Full investigation on CFLs lumen output vs wattage vs price

[Tyrone Hamilton]

Have to give Tortured Soul some reps for the schooling... but I can't until I spread the love... but I suspect educating some is about the same as Sysiphus rolling the rock back up the hill.

Having just switched from about 600 watts of CFLs to a 600 watt HPS... I feel I can comment on the topic... it is about twice as bright, and has most definitely caused the plants to fill out.

My plants did great in veg under the CFLs, lots of branching - maybe because I was able to hang the CFLs all around them... but once flowering time came, things were really slow until the 600 HPS came on line.

I've seen a few good CFL grows on here, and one really good T-5 grow, but most just seem to have airy buds that don't really fill out.

 

[dr.nick]

It's a 250 watt compact fluorescent, and has a mogul base. supposedly it's equivalent to a 1250 watt incandescent bulb. it's 2700k (yellow reddish light for budding). I just got 1 of these on ebay. the bulb and mogul socket together cost about $100.us including shipping. How many lumens do you think 1 of these gives off?

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

It's a 250 watt compact fluorescent, and has a mogul base. supposedly it's equivalent to a 1250 watt incandescent bulb. it's 2700k (yellow reddish light for budding). I just got 1 of these on ebay. the bulb and mogul socket together cost about $100.us including shipping. How many lumens do you think 1 of these gives off?

I'd guess around 20,000

 

[Setting Sun]

(soapbox mode on)

CFL,s need all the help they can get and nobody wants to talk about FOCUS.


For growing, focus is just as important as wattage with any light source, and especially with CFL's.

You can't really achieve good and consistent focus with DIY coke can reflectors and such. It's better than nothin', and I love DIY, but it's like trying to fix a ruptured aorta with a band-aid.

CFL floodlights, on the other hand, come with a reflector that is optimized for the bulb by the manufacturer. You don't even need to have these as close to your plants because of the excellent focus. Any loss of lumens from the front glass (which isn't much) is more than made up for by the optimized reflector and excellent focus.

They tend to be more expensive, but Costco has a 4-pack for just over $10, and if you shop around online, you can find some deals.

(soapbox mode off)

regards,

SS

 

[CharlieMopps]

I'm gonna be starting my grow with 5 cfl's 23-24 watts each. I think that should be sufficient until I decide to flower. By then I should have enough $$ to get a 250 hps.

 

[Setting Sun]

I'd guess around 20,000

My guess would be about 15,000. They aren't as efficient as T-5's.


regards,

SS

 

[Setting Sun]

I'm gonna be starting my grow with 5 cfl's 23-24 watts each. I think that should be sufficient until I decide to flower. By then I should have enough $$ to get a 250 hps.

You're gonna run a 250HPS in the double tote setup?

SS

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

I'm gonna be starting my grow with 5 cfl's 23-24 watts each. I think that should be sufficient until I decide to flower. By then I should have enough $$ to get a 250 hps.

Having gone from CFL to HPS during a grow... all I can say is your plants will love you.

 

[CharlieMopps]

You're gonna run a 250HPS in the double tote setup?

SS

Maybe 150, i'm not sure yet, all i'm worried about is the heat.

 

[Setting Sun]

Maybe 150, i'm not sure yet, all i'm worried about is the heat.

If it was mine, I would run 150. Would give you less heat and plenty of coverage in there.

I tried a 250 in my tool cab, which is about the same size as the double tote setup and temps got high enough that pc fans wouldn't cut it.

Inline duct fan solved the issue, but it was no longer stealthy due to the noise.

SS

 

[WeedRyder]

i'm starting to think 250w cfl wont be enought for my grow, maybe for a solo plant it will do well

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

i'm starting to think 250w cfl wont be enought for my grow, maybe for a solo plant it will do well

Yeah... unless you have heat/space/stealth issues... there's no reason to get anything but a 600 HID.

 

[Setting Sun]

i'm starting to think 250w cfl wont be enought for my grow, maybe for a solo plant it will do well

What are your expectations?

regards,

SS

 

[WeedRyder]

well my closet is 80cm wide 60cm deep and 180cm high, i tought of growing 3 plants under 250w cfl but i see now that i might need to add more lights for 3 plants. but my expiriance is telling me to start with what i have and see how much if at all i need to add in time... i think its better that way i dont just spend money for nothing.

 

[Setting Sun]

well my closet is 80cm wide 60cm deep and 180cm high, i tought of growing 3 plants under 250w cfl but i see now that i might need to add more lights for 3 plants. but my expiriance is telling me to start with what i have and see how much if at all i need to add in time... i think its better that way i dont just spend money for nothing.

My grow tent is 80 cm square X 160 cm high, and my 250 HPS covers that just fine with a 22" X 22" reflector.

The size and design of the reflector has a lot to do with efficiency.

My tent would handle a 400 or 600 HPS without any problems, but the 250 works fine and saves energy.

I'm sure yield would be higher with more watts, but I don't need *that* much yield.

We don't "party" and our herb lasts pretty well. It all depends on your needs.

ss

 

[Setting Sun]

Oops, couple glasses of wine and some herb and I'm comparing CFL to HPS.

If you want nice big buds, you're gonna need more light.

ss

 

[WeedRyder]

thanks dude, well as i go along to flowering i might build up a new reflector for the flowering stage with aprroxemtly 500w cfl

 

[Tyrone Hamilton]

thanks dude, well as i go along to flowering i might build up a new reflector for the flowering stage with aprroxemtly 500w cfl

If you're going up to 500 watts... why not go with a HPS? I think they are about twice as efficient compared to a CFL...

 

[Envirotech]

Hi guy's, this is my first time posting on this forum. I'm in the lighting business and want to share some new cfl's with you. first of all ANY cfl lamp whether it is spiral or U type bulb will only put out 60-65 lumins/ watt. the problem is the glass tubes are so tightly wound or close together, they block the light from the inside of the tube and bounce around. There is a new type of CFL comming called the lotus tube. These resemble the shape of a rosebud with larger air gaps between the tubes hence letting more light escape from the inside tubes. The result is 75 lumins /watt. A 105 watt bulb will put out more light than a 130 watt 5U bulb. Best of all, this 105 watt lotus has a medium E26 base and not a mogul you would find on any cfl 125watt and larger. So you really get an extra 25 watts of light compared to a 5U style bulb. The only down side is they only come in a maximum size of 125 watts.
There is also another color spectrum available. It is a dual spectrum 25,000K color good for both veg and bud stage. I'm not sure how well they work yet but i'm expecting a sample soon to test.
i'll be posting some real cool new technology lights soon. We are testing with great success, EFDL (electrodeless frequency discharge lamp) which are a type of fluorescent that has light outputs close to MH and last upto 100,000 hours and are upto 500 watts. We are also waiting for some microwave sulpher plasmas to arrive for testing. stay tuned!

 

[wallfisher]

I have been trolling through the post and grow journals here trying to find out some information on cfl's when I came along this post. I hope that I am not posting in the wrong area but I have a few questions concerning cfl's.
1st I am working on a pc semi-stealth grow box so it is a micro grow. I plan on using 4 20w 6500k @ 1150 lumens for vegging, then switching to 4 20w 2700k @1200 lumens for flowering. Now on to the questions.
1)what is the recommended lumens for a box 18"L x 18"T x 8"W?
2) Is there an advantage to mixing my lights (2 of each) @ the start of my grow from seed?
Please note I plan on a 12/12 light cycle from start to finish.


Any recommendations are
Thanks in advance.