These 4 plants finishing up from last round are taking their sweet time. Think I’ll chop the two on the right on Monday, and start some more in the space gained. The other two are happy with the “spider’ing” I did and the insides are ripening up now. Probably another 7+14 days though by the looks of it.
I’m really happy with the way things are going in this tent. Just daily leaf tucking and moving around has got this canopy pretty thick. Feeding at 3/2/1 which is about 1.65EC, runoff is 1.5 so I think I’m in a good spot. Little bit of tip burn but zero spotting or burning if I had to say anything negative I’d say the leaves aren’t as turgid as I’m used to, but that could be another factor. Thought about maybe adding silica if I could find a good cheap option since they all seem so expensive.
When a hole needs to be drilled for the cartridge heater, the following factors should be noted:
– The inside of the drilled hole must be uniform, without gratings, burs or uneven diameters
– The hole should be reamed to the perfect size to ensure the best heat transfer
– The drilled hole needs to have an outlet to make removal easier
– There must be a minimum space of 3 diameters between each heater
–* As the heat rises the distribution is less at the ends and the heat is concentrated in the middle. The connections must never be deeper than the drilled hole, as there is the risk of shorting and the leads burning. The connections must be protected to prevent any possible spilling of fluids and or gases.*
Protect the leads
In order to avoid the risk of short-circuiting and burning, leads should never extend into the hole containing the cartridge heater.
It’s important to protect the leads from liquids and/or gases such as oils, sprays, hot sparks and lubricants. These contaminating substances may enter into the cartridge heater and can cause premature failure of the heating element.
Failure can also be caused by accidental damage to the leads. To avoid abrasion, crushing or trapping of the leads under nearby objects, steps should be taken to protect them as much as possible.
Here at Cartridge Heaters, we offer several types of lead protection for use with cartridge heaters. If leads are subject to high temperatures (i.e. above 250°C), we recommend the use of ceramic bead leads. Heaters can also be made with un-heated zone patterns to offer the best possible protection.
So yeah idk, maybe where they’re only 180w heaters it wouldn’t get hot enough to melt the leads but would love someone like @ReikoX to give his 2 cents on how hot it gets around the end.
The heat distribution in the aluminum block is pretty quick, it will even out.
I’d focus on the best physical orientation and mounting for your planned setup.
How are you planning on attaching them to the block? Thermal epoxy?
Need to drill out two 10mm holes in each plate for the cartridges to fit into snug, nothing else needed for attaching the cartridges.
For attaching the aluminum plates to the cage I’ll just tap 4 holes in the top and bottom of the plates and use machine screws to screw everything together.
Thinking I’ll just have to leave 1/4" of the heaters sticking out of the back of plates.
Found some 1/4" hardwood but it is a 3 ply. I don’t have anything else on hand so I think I’m going to use this to insulate the plates from the cage. I can’t think of any other cheap replacement material that I could just go grab at a store.
They use Urea Formaldehyde adhesive.
At 200C UF shear strength is half but this application is all compression so good to go (especially as your worst case is 100C)
It’s a jungle in here! Been plucking a few leaves every time I’m with them, but will need a more thorough cleaning up some time this week. I also started adding a PK booster (Monster Bloom 0-50-30) to my nutrient mix.
Looking very nice Trev, you’re definitely keeping busy during the lockdown.
What is supporting the spindle on the left side, is it just the plastic tub. Might wear a hole downwards if it is that plastic is fairly soft.
That mesh attachment is going to be awkward. Depending on if it needs to be removed from time to time, you could either glue or staple. You will need to do one end first so it can be made taught, when fixing the second side.
I like that tumbler, Trev. I want to do smth similar myself. I’ve realised that I’ve barely made a dent on last year’s harvest and I’m growing a lot more this year. I have to either give it away or concentrate the stuff for some hypothetical future use…lol
Made a makeshift “bearing” that seemed to work good but I left it overnight and when I checked it this morning it was sideways and stuck. Have to optimize it a bit more.
Might try to do some of the machining work on the plates and cage today.
You’re right @Shadey with this lockdown I’m really trying to stay busy, not really because of boredom but because of restlessness and wanting to disconnect from all the hysteria. It’s almost as if it makes the days go by quicker and one day closer to being out of this mess.
Repitition will seem to make time speed up, I agree and am doing the same, I haven’t watched the news for 3 weeks now, no point there is nothing being covered except covid and the media fear porn propaganda agenda.
I hope you find something to help the bearing stay in place.
