mh/pc fan

[troutman11111]

hi, just putting together my new mh/pc combo. on the light itself they are 2 switchs 1 for the pc's and one for the twin fans. should i hook up the fans to come on when the mh comes on? or when the pc's come on first? thanks 2x250mh 10,000k / 2x55watt pc's.

 

[Anemoneman]

I would turn the fans on with whatever light goes on first (I assume it's the pc's) and turn it off when the pc's go out, preferably after the MH have been out for a time to allow the fans to cool the bulbs off.
At least that's how I do it.

 

[troutman11111]

thank's mark. i kinda thought that is the way it should be. this light is brighter then the sun. when i turned on the m/h 1 bulb got a little glow then got a little brighter then the other bulb did the same thing, i kept it on for 5 min just to see if it worked is this normal for m/h?

 

[Anemoneman]

Yeah, that sounds normal. MH light up slowly and take several minutes to reach full brightness. Really a neat sunrise effect. I wish they shut down the same way.

 

[maiceman]

I turn my fans on with the mh lights. I use 2 NO actinics that are pretty cool running and really don't need a fan under the conditions in my hood. I'm not sure if pc's run any hotter and that is what should determine if you run your fans or not. The fans will promote evaporation so I only have them on when there is a heat source strong enough to effect the water temp. Otherwise leave them off and reduce total power consumption and replenishing needs.

 

[cal91666]

I have almost the exact same lighting setup except PC's are 96 watts each. I turn my fans on with my MH's and it seems to be working well for me. Without fans on reflector is so hot you cannot hold your hand within a couple of inches of the reflector, with fans on you can actually touch the reflector and it is only warm when MH's are on. Reflector is only slightly warm when PC's only are on.