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kolah
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Ok, man here I go. I got some extra dough and some ideas about renovating my GH for a winter grow. I need some good expert advice.
I am off-grid and will have limited electricity to my GH which will be supplied by a few solar panels, a small controller, a 400 watt inverter (converts DC to AC) . Two 6 volt golf-cart deep cycle batteries wired in parallel will store my juice for a 12v set-up. This power will run a T-5 light, an exhaust fan and two timers. I'll heat things at night with a propane heater hooked-up with a t-stat. Day temps will be no problem with the Colorado sunshine. My GH is 10'x12' and double wrapped in 6 ml greenhouse plastic. I plan to insulate the north wall and north side roof and then cover it with sheathing as no sun comes through that way anyway. This will conserve heat loss.
I'll use the natural sunshine for the 10 hours that are now available. Therefore, for the veg cycle I will have to supplement another 4-5 hours from the T-5 lighting. HID lighting is not an option as they drain off to much power. Big watt CFL's are not an option for me wither as I do not like the toxic mercury issues. Are LED's an option or are they heavy juice suckers?
Question: What is a good reliable T-5 light and what types of bulbs should I purchase? And will it differ in bulb selection from veg to flower?
Exhaust: I will need to keep this bad-boy ventilated especially in the evenings when she's all buttoned up to hold in the warmth as the propane heater will be raising the RH values way too high. Any suggestions for a good reliable exhaust fan? I'll have to hook it up to a timer where it will cycle on and off at night. I won't have any issues in the daytime as I can crack a few vent windows. I'll need a intake opening as well but nothing fancy, just a Home Depot metal vent which will be located at the bottom of the GH with the exhaust fan mounted up high on the opposite side.
Most of the other stuff I can handle on my own (solar, etc)
So my big concerns are lighting issues.
T-5's? (prices? reliable companies) What size or how many do I need?
Are LED'S an option (price, juice suckers?)
What type of bulbs for veg and flower?
Timers? (good ones, and ones to avoid)
*If I get this going it may work out pretty slick if i can time my grow season to hit the 12-12 flowering cycles as the days will start to get longer in Feb and March.
I am off-grid and will have limited electricity to my GH which will be supplied by a few solar panels, a small controller, a 400 watt inverter (converts DC to AC) . Two 6 volt golf-cart deep cycle batteries wired in parallel will store my juice for a 12v set-up. This power will run a T-5 light, an exhaust fan and two timers. I'll heat things at night with a propane heater hooked-up with a t-stat. Day temps will be no problem with the Colorado sunshine. My GH is 10'x12' and double wrapped in 6 ml greenhouse plastic. I plan to insulate the north wall and north side roof and then cover it with sheathing as no sun comes through that way anyway. This will conserve heat loss.
I'll use the natural sunshine for the 10 hours that are now available. Therefore, for the veg cycle I will have to supplement another 4-5 hours from the T-5 lighting. HID lighting is not an option as they drain off to much power. Big watt CFL's are not an option for me wither as I do not like the toxic mercury issues. Are LED's an option or are they heavy juice suckers?
Question: What is a good reliable T-5 light and what types of bulbs should I purchase? And will it differ in bulb selection from veg to flower?
Exhaust: I will need to keep this bad-boy ventilated especially in the evenings when she's all buttoned up to hold in the warmth as the propane heater will be raising the RH values way too high. Any suggestions for a good reliable exhaust fan? I'll have to hook it up to a timer where it will cycle on and off at night. I won't have any issues in the daytime as I can crack a few vent windows. I'll need a intake opening as well but nothing fancy, just a Home Depot metal vent which will be located at the bottom of the GH with the exhaust fan mounted up high on the opposite side.
Most of the other stuff I can handle on my own (solar, etc)
So my big concerns are lighting issues.
T-5's? (prices? reliable companies) What size or how many do I need?
Are LED'S an option (price, juice suckers?)
What type of bulbs for veg and flower?
Timers? (good ones, and ones to avoid)
*If I get this going it may work out pretty slick if i can time my grow season to hit the 12-12 flowering cycles as the days will start to get longer in Feb and March.