Well "The best laid plans of mice and men"....
Went to the local home improvemen stroe to get some lights. I talked to the light guy and he convinced me a "Y" into a "Y" with CFL's is OK. (He must think I have the most ghetto garage lights ever) Came home, setup the 8 cfls. Installed another 5' fan to help circulate. Ran it for 10 mins.... 93 degrees. No bueno.
Moved my PC fans to same height as lights. Made a ghetto grommet type fiting for my exhaust (it had gaps and was not effecient). Checked exhaust fan, blowing very strongly, so i turned te lights back on. 10 mins later, 90 degrees.
So i took 2 lights out, leaving 4-26w 2700k and 2-26w 6500k. 84 degrees. And thats without my ghetto temperature control device so Im in the range.
I guess with a 4.5 cft box, 8 26w cfls is just too hot. Doesnt help that the TOTAL height in the box i roughly 18"... So its settled, new box construction to start ASAP. I prefer to find a dresser to keep it stealthy, random plywood boxes dont hide as well in the garage. Im not looking to create a monster, just 30"+ of grow height to allow better airflow. Any idea and suggestions are appreciated.