Just a tiny warning. These mofos can get pretty hot. I nearly vaporized my plants when I had them 2" above. It is my first grow, and I wanted the light as close as possible. I have a fan running between the plants and the light now, and moved the light 6" or so above.
GREAT FUCKN POST DUDE. I actually was one that sat down and read ALLLLLLL that!!! becuz I am one who will be doing a first time PL lighting Cabinet grow!! Thank you for that great CFL HID, Pl LIGHTING class while I did my thing. Rep+ I THINK WE HAVE A STICKY???
I am very blow away-ed by this thread. It is very awesome. About ten years ago, I was Mr Know Everything about grow rooms. I was a consultant among my peers. Then, about five years ago, I stopped, because I moved to Europe. When I stopped, Envirolites were like ultra top secret new technology. Folks had heard of them, but nobody could get them. So now, I don't know anything about lighting! But this thread is a very cool way to get up to speed. I guess I know enough about the fundamentals of lumens, heat and spectrum to understand that the author of this thread knows his stuff. Well, I have a real small flat in Switzerland, and I think I had better give these new fluros a go. I had always believed that nothing would ever replace the 600W son-t, but I guess you can't argue with progress. Man, I feel old.
Run your fan/ventilation flow across the lamps from the tip to the base. The base is the hottest part of the lamp so you don't want that air flowing past the plants. Once you have a good flow of air, you can drop the lamps down to within a half inch, just be careful during veg and stretch as they grow fast and will hit the lights quickly.
Where can I purchase these bulbs in the US?? Also I am going to use these inside a cabitnet. the Dimensions: 31 1/2" H x 24" W x 12" D I was guessing 2 55watt 2700k for 1 stage and then 2 55 watt 6500k for the 2nd stage. I think that should be plenty of light. I am only going to do autoflowering lowryder2. If you think I should use more or less please let me know. I am new to growing, and was doing a speaker box cfl system, but after waitin for seeds and been reading every night, and now this!!!! changed my whole setup and think I am a little smarter with the light part of the grow. Please let me know If I am correct thank you
Do a search for 55w 2G11 and you'll find sellers. The Fulham ballasts are the best I've found so far. I like the 220w ones as they run 4 55w lamps. You can use the 4000K ones for veg, they're cheaper and work excellent. I'm running some 5400K's and they're awesome but almost $20 a lamp. Use 2700's for Flower, if you can find them in the States. I use 3000K for flower since they're the only ones I've found so far. They're excellent for flower though, so don't worry. You could actually run 4 55w lamps for 220w in there. Since you're using autoflower strains I'd put in 2 5400K and 2 3000K lamps and run all at once.
Ok great, yes I have found the colors I need 2700k and 6500k here in the states. YEY Now they are kind of pricey over here, 24 dollars a bulb. I have also found a great posting if I may add to your posting DIY PL LIGHTING --PRETTY GOOD STUFF HERE Now what your saying is run 2 2700k and 2 6500k in there at one time??? Yes I will be using autoflowering strands, meaning there is no veg stage I believe. So its all flowering from the seed I suppose? Now how about heat inside the cabinet, from the bulbs? and also how close could I keep the light fixture from the plants? i am going to use the YO-YO reflector hangers. I like that idea pretty cool.
You found 2700Ks??? Pray tell, dear sir, at which location you found those in the states? As for the spectrum, you're in a micro environment so the veg lamps (6500K) will keep the plant short and bushy while the 2700Ks will max out the flower potential. You want maximum light as soon as the seedling can handle it. (there's no way to delay the flowering so you have to give it all you've got from the start) Set your lamps so that the air leaves the chamber after passing over the socket end of these lamps. That will ensure that the lowest air temps are passing through the tops of your plant. I'm able to get them within 1/2" with only a 50CFM $20 fan, without burning. The lamps will run a little hot the first 2 weeks, so does a new ballast. I can grab the lights now and they won't burn, except the socket end. I can hold any part of the ballast when it's running a full 220w and it won't burn me. The first 2 weeks it had hot spots. These lamps are freaking super. I wouldn't dream of cooling a 150W HPS with only 50cfm and I'm cooling 220w and able to get the lamps closer. Finally a flat lamp designed specifically for LST and Scrog
Wellllllll its not in the states, hows Hong Kong for you???? Can you buy from them??? Now I am new to all this scrog and growing, so much info will be great about using thse lights and lights in general. Soo what would you do if you were groing auto ak47 inside a small cabinet like myne??? I have a vantec tornado fag, 3 ballbearing fan does like over 100 cfms. I think im set with cooling htose lights, just need to make sure I set this box up and learn all the other factors. Now can you LST with auto strains or i should say low ryder strains??? These are truthfully the lights of all lights to use, forget CFLS and HPS lights, this is the way to go, if you are doing a DIY grow box or setup. I mean cmon they blow other cfls out the water, and they are fairly easy to get parts for these bulbs, I rather build my own setup and spend sum cash then sum company makin cheap parts and selling them. Well thank you again for this wonderful posting If you have more hidden or kept from us please show us the light. Thank you
Ok, I am also new here. I am about to start my own stealth grow, i have not attempted this before. I am glad that i found this thread, incredible info here. I have some questions about this tho I will have two separate boxes, one veg one one for the fruit/stretch. I plan to have enough space to have 4 plants per box. From what ive found i'm going 3 lights per box. I figure for the veg box i will have 3 of these http://www.1000bulbs.com/Full-Spectrum-55-Watt-4-Pin-2G11-Base-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulbs/ for the fruit box i plan to have 3 of these http://www.1000bulbs.com/3000-Kelvin-55-Watt-4-Pin-2G11-Base-Compact-Fluorescent-Light-Bulbs/ These lights will be about the height of the plant when fully vegged so i figure getting them as close as i can without burning them will be beneficial. so far my logic is correct right? ok, now as many people have been asking before me, how do i hook these things up? ive been trying to figure this out so tell me if i have done good. For each chamber i will need: 3 of these http://www.atlantalightbulbs.com/ecart/nw012104/360-70EDWYNGAYNOR.htm Will these work with these bulbs? and are there better quality ones out there? and the Ballasts... I have no idea what these are. I assume that i need one per chamber, can someone give me a link to one that will support what i need? also, these ballasts, do they plug into an AC outlet? (i assume not) if not, how do you power these things? Please help me out guys. I've got potential to make some great product, i just want to do it right from the start. Cisco
Coming along nicely, though I would look into bonsai mums and possibly making the veg chamber a bit smaller and increase the flower chamber size. This way you can run 2 lamps in the Veg and 4 lamps in flower. I've found the Fulham ballasts to be excellent. They run a huge number of different types of Fluoro lights. You can also use T5HO ballasts to run the lamps, just make sure you get a variable ballast or match the wattage. Those bulbs will work just fine and so will the sockets you've chosen. Do a search for PL-L on the forums here and you'll find one that covers wiring, I can't remember the link off-hand. They're VERY easy to wire though. With the right ventilation (air-flow from tip of lamp to socket and then exit the room) flow you'll be able to keep your lamps within a half inch without crisping.
I really wouldn't suggest having bonsai mother plants and taking clones for a beginner. You're better off learning by doing a full grow from seed. Then, after you have some experience under your belt, you can try some more advanced techniques. So far it appears you have done your research! very good! lol but seriously the previous poster covered it well: yes, those sockets are fine yes you need some ballasts, (not sure which ones though) and yes, they are very easy to wire and have lots of pictorials on line. infact, i believe i couple posts up in this very thread is a link to a DIY wiring of a whole light fixture that should provide you with some insight. good luck and keep us posted! EDIT: found the link: http://www.petfrd.com/forum/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=28
Just take cuttings on day 21 (when you should be trimming a lot of leaf and small lower growth anyway) and work with those as clones. By then you should be over the 'hump' of keeping things alive and have a bit more time on your hands. Any T5HO ballast will work, as long as it's matched in wattage to your lamp. I like the Fulham Workhorse series because I can use almost any lamp with it (PL, T5HO, T8HO, T12 and more) Hope that helps
which ballast will I need to run 4 lights? Im not sure how voltage works with this stuff. New to lightng. Thank yu http://www.1000bulbs.com/Fulham-Ballast-Longhorse-6/
4 55w lamps is 220w. I use a Fulham Workhorse 8. The 7 is also a 220w with some differences. I don't know what the difference is, but I know the 8 runs 4 55w lamps like a champ at temps that won't burn your hand. Look around your town. Others have been able to find them cheaper than online. You can also use an Avance ballast (or any other ballast) that's designed for lighting up T5HO lamps. For a single 55w PL-L, look for a 55w T5HO ballast. I'm sure the Fulham Workhorse series isn't the only ballast that works with a huge range of different Tube and Compact Fluoros but I do know they're a very good quality product.
Ok Guys, Terrific info. Thats pretty much what i figured on the Ballasts and wiring, i just didnt want to find out that i was wrong with they got here. Construction starts this weekend!
EXCELLENT INFO. I am always excited to stay on the edge when it comes to new lighting techniques. (Check out philips K2 series LED's or the new CMH bulbs!) But, I would love to see all the info compiled here into one DIY from buyers guide to wiring! PL's are DEFINITELY going in my PC case if i can figure out how to fit them with only 18" of depth! maybe 2 pc's....
These bulbs are huge!!! I mean in length. If you wanan go stealth you may neeed a lonnnng draw or inside an ARmwah, however you spell that mofo piece of furniture. check it out
Sick thread man! Looking to build a few grow lamps for herbs and orchids. Think I will look at using three 40W PLs and a Workhorse 5 ballast. walnut