10 23w CFL Grow
- Thread starter randomdub
- Start date
B166ER420
Well-Known Member
Nicely done!
vostok
Well-Known Member
a better pro pic of your cfl rack please so I may post on my collection here:
https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/a-collection-of-diy-ghetto-blasters.30154/
many thanks
"V"
https://www.rollitup.org/Journal/Entry/a-collection-of-diy-ghetto-blasters.30154/
many thanks
"V"
randomdub
Active Member
Usually I would have a Y splitter in each socket to make for 10 CFL, but right now I have it above some cuttings so the light has been reduced.
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Deadlytalon2014
Active Member
Nice Post, I vegged with 10 26w CFLs, and now I am flowering with 20 26w CFLs, hoping to get some good results. "My store has 23w and 26w CFLs, same price, but the 26watt gives 200 more lumens per bulb"
randomdub
Active Member
I flowered under 10 23w CFL bulbs with that light I made. It was only 1 plant but I got just over 2 oz of that plant and I pulled it about a week early because I messed up the PH and was getting nute lockout.
Deadlytalon2014
Active Member
$3 DIY Hood, Take Aluminum Foil Roasters, Hook them together, On the top, take a piece of 2'x4', once you have the pans cut and place all together, measure and cut the board to the width of the pans, Screw the pans to the board, Drill out the holes for the lamp connectors that the sockets come with "The ones I bought did" then screw on the nut to the top of the thread, run the wires through. Additionally, with my Socket Kits, I got Lamp shade holders with my Sockets, I bolted those to the board on both ends, and hooked hanging chains to them, then put a Hook on the ceiling to hook the chain onto, The hood is also now adjustable, able to be moved higher as the plant grows allowing it to always be at the perfect distance.
Total Cost, NOT counting the fixtures for lights I needed regardless, $3, "Used scrap would and screws I already had"
Deadlytalon2014
Active Member
What do you think of my crazy ghetto blaster
lol, I ordered 10 more 1 to 2 adapters, they willbe here tomorrow, then I will have my lights doubled, I will upload a new picture once I get them in.Deadlytalon2014
Active Member
Is that dry weight 2 oz, or before hanging and drying ? Curious to know what you got per plant, I am also growing 2 plants btw.
randomdub
Active Member
That was dry weight.
How did that only cost you $3? I know the lights cost much more than that. Its a good Idea though, I have seen the turkey pan technique a few times. The only issue is that foil isn't as good of a reflective surface for light as the hammer tone aluminum. But on a budget you're method works fine.
Deadlytalon2014
Active Member
I'm saying just $3 for the pans, because I had to buy the lights no matter what Your fixture probably ran $20+ for the metal and hardware I'm assuming, and that is if you have the tools to do it properly, mine requires nothing but a knife
so its a real poor mans build for those who just don't have the know how or tools, I would have done one more similar to yours, except I didn't have the tools, I also took Car reflectors, and attached them at angles on the edges of the pans to increase the reflect surface. Total:$3 for pans,
$25 for Light Fixtures "5 fixtures at $5 Each"
$20 for the 1 to 2 adapters "10 for $10 on Ebay"
and $30 for all the lights "Already had some" --20x 26w 1800 Lumens, With: 16x 2700k, 4x 6500k, and 4x 3500k
Originally, i didn't have the cheap made hood, I had the lights dangling from chains with nothing preventing the light from going up, and didn't have any money or tools to make a great hood, so this is what I came up with, and it actually works AMAZING, I added Aluminum foil reflects around the bases and such, There is literally 0 shade spots anywhere on the underbrush. HOPING "Fingers crossed" for 1-3 Oz per plant, More then that would be freaking AMAZINGGG lol "this is why I doubled my lights, I read 2500 Lumens per sq Foot is minimum, 5000 per sq foot is average, and 7000 per sq foot + is best, With my setup, I will have 8400 Lumens per Sq Foot once my next set of 10 1 to 2 adapters comes tomorrow.
John L III
Member
Where did you get the snakeskin metal reflector? One of my grow lights has that, but I would like to experiment with it.
John L III
Member
The growlight I made from scratch in my basement, is situated between my overhead rafters. The gap between the rafters is just over 14" wide, and the light is 48 inches long. Inside the grow light are 16 - 23w CFL bulbs I bought "on the cheap".
I live in the Raleigh/Durham area, and Duke Energy is the electricity provider. Duke has a special program to encourage customers to get off the incandescent bandwagon, so they subsidize businesses that participate in their program. I first learned about this, when I was out going through thrift stores, looking for great deals. Must be the barbarian hunter/gatherer in me.
The Habitat for Humanities thrift store had a huge pile of CFLs stacked up, in packets of two bulbs. The price for a two bulb pack was $1, and you could choose between 60/75/100W, all for the ridiculous price of "two for a dollar". The only catch was that all the bulbs were Warm White. No daylight White.
Well, I bought a bunch of them, and actually called up Duke to see where else they had their program. I told the lady at the other end that I didn't care for Warm White(I don't), and preferred the Daylight White more. So she gave me some more businesses in my area, and WalMart had a couple of stores in the Cary Area. Not all WalMarts are in the program, but the one I went to, was selling both Warm, and Daylight White CFLs in four bulb containers. And while not quite as good as the $.50/each price at the thrift store, a box of four was $3.48. Still a great deal for 23W bulbs. So I cleaned them out of Daylight bulbs(8 - 4 bulb boxes). I was in hog heaven. I have since discovered another WalMart in Raleigh that has the same program, and I bought another 4 boxes, so I'm stocked full of CFLs for all sorts of uses.
If you will check with your energy provider, you may find that they too offer incentives for going to CFLs and perhaps the same deal as I have here in the Raleigh area. You can't beat those prices.
And with so many cheap CFLs, I am thinking of all sorts of little projects to experiment with. I'm even thinking of mixing in CFLs with 15w LEDs within the same fixture, since I now have 20 of the Chinese 15w LED light fixtures. All of them are the screw in type, so I don't need to worry about all the calculating and power supplies. I just hook them up in parallel and I'm ready to go. I'll take some pictures and post them here later after Christmas.
Oh, one other thing. $3 for that aluminum baking pan is way too much. If you go to a Dollar Tree, you can find a wide range of these bakers for just $1. I actually bought a couple earlier, but quickly realized other possibilities with bigger fixtures. The most expensive parts I pay for are the bulb sockets and the "Y" splitters. In fact, I'll probably resort to buying them on eBay from a Chinese dealer, where they are also cheap.
Everything else is less than a buck. Oh, wait a minute, that's not entirely true. A 6ft cord and plug was $1.39 at WalMart, and I bought 4 fans on Amazon for a little over $5 each. Other than that, everything else was as cheap as you can get. The CFLs were $.50/each for Warm White, and $.87/each for the Daylight White. You would be hard pressed to beat that one, don't you think?
I live in the Raleigh/Durham area, and Duke Energy is the electricity provider. Duke has a special program to encourage customers to get off the incandescent bandwagon, so they subsidize businesses that participate in their program. I first learned about this, when I was out going through thrift stores, looking for great deals. Must be the barbarian hunter/gatherer in me.
The Habitat for Humanities thrift store had a huge pile of CFLs stacked up, in packets of two bulbs. The price for a two bulb pack was $1, and you could choose between 60/75/100W, all for the ridiculous price of "two for a dollar". The only catch was that all the bulbs were Warm White. No daylight White.
Well, I bought a bunch of them, and actually called up Duke to see where else they had their program. I told the lady at the other end that I didn't care for Warm White(I don't), and preferred the Daylight White more. So she gave me some more businesses in my area, and WalMart had a couple of stores in the Cary Area. Not all WalMarts are in the program, but the one I went to, was selling both Warm, and Daylight White CFLs in four bulb containers. And while not quite as good as the $.50/each price at the thrift store, a box of four was $3.48. Still a great deal for 23W bulbs. So I cleaned them out of Daylight bulbs(8 - 4 bulb boxes). I was in hog heaven. I have since discovered another WalMart in Raleigh that has the same program, and I bought another 4 boxes, so I'm stocked full of CFLs for all sorts of uses.
If you will check with your energy provider, you may find that they too offer incentives for going to CFLs and perhaps the same deal as I have here in the Raleigh area. You can't beat those prices.
And with so many cheap CFLs, I am thinking of all sorts of little projects to experiment with. I'm even thinking of mixing in CFLs with 15w LEDs within the same fixture, since I now have 20 of the Chinese 15w LED light fixtures. All of them are the screw in type, so I don't need to worry about all the calculating and power supplies. I just hook them up in parallel and I'm ready to go. I'll take some pictures and post them here later after Christmas.
Oh, one other thing. $3 for that aluminum baking pan is way too much. If you go to a Dollar Tree, you can find a wide range of these bakers for just $1. I actually bought a couple earlier, but quickly realized other possibilities with bigger fixtures. The most expensive parts I pay for are the bulb sockets and the "Y" splitters. In fact, I'll probably resort to buying them on eBay from a Chinese dealer, where they are also cheap.
Everything else is less than a buck. Oh, wait a minute, that's not entirely true. A 6ft cord and plug was $1.39 at WalMart, and I bought 4 fans on Amazon for a little over $5 each. Other than that, everything else was as cheap as you can get. The CFLs were $.50/each for Warm White, and $.87/each for the Daylight White. You would be hard pressed to beat that one, don't you think?
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StellerKeller
Active Member
I use paper plates as reflectors. Cut the radius, cut a little for the center, Viola! a little hat for my CFL in an adaptor hanging from an extension cord.
John L III
Member
I don't know about you, but those CFLs get awfully hot to the touch where there are several in close proximity. Aren't you worried about the paper catching fire eventually? Sounds a bit dangerous to me.
