I have a qeustion about lighting and soil.

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by batmanjosh5000

last night i made them 10inch and 3/4 (ten inches and three quarters) above the platform, turned them on, came back 40 minutes later and it read 115f. Would it maybe take longer to fully heat? Or maybe the wood with polyurethane doesn't absorb heat so well?

The polyurethane sealant will not effect the heat absorption/retention, and I personally wouldn`t move the bulbs any closer, maybe swap one of them for a higher wattage (65w)?
Tile/slate do hold the heat longer, you could always try that and see what you get.

[batmanjosh5000]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

The polyurethane sealant will not effect the heat absorption/retention, and I personally wouldn`t move the bulbs any closer, maybe swap one of them for a higher wattage (65w)?
Tile/slate do hold the heat longer, you could always try that and see what you get.

That's a good idea, i would probably raise the wattage in the middle one. But i was thing maybe i should have to adjacent rows of lights. Like if i would have a row of three and in front of it have a row of 2

[murrindindi]

Originally Posted by batmanjosh5000

That's a good idea, i would probably raise the wattage in the middle one. But i was thing maybe i should have to adjacent rows of lights. Like if i would have a row of three and in front of it have a row of 2

If you have two rows there may be more heat than is needed (ambient air, too), you also have to consider that the more heat the less humidity.
Try one higher wattage in the middle, also a piece of slate/stone, leave them on for a couple of hours and see what the surface temps are, anything over 50c (120f) is fine.

[batmanjosh5000]

Originally Posted by murrindindi

If you have two rows there may be more heat than is needed (ambient air, too), you also have to consider that the more heat the less humidity.
Try one higher wattage in the middle, also a piece of slate/stone, leave them on for a couple of hours and see what the surface temps are, anything over 50c (120f) is fine.

O ya that's a good call. So ill give it another try for a couple of hours and if it doesn't raise ill get the higher watt and a piece of stone.