Cheap and easy light to get started?

[pmpm06]

ok i'm getting ready to start germinating a few seeds in the next couple of days. i'm wanting to leave them under a light for 4-5 weeks while they're starting just so i can make sure they will survive outside. i will definitely only be able to baby them for 4 or 5 weeks tops as I still live with my mother and it has to stay discreet. just wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction. it will just be 5 or 6 seeds i'm starting and they will be going outdoors around mid may i hope if things go well! thanks guys

 

[skitzle]

Re: cheap and easy light to get started??

you could just get a couple of 150 or 200 watt CFL's. You can pick them up at a walmart or something like that for about 15-20$ each.

P.S: if you're trying to be discreet, and are only growing them indoors for 4-5 weeks, you may want to try out a grow box. Easy to hide and is portable.

 

[pmpm06]

Re: cheap and easy light to get started??

thank you much!!...any specifics to CFL lighting? they way i understand it, they screw into a regular lamp socket? and plug into a socket in the wall...??

i was thinking of just building a grow box of some kind much like a speaker box...

any other ideas?

 

[skitzle]

Re: cheap and easy light to get started??

you should be able to find anything you need in this section of the forum
Cabinet, Closet, & Grow Room Setup - 420 Magazine

as for CFL's, yes you can plug them into a regular light socket. If you do decide to go with a grow box, make sure you remember how important ventilation is. you have to remember to set up some sort or outake/intake system, because a grow box can get very hot, very fast. Good luck with your setup! if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

 

[cannalearna]

Re: cheap and easy light to get started??

Use 6500k daylight CFL for veg and 3200k warm CFL for bud.

This is the cheapest way out I have been able to find. I hope it helps.

HOW DO I MODIFY MY COMPACT FLUORESCENT?
The main advantages of modifying your compact fluorescent are:
· Reduced length of compact fluorescent
· Reduced heat build up (increased air-flow)
· No need for pre-made light sockets, saving you money

There is an even cheaper and more compact solution than to spend the extra cash on unnecessary light sockets and to end up with less usable space due to clumsy fixtures. All these problems can be avoided easily if one knows how to skips wiring a bulb socket and instead going straight to wiring the bulb itself. This requires some adjustments and modifications of the bulb casing but it can be done by simply following the steps provided.

For this example I will use a 23W Phillips fluoro bulb which is ideally used in confined spaces due to its compact size. The following pictures will illustrate the process of re-wiring this bulb and modifying it to meet the requirements of compact size and low cost.

This is the bulb I was referring to (23W, 1500 lumen)
Notice the upside-down "U" shaped tubes. These will require less airflow to cool the bulb as the air can move freely in between the tubes unlike those of conventional stick-like coils.

First, get a good pair of bending or clamping tongs and squeeze them tightly to the round connector plate of your CP fluoro and gently twist it off.

Never twist it off in a COMPLETE circular motion as the wires inside are still attached to the receptor plates and can sometimes break/rip if you apply too much pressure by twisting. Pulling is better than twisting. You will end up with two different wires sticking out the end. In this case, I cut the remaining plastic bit off in order to reduce the overall length of the bulb.

You will need to open the bulb ballast in order to make 2 separate holes in the plastic casing of the bulb for the two wires. This isn't hard at all, you simply need to drive a screwdriver in between the upper and the lower part of the casing and gently push them apart. There will be no glue required to stick them back together as the bulb has a push-slide-lock mechanism that simply snaps them back together. When you open the bulb, you should something similar to this even though not all ballasts are the same, depending on the manufacturer.

Now you need to drill two holes at the appropriate height for the two wires to be pulled through. Since its plastic that isn't all that hard either and can even be done with a pair of scissors.

After that, its just about putting the pieces back together and making sure the wires come through their designated hole. You can use hot glue to hold those wires in place but this is not recommended as the heat in that area of the bulb casing is very intense. Use only High-Temp glue!

If you are short of space or simply want a rigid construction, you can cut the bottom plastic part of the bulb of and use a bigger piece to distribute the weight more evenly. I used med-high temperature translucent hot glue to fit a piece of a 2" black PVC pipe onto the end of the bulb thus completely eliminating the need for a socket. This is just an optional step, as the bulb will hold without the extra support by simply gluing the sawed-off end to the predestined wall.

(ATTENTION: DO NOT USE the regular LOW TEMP Hot glue as it will melt at temperatures above 130 degrees Celsius which the bulb is capable of generating. ONLY, when gluing something DIRECTLY to the bulb casing, USE THE MEDIUM-HIGH temp. Hot glue, which will withstand significantly higher temperatures.)

Voila the final product of which you can wire as many in series or parallel as you desire. You can place these bulbs literally anywhere due their compact size and the low heat production, keeping in mind that the bare minimum between leaf tips and bulb should be 1cm (2/5 of an inch). Anything closer will result in prompt or delayed leaf burn.

This is just an example of how well suited these bulbs are for small spaces such as stealth boxes and small cloning chambers. It also illustrates the importance of ventilation as the smaller the box, the stronger the ventilation has to be to exchange the hot air buildup sufficiently.

This method is ideal for those who wish to wire a number of bulbs without spending even more money on bulb sockets. These might seem cheap when compared to the pricing of the bulb, but in the log run it is better to save a few bucks here and instead invest them in another area of growing or even another bulb. There is no need to have a possibility of replacement as the average lifetime guarantee on these bulbs lie between 10000 and 15000 hours, which means nearly two years of continuous use.

 

[pmpm06]

i went to wal mart and glanced around...the highest wattage cfl i ran across was around 43 i believe...what about running two 43 watts to start vegitating for 5-6 weeks?? probably 4-5 plants...?? i'll be running a small clip on fan to keep air circulation and i'll figure out something on duct work to get the smell down and keep air moving....

thanks for the helpful advice!

 

[pmpm06]

can anyone tell me if this will work or not? i'm going to collect up my lighting today

 

[Be Irie]

It will be fine... When they start growing if you need more then you can add more.

 

[estranged]

well those 43w cfl's are usually 2700k which is best for flowering,,
id get 23w or 27w 6500k (daylight or cool light) for veg,,, they are smaller wattage but also cheaper so can buy more,,