Quote:
Originally posted by The Grim Reefer
It doesn't take all that much to cool the lamps. In fact blowing a fan directly on the lamps can overcool them to the point of decreasing the output.
After looking at the pics again it looks like that rascal already has vents in the top. Be interesting to put a temp probe and PAR meter on one of those things and play. I think reversing the fans to blow in and partially blocking the vent holes on the opposite end from the fans so the air is pushed out the end and out the top would be an interesting experiment. Getting air to move past the ballasts would at least extend their effective life and likely boost the output a tad.
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It is also possible that a replacement fan and bracket assembly from an Outer Orbit or other Current fixture would actually bolt right up into one of the top vents. The current fixtures all share many common traits and basic parts are interchangeable in alot of cases. The Nova very likely has the two grooves that run along the top edge which are made to huld brackets for fans, ballasts etc. Maybe leaving the fans as is and adding one up top would be plenty to draw some air up and help cool the ballasts without losing the cooling to the bulbs.
Earlier I was referring to there being no noticeable drop in output after the Nova warms up. I think that is atleast a modest indicator that the cooling is effective. I have read multiple questions and complaints from TEK owners who stated that there fixtures seemed to get dimmer after several minutes of being turned on when the acrylic lens is in use. Not making any comparisoons as to which fixture is better, just pointing out a known issue of the passively "cooled" TEK that apparently the Nova doesnt suffer from because the fan cooling seems to be effective enough.