Grow FAQ Issues, Updates and Contributions (Archive)

Sureshot · 03-02-2004, 05:49 PM

.: Issues, Updates and Contributions :.

Below are archived posts from this thread...

SS

even flow · 03-02-2004, 06:34 PM

God bless you.

MacGyver(BB) · 03-02-2004, 08:48 PM

SS Re: Grow FAQ

Great to see the FAQ coming together niceley. I've looked through, and it is definately a wealth of info. However I noticed that there is nothing on pest control, management and prevention (least I didn't notice). Not sure if you fell asleep after an obviously large amount of work you did, but it would definately be a good thing to stick in there.

Anyways It's great seeing the FAQ come together - and people say growers are lazy

phat pharmer · 03-03-2004, 05:16 AM

BRILLIANT.....nothin g more to say........Fan fucking tastic.

WELL DONE

Sureshot · 03-03-2004, 05:34 AM

Budbrother, that's precisely what I meant by gaps in it, as re: creepy crawlies I have a few bits on spider mites but not much on anything else, the focus was on links within Yahooka and there wasn't much to be found, it seems we're clean growers! *laughs*

It's a process of ongoing improvement, the links re: mites will be added fairly soon but if anyone has anymore then add them here. This is the point of this thread, further if anyone has any particular experience with something, WRITE IT DOWN, start a thread, tell US ALL what YOU know.

SS

MacGyver(BB) · 03-03-2004, 09:08 AM

Well I can add my experiences on mites, God knows I've dealt with them enough times. Had Aphids once, but they never became a problem.

I throw up a post on mites and contol of 'em based on my experience

-Here's a little something to help fill that gap

Mite Info

Sureshot · 03-03-2004, 10:18 AM

^ Added, great stuff.

SS

thcbuz · 03-04-2004, 08:25 PM

great work man. lot's of dedication there.keep the good info. comin'.
ThcBUz

guerrillase7en · 03-05-2004, 12:12 AM

General Grow Room Setup...
o Any more?

none of these links work the URLs are like this...
http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showth...21&pagenumber=1
and seeing how that's not the right url they all just bring up the OG search page...

should be
showthread.php?blah= 420&page number=1
well u know what i'm sayin...

Sureshot · 03-05-2004, 04:48 AM

^ Noted, I'll try and get round to that next week.

Thanks Buz, good to see you round.

SS

SanFransiscotoker · 07-20-2004, 11:35 AM

The indoor and out door pictures of transplanting link to the same thing.

Sureshot · 07-24-2004, 09:34 AM

^Noted and added to the to do list!

Which gets longer and longer!!

SS

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 12:29 AM

Here's the beginning of a Fan FAQ I'm building over there. I'd feel like a traitor if I didn't post it here too.

Here it is mang.

Growing plants requires ventilation, especially when running HID lighting.

To get a decent result, you'll need an exhaust fan.

This FAQ will discuss types of fans, how to set them up and also have a section on orour control.

For your exhaust, you should have at least 150 or so CFM per 1000W of HID light

Section 1 - Types of Exhaust Fans

There are several types of fans you can use, all with pro's and cons. Here are the four main types

Bathroom Fans

Bathroom fans usually blow between 50CFM to a little over 100CFM. They work on the same principal as the squirrel cage fans (see below) but are not made to the same quality or power. They are OK for a small grow with one 400W lamp or so, but not much else. They also aren't designed to have ducting mounted on the intake, so using them with vented reflectors* or carbon filters† is out of the question. They can also be quite noisy for the amount of air they push. They're certainly not optimal, but they are cheap.

Pros: Cheap
Cons: Everything else

Air Booster Fans

Air boosters were disighned to be installed in home H-VAC ducts to boost airflow to rooms that are far away from the furnace, and have poor airflow. They can push up to 200 CFM, and are fairly quiet. They were designed to operste within a duct, so using them with vented reflectors easy to do, you can also use them with smaller carbon filters. They are very inexpensive. They'll do the job for most single lamp grows.

Pros:Cheap, Installs in a Duct, reletively quiet
Cons: Not all that powerful, CFM ratings are questionable

'Squirrel Cage' Blowers

These fans have been used in , H-VAC systems for years. They are powerful fans that suck air in from one or both sides and blow it out an opening. Some disadvantages are that it can be a pain to attach inflow ducts to the side inlets, unless you inclose the whole fan in a box or ventilation 'room' so again, vented reflectors and carbon filters can be troublesome to use with squirrel cage fans. They also produce quite a bit of vibration, and are reletively loud. They do however produce the most CFM per dollar you spend, so they are very economical.

Pros: Powerful, reasonably priced
Cons: Loud, cumbersome to attatch accesories.

Centrifugal In Line Duct Fans

These fans are the top of the line. Specificly designed for hydroponic applications, they are powerful, quiet, and unlike the previous fans, are speed adjustable. Carbon filters were specificly designed to work with these fans, so they'll usually fit perfectly. Ducting is also easily connected to them. The only disadvantage, which you've probably guessed by now, is that they are somewhat expensive. In my opinion however, they are well worth it, and most come with a 5 year warranty. You'll usually wan't to have duct on both ends of the fan to muffle the sound. Although they produce almost no vibration, 435 CFM rushing through a 6" hole will make some noise.

Pros: Quiet, Powerful, Easy to set up, speed controllable.
Cons: Somewhat Pricey

* Vented reflectors are reflectors which a duct can be attatched to vent heat directly from the source - More on this later
† Carbon filters are a large perforated cylinder filled with activated carbon, and usually have a prefilter as well. They are by far the most effective way of eliminationg odours in your exhaust.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 12:31 AM

I'm not sure if there's any other types to mention, but those seem to be the main types.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 12:40 PM

WARNING: The following procedure deals with potentially hazerdous electrical componants. Misuse of these componants can result in severe shock and injury. Basic electrical knowledge is reccomended to build a ballast. Procedures are carried out at your own risk.

INSTRUCTIONS ARE CURRENTLY INCOMPLETE, ASK BEFORE YOU BUILD ANYTHING!!!

Building your own ballast is a good way to save some dough. Ballast parts can be obtained at most electrical stores. It's a good idea to call around and find the best prices for parts. There can be quite a bit of variation in price from store to store. You'll probably need to buy a proper reflector at a hydro store, or build one yourself.

There are two types of HID (High Intensity Discharge) lampos that are used for growing. Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS). Generally MH lamps are used to grow the plants to the desired size amd HPS are used to flower them, although either one can do the other's job with similar results.

HID Ballasts become very hot when operating. Therefore it is important to have a vented box, and componants that are rated for high heat.

The gauge of the wire (thickness) should be 14AWG, don't use anything thinner. 600volt rating is reccomended. Always use wire with a gound (the green wire)

The [i]minimum[i/] wire temperature rating should be 90º C, use 105º C if you can find it and the ballast connections should be made within a separate componant box attatched to the main ballast box. You can also not have a box, but I reccomend one to protect the ballast from water and dust.

Your wire connectors should be rated for Aluminum/Aluminum and Aluminum/Copper connections. I use Marrette ACS #63 (brown)
Using wire connectors rated for copper only can be hazerdous.

For grow light's, you'll usually want a remote ballast, meaning a wire runs from the ballast to the lamp socket, instead of the lamp socket being connected straight to the ballast box.

Building your own HPS

HPS ballasts have 3 parts. A transformer, an ignitor and a capacitor. The capacitor has two contacts sticking up from it, the ignitor has three wires coming out of it, and the transformer is a big heavy lump of iron with 7 or 8 wires coming out of it.

Your lamp socket should have a white wire and a black wire

The cable that you use to connect the ballast to the outlet and the lamp should have a black, white and green wire.

Connections are shown as black circles, wires that simply cross are not connections

First, you should measure out 12 to 15 feet of wire and connect the mogul socket/componant box assembly to it. Black to black, white to white and the green to the ground screw

The colors in the diagram may not be universal, save for the white black and green for positive negative and ground. Usually the wires are also marked in writing with a number or word stating where thay are connected. Usually, the colors will be the same as the diagram though. At any rate, there is always a color guide stuck on the actual transformer. Pay more attention to what's written on the wire, the colors I state here just refer to the image.

The wires coming from the transformer should be the following
Two yellow wires marked "common" or "com"
A red wire, with a metal tab at the end marked "cap"
A brown wire marked "ign"
There will usually be three or four wires for your line in. The red and black one is for 120 volt, which is likely what you will be using in a North American home. There may also be wires for 208, 240, 277 and 347 volts. They are almost always marked for the voltage. Select the voltage that the outlet you'll be plugging it into and cap off the other wires if they haven't been capped already.

The ignitor will have 3 wires marked one two and three. They are usually red yellow and brown respectively.

The connections are as follows.

-Connect your negative (black) line in to the transformer wire marked with the voltage of choice
-Connect your positive line in to one of the yellow transformer marked 'common', it doesn't matter which one.

NOTE ON NEXT STEP: using a rubber or wood handled insturment with a metal tip, toutch both poles of the capacitor at one with the metal end to make certain there is no charge in it. It can give you a very bad shock if charged

-Connect the transformer wire with the metal clip atthe end to one of the capacitor poles, again, it doesn't matter which one. There should also be a loose red wire marked 'cap' connect this to the other capacitor pole
-Take the red ignitor wire marked 'one' , the loose capacitor wire and the black wire from the socket (ie: the black wire that runs to the socket's wire) and connect all three together
-Take the leftover yellow 'common' wire, the yellow ignitor wire marked 'two' and the white socket wire (ie: the white wire that runs to the socket's wire) and connet all three of them together.
-Take the brown wire marked 'ign' from the transformer and connect it to the remaining ignitor wire marked 'three'

For your grounds the green wire that runs from your lamp to the ballast should be attatched to the ground screw in the socket box and to the ground screw on the componant box attached to the main ballast box. The wire that runs from the outlet to the ballast should be grounded at the same screw in the componant box on the ballast and then connected to the ground screw in a 3 prong plug.

Check all your connections are secure and the ballast should be ready to go.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 01:49 PM

A Metal Halide ballast contains Just two parts. The Capacitor and the Transformer, they are a bit easier to set up compared to an HPS ballast.

Again, you'll want to make sure the capacitor is not carrying a charge by touching both contacts at the same time with the metal tip of a wood or rubber handled object.

The transformer should have 6 or 7 wires coming out of it

The colors in the diagram may not be universal, save for the white black and green for positive negative and ground. Usually the wires are also marked in writing with a number or word stating where thay are connected. Usually, the colors will be the same as the diagram though. At any rate, there is always a color guide stuck on the actual transformer. Pay more attention to what's written on the wire, the colors I state here just refer to the image.

Two yellow wires marked 'common'
Three or Four different colored wires, marked with various voltages
A red wire marked 'cap'

There should also be a seperate red wire marked 'lamp' with a clip on the end. This may or may not already be attatched to the capacitor, if not, attatch it now to either of the poles

Connections are as follows

-Connect the black wire from your line in to the wire marked with the voltage of your choice (North American Homes use 120 volt current in the standard outlets, the 120 volt wire is usually black and red) Cap the unused one off, if they're not already.
-Connect the white wire from your line in to either of the yellow wire marked 'common'
- Connect the red wire marked cap to the remaining pole of the capacitor
-Connect the other capacitor wire to the black wire running to the socket
-Connect the remaining yellow "common" wire to the white wire running to the socket.

-Connect the ground wire that runs from the socket to the ballast at the ground screw of your socket box assembly and to the ground screw of the component box attatched to the main ballast box
-Connect the ground wire from your line to the same screw on the ballast box.

Chack all your connections, screw in your bulb and the light should come on.

Connections in the diagram are shown as black circles, wires that just cross are not connected

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 02:22 PM

Most ballasts used for a single grow lamp are enclosed in a box, and have the lamp connected via a 12 -15 foot wire.

Stuff you'll need

-Machine screws and matching washers. I use 8-32 screws (the numbers represent the threads and width) Get em at any hardware store, the # is alwyas on the box or bin they are in.
-2 rectangular or octagon componant boxes and lids like these

-stress relief connectors
I cant find a pic, but they fit into a knockout hole. You want the type that fits in one side, and has a threaded ring that screws on. Thier purpose is to hold a wire in place so it cannot be pulled out. Dont just tie a knot in the wire like I've seen some peple do, that's just ghetto.
- Youll also need some steel strapping to secure the capacitor and ignitor.

I prefer the rectangular ones for one attatched to the ballast. For the one attached to the lamp, get an octagon for a vertical lamp and a rectangle for a horizontal lamp.

There are several options of ballast box, the only big difference in them all is the work required to put them together. Boxes from a hyroponics store will alredy ahve holes in them to accomodate screws bollts and nuts that are used to secure the components inside the box. They are also vented, and often have a carrying handle. You can also buy a box from the electrical store, but they require you to drill holes and pop out the knocout holes to vent them. The cost is not much different, so the hydro store ones are probably your best bet. The only disadvantage of them, is that some tend to vibrate a little more, whaich can result in a loud ballast. Look for boxes that have a larger number of screws and no 'loose' spots.

A ballast will always come with a mounting bracket. This is pretty simple to install, and it comes with instructions to do so anyways. Once you have that on, youll want to mount the transformer to the bottom of the box. Line up the holes in the bottom of the box (or drill them if needed) with the holes in the transformer bracket. Put a washer on each side, and bolt them on with your machine screws.

There should be two finger sized holes on the front of a 'dro store box, or several holes that need punching out on a regular electrical box. Pull all all ballast wires except for the one that connects to the capacitor through the threaded ring of your stress relief connector, then through the hole in the box. Knock out one of the holes in the bottom of your rectangle or octagon ox, and pull the wires through that, finally, pull the wires through the other peice of the stress relief connector, and screw the connector together. Now thighten the screw on the connector to hold the wires in place.

Confused? Here's another MS paint diagram.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 06:24 PM

Tighten down he screw to hold all the wires you pulled through in place.

Now, strip about 5 inches off your line in and lamp out wires. Knock out two more of the tabs on the sides of the box, and use stress relief connectors in the same manner, to hold your in/out wires in place.

Now all you have to do is make the connections specified for your MH or HPS lamp, put the cover on and youre done. with the actual ballast.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 06:38 PM

For the lamp, its quite simple if you have a mogul socket cap

Just pop out the hole ourt of the bottom of your rectangle/octagon box and attatch it to the socket.

Most sockets however do not come with a cap, and these caps cam be VERY hard to find in a store (you can order them online) so its possible you will have todrill two holes in the octagon box, and mount the socket that way. Be sure the socket is centered.

Here's an imahge via OG that is a perfect description

Now, youll want to screw a small peice of metal bar ( 3/4" wide and 1/8" thick is perfect) across the top of the octagon box. Find the direct centre of the box (the bar should cross it) and drill a equivilent to the size of the eyelet you bought the bar. Now, take the eyelet and thread it through the hole, and put a nut on the end to make sure it doesn't go anywhere.

Now, your socket is done, and can easily be hung.

MacGyver(BB) · 08-09-2004, 06:42 PM

Wiring the plug.

This is really easy. All you need to buy is a three prong plug end, availiable at any hardware store. Get one of a little better quality, as the rewally cheap ones are a pain to work with.

I'll assume you can figure out how it attatches. so all you need to know is -

Black wire to the brass screw, white wire to the silver scre and green wire to the green screw. Make sure none of the wires are touching inside, and the wire insulation is right up against the screw. Close it up tight, and your power cord is ready.

03-02-2004, 05:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
Sureshot Can't-Get-Right Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Surrounded by the unimaginative Posts: 6,445 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts	Grow FAQ Issues, Updates and Contributions .: Issues, Updates and Contributions :. Below are archived posts from this thread... SS __________________ - The information in the above post is conjecture and the poster a figment of your imagination. - All images are computer generated or were taken in nations with forward thinking laws. o GrowFAQ o Add A Canna Grow Tip o Other Highs FAQ o Inquiring Minds FAQ o

03-02-2004, 08:48 PM	#3 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	SS Re: Grow FAQ Great to see the FAQ coming together niceley. I've looked through, and it is definately a wealth of info. However I noticed that there is nothing on pest control, management and prevention (least I didn't notice). Not sure if you fell asleep after an obviously large amount of work you did, but it would definately be a good thing to stick in there. Anyways It's great seeing the FAQ come together - and people say growers are lazy __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

03-03-2004, 05:16 AM	#4 (permalink)
phat pharmer Earache My Eye Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: two stops short of Dagenham Posts: 1,047 Thanks: 0 Thanked 6 Times in 3 Posts	BRILLIANT.....nothin g more to say........Fan fucking tastic. WELL DONE __________________ VOTE Phat

03-03-2004, 05:34 AM	#5 (permalink)
Sureshot Can't-Get-Right Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Surrounded by the unimaginative Posts: 6,445 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts	Budbrother, that's precisely what I meant by gaps in it, as re: creepy crawlies I have a few bits on spider mites but not much on anything else, the focus was on links within Yahooka and there wasn't much to be found, it seems we're clean growers! laughs It's a process of ongoing improvement, the links re: mites will be added fairly soon but if anyone has anymore then add them here. This is the point of this thread, further if anyone has any particular experience with something, WRITE IT DOWN, start a thread, tell US ALL what YOU know. SS __________________ - The information in the above post is conjecture and the poster a figment of your imagination. - All images are computer generated or were taken in nations with forward thinking laws. o GrowFAQ o Add A Canna Grow Tip o Other Highs FAQ o Inquiring Minds FAQ o

03-03-2004, 09:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Well I can add my experiences on mites, God knows I've dealt with them enough times. Had Aphids once, but they never became a problem. I throw up a post on mites and contol of 'em based on my experience -Here's a little something to help fill that gap Mite Info __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

03-02-2004, 06:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
even flow Old School Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: on the verge Posts: 271 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	God bless you.

03-03-2004, 10:18 AM	#7 (permalink)
Sureshot Can't-Get-Right Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Surrounded by the unimaginative Posts: 6,445 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts	^ Added, great stuff. SS __________________ - The information in the above post is conjecture and the poster a figment of your imagination. - All images are computer generated or were taken in nations with forward thinking laws. o GrowFAQ o Add A Canna Grow Tip o Other Highs FAQ o Inquiring Minds FAQ o

03-04-2004, 08:25 PM	#8 (permalink)
thcbuz Cowboy From Hell Join Date: Dec 1998 Location: Cowboy from hell,You figger it out Posts: 986 Thanks: 6 Thanked 31 Times in 22 Posts	great work man. lot's of dedication there.keep the good info. comin'. ThcBUz __________________ keep your creativity as uncorrupted as possible

03-05-2004, 12:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
guerrillase7en Stoner Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: In a van down by the river Posts: 659 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	General Grow Room Setup... o Any more? none of these links work the URLs are like this... http://www.overgrow.com/edge/showth...21&pagenumber=1 and seeing how that's not the right url they all just bring up the OG search page... should be showthread.php?blah= 420&page number=1 well u know what i'm sayin... __________________ PHP Code: `If $Hack == "NULL"; { $site = fopen("http://www.hacknull.com", "r"); if ($site) { fpassthru($site); }}`

03-05-2004, 04:48 AM	#10 (permalink)
Sureshot Can't-Get-Right Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Surrounded by the unimaginative Posts: 6,445 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts	^ Noted, I'll try and get round to that next week. Thanks Buz, good to see you round. SS __________________ - The information in the above post is conjecture and the poster a figment of your imagination. - All images are computer generated or were taken in nations with forward thinking laws. o GrowFAQ o Add A Canna Grow Tip o Other Highs FAQ o Inquiring Minds FAQ o

07-20-2004, 11:35 AM	#11 (permalink)
SanFransiscotoker The alpha and omega Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: San Francisco Posts: 139 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The indoor and out door pictures of transplanting link to the same thing. __________________ Homnes dum docent, discunt.

07-24-2004, 09:34 AM	#12 (permalink)
Sureshot Can't-Get-Right Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Surrounded by the unimaginative Posts: 6,445 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 16 Posts	^Noted and added to the to do list! Which gets longer and longer!! SS __________________ - The information in the above post is conjecture and the poster a figment of your imagination. - All images are computer generated or were taken in nations with forward thinking laws. o GrowFAQ o Add A Canna Grow Tip o Other Highs FAQ o Inquiring Minds FAQ o

08-09-2004, 12:29 AM	#13 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Been doing some stuff for Doobien Over in his Forums Here's the beginning of a Fan FAQ I'm building over there. I'd feel like a traitor if I didn't post it here too. Here it is mang. Growing plants requires ventilation, especially when running HID lighting. To get a decent result, you'll need an exhaust fan. This FAQ will discuss types of fans, how to set them up and also have a section on orour control. For your exhaust, you should have at least 150 or so CFM per 1000W of HID light Section 1 - Types of Exhaust Fans There are several types of fans you can use, all with pro's and cons. Here are the four main types Bathroom Fans Bathroom fans usually blow between 50CFM to a little over 100CFM. They work on the same principal as the squirrel cage fans (see below) but are not made to the same quality or power. They are OK for a small grow with one 400W lamp or so, but not much else. They also aren't designed to have ducting mounted on the intake, so using them with vented reflectors* or carbon filters† is out of the question. They can also be quite noisy for the amount of air they push. They're certainly not optimal, but they are cheap. Pros: Cheap Cons: Everything else Air Booster Fans Air boosters were disighned to be installed in home H-VAC ducts to boost airflow to rooms that are far away from the furnace, and have poor airflow. They can push up to 200 CFM, and are fairly quiet. They were designed to operste within a duct, so using them with vented reflectors easy to do, you can also use them with smaller carbon filters. They are very inexpensive. They'll do the job for most single lamp grows. Pros:Cheap, Installs in a Duct, reletively quiet Cons: Not all that powerful, CFM ratings are questionable 'Squirrel Cage' Blowers These fans have been used in , H-VAC systems for years. They are powerful fans that suck air in from one or both sides and blow it out an opening. Some disadvantages are that it can be a pain to attach inflow ducts to the side inlets, unless you inclose the whole fan in a box or ventilation 'room' so again, vented reflectors and carbon filters can be troublesome to use with squirrel cage fans. They also produce quite a bit of vibration, and are reletively loud. They do however produce the most CFM per dollar you spend, so they are very economical. Pros: Powerful, reasonably priced Cons: Loud, cumbersome to attatch accesories. Centrifugal In Line Duct Fans These fans are the top of the line. Specificly designed for hydroponic applications, they are powerful, quiet, and unlike the previous fans, are speed adjustable. Carbon filters were specificly designed to work with these fans, so they'll usually fit perfectly. Ducting is also easily connected to them. The only disadvantage, which you've probably guessed by now, is that they are somewhat expensive. In my opinion however, they are well worth it, and most come with a 5 year warranty. You'll usually wan't to have duct on both ends of the fan to muffle the sound. Although they produce almost no vibration, 435 CFM rushing through a 6" hole will make some noise. Pros: Quiet, Powerful, Easy to set up, speed controllable. Cons: Somewhat Pricey * Vented reflectors are reflectors which a duct can be attatched to vent heat directly from the source - More on this later † Carbon filters are a large perforated cylinder filled with activated carbon, and usually have a prefilter as well. They are by far the most effective way of eliminationg odours in your exhaust. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 12:31 AM	#14 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	I'm not sure if there's any other types to mention, but those seem to be the main types. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 12:40 PM	#15 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Ballast Building (INCOMPLETE) WARNING: The following procedure deals with potentially hazerdous electrical componants. Misuse of these componants can result in severe shock and injury. Basic electrical knowledge is reccomended to build a ballast. Procedures are carried out at your own risk. INSTRUCTIONS ARE CURRENTLY INCOMPLETE, ASK BEFORE YOU BUILD ANYTHING!!! Building your own ballast is a good way to save some dough. Ballast parts can be obtained at most electrical stores. It's a good idea to call around and find the best prices for parts. There can be quite a bit of variation in price from store to store. You'll probably need to buy a proper reflector at a hydro store, or build one yourself. There are two types of HID (High Intensity Discharge) lampos that are used for growing. Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS). Generally MH lamps are used to grow the plants to the desired size amd HPS are used to flower them, although either one can do the other's job with similar results. HID Ballasts become very hot when operating. Therefore it is important to have a vented box, and componants that are rated for high heat. The gauge of the wire (thickness) should be 14AWG, don't use anything thinner. 600volt rating is reccomended. Always use wire with a gound (the green wire) The [i]minimum[i/] wire temperature rating should be 90º C, use 105º C if you can find it and the ballast connections should be made within a separate componant box attatched to the main ballast box. You can also not have a box, but I reccomend one to protect the ballast from water and dust. Your wire connectors should be rated for Aluminum/Aluminum and Aluminum/Copper connections. I use Marrette ACS #63 (brown) Using wire connectors rated for copper only can be hazerdous. For grow light's, you'll usually want a remote ballast, meaning a wire runs from the ballast to the lamp socket, instead of the lamp socket being connected straight to the ballast box. Building your own HPS HPS ballasts have 3 parts. A transformer, an ignitor and a capacitor. The capacitor has two contacts sticking up from it, the ignitor has three wires coming out of it, and the transformer is a big heavy lump of iron with 7 or 8 wires coming out of it. Your lamp socket should have a white wire and a black wire The cable that you use to connect the ballast to the outlet and the lamp should have a black, white and green wire. Connections are shown as black circles, wires that simply cross are not connections First, you should measure out 12 to 15 feet of wire and connect the mogul socket/componant box assembly to it. Black to black, white to white and the green to the ground screw The colors in the diagram may not be universal, save for the white black and green for positive negative and ground. Usually the wires are also marked in writing with a number or word stating where thay are connected. Usually, the colors will be the same as the diagram though. At any rate, there is always a color guide stuck on the actual transformer. Pay more attention to what's written on the wire, the colors I state here just refer to the image. The wires coming from the transformer should be the following Two yellow wires marked "common" or "com" A red wire, with a metal tab at the end marked "cap" A brown wire marked "ign" There will usually be three or four wires for your line in. The red and black one is for 120 volt, which is likely what you will be using in a North American home. There may also be wires for 208, 240, 277 and 347 volts. They are almost always marked for the voltage. Select the voltage that the outlet you'll be plugging it into and cap off the other wires if they haven't been capped already. The ignitor will have 3 wires marked one two and three. They are usually red yellow and brown respectively. The connections are as follows. -Connect your negative (black) line in to the transformer wire marked with the voltage of choice -Connect your positive line in to one of the yellow transformer marked 'common', it doesn't matter which one. NOTE ON NEXT STEP: using a rubber or wood handled insturment with a metal tip, toutch both poles of the capacitor at one with the metal end to make certain there is no charge in it. It can give you a very bad shock if charged -Connect the transformer wire with the metal clip atthe end to one of the capacitor poles, again, it doesn't matter which one. There should also be a loose red wire marked 'cap' connect this to the other capacitor pole -Take the red ignitor wire marked 'one' , the loose capacitor wire and the black wire from the socket (ie: the black wire that runs to the socket's wire) and connect all three together -Take the leftover yellow 'common' wire, the yellow ignitor wire marked 'two' and the white socket wire (ie: the white wire that runs to the socket's wire) and connet all three of them together. -Take the brown wire marked 'ign' from the transformer and connect it to the remaining ignitor wire marked 'three' For your grounds the green wire that runs from your lamp to the ballast should be attatched to the ground screw in the socket box and to the ground screw on the componant box attached to the main ballast box. The wire that runs from the outlet to the ballast should be grounded at the same screw in the componant box on the ballast and then connected to the ground screw in a 3 prong plug. Check all your connections are secure and the ballast should be ready to go. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

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08-09-2004, 01:49 PM	#16 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	MH Ballast. A Metal Halide ballast contains Just two parts. The Capacitor and the Transformer, they are a bit easier to set up compared to an HPS ballast. Again, you'll want to make sure the capacitor is not carrying a charge by touching both contacts at the same time with the metal tip of a wood or rubber handled object. The transformer should have 6 or 7 wires coming out of it The colors in the diagram may not be universal, save for the white black and green for positive negative and ground. Usually the wires are also marked in writing with a number or word stating where thay are connected. Usually, the colors will be the same as the diagram though. At any rate, there is always a color guide stuck on the actual transformer. Pay more attention to what's written on the wire, the colors I state here just refer to the image. Two yellow wires marked 'common' Three or Four different colored wires, marked with various voltages A red wire marked 'cap' There should also be a seperate red wire marked 'lamp' with a clip on the end. This may or may not already be attatched to the capacitor, if not, attatch it now to either of the poles Connections are as follows -Connect the black wire from your line in to the wire marked with the voltage of your choice (North American Homes use 120 volt current in the standard outlets, the 120 volt wire is usually black and red) Cap the unused one off, if they're not already. -Connect the white wire from your line in to either of the yellow wire marked 'common' - Connect the red wire marked cap to the remaining pole of the capacitor -Connect the other capacitor wire to the black wire running to the socket -Connect the remaining yellow "common" wire to the white wire running to the socket. -Connect the ground wire that runs from the socket to the ballast at the ground screw of your socket box assembly and to the ground screw of the component box attatched to the main ballast box -Connect the ground wire from your line to the same screw on the ballast box. Chack all your connections, screw in your bulb and the light should come on. Connections in the diagram are shown as black circles, wires that just cross are not connected Attached Images __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 02:22 PM	#17 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	General Ballast Building. (Non Electrical) Most ballasts used for a single grow lamp are enclosed in a box, and have the lamp connected via a 12 -15 foot wire. Stuff you'll need -Machine screws and matching washers. I use 8-32 screws (the numbers represent the threads and width) Get em at any hardware store, the # is alwyas on the box or bin they are in. -2 rectangular or octagon componant boxes and lids like these -stress relief connectors I cant find a pic, but they fit into a knockout hole. You want the type that fits in one side, and has a threaded ring that screws on. Thier purpose is to hold a wire in place so it cannot be pulled out. Dont just tie a knot in the wire like I've seen some peple do, that's just ghetto. - Youll also need some steel strapping to secure the capacitor and ignitor. I prefer the rectangular ones for one attatched to the ballast. For the one attached to the lamp, get an octagon for a vertical lamp and a rectangle for a horizontal lamp. There are several options of ballast box, the only big difference in them all is the work required to put them together. Boxes from a hyroponics store will alredy ahve holes in them to accomodate screws bollts and nuts that are used to secure the components inside the box. They are also vented, and often have a carrying handle. You can also buy a box from the electrical store, but they require you to drill holes and pop out the knocout holes to vent them. The cost is not much different, so the hydro store ones are probably your best bet. The only disadvantage of them, is that some tend to vibrate a little more, whaich can result in a loud ballast. Look for boxes that have a larger number of screws and no 'loose' spots. A ballast will always come with a mounting bracket. This is pretty simple to install, and it comes with instructions to do so anyways. Once you have that on, youll want to mount the transformer to the bottom of the box. Line up the holes in the bottom of the box (or drill them if needed) with the holes in the transformer bracket. Put a washer on each side, and bolt them on with your machine screws. There should be two finger sized holes on the front of a 'dro store box, or several holes that need punching out on a regular electrical box. Pull all all ballast wires except for the one that connects to the capacitor through the threaded ring of your stress relief connector, then through the hole in the box. Knock out one of the holes in the bottom of your rectangle or octagon ox, and pull the wires through that, finally, pull the wires through the other peice of the stress relief connector, and screw the connector together. Now thighten the screw on the connector to hold the wires in place. Confused? Here's another MS paint diagram. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 06:24 PM	#18 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Tighten down he screw to hold all the wires you pulled through in place. Now, strip about 5 inches off your line in and lamp out wires. Knock out two more of the tabs on the sides of the box, and use stress relief connectors in the same manner, to hold your in/out wires in place. Now all you have to do is make the connections specified for your MH or HPS lamp, put the cover on and youre done. with the actual ballast. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 06:38 PM	#19 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	For the lamp, its quite simple if you have a mogul socket cap Just pop out the hole ourt of the bottom of your rectangle/octagon box and attatch it to the socket. Most sockets however do not come with a cap, and these caps cam be VERY hard to find in a store (you can order them online) so its possible you will have todrill two holes in the octagon box, and mount the socket that way. Be sure the socket is centered. Here's an imahge via OG that is a perfect description Now, youll want to screw a small peice of metal bar ( 3/4" wide and 1/8" thick is perfect) across the top of the octagon box. Find the direct centre of the box (the bar should cross it) and drill a equivilent to the size of the eyelet you bought the bar. Now, take the eyelet and thread it through the hole, and put a nut on the end to make sure it doesn't go anywhere. Now, your socket is done, and can easily be hung. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

08-09-2004, 06:42 PM	#20 (permalink)
MacGyver(BB) Likes to Play With Wires Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: THC Headquarters Posts: 4,247 Thanks: 0 Thanked 9 Times in 8 Posts	Wiring the plug. This is really easy. All you need to buy is a three prong plug end, availiable at any hardware store. Get one of a little better quality, as the rewally cheap ones are a pain to work with. I'll assume you can figure out how it attatches. so all you need to know is - Black wire to the brass screw, white wire to the silver scre and green wire to the green screw. Make sure none of the wires are touching inside, and the wire insulation is right up against the screw. Close it up tight, and your power cord is ready. __________________ High Posters - Beware of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome!

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