Straight 6 Reflector Vs The Standard Square Shaped Hood

[tutman2006]

Does anyone have advice on which reflector is best for 1000w set up.

 

 

The standard square hoods are heavy, product lots of heat surface area and more expensive.

 

so I was thinking these straight 6 reflectors would be better. Less metal hot surface (keep in mind the hot summers we have), lighter in weight and less expensive.

 

has anyone used both and what is your opinion, so I don't have to expermite with trial and error which is so expensive.

 

 

thank you! :0)

[LansingAreaCaregiver]

I'm not familiar with the term straight 6. Do you mean a 6 sided wing type reflector (with an open bulb?)

[CaffeineForAll]

I may be wrong but I think he is referring to "cool tubes". I'll throw my two cents in when he lets us know what he is talking about.

[Catfinger]

Personally I prefer the sealed square style hoods with max downward reflection but that is neither here nor there when talking about heat. A 1000W bulb will produce the same heat in a cool tube or full size hood. If you have overhead space issues and cant fit a square/rectangle hood then use the cool tube but as far as getting rid of heat better it wont make much difference. If you are running one single 1000W bulb you can get away with a 6" inlet/outlet to move heat, but, IMHO if you are running anything more than one individual 1000W bulb you should be extracting heat from your bulbs through 8" inlet/outlets, unless you want your AC to work harder or even worse if you dont have AC, the 8" will benefit you so much more.

I only give all that from experience. When I upgraded my garden to 2 1000W hoods I purchased 6". Ran all the new duct, installed the new hoods and one harvest later swithed it all over to 8". AC worked less and more importantly lets me get my plants as close as I want to the hoods. You could stick your tongue on the glass on my hoods and its cool as a cucumber.

[thanks2]

 

 

The standard square hoods are heavy, product lots of heat surface area and more expensive.

 

thank you! :0)

 

The radiant ac reflectors uses an air cooled double wall, so the outside of the reflector is cool to the touch. They have one of the highest reflectivity at 95%. They have a deep penetration focus, like a head light, so the lower buds develop well and not much light is wasted. But they are expensive and not that great for thick SOG setups because the light is focused down and not spread out. They are focused to cover about a 5x5 area.

[tutman2006]

http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-Straight-6-Reflector.asp

 

 

these are it.

 

 

Currently I'm running 2 - 1000w regular boxed hoods in a 6inch vent. it was a very hot summer running that. I guess I will take your advice and start buying 8" inch type hoods.

 

I just have one cheap 6" regular square hood and the hood gets hot as hell. seems like its really acting like a radiator sending out more heat. I think i'm going to try that straight 8" inch and see how that goes. not sure how the light will be focused down ward or not as good. But all in all they are cheaper hoods, but I don't nessarly want to go cheap if I'm going to lose performance.

 

 

I'm looking at getting set up and buying equiptment and just want to keep in mind a hot summer that comes each year. why can't we just grow this stuff outdoors. that would be great. Save my electrical bill!

 

thanks for the help.

[Sinsemillaplease]

You will lose light coverage with that cool tube compared to what you're using now. I would not recommend it unless you're running one plant per light.

[CaffeineForAll]

The wings on the cool tubes are adjustable and can spread out or focus in depending on your needs. In fact when fully horizontal they have a much wider spread than a raptor/parabolic, however you lose focus and penetration as you do such.

 

As to your original question of whether they run cooler is that they do. With a more channeled air flow you have more efficiency in moving the air and thus moving the heat. However there are lots of variables as to why your room is hot, so just switching hoods may not be the solution for your room.

 

Another option to having your existing hood run cooler is to buy a thermal wrap such as this http://www.hydrofarm.com/pb_detail.php?itemid=10955 also insulating the ducts can help a lot.

 

Eventually though, you will find it easier to just add more AC, however the bill can be painful. Not to mention extra load on your elec. service.

[pergamum362]

air conditioner is a must to keep your room perfect at ALL times.