Diy Custom CFL Growlight

[walshy19]

all got to start somewhere

 

[spring2012]

bluegil a 68w isn't even close to a 300w hps. Thats salespeople and their wattage equivalent bullshit.

Excited you are correct however you forget about the ballast. Tests show a 150w hps actually draws 199w.

Here are some HPS specs
70w(90Watts actual)- 6000Lumen 67Lumen/Watt
100w(124Watts actual)- 9500Lumen 76Lumen/Watt
150w(199Watts actual)- 15000Lumen 76Lumen/Watt
250w(300Watts actual)- 29000Lumen 97Lumen/Watt
400w(468Watts actual)- 50000Lumen 107Lumen/Watt
600w(660Watts actual)- 90000Lumen 136Lumen/Watt
1000w(1140Watts actual)- 140000Lumen 140Lumen/Watt

Cfl's aren't really meant for medium to larger grow ops, but they have very useful places like smaller grow ops, vegging, mothers, cloning, etc.
You aren't really getting anymore efficient unless you get a 250w hps or higher.

Keeping that in mind, I feel that cfls could be a wise option for many growers out there not wanting a large scale op or spending hundreds on an hps,ballast,hood, and fans/ducting to a/c your hood. I have a 150w hps, actually 199w, 16k lumens. With 8 cfls using 208w i can get 14k lumens. Yes on paper the more watts/less lumens looks bad. But think about the footprint, that 16k lumens from the hps was struggling to veg 2 healthy plants in my 2x4 tent. The 14k lumens of cfl had no problem vegging 3 or 4 plants and keeps the tent cooler.

If you don't a/c your hoods, you will not be able to use those valuable lumens we worked so hard for because it will force you to keep the light higher above the canpoy. My CFLs can be strung throughout the grow room and kept 1-4 inches away.

I look at it this way. HPS's should be air cooled. Thats major $$$ right there. Were talking bulbs,ballest,hoods,fans,ducting,etc

With just the $70 I spent on that 150w hps i never use. I could of built TWO of my 12 bulb fixtures. Can use daylight bulbs for veg and soft white for flowering or mixed spectrums.

I don't know, different strokes for different folks.
Don't get me wrong, you can't compete with those high watt hps's. But those aren't for everyone. Heres a great alternative. Or just a great veg/mother/supplemental fixture.
I've seen plenty of journals using halogens/floodlights/ or a cfl per plant, so if this helps any plants or growers I would feel like my time was well spent.

I'm with ya! Great DIY set up. Honestly I will probably only use CFL'S and T5's. Its not perfect for large grows but I stick to Autos.

 

[PhilPebbles]

Here are my girls under my DIY CFL setup..im just in the 1st week of flower after 5 weeks of veg.. all CFL

I have heard that the majority of the light you want comes out of the sides of the bulb not the ends. Do you have enojgh room to turn the y's so that your bulbs are horizontal?

 

[PhilPebbles]

Here is another pic lookin up into my closet and todays shot of aall the little buttons that popped

 

[spring2012]

Here is another pic lookin up into my closet and todays shot of aall the little buttons that popped

Looks great!! Any heat issues? How do you ventilate?

 

[PhilPebbles]

I just leave closet door open...no heat issues at all...80-84 when lights r on..78 when off

 

[PhilPebbles]

No heat problems at all

 

[Zooted]

Thanks, I think im going to buy a 4 fixture vanity w/y adapters & mount it on the wall for supplemental because this one is working so good. I was actually considering a journal, I think I might start one tomorrow. Here are a few pics of the ladies. Before I cut clones & pruned

Clones

After cutting clones & pruning a bit & transplanted into 3 Gallons (A Bit naked but who doesnt like some naked females )

And a few pics of my flowering girls outside (3 are clones & look very odd with their single leaves: Vanilla Kush, Headband, & Plat. OG)

I realize that this thread is around 6-7 yrs old, but I thought it important to add any pertinent information that may help others, regardless of the current year. Future People, we welcome you. Ok, while perusing the above flowering pictures, the 4th one down(or the 2nd one from the bottom) especially jumped out at me. First thing though, those flowering plants have Absolutely revegged themselves. They must have been getting very low light for that to happen, unless you had some major light leaks, but even then, reverting back doesn' readily happen. When I've revegged a plant after harvest, it usually takes a 2-3 weeks of 18/6 to start getting some decent growth, during those first weeks you'll see one fingered leaf blades starting to form. Basically, it doesn't happen overnight so if anyone has this problem then most likely you need way more light, or, you have one hell of a light leak going on. Also, that same plant(2nd from bottom) has some extremely shiny leaves, which could signal broad mites, which you definitely Do Not Want. Grow on