- Thread starter
- #561
What an awesome breakdown of how to use CFL lighting efficiently.
THANK YOU for sharing! ~Minus
Thank you, the thread has grown into a joint effort! LOL!
CFL Light Tutorial
- Thread starter Roseman
- Start date
Thank you, the thread has grown into a joint effort! LOL!
Where is this post that you speak of??? I am all about troubleshooting and preventing mistakes so If you dont mind letting a brother know Would greatly appreciate it.
- Thread starter
- #563
Myzz617,
The INDEX is on this page:
Deep Water Culture Tutorial, SH Kit & DIY
and ALGAE is on post # 133 - 135.
The INDEX is on this page:
Deep Water Culture Tutorial, SH Kit & DIY
and ALGAE is on post # 133 - 135.
Out of curiosity, I just checked the draw on several new spiral CFL bulbs.
The 42w I checked first draws 24w.
Then checked a 65w, and it draws 32w.
Next came a huge 200w monster that only draws 50w.
To verify that my watt meter is working, I finished by checking my T5 light, that is rated at 110w, and it draws 108w.
All bulbs were stabilized for at least 30min before taking readings.
So, what's up with that?
The 42w I checked first draws 24w.
Then checked a 65w, and it draws 32w.
Next came a huge 200w monster that only draws 50w.
To verify that my watt meter is working, I finished by checking my T5 light, that is rated at 110w, and it draws 108w.
All bulbs were stabilized for at least 30min before taking readings.
So, what's up with that?
Hmmmm, that is interesting. Then the whole theory of more lower watt clf's = more lumens for less watts isn't necessarily holding water?!?
Can anyone else verify this? You should post up the lumens on those bulbs so we can double check the math.
Can anyone else verify this? You should post up the lumens on those bulbs so we can double check the math.
This is the meter and it's accurate. I've used it to check the energy usage of *lots* of different lights, including HID, T5, LED, and lots of other gear, and it reports the numbers just fine.
Digital Electricity Usage Tester
This is the first time I've used it to test spiral CFL's. The 200w bulb I tested isn't a spiral bulb; it has several tubes. Hard to believe the thing only draws 50w when it's rated at 200, but it's a brand new bulb and that's how it runs. I also notice that it isn't nearly as bright as my 110w T5. It's subjectively about half as bright, which makes sense.
I have a light meter, so I'll do some watts/intensity tests when I get the time, but this is a trip.
from another grow forum:
"Don't take the manufacturers specs. Take a measurement yourself. You will find the amp draw is far less than the rated wattage. I measure a 250 watt cfl and found it actually only draws 0.9 amps @ 115 volts that means these are actually 103.5 watts! same goes for a 125 watter it only drew 0.44 amps @ 115 v. These were actual wattage bulbs. I would't be surprised if your 42 watters are drawing less than 0.2 amps! bottom line is to get yourself an clamp on inductive amp meter and check the current draw yourself"
Digital Electricity Usage Tester
This is the first time I've used it to test spiral CFL's. The 200w bulb I tested isn't a spiral bulb; it has several tubes. Hard to believe the thing only draws 50w when it's rated at 200, but it's a brand new bulb and that's how it runs. I also notice that it isn't nearly as bright as my 110w T5. It's subjectively about half as bright, which makes sense.
I have a light meter, so I'll do some watts/intensity tests when I get the time, but this is a trip.
from another grow forum:
"Don't take the manufacturers specs. Take a measurement yourself. You will find the amp draw is far less than the rated wattage. I measure a 250 watt cfl and found it actually only draws 0.9 amps @ 115 volts that means these are actually 103.5 watts! same goes for a 125 watter it only drew 0.44 amps @ 115 v. These were actual wattage bulbs. I would't be surprised if your 42 watters are drawing less than 0.2 amps! bottom line is to get yourself an clamp on inductive amp meter and check the current draw yourself"
It just goes between what you are testing and the wall socket.
So what you are saying setting sun is that manufacturers are lying to us. What a surprise. So if we think we have X number of lumens we most likely have less then half, is that correct?
TheMilkMan
New Member
Gangsta Finding this is.......making me think im bein ripped off hard.....but we are still pulling decent buds are we not?
If your getting the correct amount of lumens and the amp/watt numbers are off a bit that actually pays off better for us. Means we can add more light or use the higher W bulbs because they do produce more lumens but the price is not worth it. I bought a 105W CFL says it outputs 5K lumens, The 42W bulbs put out 2800 lumens. I did the math and buying more 42W was worth it than the 105W in the price area. If the high W bulbs put out more lumens i think it is best to do a combo mix of them. This is just my hypothesis after doing about a day or so of reading on just Cfl bulbs and their specs from diff sites. Them HID Car lights do look interesting but the lifespan for using them in a grow environment I wonder if they are worth it?
420warriors
New Member
The question is, are the lumen ratings that far off as well? If the bulbs put out close to the rated lumens and use less watts its a benefit. Less watts equals less energy used. When looking at the lumen ratings it can be confusing because some are rated for the amount of lumens visible to the human eye.
I've got a couple of more pressing issues in my grow room right now, so it's going to be a few days until I can take some watt/lux readings of different CFL bulbs, but it's definitely on my list and I will report back with some numbers.
