DIY glass shield is it worth it??

I have a cabinet that is L40" x W30". My local glass store can fabricate a 6 mm tempered glass 40"x30" panel for 80 bux.
I will be using a 600 watt hps. Should I buy this tempered glass panel to isolate the heat at the top of my cabinet and exhaust it out?

If I buy a new reflector that is L20" x W20" with a glass shield it will cost me about $180-$195.

I wanted to do this but apparently the tempered glass will interfear with the light waves going though it and you're better off just increasing the distance from you plants to keep cool. Damned if you do damned if you dont sorry.

I made a DIY cooltube that i am now ready to take criticisms on. LOL I used a hurricane lantern glass thingy. cost 7 bucks. my 2x4x5tent is now 10 degrees cooler and my plants are 4-6 inches closer. I ran it for almost a full day to test and make sure the glass would not break (its pretty thin) its actually touching the bulb on one side and just sitting in the duct on the other side. NO actuall attachments. Theres a small wire that will kepp from ever fallin onto my girls. i already took the mirror out TY for not ripping me a new one about that LOL!

itsgrowinglikeaweed said:

I made a DIY cooltube that i am now ready to take criticisms on. LOL I used a hurricane lantern glass thingy. cost 7 bucks. my 2x4x5tent is now 10 degrees cooler and my plants are 4-6 inches closer. I ran it for almost a full day to test and make sure the glass would not break (its pretty thin) its actually touching the bulb on one side and just sitting in the duct on the other side. NO actuall attachments. Theres a small wire that will kepp from ever fallin onto my girls. i already took the mirror out TY for not ripping me a new one about that LOL!

Click to expand...

So you are saying that you dont need tempered glass? Cause non tempered glass is cheaper than tempered glass.

So do you think a non tempered glass shield will work?

Does tempered glass really mess up the light wavelengths? Cause if it did, then why are people selling reflector hoods with tempered glass shields?

Honestly I'm not sure. Just repeating what i was told. The glass I used is NOT tempered i dont think anyway, not for 7 bucks lol. Its perfectly clear. And I'm not sure what type of glass is in those hoods.
quote "then why are people selling reflector hoods with tempered glass shields?"
To make money! IF people sell products that KILL people (cigarettes?) they'll certainly sell a product that is only SOMEWHAT less than ideal. People will sell ANYTHING that people will buy so dont let that be any kind of determining factor. When $$ gets involved i dont trust ANYBODY. I'm so outside the box I cant even see the box anymore tho.

The 2% of lost light is going to be offset by the temp drop.

I'd say go for it. If on a 5 day dry run, temps are OK without it, go without. If they are higher then 80F, use it.

BigBudBalls said:

The 2% of lost light is going to be offset by the temp drop.

I'd say go for it. If on a 5 day dry run, temps are OK without it, go without. If they are higher then 80F, use it.

Click to expand...

Thats the kind of response we're looking for. And with #'s to back it up. TYVM for stopping by Bigbudballs. +rep for you and well deserved. I've seen many a good post by you here at RIU. Much appreciated!

Its rapid temperature shifts that cause problems for glass because it doesn't expand/contract exactly evenly.. (Ever see the break a bottle at the liquid level trick).. The really aren't dealing with high temperatures for common soda glass.. Alot of lightbulbs are plain soda glass, their shape helps them cool evenly.. Soda glass might not stand up to water abuse like tempered glass, or 'real' pyrex (All Pyrex(tm) 'used' to be borosilicate glass, but now some products that carry the name are not), when hot though..

I read somewhere quartz is the best glass to use maybe ya could look into that