building a cabinet - which light setup to use?

well, I'm building a stealth CFL grow out of a dresser. The question is, should I go for higher wattage lights (42w) but less, or lower watts (23) but more. overall, the wattage adds up to roughly the same.

The reason i debate is, I have the eight 42w lights I would need, so if I did that then no money would be spent. but, otherwise I'd have to spend about $50 on the 23w bulbs.

I'd be growing ScrOG style, by the way.

cheers

From what I was reading on here, it would work.. A guy made a post asking about the regular bulbs too.. I think he was using 8-10 bulbs replicating a 250w I think.. I don't have the post open either anymore sorry about that

If I remember what I read right the 42 watt cfl's are one of the most efficient cfl's when it comes to lumens per watt. I could be wrong but its something to think about and look into further. Hope this helps and good luck with the grow. I am growing with 6 42 watt cfl's in a rubbermaid tub right now if you want to check it out my log is in my signature.

check out the lumens per watt in 42w bulbs and 27w bulbs,, that should be the deciding factor....

i just did the math,, the 23w cfl's have better lumen per watt ratio.. its about 70 lumens per watt

42w bulbs only have 66 lumens per watt

with 8 42w=22400 lumens

with 15 23w (about same watts total)=23360 lumens

not much more maybe not worth 50 bucks

this will be my 4th harvest. i've grown two in a rubbermaid box with 8 23w, and the one i'm cutting today is looking SICK. i'm amazed at the fat dense buds i was able to get off of a few cfl lights.

I think I will end up going with 16 x 23w, rather than 8 x 42w. The reason being that this will mean that a much larger amount of the screen will be directly under a bulb, as opposed to the larger gaps between the 42w.

then again, maybe i'll try a harvest with the 42w that i already have, and see how that goes. after all, it's not like it will be my last harvest plenty of time to experiment....

They have 45 watt also i have them. Got them from home depot 2900 lumens per bulb.

Ihavefeet any pics of your current or previous setup??? I'm probably going to be doing a cabinet grow soon..

I'd say. Don't buy the 23w if you already have the 42w.....

Try 55 watt or higher PL bulbs. High output rated at above 90 lumens per watt (55watt). They also have a more efficient form for what you want to do. And you can get em' in small sizes, at higher (80,90watt) wattages. But the cfls are more plug n play. I was also wondering about them. I'm also setting up a small dual 22 galloon rubbermaid joint. But I think that i'll go with a 150watt hps though.

Bamm Bamm said:

Ihavefeet any pics of your current or previous setup??? I'm probably going to be doing a cabinet grow soon..

Click to expand...

i am currently building my cabinet (in the midst of solving some soundproofing issues) and will post pics once it is complete.

my old setup was a very slap-together job. Two rubbermaid tubs with the insides painted white and 8 x 23w CFL lights and an exhaust fan mounted in one, and air holes cut in the other. Place the one with the lights upside-down on top of the other, and you're done.

Never Really F'd With Cfls Other Than Vegging. If You Want Go Get Some Of The 23's And Fill In The Gaps. In Fig. A