lightbox for ur seedlings and grafts

[naja naja]

Edited March 8, 2012 by naja naja

[myco]

nice one naja thats exactly wat i need

i have absolutely no knowledge of electrical stuff i'd probly hook it up wrong

[at0m]

nice one naja thats exactly wat i need

i have absolutely no knowledge of electrical stuff i'd probly hook it up wrong

 

Don't cross the streams!

[danshaman]

good shit cheers for posting naja

what kind of lights are they?

[solomon]

Fantastic! this is the sort of box I start all my seedlings in.

Is the humidity inside the tub not an issue? Or do you have ventilation?

[Sallubrious]

I'd want to have that wired through a residual current device.

The lights fittings don't normally need an earth connection, so most people don't wire it in. This can leave the circuit in a potentially dangerous configuration.

Anywhere where there is a lot of condensation it can lead to a path for the circuit to get to ground through anyone that touches the wet parts of the box. This would most likely not be fatal but it could still be dangerous.

If you can't earth your appliances properly (which is difficult with a plastic box) an RCD is a must, especially in a wet environment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Residual-current_device

[naja naja]

all houses in wa are fitted with RCD by law

[Foo]

all houses in wa are fitted with RCD by law

 

2 RCD's or a double or w.e. if your home has been sold in the last 4 years or so.

[naja naja]

re- ventilation, I have a few holes drilled in the box too allow airflow and a window open in that room. I also leave the lids ajar much of the time to allow for better airflow, holes can be drilled and covered to suit needs.

re- globes are 2X 24W CFL globes. 1 cool white and one daylight globe to give them best spectrum availability. I am unsure which is better or if a combo is better, So just testing atm. I have previously used twin 18w flouro tubes, this is the first time with trying these new globes. I chose them as batten lightfittings are alot cheaper than twin flouro ballasts. Globes are ~ the same price $7 RRP, but I am hoping the extra 6W per globe helps out noticably, it's an extra 12W per box over twin 18W setups. going from 36W per box to 48W per box. With the area they are covering, thats almost asmuch, if not more wattage per square foot/meter than a 400W HPS.

re- Correct wiring. I was shown how to wire it up by an electrician. U have to include the loop wire in the setup. It's not difficult, but unless u know which wire goes where or understand that there is no positive and negative, instead being active and neutral and can be interswapped in the wiring. Just ask an electrician friend or I will try and find an appropriate and easily understood scimatic for this wiring setup

[Sallubrious]

How hot does it get in the box ?

I've got a similar setup but I have my light fittings in a reflector the sits on top of the box. It works well for everything I've tried it with so far.

If you made a reflector out of a piece of cardboard folded into a "v" shape and sat it on top of the box where the lights you could increase the efficiency of the lights by at least 20% and get more even light levels in the box.

[naja naja]

gets around 25degC in the box, and yeah. been meaning to get sum milar out for a reflector.

[Sallubrious]

Yeah mylar would be even better.

Once you get past about 25 watts per square foot you start getting some really good growth rates. Some plants don't need that much though, 20 watts per sq foot is a good place to start. It depends on what you are growing.