Cooling the light ballasts

[Outsiders71]

I want to cool down the bulbs so I can place the lights as close as possible to the plants. Currently that isn't possible because they get pretty warm/hot.

Is it viable to cut out the top side of the light ballast and install a PC vent fan? Or would that degrade anything?

Right now I just have 2 fans blowing across from each side but I don't think that is too efficient.

 

[seedjar]

What kind of lights? On Barry Rice's CP FAQ there's an article about how to remove the ballast from a T12 fluorescent fixture and mount it outside the case for superior heat loss. That might be of some help. Don't electrocute yourself.
Best luck,
~Joe

 

[Outsiders71]

Just your plain ol' fluorescent lights in a 4ft shoplight.

 

[Clint]

t12 is a regular shoplight

a fan blowing across the lights would help too.

 

[Outsiders71]

I'm not using t-12's i'm using the more efficent t-8's.

 

[Clint]

your right i need those!

the method should work the same for both of them however.

 

[JB_OrchidGuy]

You should be able to unplug it and disassemble the light and cut a hole over the balist and place a fan sucking the hot air out. Should be fine. Just will need another transformer for the 12 volts of the PC fan. Also blow one accross the lights too like Clint said. I don't think it would be any different than cutting a hole inthe side of a PC case to add a fan there. Just teh butt long as nothing gets sucked into the fan and its not hitting anything.

 

[seedjar]

If you have your lights in a row, I'd suggest trying to rig the ballasts as Barry describes on his site. If they're stacked (such as on a rack) then fans would probably be necessary to get a significant difference. But otherwise, open air should be enough to draw an appreciable amount of heat away from the ballasts. (Even more so with the fans you've described.) And if you're going to be tinkering around inside the casing anyways, you might as well try the free way before you go throw down cash on extra stuff. Definitely keep the modded lights on a surge protector, just in case. And don't electrocute yourself.
~Joe

PS - Reading your first post again, I hope that you mean to cut into the fixtures, and not the ballasts themselves. You should never, ever open up the actual ballast unit unless you know exactly what you're doing. Some ballasts contain capacitors that hold enough charge to toast you.

 

[Outsiders71]

Yes Joe I meant the fixture. Logically to me the heat is being trapped in there because of the fixture. Thanks all for the suggestions.

 

[Ozzy]

Here's a way better idea.

Eliminate the heat source altogether. The ballast does not have to remain inside the fixture. Remove the ballast. Drill a hole through the fixture. Route the wires from the ballast to the where you removed them from. You can screw the ballast to the top outside of the fixture. Or you could build a rack away from your plants and lights.

Be careful not to get any of this wet or knick the wires.

I'll be glad to helpwith this anyway I can.