Hydroponic Tomatoes - Page 8

Cole_Robbie · February 16, 2013

The water cooling is very interesting. There are water-cooled setups for hid lighting, but they are designed to remove heat from a room and require a water reservoir in a separate room in order to have a net cooling effect on the whole room. They are also either a jacket or a coil around the actual bulb and therefore reduce output by making the light pass through extra glass plus water.

Your idea of what I think looks like pex tubing is a very innovative approach to water cooling. It would work for any light, led or hid. The pex makes kind of a reverse radiator that absorbs heat. What size of a water reservoir do you use? Does the water get warm at all?

Sequim · February 17, 2013

As it happened, the first one I built was on a very rugged segment of U-shaped aluminum extrusion that was a component of a deck railing system built by one of my neighbors. I pressed in a length of polyethylene irrigation tubing for the water conduit. There was plenty of contact area between the poly and the aluminum for good heat transfer.

But the cost of that aluminum was horrid so I turned to inexpensive 3/4" channel, which happens to be a nice snug press fit over 1/2" copper pipe. Of course now copper pipe has become almost as expensive as that original aluminum piece. Maybe I'll try the tubing again someday, but it was harder to work with because of the curl set into it when it was coiled.

The system does have a small reservoir (partially filled 5-gallon bucket) and an automotive heater core with a low speed muffin fan to dispose of the heat The reservoir and the heater core are in the adjacent garage, which is unheated. The water is circulated by a tiny submersible aquarium pump in the reservoir.

Somewhere I have the early water temperature rise tests which recorded only a few degrees rise above the garage ambient; hardly enough to notice. The garage temperature rarely falls below 50 and never quite reaches 60 until summer.

For the new lab, currently under construction, I will bury several 100-foot lengths of heavy duty poly pipe beneath the insulated slab floor to use for heat disposal, both for the LED lighting and for nutrient solutions. Not much has happened on that project since last fall though. I still must waterproof the stem walls, but the material for this job can't be used until temperatures are reliably above 50 degrees. Besides, I don't like working in cold wet weather.

One of my webcams, linked below, is watching that project, but there won't be much progress until late April or so. I'll probably add a camera inside for next winter's planting.

http://webcams.prossen.com/

You can click an image to zoom in for more detail.

Sequim · February 21, 2013

Quote:

I would love to see pictures and notes on what you have learned...

I have started a new topic here with pictures and other information about my indoor winter growing lab. I hope you will find this helpful.

There is too much material for one post so I'm doing it in installments. I'll add some more tomorrow.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...030#post329030

Pete

Elagrow · February 22, 2013

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sequim

I have started a new topic here with pictures and other information about my indoor winter growing lab. I hope you will find this helpful.

There is too much material for one post so I'm doing it in installments. I'll add some more tomorrow.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...030#post329030

Pete

cool.

February 16, 2013	#106
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	The water cooling is very interesting. There are water-cooled setups for hid lighting, but they are designed to remove heat from a room and require a water reservoir in a separate room in order to have a net cooling effect on the whole room. They are also either a jacket or a coil around the actual bulb and therefore reduce output by making the light pass through extra glass plus water. Your idea of what I think looks like pex tubing is a very innovative approach to water cooling. It would work for any light, led or hid. The pex makes kind of a reverse radiator that absorbs heat. What size of a water reservoir do you use? Does the water get warm at all?

February 17, 2013	#107
Sequim Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Sequim, Washington Posts: 53	As it happened, the first one I built was on a very rugged segment of U-shaped aluminum extrusion that was a component of a deck railing system built by one of my neighbors. I pressed in a length of polyethylene irrigation tubing for the water conduit. There was plenty of contact area between the poly and the aluminum for good heat transfer. But the cost of that aluminum was horrid so I turned to inexpensive 3/4" channel, which happens to be a nice snug press fit over 1/2" copper pipe. Of course now copper pipe has become almost as expensive as that original aluminum piece. Maybe I'll try the tubing again someday, but it was harder to work with because of the curl set into it when it was coiled. The system does have a small reservoir (partially filled 5-gallon bucket) and an automotive heater core with a low speed muffin fan to dispose of the heat The reservoir and the heater core are in the adjacent garage, which is unheated. The water is circulated by a tiny submersible aquarium pump in the reservoir. Somewhere I have the early water temperature rise tests which recorded only a few degrees rise above the garage ambient; hardly enough to notice. The garage temperature rarely falls below 50 and never quite reaches 60 until summer. For the new lab, currently under construction, I will bury several 100-foot lengths of heavy duty poly pipe beneath the insulated slab floor to use for heat disposal, both for the LED lighting and for nutrient solutions. Not much has happened on that project since last fall though. I still must waterproof the stem walls, but the material for this job can't be used until temperatures are reliably above 50 degrees. Besides, I don't like working in cold wet weather. One of my webcams, linked below, is watching that project, but there won't be much progress until late April or so. I'll probably add a camera inside for next winter's planting. http://webcams.prossen.com/ You can click an image to zoom in for more detail.