Advice on hanging CFL reflectors

[truegreenlove]

I have two reflectors i need to hang from the ceiling of my grow box and they need to be able to move up and down. I was thinking on getting two hooks for them but what can i use to keep them secure and make sure they do not move. Right now they are attached to a board in my box.
Thanks.

 

[LighTer]

go to lowes and get some chain...its cheap. use the chain to attach to the hooks at whatever ceiling you have there.

 

[truegreenlove]

There is nothing to run the chain through for the light.There is just a reflector and a power cord.

 

[LighTer]

you dont have a drill?

 

[truegreenlove]

yes i have a drill. but im trying to figure out how to hook the chain up to the reflector. hooking the chain up the the ceiling is no problem. but for the reflector there is nothing to run the chain through.

 

[ItsChrome]

I just use the power cord to hang them with. I run the cord to a hook and then have a brick sitting on the cords to weight them down and keep them from lowering.

 

[TorturedSoul]

That reflector is probably doing little if anything to help. Bulbs produce their light to the sides, not the ends. And all you've got within the reflector are the ballasts. They're probably trapping a lot of heat too. If you weren't using the "splitters" and were just using one bulb in each reflector like that... They still wouldn't be efficient due to the nature of both the reflector and the bulb - although they'd make a decent work-light or area light, lol.

Assuming that you're going to place the CFLs over your plants (and not within them as supplemental lighting), you'll want those lights to be flat on their side with a reflector directly above them. A dirt-simple reflector might be one that you made with your Dremel Tool (a Dremel Tool is the DiY gardener's best friend) out of a soda or beer can. To eke every bit of illumination out of your lights that you possibly can, you could make it a double-curve (think: top of the McDonalds "M" on their sign) with the (small) inner crease directly over the bulb so that the light that goes straight up is reflected down at an angle instead of straight back down into the bulb.

If you want to use one reflector for several bulbs, there was a decent thread put up by one of our members not too long ago. It's probably in the DiY forum. I'll see if I can find it and if I do I'll add a link to it in this post.

EDIT: Here you go, the very top thread in the forum right now. If you're going to do something yourself and you're not sure how, always check the Do it Yourself forum. That's what it's there for. (If you've done something yourself and it works, feel free to post a thread there in order to help other members.) Thread is here: DIY veg CFL reflector.

 

[TorturedSoul]

There is nothing to run the chain through for the light.There is just a reflector and a power cord.

They sell little S-hooks, lol, and small drill bits.

But I'd just (EDIT) lose those reflectors. Unless you want to set in your grow room and read.

 

[420warriors]

CFL Light Tutorial

 

[OldSkoool]

May I suggest modifying my CFL light box design to fit your grow space. I have a full set of photos in in the Members Gallery if you want to take a look. Instead of reflectors, using white foam board has a very high reflective surface, and proved very well on my last grow as illustrated in the photos as well. The form board also makes mounting lighting fixture an easy task. How about ventilation? CFL's aren't as critical as high temp bulbs, but the heat still needs to be exhausted, and your plant(s) will need the air circulation. Hope this helps.

 

[truegreenlove]

I think my airflow should be alright. I haven't added it quite yet though. For intake i have 2-80mm cpu fans and 1-120mm pushin 130cfm's. For exhaust I have a 4in inline fan pulling 175cfm's with carbon scruber. Then a 6in clip on fan. And for vegging I plan on adding two more 42's here's the lights fans will go in in a couple weeks.

 

[Chopper]

A pair of tin snips will turn that reflector into a much more suitable reflector in about 45 seconds....it's tinfoil thin aluminum....a poultry shear will cut it. A steak knife will pierce it to create a hole to hang from on the other end. I do like and am gonna copy that homemade hood though...that's some grade A innovation right there
Nicely done

 

[ol hippy]

Just make a small loop in your cord and put an "S" hook through the loop and hook the "S" hook to your chain simple works great ! I also just use 2 splitters and have 4 bulbs in one fixture 3 fixtures and I get a hell of a lot of light !