DIY PL-L CFLs

Maybe you are new to growing? Maybe you want an alternative to high pressure sodium and metal halide lighting? If you're interested in compact fluorescent lighting then you've come to the right thread!

One of the hottest compact florescent light products on the market right now is the PL-L type.

The bulb



These bulbs are available in 18, 24, 36, 40, 50, 55, and 80 watt varieties. Generally speaking, the higher the wattage rating the longer the bulb length.

In particular, we're interested in the 55 watt, 21.5 inch long variety. This model produces 4800 lumen. At 87 lumen per watt, this model is the most efficient. Bulbs are available in 3000k and 6500k colors from HTG Supply. The bulbs can be used for all phases of growth.

The socket
These 4 pin, twin tube style bulbs require a 2g11 socket.



This socket locks the bulb in place. The bulb is released by pushing down on the red button at the top of the socket. These sockets are available from Cool Lights USA.

A supply of power is needed to light the bulb. This power is supplied by a ballast.

The ballast

The Fulham Company has a reputation for making quality ballasts. The Workhorse 7 and Workhorse 8 models are ideal for driving 55 watt PL-L style bulbs.

How to choose your equipment

How many watts will you need? Ideally you could have as many as 80 to 100 watts per square foot. My project has 2.88 square feet. I've chosen (6) 55 watt/4,800 lumen pl-l bulbs for a total of 330 watts/28,800 lumen. That's a whopping 114 watts/10,000 lumen per square foot! Think big bud and dense colas!

To determine how many and what model of ballast you'll need, use the configuration tool at Fulham's homepage.

Choose "Twin" for the lamp type. Then choose your quantity and wattage. Since I'm using 55 watt bulbs I'll look for anything with 55 in it. I see 3x55. That means a ballast that will power (3) 55 watt bulbs. The Fulham Workhorse 7 supports this configuration. Since I have six bulbs I'll choose two Fulham Workhorse 7s.



Wiring the sockets and ballasts

Each ballast has a black and white wire coming out of it. These two wires need to be wired to a standard three prong plug so they can be plugged into an electrical outlet.

I've chosen some three prong plugs that come apart when some screws are removed. Inside, the interior has markings that clearly indicate the white and black wire terminals. Connecting the wires is as simple as pushing the bare end of the wire into the gap between the terminal wall and the little plate that tightens when you turn the terminal screw. Tighten the screw so that it firmly holds the wire between the terminal wall and the plate.



Once you've got the power plug wired to the ballast you're ready to wire the sockets to the ballast as well.

** Do not plug the ballast into any power outlet yet. The bare wires intended for the sockets on the ballast could cause a short, an electrical fire or electrocution resulting your untimely death **

Wiring the socket is fairly simple. The trickiest part is understanding how to "jumper" the socket.

Look at the picture below. The wire sheathing is stripped back about 1/4" to expose bare wire. That bare wire is shoved into the holes in the socket. The holes in the socket are designed to grip the wire and make a firm connection without soldering. Pretty cool huh?



Each ballast has only 1 yellow wire. You'll need to take some 18 gauge solid strand wire and make as many leads off the yellow wire as you have sockets. 1 yellow wire lead for each socket. Another way to think about this is that you are splitting the yellow wire into several leads so that each socket has one. Depending on the ballast model that you choose, you'll use either one red wire or two red wires for each socket. For the Workhorse 7, each socket will have one yellow wire lead and one red wire.

This is a wiring diagram for 3 x 55 watt PL-L lamps with a Fulham Workhorse 7 ballast. Pretty straight forward once you understand what the "jumpers" look like and how to wire the red and yellow wires to each socket. Pay attention to the "Compact" diagram. Ignore the "Linear" diagram.



If the wires on the ballast aren't long enough you'll need to extend them using 18 gauge single strand wire available at all major home improvement stores like Lowes or Home Depot. It's purchased by the foot. Buy more than you think you'll need. It's cheap and you'll use more than you think you will.

Connect the extension wires with wire nuts. Look around the electrical aisle and find wire nuts that are designed for 18 gauge wire.



The "jumpers" are designed to bridge the terminals on each side of the socket. If your ballast calls for two red wires from the ballast into each socket then you'd skip the jumper on the red wire side of the socket.

No, it doesn't matter which side is for the yellow wire and which side is for the red wire. Just pick a side for each.

Once you've gotten your power plug and sockets wired to your ballast, you'll want to mount the sockets to your cabinets. The pin end of the bulb is held by the socket itself. The other end of the bulb can be held by some wire and a well placed wood screw or these tricky bulb clips.



These are available from Cool Lights USA for $1.00 a piece.

I'd suggest mounting your ballast outside your grow box. It produces more heat than what you'd want inside your box.

If you've got questions just PM and I'll help you sort out your new lighting system.

Happy Growing!

 

Finally finished the guide.

 

EYY,
What do those bulbs look like? Are they a single tube? Twin tube? Spirals?