most amount of lumens with clf pls help

[crackerbread]

i want to use clf but i want to get the most lumens from wutever clf size i buy. i kno a 400 watt mh puts out 36000 lumens and a kit is about $170. so which is most cost effective? i kno both light sources wrk my exp and some of the pics ive seen on here of some serious clf grows. im leaning towards the clf do to heat. can someone help me out?

 

[John400HPS]

i want to use clf but i want to get the most lumens from wutever clf size i buy. i kno a 400 watt mh puts out 36000 lumens and a kit is about $170. so which is most cost effective? i kno both light sources wrk my exp and some of the pics ive seen on here of some serious clf grows. im leaning towards the clf do to heat. can someone help me out?

If you have the right equitment and can cool it you should get a 400 watt hps. It pputs out 50,000 lumens. But in order to cool it your going to need a lot of stuff. Carbon scrubber, inline fan, ezcool hood, ducting, and probably a variable fan speed controller.

 

[lrg]

LOTS of 42 watts 2700k soft white
id go at least 6 per plants if not more
42 watts = 2600 lumens(Lumens dont mean much but is a one of the few ways to measure)
now knowing this your gonna need a decent fixture to house them manys ways to go about this
i prefer making my own with sheet metal and sockets (more cost effetive)
then breaking lamps for cords to hang em with lol
make sure your rooms is covered in mylar
cfl light is preciuos be relective
BUTTTTTTTTTTT
after saying all this

recommend going to walmart buying a $50 -150cfm stanley exhaust fan
and ordering your self one these

HTG Supply 150watt hps starting at $70

or hydrowholesale 1000 watts starting at $170

good prices in between watts as well look around

cfls can be pricey if you want them to work but they are nice for heat issue in stealth cabinets
if you have a closedt or a place with real space hps deffff

seeing how a 42 watt bulb is $9
adds up quick

TRIAL AND ERROR

have fun

 

[growone]

irg gave a good overview - i'll give you a quick view from micro grower land
if you are growing small - cfl's are the best in results and price
bigger on the other hand - hps is tough to beat - if you try to grow multiple large plants with cfl's, it gets expensive in the number of cfl's and cords, sockets, etc. to give the proper coverage for large plants
i'm having great results with a 78w cfl(3 26w) micro grow
by the cost per lumen - 26w are the hands down winner - they cost about $2 a bulb
there seems to be a fairly equal split in growers in the 26w camp, 42w camp, and larger cfl camp
each have their own setups, and many have great results

 

[rebelfied]

I am using 4 26w daylight(6500k) bulbs and a 42w bulb, for one plant. I will eventually convert to 4 26w 2700k bulbs and 2 6500k 26w bulbs.

 

[Roseman]

From Ed Rosenthal:

In the new Skunk Magazine there was a question in the "Ask Ed" section that just made my night last night when reading it...
The question was...

Tiny Grow Space

I intend to grow a single cannabis plant in a space 1' x 2'. What light would you recommend? I was think of using four 30-watt compact fluorescent lamps. Will this be enough? Cost isn't an issue but I am deterred from getting a high pressure sodium [light] because of the amount of heat the bulb produces.
Barry, Internet

As you mentioned, you have several lighting systems to choose from, including compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. Among HPS lamps you have a choice between a single 100-watt lamp which uses a total of about 120-watts and emits about 8,800 lumens(73 lumens per watt) or a 150-watt lamp, which uses about 180 watts and emits almost double that-15,800 lumens (87 lumens per watt).

A 42-watt compact fluorescent (CFL) emits about 2700 lumens(64 lumens per watt). Four CFLs use 168 watts and emit 10,800 lumens. Other size CFLs have a similar efficiency.

However, that is only part of the story. Plants use mostly red and blue light. Yellow and green light is of little use to them, so light that is emitted in these spectrums is wasted energy. Most of the light emitted by HPS lamps is in the yellow spectrum. Only a small amount of the emitted light is is in the orange or red spectrums, which plants use efficiently. Warm white fluorescents (2700 Kelvin) emit a greater portion in the red and orange sectors.
Although fluorescents produce only about 75% of the light per watt that the HPS does, the amount of light usable by the plant is equal or probably higher with the fluorescents. You may wish to experiment to see if adding a single cool white CFL to replace one warm white results in shorter, stouter stems and more vigorous growth. The reasoning is that warm whites don't emit much blue light, which the plants use for photosynthesis and to regulate their growth. The cool white bulb supplies the blue light.

My call for your unit would be to use several (three to five) CFLs with a total input of between 120-160 watts. Although the 150 watt HPS is a bit more efficient that the CFLs in total output, watt for watt the fluorescents provide as much useful light as the HPS lamp. Heat is another consideration. The HPS runs much hotter and emits more heat than the fluoescents.

Make sure to use reflective material around the garden so that any light escaping the garden is reflected back to the plants. Any light that doesn't get to the plant leaves is wasted.


CFL Tutorial -