Hi,
i had some probs with my veg tent, with temps and fear of light leaks effecting my flower room, probs over catious but for a quick fix till i get everything sorted, will this box do for my clones.
ive made it from a cardboard box, some energy saving lights, a pc fan and lots of duct tape, oh and some carbon filter cooker material.

heres some pics.

please let me know wat u think

as long as those lamps aren't too hot on the cardboard and it's only temp

the temps are from 22 - 25deg, and it doesnt seem too hot, using a oil rad next to it to keep temps up, and it'll be for a few days or till friday latest, that sound ok?

e2a: i may make a box out of wood similar to this as i quite like the look of it and will do for clones and seeds, without having to use my 250w enviro

i've seen veg box's on here before, as long as the temps around the light holes are ok then sound, it'll work fine for now

i have seen (and made ) a lot worse ones in the past as a "get me out off the shit" type thing

ok thanks for the replys, just needed to know if was ok for its needs, and ive just checked the box and cant feel any heat at all round the lights so should be ok, its my first time taking clones too so really want this to work after i had em under the envrio over 30deg all night, so stressed em already



thx

dan

Hi all

1st post here, long-time lurker - absolutely seduced by all this talk of cheap lighting via energy-saving bulbs, and I'm ready to give it a crack myself...]

It's just some very basic electrical stuff which I'm unsure about..

For example, I've read somewhere else that cfls are not to be wired in series- but I notice from your pictures above this seems to be what you have done. This is ok then? That would suit me to a tee as, to be honest, it's a long time since CDT. Please forgive my ignorance, but would parallel just mean a separate wire coming from each of the pos/neg terminals for each bulb?

the other real question for me is: can I run say, 5/6 energy savers all off one plug? and can it be a standard 13amp socket and wire?

Again, sorry for being dumb, I'm not as stupid as I sound, just a bit rusty on the old electronics projects

Thanks in advance for any advice

Not sure on whether or not CFL's should be wired in series or not, but in answer to your parallel wiring Q, you basically group all of the positives into one wire, and then same thing with the negatives.

As long as the cables and fuses you are using are suitable for the ampage being pulled, it should be fine.

Just bear in mind, the more lamps you connect in this way, the lower the resistance, and the higher the ampage (ie Volts = Amps X Resistance).
For example, 2 electrical circuits wired in parallel will be 1/2 the resistance, and twice the amps. So 6 lights should be 6 times the amps.

I think CFL's draw a surge of electric when they turn on though, so watch out for that too I guess


Hope this helps some.


Jimbo

Hey Jimbo

Thanks very much for the reply mate, I admit through the haze the principles of parallel wiring had started to come back to me, but you have confirmed my suspicions, thank you.

I guess my only remaining question now is what kind of cable to use and what ampage plug to use...

as soon as I've worked that out I'll be down B&Q faster than you can say "what do you mean 'what do I need it for?'?"

i dont know whether its ok to wire them in series or not, i copied the wiring from somewhere else so presumed it was ok,hope it is.


dan

Parallel guys. not series.
Click to view attachment

Welcome to uk420 fubar Check this thread out: http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?show...020&hl=fuse

Thats the one that got my juices going and convinced me with a bit of DIY and a few quid I could make my own light rig! I have the parts but I'm worried it could take me a while, wiring a plug onto my extraction fan last night took an embarassingly long time

Keep reading and get as much info as you can, and you will soon be on your way to being a pro gardener! Good luck

Hey, thanks very much Bu...Bu....Bum...no, I can't say it at this time in the morning....maybe later...

It's all kind of falling into place right now, I'm pretty excited about it actually - thought there was no point to all this unless i was gonna shell out for a heavy/hot 400w hps....

Thanks for the link to that thread, I had stumbled across it briefly before settling on this one, but have now read it in full on your recommendation, so thanks.

All I need to do now is find the bulbs really, having trouble located some 'cool white' ones...but sure they'll turn up with trip to one of the larger supermarkets/diy stores...

I'll keep you posted, and thanks to you both for the help

humiditys a problem in a cardboard box

yeah thats how i wired them, hope thats ok, had no probs as yet.

and ive got a prop in the box to raise the humidity, but its a cheap one an dunt seem to be doin alot, could be the carboard like ya say.


dan

THanks Danlad - I'm getting there...

Just wondering, what ratio cool:warm white bulbs do you use? different for flowering and vegging?

The cool white ones definitely seem to be harder to get hold of/more expensive even

THanks Danlad - I'm getting there...

Just wondering, what ratio cool:warm white bulbs do you use? different for flowering and vegging?

The cool white ones definitely seem to be harder to get hold of/more expensive even

Ok, sorry - I should have looked a little harder

yeah its just normal energy savers, not sure if i should use different ones or not like. only using 2 of them as it was gettin abit hot.

if your wanting abit of info for growin an flowerin in a mini box with energy type lights click this link http://www.uk420.com/boards/index.php?show...1536&st=260



dan

shit me,i wouldn`t want to be asleep with it on,no disrespect but youre drying out the cardboard,eventuallyit`ll become a tinder box!

no disrespect taken, i know its not ideal and dont advise anyone to do the same if its not safe, my post was just to see if it was ok to use only temp, so i could save my clones till i got summet better sorted, like the same type of design but made out of wood. i checked it a few times a day, an was only on a few hours when i went to sleep. but saying that, it doesnt take long for a fire to start.


dan

Ok - one more dumb electrical question...

I'm hoping to cannabilise a cable from a floor standing lamp, the lamp contains one standard bayonet fitting and another "reflector" type fitting

Can i use this cable to power 6x23w energy savers? the cable runs off only a 3 amp plug and is pretty thin...accordingly to my trusty online elec calculator, a 3 amp plug will handle a lot more than that but I guess I need to hear it from a voice of experience...

Keen to crack on with this and start growing, and get some pics up too

Thanks anyone in advance

id go with 13A cable to be on the safe side

Hi all,

The idea is very practical, but when it comes to safety it is really not the best. And cardboard is not the best for growing, any drops or leak and you know it.

Nice job mate and good luck.

Dr