CFL Light Tutorial
- Thread starter Roseman
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #583
hey roseman how efficient does my light set up look i currently have 8 cfls..6 are 26watt 2700k and 1 52watt 2700k and 1 26watt 6500k ...they total 14,950 lumens...any advice would b appreciated im still learning more n more as i log on here....
a 26 watt cfl averages 1700 lumens per bulb. 9 X 1700 = 15,300 lumens plus your 52 watt, so your estimate of 14,950 might be a little low.
15,000 lumens for 3 to 5 sq ft would be fairly good.
Roseman has always said that CFL's "fall off" some after a grow. So we need to remember that also.
SS, when you meter those bulbs, make note for us how long they have been used.
will do, but to eliminate that variable, I will try to only test new or nearly-new bulbs.
The bulbs I tested a couple of days ago with the much lower than rated watt readings were all brand new, except for the "200w" bulb that had less than 15 minutes of use.
thanks roseman,i was reading the tutorial and decided to go with the light set up on pages 3 n 4 of the tutorial...i plan on using ten bulbs on each side...ill post sum pics as soon as i build it...makin a list now n goin to home depot n the morning...thanks every1...i love this community more n more everyday..so knowledgable n helpful
jus curious,intead of flat white paint, do u think mylar lined inside of the 24' vent pipe would b safe or better then the white paint???jus curious,im n the process of building 1
I was invited here to show a cfl light fixture I made a few weeks ago. I can't take credit for the idea, Matagrowa developed the idea, I just copied his work. Thanks again Mata for the inspiration.
My task was to construct a fixture for holding (8) 55w cfl's that are to be used in my veg. closet.
The most important part of my visit to the hardware store was finding what sockets they carried. My store had sockets that were wrapped in rubber, I didn't need the rubber, but it made for a nice fit. These sockets fit into the 1 1/4" pvc best. Matagrowa used 1" pvc because that's what his sockets fit into, but he did use a little electrical tape to snug up the socket's fit in the pvc. I'm happy with the 1 1/4" because it gave me more room to cram all the wires into.
I used the lamp cord due to it's flexibility. Mata used romex, a very hard, stiff wire that would be difficult to manipulate into the T's. Lamp cord is much more flexible making it much easier to work with.
By the way, those yoyo's that I'm hanging the fixture with is great! They are spring loaded so you just tighten the wing nuts to set the drag and you can hold a fixture that's up to about 22 lbs. if I remember correctly. I just lift the fixture to work on the plants, and pull it back down when I'm done.
The parts list:
(2) 4' pieces of 1 1/4" pvc
(8) 1 1/4" pvc t's
(4) 1 1/4" pvc L's
(8) lamp sockets
20' of 16/3 lamp chord
wire nuts
electrical tape
(4) #8 x 1/2" pan head screws
(1) 24" section of galvanized vent pipe
~4' chain
(4) 8" zip ties
(1) can of flat white spray paint
A couple of pics of the finished fixture:
- Thread starter
- #588
We just bought a new Light fixture for the kitchen, two 48 inch flour tubes manufactured by GE. Guess what they used for the Reflector?
You know they could have used anything and you know they would have spent some money to do research to determinw what was best? .
Mirrored aluminum? Mylar? Tin foil? Nope, they used FLAT White paint!
You know they could have used anything and you know they would have spent some money to do research to determinw what was best? .
Mirrored aluminum? Mylar? Tin foil? Nope, they used FLAT White paint!
Wow, 40 pgs. thanx to all for the time and effort to put all this info in one place. I'm very new to growin my own and I've been readin, readin some more, then a little more. This thread will save me a whole lot of searchin and wasted time. My grow will be very small and for my own use.(maybe a couple buddies if they're lucky) so cfls are the best option for me. However I am interested in how long they last. Do the tube flourescents last or do they need to be replaced after 1 or 2 grows as well?
- Thread starter
- #591
I bought a light meter about two years ago, and tested mine. After ONE grow, after being on 24/7 for 5 weeks,a nd on 12/12 for 9 more weeks, CFLs lost 20%to 25%. After two grows, they had lost half. This loss was not detectable to the eye. The bulbs appeared just as bright.
I have 2 26 watt bulbs in the garage that have burned 24/7 for 4 years non-stop. They last, but they do lose lumens.
Welcome to 420, and Thanks for visiting our thread, I hope to see you around the forums often.
stonewallred
New Member
Hopefully you figured it out, but for anyone else who wonders about it there is a saying.
"White men wear ribbed rubbers."
On a non-grounded 110V cord, one of the wires will have ribbing while the other is smooth. The ribbed one is the neutral and the smooth is the hot. In simple terms, hot is black and neutral is white.
The idea in the lamp out of PVC is that the lamps were being wired in parallel instead of series, hence each connection having three wires.
The only thing I saw that made me nervous was the taping then wirenutting. Splices should be bare wires, approx 1" long, tightly twisted together, then capped with a wire nut, then taped. You should always twist the wires together in a clockwise direction also.
And for the record, if anyone is wondering, I am a HVAC/R tech. I have to understand and know about HVAC/R, plus electrical, plus plumbing plus such things as penetrating and sealing roofs, tar, gravel and rubber, setting up both supply water (ice machines and some commercial systems for condenser cooling) and drains, along with various other building stuff.
That being said, I know crap about growing pot, so don't expect any info there, but any questions about basic wiring, electrical or HVAC/R questions I will chime in or be glad to answer to the best of my ability.
I would say though, from what I have seen, anyone wanting to build a grow room, who has the cash to spare and space, would be well served using a walk-in cooler shell with a light residential AC system (2-4 tons, IMNSHO) installed. Easy to clean, air tight, nice and shiny with a pebbled surface to reflect light without burning, the AC could be set up with a humidifier and humidistat and kept whatever humidity level was desired and it is insulated to all get out, so lights of any type could be kept under control.
But that is just an idea I had. Right now I am satisfied with my few small bag seed plants which seem to be OK so far.
truegreenlove
New Member
thanks for all the info this thread had everything i could ever needed to know and some
- Thread starter
- #595
Welcome to 420, glad you joined us and glad you're enjoying this thread.
- Thread starter
- #596
Setting Sun, stonewallred,
I understand, thank you.
I understand, thank you.
guzziwalt
New Member
origamijoint
New Member
Roseman and the other minions of help. Thank you.
A harvest, manicure, and curing of my small first grow completed. I learned tons. And was given support by you all. Thank you. My collective has growing classes and I have sent some of the peeps here to learn more. I hope they show up. NO BETTER PLACE TO LEARN.
A harvest, manicure, and curing of my small first grow completed. I learned tons. And was given support by you all. Thank you. My collective has growing classes and I have sent some of the peeps here to learn more. I hope they show up. NO BETTER PLACE TO LEARN.
- Thread starter
- #599
Roseman and the other minions of help. Thank you.
A harvest, manicure, and curing of my small first grow completed. I learned tons. And was given support by you all. Thank you. My collective has growing classes and I have sent some of the peeps here to learn more. I hope they show up. NO BETTER PLACE TO LEARN.
Tell them to hunt me or the Deep Water Culture.
I'd like to have seen your harvest.
G-Dog
New Member
Roseman.
I have only been through page one of this thread so far and I have to say that you really put a lot of work into it and it shows. Thanks.
I am myself a CFL fan. Not only is heat removal an issue, but so is an actual fire hazard. Anything can happen with electrical wiring and we cannot cover every detail, but a fire could be started with multiple CFLs. However, with HID anything it touches that is flammable could start a fire.
With the massive heat that is produced by HID a grow can be detected by thieves or others with inexpensive infrared (heat) detecting device.
I was sold a long time ago on the heat and energy savings, but what I really love is dangling my CFLS between plants to maximize bulb efficiency.
I have only been through page one of this thread so far and I have to say that you really put a lot of work into it and it shows. Thanks.
I am myself a CFL fan. Not only is heat removal an issue, but so is an actual fire hazard. Anything can happen with electrical wiring and we cannot cover every detail, but a fire could be started with multiple CFLs. However, with HID anything it touches that is flammable could start a fire.
With the massive heat that is produced by HID a grow can be detected by thieves or others with inexpensive infrared (heat) detecting device.
I was sold a long time ago on the heat and energy savings, but what I really love is dangling my CFLS between plants to maximize bulb efficiency.