Mylar?!

[RooRman]

Where can you get sheets of reflective mylar for your grow room? Do they just sell it in the hardware stores, and if so what section? I'm not even aware of it's actual intended application other than in survival and fire blankets.

 

[DankCloset]

you can find it in agriculture shops, some nurseries. i have used both survival blanket and mylar, and frankly the mylar might be better, i almost prefer survival blanket do to sheer price. that and it does the job pretty well.

 

[Serpico]

nurseries would be a good place to start looking, usually any place that sells plants and growing equipment would also sell mylar and other reflective surfaces.

 

[Urdedpal]

try this
https://www.mdhydro.com/mylar.html

 

[Serpico]

lol i was just looking for maryland grow shops.... great post uder! Have you used this people before.... where do you go to get your supplies?

 

[RooRman]

Urdedpal UKnowEverything about growing!

If survival blankets actually work I will use those because they are like $4 a piece. But that mylar is pretty cheap too.

I'm just going to build a frame out of 2x4s and back it with plywood, cover the other 3 walls with mylar and drill holes in the plywood for fans. I want to house a 250w hps grow light. I have it all in my head but I can't seem to write down a design, I'll just have to design as I build like usual I guess.

 

[The Mad Toker]

Mylar can also be purchased at alot of science stores or school supply places. Only mylar I ever really bought cost be $100 for a sheet of it the size of a normal sheet of paper. Then again this mylar is extremely high quality and used to make solar filters for telescopes (which I did with mine) seeing it cuts the light of the sun down by about 100 000 times. However I have seen rolls of the cheaper stuff for sale at a few of these places.

 

[RooRman]

Ok, so I have been to my local hardware store, its a "Depot" for the "Home", and I asked them for mylar but they didn't seem to have any or know what I was even talking about. They wanted to know what it is used for, so they could figure out which department it might be in, but I did not know what it's actual use was so I told them it's a heat and light reflective material like they use in survival blankets. I told them I was doing a science project (lol) when they asked what I was using it for. I suppose as well it was just easier for them to say "We don't have it." and send me somewhere else then to actually take the time to make sure they didn't carry it.

I am done with mailordering stuff for quite sometime and all the rest of the supplies I need are sold locally, so I want to pick this stuff up in a local store somewhere too. I have tried craft stores, but to no avail. Should I try a plant nursery? There is one down the street from me, but they mainly deal with, of course, legal stuff that grows outside not inside. They don't have grow lights there so I imagine they won't have any Mylar either.

Also, I watched a video on here that NDW4ME posted called "High Quality Home Growing" and the guy in that uses some kind of white material with a black backing that is supposed to reflect light and prevent mold in his grow room. What is that stuff called, or is it just Mylar? I thought Mylar was the super shiney stuff, but this stuff was just plain white and seemed to be working very well for the guy in the video. Maybe NDW will post an answer to that for me...

So does anyone know the actual application of Mylar other than growing and where it can be obtained locally?

 

[ChesterO]

Try an aquatics retailer... Or Aquaticeco.com ... Reflective mylar is often used as a backing on heavily planted fish tanks... Good selection of air pumps and water pumps too.....

I know what you mean about mail-ordering stuff, but when I do so, I try to get what I need from anywhere that is not a gardening supplier.....



You might be able to get sheet delrin (Acetal) in white from an industrial supplier like Grainger or McMaster-Carr.... Need to set-up an account there though....

 

[RooRman]

Thanks ChesterO I might try looking in some place where they have aquariums. Although it doesn't sound like a very popular application of mylar, and all the aquatic supply shops around here are mainly pet stores first and foremost, but it's worth a try.

 

[l982]

"Also, I watched a video on here that NDW4ME posted called "High Quality Home Growing" and the guy in that uses some kind of white material with a black backing that is supposed to reflect light and prevent mold in his grow room. What is that stuff called, or is it just Mylar?"


It's Black & White Panda Poly. It is like mylar in a way. It is 5.5mm thick one side is black and the other is a highly reflective white. not as reflective as mylar but much thicker.mylar is only1-2mm. It's water proof and light proof. You can make partitions with it and not have to worry about light leaks. You can clean and reuse it too.

 

[RooRman]

Wow, that stuff sounds good. Is it more expensive and harder to find than mylar? I am also going for maximum reflectivity and I don't care so much about the anti mold feature that it offers over the mylar.

 

[skatterbrayne]

Wow, that stuff sounds good. Is it more expensive and harder to find than mylar? I am also going for maximum reflectivity and I don't care so much about the anti mold feature that it offers over the mylar.

Peace

Supposedly mylar reflects 98% of light, while the white side of this film reflects %90. I went with the poly film due to cost effectiveness. It costs $1 per foot and is 10 ft wide. I spent $20 and have reflective material for days..... You can find it or mylar at this link.

I know you're not tryin to mail order..but Im not sure where you could get it locally....Sorry, man

https://www.discount-hydro.com/mylar.asp

 

[RooRman]

Thanks man, I am really looking for it locally, but still afraid I am not going to find it. I may have to just bite the bullet and order it though, there is nowhere in my shitty town that sells this kind of stuff anywhere. Thanks again for the info and I must say, those prices look pretty reasonable. I am still waiting on mail-order stuff that was ordered a week ago so I really have no faith in mailorder anymore and I am trying to stay away from it as best as I can.

 

[skatterbrayne]

No problem, man..
Yeah its definitely cost effective, and I think I ordered something on Sat and received the following Thurs....

I know what you mean about mail ordering stuff right now....sheesh

 

[GreenThumbsUp]

I used to use Mylar sheets when I worked at a university in a tiny agricultural town. I always got mine from the big art supplies store..some chain, forget the name....oh..HObby Lobby...

 

[jakemeup]

Thank god I have an insanely good hydroponics/indoor growing store within a half hour of me. If they dont have it theyll order it and its there in 2-5 days.

 

[RooRman]

Yeah there are only plant nurseries and hardware stores in my town, but in either one you cannot find mylar.

 

[GreenThumbsUp]

yeah, they are mylar, but unlike the film, they have significant enough surface variance that they don't reflect light like mylar film does, and thus they are way less expensive.

The film is virtually perfectly glossy where the blankets aren't much more effective than the shinier side of aluminum foil (relative to the reflectivity of the mylar film, anyway) since the surface imperfections scatter reflected light more.

But, they do work in a pinch and are much easier to screw with than aluminum foil since they don't wrinkle up and get even more light scattering!

 

[RooRman]

Should probably post my solution. I bought from these guys a roll of Mylar 25' x 54", 2 mils. thick for $29.95 USD. Best price I have found for 2 mil. and the people are very nice and willing to help with exceptional service.

tasty harvest