afterburner

Back online again! At my new house New location. Got tons of space & amps to play with now . I'm just trying to figure out how I'm gonna start building my next grow.

I'm thinking about re-working my lighting style completely.

Maybe I will scrap this horizontal reflector thing. Not only are they expensive, but they focus heat on top of your plants, and you lose potential lumens because more than half your light must be reflected thru glass before it makes it to a plant leaf surface. Furthermore, you can get your plants pretty darn close to a vertically oriented bulb, because the heat just rises off it naturally, even without an aircooled design. So with aircooled tubes, I cant immagine the possibilities of close proximity to budsites.

I suppose all I'm wondering is how many of ya'll have tried this method & or like it, and if ya had any opinions on any of its advantages or disadvantages.

The thing thats got me all confused Is it kinda tears the conventional 50/watts psqft rule of thumb to bits & pieces. Suddenly light is being thrown 360 degrees in a completely different orientation. How much light do I need now?

Also I think I'd want to re-arrange my garden a bit... I've been toying with a stadium style type setup to go allong with this vertical idea. Basically two rows of plants on either side of a row of bulbs, at different heights. Like a collesium but much more basic

So;
I know that this is more efficient. (by how much? hard to tell)
It should be cheaper,
It should be easier to hang the lights (less weight)
It should save on height/headroom

It will probably take up more floorspace, I remember I was having trouble adjusting a single bulb I'd hung vertically last grow so it wouldn't toast my buds. I'd have to make sure I have room for the plants to grow out....

I'm actually thinking it would most likely it would be better suited for a SOG type of setup... Which isnt quite my style... But I could concider it. Maybe Compromise on plant #'s which I like to keep low...

Anyway... Lets hear it! Any opinions? Anyone using this?

-burner

afterburner

Hmm, well I just hung a vertical light to nurse my mothers back into clonability.

First problem off hand is its really bad for your eyeballs! Having HPS arc tubes at eye level is albit skary. Will I go blind?

I try to always wear shade 3 or shade 5 welding safety glasses in the growroom. But even those arnt suitable for blocking out everything.

Gotta rig a kill switch b4 I work in there prob.


burner

BaadPuTthyKat

I would be with you in a minute if I had any headroom anywhere. This thread here has a discussion of the topic.

My pref would be 2x 6OOw in a glass tube. 18-24" from rootzone? Maybe I'd try vertical coco slabs, flooded from the top, timed to suit needs? Kat

__________________

mr. hyde

sunglasses seems to do the trick here but maybe you have more light than i ( i'm only running 2 400w hps's atm). but i use vertical lighting because i have a lack of height in my strange closet. i find it works but i have never used horizontal with the reflectors to compare difference. i suppose i try to like have a light surrounded by plants or two lights surrounded by plants in flower ya know? its nice to be able to arrange plants around light close like but it can get to be a pain arranging plants around light but i keep doin it so it must be worth it. then again i almost have to go vertical lighting no reflector for now

BaadPuTthyKat

'Burner & Mr Hyde I used to use ski goggles, before I started growing in a place I bang my head all the time. I have to lie down to get the light in my face now, he he..

__________________

penguin

Hi afterburner

Congrats on the move and the new space. Designing rooms is fun!

I am not a big fan of vertical lighting for "flat" grows - I am not sold on the efficiency arguments for several reasons - most notably because overhead lighting is far more efficient than side lighting.

But, by all reports, the vertical/cylindrical systems do outperform flat SOG by a fair margin.

HPS will cause afterimages, but shouldn't cause any permanent eye damage.


penguin

__________________

afterburner

Hey cool, thx everyone for the input

Hmmm, so its a double edged sword in that respect... Tough call..
So, with a large number of plants it might make this method rather unreasonable.

Kat Hmm, coco fiber slabs hung vertically... I like it! coco is good stuff! Only it creates a bit much humidity for my taste.

Interesting you say this penguin... So your essentially saying that, plants dont efficiently absorb light from the side versus absorbing light from above? That would make sense, as the sun naturally comes from up high...

So then, plants must be oriented toward the light for this to be worthwile. Or at least at an angle, as in a coliseum. This might make DWC a bit ineffective for the application.


Hmm with all due respect, I question this statement. I've noticed a rapid decline in my night vision since I started growing.

After working in the grow room for long hours under a few killowatts (and the mylar) I end up with a serious headache & mild pain behind the eyes. I find it hard to believe HPS doesnt cause permanent damage to the cornea... To my knowlege HPS does release a decent amount of infra-red which, correct me if im wrong, is quite damaging (over time) to the rods & cones in your eye.

I've heard reports from other growers about serious loss of night vision......
Anyway...

Thanks again guys!

-burner

snwbrdr

if its less efficient then why are the yeilds in vertical out perform flat scrog?


I am building a scrog cab right now and I am leaning towards the coliseum.......

__________________

Current Grow journal!

afterburner

I think that he means using vertical lighting for a flat grow is not very efficient... Because "side lighting" on plants is not the best use of light...

SOG will always outperform SCROG though

However vertical lighting in a vertical coliseum SOG style grow is much more efficient than all of them.

snwbrdr

Ah ok I get ya......


haha I ment to say im setting up a SOG, not a SCROG....lil stoney when i typed that....go figure eh?

__________________

Current Grow journal!