New Guy Needs Guidance on CFL Lighting

ii dP ii

ii dP ii

Member
I just started myself man, and after all was said and done between fans, bulbs, fixtures, parts, etc to make a CFL grow I spent around $300. I had to do it this way because of stealth issues, I can't have an HID ballast and cooling and all that out in the open. if stealth isn't an issue I would say go HID.
 
DharmaBud

DharmaBud

Member
Darth Budder said:
So i am a big fan of CFLs, its how i got started. But if you have to relize they are less efficient at generating light. This means there is actually more heat per watt comming from the cfls then your hid. if you get an hid with separate ballast, you can keep the ballast outside of the grow room and your temps inside will be a lot lower i think is what people are saying..


But, if your going CFL, going to spend that much (i think you picked like an 70-80 dollar product), i would reccomend this rig from htg: http://www.htgsupply.com/Product-HTG-Supply-2-Foot-2-Lamp-PL-55-Tek-Lamp.asp and get bloom and veg lamps for it.

Most of the reviews i have seen on this product say they are, litterally, "fucking bright!", i, however, have not used one.. yet...
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Darth, I called up those guys you left me the link for, and talked to Perry, an awesome guy who answered all my questions.

I saved myself hundreds of dollars and got myself a fixture that puts out 20,000 lumens to boot without the worry of heat dissipation!!! Take a look here!

With the fixture, it comes with 4 grow (6400K) spectrum bulbs, A single outlet mechanical timer is an extra $10, Hi-Lo reflector hangers, which allow you to pull up both sides at the same time, were $12. Everything, including shipping is $196!!! You can't beat that. I was going to be paying $192.00 for half the lumens at Horticulture Source! What makes it even better is that the bulbs are 2ft long, so the will fit in the grow tent. The one fixture has 4 T-5 6400k bulbs that put out 5,000 lumen each and don't dissapate in intensity over time like HID.

Darth, there are no words man, Thank you for what you did. I just retired from the military and am disabled, the government won't give me my retirement until I'm 62, that's another 17 years. They see fit to give me a small stipend to live on until then, so to try and swing this was gonna take a miracle and you provided it! Thanks Brother!

In answer to some of your questions while I was writing the post, my landlord pays the electricity, it was the expense that swayed my way towards CFL originally
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
DharmaBud said:
Darth, I called up those guys you left me the link for, and talked to Perry, an awesome guy who answered all my questions.

I saved myself hundreds of dollars and got myself a fixture that puts out 20,000 lumens to boot without the worry of heat dissipation!!! Take a look here!

With the fixture, it comes with 4 grow (6400K) spectrum bulbs, A single outlet mechanical timer is an extra $10, Hi-Lo reflector hangers, which allow you to pull up both sides at the same time, were $12. Everything, including shipping is $196!!! You can't beat that. I was going to be paying $192.00 for half the lumens at Horticulture Source! What makes it even better is that the bulbs are 2ft long, so the will fit in the grow tent. The one fixture has 4 T-5 6400k bulbs that put out 5,000 lumen each and don't dissapate in intensity over time like HID.

Darth, there are no words man, Thank you for what you did. I just retired from the military and am disabled, the government won't give me my retirement until I'm 62, that's another 17 years. They see fit to give me a small stipend to live on until then, so to try and swing this was gonna take a miracle and you provided it! Thanks Brother!

In answer to some of your questions while I was writing the post, my landlord pays the electricity, it was the expense that swayed my way towards CFL originally
Click to expand...
The T5's are great, but anyone that tells you they don't degrade rather fast is selling something. That 12/12 cycle wears your bulbs out fairly quick. Every time you turn on a flouro, it strips off a bit of the phosphate coating that gives it the K temp you're expecting. Most folks I know of that are growing with T5's were getting about a year out of them in their flowering tents.

That being said, they are great for growing. They are best in a SoG or ScroG-type setup. I've done a couple grows with them, and the even lighting and ease of heat dissipation is nice. Plus, they're way more efficient than any CFL you were looking at. I'm glad you got steered away from that.
 
Darth Budder

Darth Budder

Well-Known Member
DharmaBud said:
Darth, I called up those guys you left me the link for, and talked to Perry, an awesome guy who answered all my questions.

I saved myself hundreds of dollars and got myself a fixture that puts out 20,000 lumens to boot without the worry of heat dissipation!!! Take a look here!

With the fixture, it comes with 4 grow (6400K) spectrum bulbs, A single outlet mechanical timer is an extra $10, Hi-Lo reflector hangers, which allow you to pull up both sides at the same time, were $12. Everything, including shipping is $196!!! You can't beat that. I was going to be paying $192.00 for half the lumens at Horticulture Source! What makes it even better is that the bulbs are 2ft long, so the will fit in the grow tent. The one fixture has 4 T-5 6400k bulbs that put out 5,000 lumen each and don't dissapate in intensity over time like HID.

Darth, there are no words man, Thank you for what you did. I just retired from the military and am disabled, the government won't give me my retirement until I'm 62, that's another 17 years. They see fit to give me a small stipend to live on until then, so to try and swing this was gonna take a miracle and you provided it! Thanks Brother!

In answer to some of your questions while I was writing the post, my landlord pays the electricity, it was the expense that swayed my way towards CFL originally
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NICE! If i can help I am happy dude! I just love the idea of people making their own, and ive said before its a hugely rewarding hobby on a lot of levels. Remember you want to grab some of their 3000k bulbs for when you want to swap over to flower. And please remember to tell me about that light! i am going to order the 2ft 2bulb one eventually for my mommy box (I veg in a home depot wardrobe box, it wont fit the 4 tube.)

DB
 
Darth Budder

Darth Budder

Well-Known Member
It's good as there are defiantly a million ways not to grow a plant, and as you discover eachwriting it down helps it stick in the thc addled Brain!

db
 
DharmaBud

DharmaBud

Member
kpmarine said:
The T5's are great, but anyone that tells you they don't degrade rather fast is selling something. That 12/12 cycle wears your bulbs out fairly quick. Every time you turn on a flouro, it strips off a bit of the phosphate coating that gives it the K temp you're expecting. Most folks I know of that are growing with T5's were getting about a year out of them in their flowering tents.

That being said, they are great for growing. They are best in a SoG or ScroG-type setup. I've done a couple grows with them, and the even lighting and ease of heat dissipation is nice. Plus, they're way more efficient than any CFL you were looking at. I'm glad you got steered away from that.
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KP, I did some research tonight and found some very interesting facts:

T5 MH

Better Color 85 CRI Poor Color 70 CRI at best
Instant on 5 to 7 minutes to full brightness
Instant Restrike Restrike in 8-12 minutes
Dual level Switching Only available with a huge adder
Maintained Lumens Lumen Depreciation
More Efficient Not as Efficient
Loses 5% over rated life Can lose 40-60% at rated life

Loses over Life:

T5 MH

1st year

5% loss 25% loss

2nd year

Still at 5% 35% loss

3rd year

8% loss 55% loss

4th year

10% loss 65% loss

I was totally amazed at how the T5 stood out above the normal growers standards. The fact that each bulb, be it 4ft or 2ft put out 54 watts and 5,000 lumen’s!!! I am buying a Tek Lamp that includes 4 T5 HO 6400K bulbs that equals 20,000 lumen’s and comes with hangers for $134.95! Warranty comes with a 2 year on the ballast and electrical components, and one year on the lamps. When it's time for the 4 3000k bloom spectrum bulbs, they will cost me $26.95 for all four! As you can see that isn't the only savings. It is costing 266 watts to drive 20,000 lumen's. How much is the electrical bill running those HP/MH.

This isn't a haters thread, I had help finding a better, more efficient, and cost effective way to get the plants we want. I want that for everyone. I will keep a Journal when I start. You will either laugh at me if I fail, or cheer me on if I succeed. I just wanted to impart some info that might not have been so public.

Namaste,

Respectfully,

Jeff
 
Maphyr

Maphyr

Active Member
DharmaBud said:
KP, I did some research tonight and found some very interesting facts:

T5 MH

Better Color 85 CRI Poor Color 70 CRI at best
Instant on 5 to 7 minutes to full brightness
Instant Restrike Restrike in 8-12 minutes
Dual level Switching Only available with a huge adder
Maintained Lumens Lumen Depreciation
More Efficient Not as Efficient
Loses 5% over rated life Can lose 40-60% at rated life

Loses over Life:

T5 MH

1st year

5% loss 25% loss

2nd year

Still at 5% 35% loss

3rd year

8% loss 55% loss

4th year

10% loss 65% loss

I was totally amazed at how the T5 stood out above the normal growers standards. The fact that each bulb, be it 4ft or 2ft put out 54 watts and 5,000 lumen’s!!! I am buying a Tek Lamp that includes 4 T5 HO 6400K bulbs that equals 20,000 lumen’s and comes with hangers for $134.95! Warranty comes with a 2 year on the ballast and electrical components, and one year on the lamps. When it's time for the 4 3000k bloom spectrum bulbs, they will cost me $26.95 for all four! As you can see that isn't the only savings. It is costing 266 watts to drive 20,000 lumen's. How much is the electrical bill running those HP/MH.

This isn't a haters thread, I had help finding a better, more efficient, and cost effective way to get the plants we want. I want that for everyone. I will keep a Journal when I start. You will either laugh at me if I fail, or cheer me on if I succeed. I just wanted to impart some info that might not have been so public.

Namaste,

Respectfully,

Jeff
Click to expand...
No offense but a T5 setup does not stand out above the normal grower standards. I think most folks use those types of fixtures for side lighting. HP/MH setup with blow away anything a T5 setup will do. Lumens really don't mean shit to a plant, lumens are what humans see. The plant cares about the spectrum of light. After a couple of grows you'll have to replace all those tubes because they degrade quickly over time, so really in the long run you're going to be spending more money.

You could have bought 1 CMH bulb for 30$ that would last from seed to harvest. The electricity bill for running HP/MH setups is really not an issue especially with digital ballasts these days.

But yeah man! Good luck and happy growing!
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
DharmaBud said:
KP, I did some research tonight and found some very interesting facts:

T5 MH

Better Color 85 CRI Poor Color 70 CRI at best
Instant on 5 to 7 minutes to full brightness
Instant Restrike Restrike in 8-12 minutes
Dual level Switching Only available with a huge adder
Maintained Lumens Lumen Depreciation
More Efficient Not as Efficient
Loses 5% over rated life Can lose 40-60% at rated life

Loses over Life:

T5 MH

1st year

5% loss 25% loss

2nd year

Still at 5% 35% loss

3rd year

8% loss 55% loss

4th year

10% loss 65% loss

I was totally amazed at how the T5 stood out above the normal growers standards. The fact that each bulb, be it 4ft or 2ft put out 54 watts and 5,000 lumen’s!!! I am buying a Tek Lamp that includes 4 T5 HO 6400K bulbs that equals 20,000 lumen’s and comes with hangers for $134.95! Warranty comes with a 2 year on the ballast and electrical components, and one year on the lamps. When it's time for the 4 3000k bloom spectrum bulbs, they will cost me $26.95 for all four! As you can see that isn't the only savings. It is costing 266 watts to drive 20,000 lumen's. How much is the electrical bill running those HP/MH.

This isn't a haters thread, I had help finding a better, more efficient, and cost effective way to get the plants we want. I want that for everyone. I will keep a Journal when I start. You will either laugh at me if I fail, or cheer me on if I succeed. I just wanted to impart some info that might not have been so public.

Namaste,

Respectfully,

Jeff
Click to expand...
If you want to get all crazy with the T5's you should check this out. https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/358190-led-without-leds-my-first.html I learned alot of crazy stuff there. It's all just different means to the same end. Equally killer weed can be grown with t5's or HID. Now if they start tweaking the spectrum on HID's; watch out.
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
Maphyr said:
No offense but a T5 setup does not stand out above the normal grower standards. I think most folks use those types of fixtures for side lighting. HP/MH setup with blow away anything a T5 setup will do. Lumens really don't mean shit to a plant, lumens are what humans see. The plant cares about the spectrum of light. After a couple of grows you'll have to replace all those tubes because they degrade quickly over time, so really in the long run you're going to be spending more money.

You could have bought 1 CMH bulb for 30$ that would last from seed to harvest. The electricity bill for running HP/MH setups is really not an issue especially with digital ballasts these days.

But yeah man! Good luck and happy growing!
Click to expand...
There's plenty of people that grow and flower with them.But yes, it can get expensive quick. I have had to replace a few bulbs in less than a year. The one big upside is that I could run about 1000w of T5 in a room and cool it with a box fan in a house with no AC. The way they disperse heat is nice.
 
DharmaBud

DharmaBud

Member
I have been reading a lot of journals, and I was under the impression that you used your 6700k bulbs for the initial vegetative growth, then switched to the 3000k during the flowering stage. What I'm seeing with some people is they are running both from the beginning? I hope that’s not the case, because I already know I won't have the room to be sticking a rock concert worth of lights in my GL80! Is there a correct way, or should I say a better way, or is it individual preference?

Namaste


Jeff
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
DharmaBud said:
I have been reading a lot of journals, and I was under the impression that you used your 6700k bulbs for the initial vegetative growth, then switched to the 3000k during the flowering stage. What I'm seeing with some people is they are running both from the beginning? I hope that’s not the case, because I already know I won't have the room to be sticking a rock concert worth of lights in my GL80! Is there a correct way, or should I say a better way, or is it individual preference?

Namaste


Jeff
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It comes down to the evidence in favor of the fact that, generally, a mixed spectrum is preferred over an imbalanced one. Generally, your mixed spectrum hits all of the important spots (Albeit, not in the most optimal way.); while your full rack of a single spectrum hits several optimum areas well while neglecting some others. Your weed won't be shitty if you do it your way. It will be one thing working against your overall yield though. If you aren't running a business, then it shouldn't matter in your monetary situation.
 
Bakatare666

Bakatare666

Well-Known Member
DharmaBud said:
I have been reading a lot of journals, and I was under the impression that you used your 6700k bulbs for the initial vegetative growth, then switched to the 3000k during the flowering stage. What I'm seeing with some people is they are running both from the beginning? I hope that’s not the case, because I already know I won't have the room to be sticking a rock concert worth of lights in my GL80! Is there a correct way, or should I say a better way, or is it individual preference?

Namaste


Jeff
Click to expand...
If ya ask a bunch of people who have not tried the mixed, they will probably say use 6500K only to veg and 2700K to flower.
But if you ask somebody like me who started out mixing, they will probably say use 6500K or 5000K mixed with about 30% of 2700K to veg and either 2700K only, or 2700K mixed with about 30% 6500K or 5000K to flower.
Just a personal preference mostly.
I can't ever remember a thread with somebody that had actually done a side by side to see if the mixed worked better than straight.
 
kpmarine

kpmarine

Well-Known Member
Bakatare666 said:
If ya ask a bunch of people who have not tried the mixed, they will probably say use 6500K only to veg and 2700K to flower.
But if you ask somebody like me who started out mixing, they will probably say use 6500K or 5000K mixed with about 30% of 2700K to veg and either 2700K only, or 2700K mixed with about 30% 6500K or 5000K to flower.
Just a personal preference mostly.
I can't ever remember a thread with somebody that had actually done a side by side to see if the mixed worked better than straight.
Click to expand...
I came to think about it like building a hot-rod: You strip the weight (Getting a mixed spectrum.), then you start tuning up the more minor upgrades (Tuning your light rack for what should be optimum.). One way gets you a car that's worth driving, and the other gives you one worth competing with. I know it's not a perfect analogy, but I think it gets the point across.
 
DharmaBud

DharmaBud

Member
Well KPMarine, you nailed it. Since its purely personal yield isn't at the top of the list, but it is important. Not enough to try and turn my tiny GL80 into a rock concert light show! I honestly don’t think I could fit many more lights in there if I did have to, it is a small footprint.
 
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