CFL A19 Bulbs vs LED A19 Bulbs

[revbudz]

Hi all,

New to the forum and have been lurking for some time. (this and other forums) I can't seem to find an answer to my question about LED vs CFL A19 bulbs. (I've Googled to NO success)

I have hesitated to post any questions because I've seen some noobs get reamed out for NOT reading every thread of every forum on the entire internet. (probably never on this forum though ) But I'll risk it ....

Here's my dilemma .... my local hardware store USED to carry many CFLs. Now they carry almost nothing other LED (A19 bulbs, regular residential bulbs here in the US) So I'm finding it very difficult to get the CFLs I need and want plus I wonder how long they will even be available. So ...

I'm planning a grow box with about 3 sq feet. (17"(W)x22"(D)x20"(H))

I am also thinking about these bulbs:
100W Equivalent Daylight A19 LED Light Bulb


I intend to make an array of 6 - 8 bulbs. That would be 9000 lumens at 87 watts or 12,000 lumens at 116 watts. (6 bulbs @14.5 watts per bulb or 8 bulbs @ 14.5 watts per bulb) I thik the distance to the plans would be fine, but I am a newbie. I only base my assumptions on the information I've found on CFLs. Any thoughts, suggestions, or education would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Weavel]

This is just my personal experience, but I am still a newb, I use the a-19 daylight led bulbs from wal mart, using the 60 watt, (9 watt actual) for vegging the lights can be down close to the plants, but when using a 100 watt (14 watt actual) the leaves on my plants got some light burn until they were raised up to around 12 inches.

I am not sure if it was just because they were young, or something else, but overall loving the led house bulbs for vegging.

BTW i read on REDDIT somebody did a grow with those bulbs and seemed to have ok results

 

[revbudz]

Thank you so much Weavel. I have had a hard time finding anything about this on the forums. Maybe my searching capabilities are lacking ... I'll check the link.

I've read a bit about light burn and have been a bit concerned about that in the setup I am planning. I am in the process of building a grow box based on this design I found on another forum. My lights would be at a maximum distance of 18" from the girls. Following the SOG method in which my box is designed for. I'm not sure if I'll have a problem with light burn .... but I'm still doing my homework. I'm a couple months away from growing due to some business trips I must take this Fall.

Thanks again.

 

[Dr Fish]

I don't understand how you can expect to grow plants, and flower them in a box only 20" high...
After you allow room for the lights, and the distance they will need to be away from the plant, and for the height of the container for the plant... What room is there left for the plant/plants to grow?? The lights will probably work just fine for starting plants in that small of a space... You've gotta find at least another 12"-14" inches somewhere... Even if you torture your plants by tying them down till they flower, they'll still need room to stretch...

 

[revbudz]

Hi Dr. Fish,

I appreciate your concern. I may have not explained my design well enough. It is a copy of DrBuds micro grow found on a different forum. The first link is the full thread and this2nd link is a "nutshell" version. The 18" of space I was referring to was measured from where the lights will be mounted leaving the full 18" for the plants to stretch. It seems the DrBuds plan is to make the plants stretch. (I may could bump it to 24" but that would increase the square footage, which would change the lighting needs. DrBuds "micro" grow is supposed to be a perpetual grow of sorts. (I like the idea anyway)

I will admit my complete inexperience at this growing notion, so I'm sure it will be an education. I have found that there is so much information on the internet these days about many/any subject(s). I have also learned that I should follow only 1 plan until I gain some experience. Too many ideas that are not connected usually leaves me with much confusion and I never really know where a breakdown occurs. This DrBuds threads seemed very interesting.

Again thanks for the kind response, I truly appreciate it. If I'm successful, I'll give a good report here.

 

[The Mechanic]

Very old post... but if anyone wants to see what screw in leds can do then check out the link to my journal. I use 12 watt bulbs from wallyworld and get over 1 gpw.