Indoor DIY GrowBox - Heat/Vent issues - Help needed

[MoChillah]

Good evening everybody,

hope this catches you fine and well. I wanted to inform myself about a couple of aspects..

I'm planning on building a 3x2 or a 2x3 growbox with about 4 feet or 4,5 feet of height.

I bought an HPS floodlight with a 400W ballast and a 250W HPS Lamp.

Several questions arise..

I know that the ballast gets extremely hot, this is why I'm planning on keeping it outside its all in one enclosure and outside the box, i.e keep a remote ballast.

1. If I'm running a 400W ballast, will it ballast produce the same amount of heat regardless of the lamp I'm using? (Either a 250 or a 400)
2. Does the lamp itself produce much heat as well? Or is the heat problem concerning HPS system mainly based on the heat emitted from the ballast.
3. Is there a big difference in the heat that's emitted from a 250W vs a 400W?

I'm sure I have many more questions and since I always feel comfortable here I always like to ask for advice here, too. I'm not sure whether I'll be growing Autos or Photos in the first round but I'm thinking due to my limited height of 4 feet or 4' 6" I'd do a scrog with 4-6 plants in that area.

Any thoughts are more than welcome, answers are highly appreciated!

Happy Growing..
Oh yeah, and a Happy New Year as well!

M

 

[FullDuplex]

Welcome to the site mate, and from what i can see you may need a little help there.

First and foremost do not fire that bulb with that ballast. There is a reason that they are rated at different wattages. That ballast is too much for that buld and you could risk fire. If its 400 w get a 400 w bulb. Safety first before anything else.

 

[NotAllThere]

You've already bought your light but you might want to rethink that. I just finished my first grow under LED and I'm astounded at the results. I'm using a cheapo (but, it seems, very good) 300W rated, 150W actual unit in a 2x4x6 tent. When I used to have a 250W HPS in it heat was a big problem. Even a CFL setup ran pretty warm. The LEDs hardly raise the temperature at all.

I think an LED setup would be a perfect candidate for your cab. Reduced ventilation needs, much lower cabinet temperature, lower power bills while getting the same or better results. All for 80 bucks.

 

[MoChillah]

I'm having difficulties finding proper LED Panels in my country. I can only find LED floodlights such as those..
https://www.google.com.eg/search?q=...UGYAO8Q_AUIBigB&dpr=0.9#imgrc=0fqdw0Twrhen3M:

I don't think these would be too effective, right?
So for a 400 W system I am advised to have a space bigger than 6 sqft.. more like 9 sqft?

 

[MoChillah]

Keep in mind I'm planning to keep the ballast remotely out of the box, as in probably mount it on top for it to get decent airflow and not affect the grow box's temperature..

Also, heat-wise, ballast vs bulb..?