Cabinet Grow - What type of Lighting Is Ideal?

[Tyro]

Hey everyone,

Quick newbie question about lighting. I'm preparing a cabinet/dresser indoor grow right now and I was just wondering if anyone had any solid suggestions for lighting for 1 or 2 plants in the following cabinet:

edit:
31 inches tall x 24.5 inches wide x 14 inches deep = ~7 cubic feet

I'm relatively familiar that you need approx. 50W per sq. ft. of space, however I'm more so looking for the ideal light set up, whether that be a combination of smaller lights, or one larger output lamp. Additionally, I was wondering the age old question of what type of lamp is best for a cabinet grow. I live in a moderate climate where heat or cold is never too extreme, but either way the temperature will be controlled so don't worry about that with light selection.

Essentially what I'm asking you experts is for the ideal combination of lights for this set up. I've cruised the grow journals but there doesn't seem to be too much of a consensus on this type of question. Any success stories with certain set ups (or fail stories) that match this type of set up would be appreciated as well !

Thanks for any answers and I hope to hear from y'all soon,

Cheers.

 

[GrowGSL]

You could Squeeze a GS300 Pro-Boom in there, you would get the highest yield that way!

It's also close to you wattage per foot ratio, except with led's your plant can absorb 100% of the light. Bulbs and CFL style only about 20% of the light is actually used so the rest it just wasted electric and added heat..

have you planned your venting yet? You kinda need to know how much heat your going to be producing before you lay out the venting system. I know all about stealth cab setups and such so any question just let me know!

 

[Tyro]

You could Squeeze a GS300 Pro-Boom in there, you would get the highest yield that way!

It's also close to you wattage per foot ratio, except with led's your plant can absorb 100% of the light. Bulbs and CFL style only about 20% of the light is actually used so the rest it just wasted electric and added heat..

have you planned your venting yet? You kinda need to know how much heat your going to be producing before you lay out the venting system. I know all about stealth cab setups and such so any question just let me know!

Unfortunately we won't be rolling with that kind of budget .

Me and my 'business partner' were thinking of doing 6x 105 W CFLs as a base, maybe squeezing a few 42W CFL's in during the flowering stage. The entire interior will be mylar'd.

I'm not really sure exactly how we're gonna set up venting. I was thinking of cutting a hole at the bottom of the cab, set up a 'tube' of cardboard as an intake and blow a fan right through there from the outside of the cabinet, it will be in a basement so the air intake should be fairly cool. As for venting out, that is where I'm getting a bit stumped. We might throw an outtake fan near the top while having a diagonal/upward blowing fan which will distribute the cold incoming air from the intake. Our main worry (and lack of knowledge) right now is heat and ventilation, but our budget is tight.

Any advice you have on any of these points is appreciated, feel free to send me a pm if need be .

Thanks

 

[GrowGSL]

Unfortunately we won't be rolling with that kind of budget .

Me and my 'business partner' were thinking of doing 6x 105 W CFLs as a base, maybe squeezing a few 42W CFL's in during the flowering stage. The entire interior will be mylar'd.

I'm not really sure exactly how we're gonna set up venting. I was thinking of cutting a hole at the bottom of the cab, set up a 'tube' of cardboard as an intake and blow a fan right through there from the outside of the cabinet, it will be in a basement so the air intake should be fairly cool. As for venting out, that is where I'm getting a bit stumped. We might throw an outtake fan near the top while having a diagonal/upward blowing fan which will distribute the cold incoming air from the intake. Our main worry (and lack of knowledge) right now is heat and ventilation, but our budget is tight.

Any advice you have on any of these points is appreciated, feel free to send me a pm if need be .

Thanks

Troy, I totally get it. I will tell you right now though, 650+ watts of CFL in a cabinet it Not gonna fly, WAY to hot. You will need some Serious venting to keep that much CFL cool. There's alot of members here on 420 that will tell ya, CFLS CAN work, but usually not in quantity, and in tight spaces it's even harder.

Consider this, is it worth spending your time and money to buy all those CFL bulbs, building this setup and wating 3+ months, just to find out the CFL's are way too hot, and that the yield well, being a noob, you got a tough road ahead of you to get good results with the setup you describe.

Just a few more hundred and you can ACTUALLY get a nice easy harvest, and MAKE your money back on the first grow. Then keep growing and growing and growing, now that's the kinda business Plan I like!

Hope I don't sound like a LED Salesman, I am hoping some else will agree 650+ watts of CFL is going to be similar to cooling a metorite...

P.s. It's easer for a fan to suck than blow brother, just put fans on exhaust

 

[Tyro]

Troy, I totally get it. I will tell you right now though, 650+ watts of CFL in a cabinet it Not gonna fly, WAY to hot. You will need some Serious venting to keep that much CFL cool. There's alot of members here on 420 that will tell ya, CFLS CAN work, but usually not in quantity, and in tight spaces it's even harder.

Consider this, is it worth spending your time and money to buy all those CFL bulbs, building this setup and wating 3+ months, just to find out the CFL's are way too hot, and that the yield well, being a noob, you got a tough road ahead of you to get good results with the setup you describe.

Just a few more hundred and you can ACTUALLY get a nice easy harvest, and MAKE your money back on the first grow. Then keep growing and growing and growing, now that's the kinda business Plan I like!

Hope I don't sound like a LED Salesman, I am hoping some else will agree 650+ watts of CFL is going to be similar to cooling a metorite...

P.s. It's easer for a fan to suck than blow brother, just put fans on exhaust

Would downgrading the wattage of CFLs reduce heat? Or would adding more/replacing, say 42W or mid-watt CFLs be a better plan? I wish I could spend that kind of dough on lights but it's just not in the works . We're too worried about maximum yields for our first grow, it's primarily just for personal use for those in our apartment. What kind of venting system would you suggest in a mid-watt CFL cab set up? And true I never thought of the massive amounts of heat that 600+ Watts would result in haha.

Thanks for the tip and let me know if you have any more advice!

 

[GrowGSL]

changes to the style of CFL wont work, but just build the cab and buy about 150 watts of cfl, then you will See even how much heat that is, now multiply that by 6....I think if you really want cfls to work buy all 600 watts and throw the cabinet away.

Just grow in a wide open room so the heat can get away from the plants. it will be a small yield and it will def be smoked before you have another...

I see this all the time, I ll it the 95%'ers... got everything you need .. almost.

Maybe someone with more experience with cfl can help ya better!