a hood that spans the edges of the PVC frame to about 1/16" from the fan edges (so it doesn't touch the metal)

so 1) Is the current setup with the fan going to get too hot for the fan or PVC?
2) Should I try and make the hood as described? Any suggestions with this? What about reflector hoods around each bulb also?
3) any other ideas or comments? What do you guys think of this so far?
Thanks!

Holy fuck! that's like MacGuyver shit!

They look very impressive, and the springs are a great touch.

Both the PVC and the fan should be fine, CFLs don't run that hot.

You definitely want a reflective shade, however you want to keep it as close to the bulbs as possible with CFLs. Honestly I think the 80cfm for such small wattage is an overkill, and would be better used to exhaust via a carbon scrubber (unless smell isn't an issue). Either way, 1 80cfm should be able to keep your 8 CFLs cool enough.. So make another two and use the spare fan for them . If this is your prototype, I'm sure you can whip up something great.

Oh I will be getting an S&P TD-125 for my actual exhaust, and these pc fans will be on a dimmer, probably at about 50% speed to keep noise down, in which case I will have one fan on each of the 2 fixtures. I think the other PC fan will be used for circulation/plant strengthening. I should have mentioned this in my post!
The S&P on low should be perfect for my needs and super super quiet, I hear great things about them

Yeah, I think I will go for the reflectors AND the hood as I described, it shouldn't be too hard to do. Yes this is a prototype, but the final two won't be too far off than this, I think

Oh P.S. what kind of metal should I make the vent hood out of? What about the bulb reflectors? Will any shiny sheets of metal do?