photoperiod question - please help

i've recently become employed.....damn the man.....anyway
currently my lights go on/off at 12 n 12

i now work from 9:30 -- 5:30......no-really-damn the man...anyway

i need to change my schedule, as i don't use timers

can i just leave my dark period run over 6 hours, giving the plants 18 hours continual darkness then 12 light 12 dark 12 light ad infinitum?

would i be better off doing an 18 hour dark period or light period?

how much of a risk am i taking here?
i've had SERIOUS hermy problems in the past and really don't want to see seeds again for a WHILE(although, they really ARE femmed lol).

please help - i start in the morning

you need a timer, that simple.

You can get a timer for 4 bucks, 7 or 8 for a programmable digital. No reason NOT to have one of these when you begin growing. Hell, I have two.

But yes, if you want to change the time then you should extend the dark period until you want them to come on, not the light period.

my cousin is cheap too and wont buy a timer, he get tons of morphs and it takes like 14 weeks to finish flowering

Adding dark time is not a problem, adding extended light is. Do your extended dark time and get the plants on your schedule. Simple as that.

Little Tommy said:

Adding dark time is not a problem, adding extended light is. Do your extended dark time and get the plants on your schedule. Simple as that.

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I agree with tommy, play it safe this way.

thank you very much for the help and the information

for those of you who just felt the need to troll in my thread, you can zuggit
i'm not cheap - i'm broke
and i don't mean THAT kind of broke where you complain as you pull through the McDonalds drive thru
i mean the kind of broke where you had to leave your vehicle in the parking lot of the place you got a jpb at this morning because you only had enough fuel to get there not home again

if i DID have some money, there are a LOT of things i need before a timer

also, if you can show me a timer that will handle 3 1000 watt hps ballasts powering up on 3 seperate breakers.... all for just 4=6 bux...
anyway - THOSE guys SUCK

the others of you who were able to helpfully answer the question - you guys rock
a timer, huh? sure do wish ida thought of that - sorry your cousin can't tell time - that's STUPIDITY and LAZINESS - not cheapness

3 1k lights and you can't afford 3 timers. Nice.

sell one of your lights and buy 2 timers. your attitude stinks and all i was trying to do was help you. have a nice day.

He's being serious. I haven't come across any timers that can handle more then a 1kw light. If anything I would recommend buying a digital timer that has a built in time because those would be easier to program and most of them come with a battery or some sort of back up that stores the time and such on it. Timers aren't that expensive.

If you want to be ignorant to people who tell you to buy a timer because it will make things alot easier then leave your lights on all day or night while your at work and turn them off when you go to sleep.

Toolage 87 said:

He's being serious. I haven't come across any timers that can handle more then a 1kw light. If anything I would recommend buying a digital timer that has a built in time because those would be easier to program and most of them come with a battery or some sort of back up that stores the time and such on it.

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the cheap ones are rated at 15 amps, simple use 3 of them.

wiseguy316 said:

the cheap ones are rated at 15 amps, simple use 3 of them.

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Yup. He's complaining about buying 3 of them. There is no timer that can be used on a 110v plug that can handle over 15 Amps and most 1kw lights use close to what 9amps each? there's no way around that unless there's a timer that you have to hard wire into your electric system and if those are out there then that would cost alot more.

People told me to buy a 250w MH and HPS bulbs and ballast because they are better well I couldn't afford to buy those nor would 1 be use able in the small space and I found 70w MH and 70HPS so I shelled out the money to get them.

1k uses 8.3 amps at 120v . A 5 dollar 15 amp timer will handle that just fine. talking about 15 bucks here.

wiseguy316 said:

1k uses 8.3 amps at 120v . A 5 dollar 15 amp timer will handle that just fine.

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Exactly as long as the timer can handle the amps and wattage going through it and have abit of room left its good to use. People who are to cheap to buy a cheap item will usually end up messing up their plants.

Hey bro, people telling you simple FACTS like you NEED a timer to grow marijuana optimally is NOT trolling.

All you said originally was 'i dont use timers'. You didn't go into your sadsack emo life story until well after. Anyway, have fun with your shemale plants.

I am grateful to have had such great advice when I started out. Adversity is the mother of invention, Frank Zappa taught me that. I also know that most people are just a few bad decisions or random happenings away from being in his shoes. It makes me feel more blessed. I am from Detroit and our economy here tanked bad, no real news there. It affected me directly and I rode the edge of a razor blade for about 2 years and things are just starting to turn back around. There have been upgrades I wanted to do and had to forego them and find work arounds. Be a little supportive people. You can only keep what you have by giving it away.

some of the CAP timers and controllers can handle many 1000 watters but then again they cost a few hundred bucks. all my timers are rated at 15 amps 1700 watts but were only $6 at Lowes.