I am creating a custom box that will contain 3 * 400 watt metal halide bulbs (1200 watt total). The box will remain closed for 60 minutes, open for the next 60 minutes, then closed, then open and so on.. for a period of 10 hours. The box will open/close from the the front panel (the "door") using Arduino and Servo motors.
Since the bulbs will be generating a lot of heat I will attach a Duct Fan at 240 CFM on top of the box (is the top the best place to put it?). Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005KMTYFK/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=V2E1GXE4DR4J&coliid=I3B1JSME5M15UN
The box itself will be made out of wood so I will coat it with a heat resistant spray from the inside so it doesn't catch on fire. Something like this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000CPJLV2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=V2E1GXE4DR4J&coliid=I122VPINWI1GBY&psc=1
When the box is open I will need the box to emit as much light as possible. Therefore, I will coat the inside with a reflective substance (something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Oleum-1915830-Metallic-Silver-11-Ounce/dp/B000PQGE2M/ref=pd_sim_hi_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0DKBGQGVVCT0YSWCW1WB) so all light rays are dispersed from the box..
What do you think?
Thanks
Best Answer
1 - Location of the fan is irrelevant, since the airflow is driven, rather than occurring due to convection. Actually, putting the fan under the box rather than on top is best, so that the fan never gets heated by the hot air it is exhausting. At any rate, you want free air flow through both top and bottom. Note that this directly competes with your desire to reflect as much light as possible. Whether 240 CFM is adequate I don't know, but I'd suspect you'll be OK. No guarantees, though.
2 - Depending on a spray-on paint to fireproof the box is a really bad idea.
3 - Putting a probably-flammable layer of reflecting paint on top of the first layer is an invitation for the reflecting layer to catch fire. Your problem is that there is no obvious way to determine the reflectivity of the reflective paint in the infrared, and that is where most of the energy is emitted by the bulbs. Metallic silver by itself has excellent reflectivity into the IR, but that does not necessarily imply that your paint does as well.
4 - If you really think you'll be present for 10 hours continuously, well, all I can say is that I admire your bladder control. Not to mention your willingness to go hungry.
5 - As I recall, you're trying to illuminate a 3 x 5 foot area. If you want a fairly uniform illumination level over the entire area, you will need to make a tradeoff on box size. The closer you put your light source to your test area, the bigger the box (or at least the transmitting aperture) has to be. With a larger separation you can use a smaller box, but then you lose intensity. Also (and this is important), the bigger the box the harder it is to control exactly where the air goes, and the harder it is to guarantee that there are no dead zones/hot spots.
6 - In line with 1 and 5, just exactly how big a box were you figuring to make?