Fitting a 400 watt HPS into rubbermaid bin?????!?!? (+Rep for good advice)

jr22hockey

Well-Known Member
So I'm growing 4 plants right now under 327 watts of mixed spectrum CFL but my friends has a 400 watt HPS lying around that I could use if I gave him a few nugs at the end. I have a LOT of light with the CFL's, but I know the 400watt HPS would make much more, denser, and better nugs.

I have 2 computer fans venting my rubbermaid bin, each pushing about 60 CFM's.

Could I fit the HPS inside my rubbermaid bin setup (its one on top of the other) or would it be too hot??????

Also, what if I put a 250 watt HPS bulb in the 400 watt fixture? Would the temperatures be much lower?

Help> What should I do?
 

max316420

Well-Known Member
it would melt the plastic bin and if you try and put a 250 watt bulb in a 400 watt ballast you will either blow the bulb, ballast or might even burn your house down, but if there is any way you could use the 400 watter your budz will be much fatter.
 

MuppetMan1989

Active Member
Check my journal out man, I've got a 400 watt hps in 2 35gal rubber maids and 1 dual exhaust fan built in.
and dont mix and match bulbs with different ballest watts.
 

pinxpointxpupil

Active Member
If your issue is heat and space, it sounds like you need to stack another tub on top in order to give yourself enough distance from your budz so it doesn't burn that shit.

Doesn't sound like a good idea to be mix matching ballasts and bulbs, sounds like a fire haha.

But you CAN put fatter watt CFLs on a normal bulb outlets or whatever right????
I finna upgrade to 65 (or 68, whatever) watt bulbs when my baby matures a bit...
 

MuppetMan1989

Active Member
I don't have any issues what so ever with heat. Everything is running just perfect! =] 68 Watts the way to go if you don't got the $. Just make sure if you wanna flower with those have a few of them to get a good yield and some denser buds, the lower wattage cfls will give you super fluffy buds, but.... it also just depends on were you locate the lights.

One Love and happy growing
 

pinxpointxpupil

Active Member
yeah that shouldnt be a problem i have a shit load of cfls and im planning on replacing a few of them with higer wattage ones
 

Dirtfree

Well-Known Member
You are going to come home to fireman asking what this melted ball of plastic in your closet is all about. A HPS will need ample room and proper ventilation. Dont burn your house down!
 

pinxpointxpupil

Active Member
muppet man is your HPS one of those cool tubes or whatever? cuz i feel like a 400watt hps on for 12 hours straight would get pretty damn hot, unless you got some really bomb vents.
 

MuppetMan1989

Active Member
muppet man is your HPS one of those cool tubes or whatever? cuz i feel like a 400watt hps on for 12 hours straight would get pretty damn hot, unless you got some really bomb vents.
Nah man I just got a simple 400 watt HPS from HTG Supply. This is how mines set up.
it stay perfectly cool with all my ventilation going. and if the rooms hot Just turn the air conditioner on. ethier way its been running since june 8th fine =]

The two inline fans keep the heat venting outwards that the 400 watt hps gives off while the dual fan in the middle works as a intake to suck air in and vent the plants. While the ionizer serving a dual purpose at the bottom cleans and freshens the air up while blowing air on the plants.=]


And ya Dirtfree I def thought about heat issue before i did this project, Or else it wouldn't be a thought in my mind to go about doing it. SO YES IT WORKS GREAT! PERFECT! FANTASTIC O!


ohh and I CAN FIT 8 PLANTS sog OR 4 PLANTS steady with cfl at the bottom.

p.s. the pics are before i put the 3rd rubbermaid in for extra room and more plants.
 

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smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
Nah man I just got a simple 400 watt HPS from HTG Supply. This is how mines set up.
it stay perfectly cool with all my ventilation going. and if the rooms hot Just turn the air conditioner on. ethier way its been running since june 8th fine =]

The two inline fans keep the heat venting outwards that the 400 watt hps gives off while the dual fan in the middle works as a intake to suck air in and vent the plants. While the ionizer serving a dual purpose at the bottom cleans and freshens the air up while blowing air on the plants.=]


And ya Dirtfree I def thought about heat issue before i did this project, Or else it wouldn't be a thought in my mind to go about doing it. SO YES IT WORKS GREAT! PERFECT! FANTASTIC O!


ohh and I CAN FIT 8 PLANTS sog OR 4 PLANTS steady with cfl at the bottom.

p.s. the pics are before i put the 3rd rubbermaid in for extra room and more plants.
lets say for some reason you are out of the house for a day and all of a sudden the the exhaust fan craps out. guess what it is going to get very hot in those plastic bins. i am not saying it will cause a fire but do you really want to take that chance. and if your out of the house is 1 thing but what if you run the lights at night and you and your family are sleeping when it happens. be carefull and safety first.
 

Miss MeanWeed

Active Member
Perhaps a cutoff/failsafe switch or somesuch that is triggered by fan failure? I think there's a thread here somewhere "Qualified Electrician here to Answer Questions" or similar.
 

MuppetMan1989

Active Member
lets say for some reason you are out of the house for a day and all of a sudden the the exhaust fan craps out. guess what it is going to get very hot in those plastic bins. i am not saying it will cause a fire but do you really want to take that chance. and if your out of the house is 1 thing but what if you run the lights at night and you and your family are sleeping when it happens. be carefull and safety first.
This is why i have a stay at home wife who handles it when I'm at work. Plus the whole room is vented with 2 air conditioners on full blast cause its mad hot were im at. other then that grows going perfect! thanks for asking
 

NLXSK1

Well-Known Member
That setup is not safe.

It is not about how it works when things are going right, it is about what happens when they go wrong.

Put enough heat into that box and it will melt and dump the light into contact with the plants, the plastic, etc...

Scary...
 
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