Major Heat Problem

foreverjokker

Active Member
I just recent set up a 250 watt hps system for a 3x4x8 space and it seemed to be doing great. I left my house and when I came back the temp was around 95 F and the bulb and ballast were VERY hot. Im afriad that what ever the ballast is touching will catch fire. How can I low the temp????? I have a large fan blowing on the system and a small fan blowing on the plants. Right now my space is very "bad" because I just set it up fast so that my plants would have light. It is basicly all hanging over the plants with fans pointed up. If anyone has any ideas to lower the temps and not spend alot of money it would be a big help. thank you.
 

panhead

Well-Known Member
The first thing you should do is to change the attitude about not spending any money,i realize that not everybody has the same resources but you need to think in terms of what conditions your plants will thrive in,not what conditions you can make happen with what you have on hand.

Second,any peice of equipment that you presently own or will add later onn should be tested & any isseus like heat should be measured & doccumented before even thinking about installing it in your room.

Heres my advice,get the ballast out of the grow room,it can be done even if it requires drilling or cutting a hole in the wall large enough to fit the power cord through,this will knock atleast 5 degrees off your temps.

Next you need proper ventilation,you must have a way for fresh cool air to be drawn into the room & a way for hot stale air to be pushed out,fresh air should come from floor level & hot air pumped out at ceiling level.

At the bare minimum you are going to need to install an exhaust fan to vent out heat,if the exhaust fan is pushing enough CFM then in such a small space you might be able to get by with just the powered exhaust & install a passive air intake at floor level.

Watch the seeymorebuds video & see how he takes care of ventilation issues to get ideas of how to set up your exhaust/intakes,he streesses many times in his video the importance of air circulation for just such reasons,if your having heat issues now while its cooler outside wait till july when its hot as hell.

You need to correct this issue asap with the right equipment.
 

buster7467

Well-Known Member
Yes i second that. I came into this growing thinking that it would be extremely cheap. But it is not. I use a 250w hps in an area of 22inX31inX5ft tall. And i needed to make a cooltube for the light. I have the ballast in another area. Not in the grow room. And i am using a 6in inline fan ducted outside with a passive intake down low. All this just to keep the temps in the mid seventies. Without the exhaust and cooltube there would be no way that i could grow in there. You really need to get the room in tip top shap before you even start your grow. You can change things as you go like i did but you will wish that you just got everything together and working before you germ some seeds. Good luck.
 
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