**IMPORTANT** How Hot Do CFLs Get????

PotRoastDinner

PotRoastDinner

New Member
This is really important.. one of my buddies just started germinating his seeds and had nothing to mount his cfls on so i think he set a couple of them on their sides on the top of his clone box (plastic boxes made to hold rockwool cubes).. will this be any kind of fire hazard?
 
Stockpicker

Stockpicker

Active Member
enough to melt plastic. May or may not actually catch fire. I've found the daylight CFLs seem to get hotter than the soft light.
 
OregonMeds

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
Yes they might melt plastic, especially the larger ones.

Even if they don't melt it they will heat it up too much for the clones to survive.
 
G

GrowDog

Active Member
i keep my cfls around 2 inches from the top of the plant. I did have the lights around 1 inch from the top which resulted in burning
 
greenearth5

greenearth5

Well-Known Member
I wouldnt trust leaving a CFL touching the surface of anything... They really dont get very hot, but that doesnt mean that they cant catch on fire if they come into contact with any surface. I keep mine about an inch away from the plants. They are loving CFL's.
 
B

born2killspam

Well-Known Member
Probably won't melt a hole into the plastic, just warp it drastically.. Biggest risk is to the clones since gravity could bring that down enough to contact them.. Too much heat trapped at the cfl could kill that too..
The temperature a cfl will reach really depends on ambient temp and airflow.. They hardly heat up to the point of disconfort in a cool area with no reflector, but in my desk lamp, 23W ones brown the plastic on the cfl ballast, and are as painful to touch as a 100W incandescant [which are famous for starting fires when their heat gets trapped]..
 
autotek500

autotek500

Well-Known Member
I just went and shot one of my 40w dalylight 5600 lumens with a snap-on digital temp gun and it reads 198.5 . thats too hot for continous contact with plastic for sure ...hope this helps....
 
B

born2killspam

Well-Known Member
Can you do the same with other cfl's and describe ambient temperature and air freedom? Data on HPS/MH would be nice too..
+rep anyway
 
autotek500

autotek500

Well-Known Member
sorry can't help you on the HPS/MH temps ,just moved to a new area and don' know anyone using them yet.....all I use are floro's......the 13w cfls in my celing fan run 165.5...don't have any 23w's..........This is the temp of the cfl tube itself just to clarify
 
OregonMeds

OregonMeds

Well-Known Member
195 makes sense because if I want to dry a nug to taste early I stick it in a 42w cfl.

If you want to dry your clones to taste them...
 
autotek500

autotek500

Well-Known Member
Wish I new someone here who had some HPS/MH lights so i could post those temps.... a temp gun Is well worth the money. you can shoot your plants in different areas and know exactly what temps are. you can check res temps and room temps all with the same unit.........
 
autotek500

autotek500

Well-Known Member
Yeah haven't thought about that ...nearest shop to me is about 1 hour away but as soon as i need some suplies I'll take my gun and check those temps......
 
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