Question - Heath Zenith SL-5503-BZ 300 Watt Halogen Floodlight - Can it Work?

I recently acquired one of these lights and was wondering if it would be capable of growing 1 or 2 plants at a time with. It has a clear 300 watt T3 halogen bulb and while I realize the light puts off more heat than light I was wondering it it would be capable of sustaining and allowing 1 or 2 plants to thrive?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Just about any light will work, just make sure you don't get it too close or you will burn your ladies.. So yes it will work.

the heat to useable spectrum of light is very disproportional...its not worth the cheap price of it man...just get a 150watt or 250watt HPS instead

massah said:

the heat to useable spectrum of light is very disproportional...its not worth the cheap price of it man...just get a 150watt or 250watt HPS instead

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I totally agree

yes hallogens are shitty for plant growth say hps is a 10 hallogen is a 1

You'd honestly get better results growing with fluorescent tubes and cfl's.

RollUpMikey said:

You'd honestly get better results growing with fluorescent tubes and cfl's.

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Thanks for the feedback all. I have noticed that the heat intensity is so lop-sided in comparison to the amount of "pure" light it produces... I wonder if there is a way to perhaps boost the strength of a light... perhaps by encasing the plants in a colored- glass/plastic dome of some sorts with ported holes for ventilation... Just a thought as I am growing with literally NO budget...

I may be able to get my hands on some florescent ballast/tubes but could you provide more information as to how many would be needed to grow approximately 1-3 plants per cycle?

You mean like try and make your grow room into somewhat of a greenhouse?
I wonder how that'd work with a Halogen.
To answer your question though, CFL's put out quite a bit more lumens then tube fluorescents, so if you're gonna think about invensting at least a little dough, check out the book by SeeMoreBuds called: Grow 8oz of Bud for Less then $100. He grows 3 plants using a few CFL's and ends up with a half pound.

RollUpMikey said:

You mean like try and make your grow room into somewhat of a greenhouse?
I wonder how that'd work with a Halogen.
To answer your question though, CFL's put out quite a bit more lumens then tube fluorescents, so if you're gonna think about invensting at least a little dough, check out the book by SeeMoreBuds called: Grow 8oz of Bud for Less then $100. He grows 3 plants using a few CFL's and ends up with a half pound.

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Thanks for the reply, Mikey. I'll definitely give the book a look over if I can locate it. In the meantime, is there any specific type of CFL's we're talking about, or will the standard light socket ones work? If so, how many lights would I need to be successful? I do appreciate the reply!

DellvlloN said:

Thanks for the reply, Mikey. I'll definitely give the book a look over if I can locate it. In the meantime, is there any specific type of CFL's we're talking about, or will the standard light socket ones work? If so, how many lights would I need to be successful? I do appreciate the reply!

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i grow with cfls, take a look at the growing with cfls thread, it will answer all of your questions, good luck

What sunny boy said...

But yeah, standard socket CFL's will do justice.
Keep them as close as possible without burning the leaves, and you'll get a harvest.

5000K-6500k bulbs for vegg and 2700k bulbs for flower

i just picked up 2 26w 6500k bulbs at wal mart for 7 bucks a 2 pak . you will want at least 2 per plant and some good rel\flective material to get optimal results.

if you budget is really low get 1 of each for each plant (12700k and 1 6500k per plant)

and dont get fooled by the 6 pak of 2700k bulbs for 57¢ at wal mart they have really low watts and u will need a ton of them, spend the extra few bucks on some decent wattage bulbs.

if you dont mind waiting for the mail check out 1000bulbs.com they have higher wattage CFL's for reasonable price but the higher the wattage the more $$ your going to spend

oh and i was looking at those halogen work lights at home depot and wondering the same thing myself so + rep for asking my question

matthebrute said:

oh and i was looking at those halogen work lights at home depot and wondering the same thing myself so + rep for asking my question

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Cheers, sir! That's how we educate ourselves, correct? We ask questions and hopefully get answers from people who have been there, done that, and lived to tell about it.

As for everyone else, thank you so much for the feedback. I appreciate all the suggestions and will definitely be looking into the CLFs, the books, and the other suggestions mentioned.

In regard to the CFL reflectors... since they are made out of aluminum and therefore have the same reflective ability as aluminum foil.... wouldn't the foil suffice in situations such as this??