Other CFL growers out there?

[Deacnbleu]

I grow in a converted Black & Decker tool cabinet fitted with intake, mover and exhaust fans salvaged from old computers.
LED's are too expensive (although I do have a red & blue 12X12 panel inside also) and CFL's still create a good bit of heat for a small area. I use a total of 6 CFL bulbs, 27 watt. Ambient temp is usually 79 degrees F while inside the cabinet ranges from 80 to 90 during the average 18/6 schedule and not higher than 30% humidity.
Would like to hear from other limited space, CFL growers out there.

 

[19camaro78]

I grow in a converted Black & Decker tool cabinet fitted with intake, mover and exhaust fans salvaged from old computers.
LED's are too expensive (although I do have a red & blue 12X12 panel inside also) and CFL's still create a good bit of heat for a small area. I use a total of 6 CFL bulbs, 27 watt. Ambient temp is usually 79 degrees F while inside the cabinet ranges from 80 to 90 during the average 18/6 schedule and not higher than 30% humidity.
Would like to hear from other limited space, CFL growers out there.

I built a box with a drain setup, 18" x 18" x 3' tall.
on the top I have 3 42 watt 65ks and veggie plants in there.
I have a computer fan blowing in the box at all times. gets to about 80.
works very nicely for me. after I veggie I put them in the flowering room and start 4 more in veggie box.

 

[Eros770]

This seems like a pretty good thread. I'm about to start my first ever grow next week sometime. I've been stocking up on all the shit i need.

I actually started building my little grow box today. Its not finished yet but i made some good progress. It is 2' x 2' x 3' tall, I'm guna be posting pics and details of the build on my thread

If you get a chance check it out. all questions and comments are welcomed

 

[19camaro78]

Nice size, you will be able to veggie 4 plants in there with no problem.

 

[growGuRoo]

hey deacnbleu, im am currently in my 2nd CFL grow.
1st one was in soil and for my 2nd i am doing a deep water culture set up.
i have learned from my first grow that it is all about CFL reflection/containment.
what size the black and decker box you are using?
during my first grow i was losing a lot of CFL light upwards. i fixed that problem by make shifting 16in x 16in plywood reflectors with the 4 cfls located directly below the wood with mylar tacked to the underside of the ply wood.
here are some pics of the 1st and 2nd grows.
the first 8 pics in the gallery are from the second grow.
the rest are from the 1st.
- 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

 

[growGuRoo]

next time i take some pics of the current grow, ill snap some shots of the homemade CFL fixtures. i just realized its hard to see what i described above so ill have some pics by the end of the week of the progress and CFL setups.
Peace

 

[XxUpInSmokExX]

hows it going, long time hps user here

i have recently decided to make the switch over from hps to cfls all because of a fellow 420 grower, MATANUSKA VALLEY, has a good thread gowing in the bud and plant pics thread but it is actually a grow journal and has been going on since 05, anyway to get to the point he has well documented wonderful results from doing an all cfl grow from start to finish, theres like 67 pages but the last couple pages are his most recent grow done with all cfls

im all in for this one, theres alot about cfls i have yet to understand,, however when it comes to hps im very well educated

 

[Deacnbleu]

Hey GuRoo,
My black & decker box is 24" wide, 12" deep and 5" tall. I built my lighting on one of the adjustable shelves at first but over the weekend mounted CFL sockets to the sides near the top and 2, 24" fluorescent tubes on the back wall mounted diagonally opposite my 12"X12" blue & red LED panel. Less heat & lots of lumens. Also built some reflectors from some sheet metal & mylar. All the walls are covered with mylar as well. So, instead of my light shelf being adjustable, I now will adjust the shelf that holds the plants. So far pretty happy with the new set up, only time will tell.
You said you are switching to deep water, hydro I assume. Is this the deep water using net pots, rock wool an aquarium pump & air stone? If so, I have tried this twice and just haven't got the hang of it. I ended up transplanting the survivors to soil. Look forward to hearing more about your next grow, I hope to get some pictures up someday myself.
Regards, deacn

 

[OldSkoool]

I've been using CFL's exclusively for four years with very respectable results.

Perhaps a few of you modify your own cabinets using some of the lighting, and ventilation methods that have worked for me.

Foam Board Light Canopy

You can view the quality of the plants, and buds this method produces in my members photo gallery.

- 420 Magazine Photo Gallery

Hope this helps some of you.

 

[XxUpInSmokExX]

old skool, i looked at your journal and those are truly phenomonal results
what kind of flouros do you use

 

[diggler35007]

cfls are no joke when properly used .

 

[OldSkoool]

old skool, i looked at your journal and those are truly phenomonal results
what kind of flouros do you use

Thank you. I use a mix of four 42W 2700K, and four 26W 5100K during vegging, and eight 42W during flower.

There is something I haven't seen mentioned yet. That being CFL usable life span. CFL's have a usable life span between 5000, and 15000 hours. So let's say 10000 hours is average.

With approx 5800 hours on these bulbs after three grows, I'll be replacing all of 'em before my next. Just because they can still produce enough light to read by, doesn't mean their still producing the lumens necessary to grow quality bud.

Just something to keep in mind.

 

[G-Dog]

Thank you. I use a mix of four 42W 2700K, and four 26W 5100K during vegging, and eight 42W during flower.

There is something I haven't seen mentioned yet. That being CFL usable life span. CFL's have a usable life span between 5000, and 15000 hours. So let's say 10000 hours is average.

With approx 5800 hours on these bulbs after three grows, I'll be replacing all of 'em before my next. Just because they can still produce enough light to read by, doesn't mean their still producing the lumens necessary to grow quality bud.

Just something to keep in mind.

Perhaps instead of just throwing them away you will use them somewhere else in the house. Many of those lights say they are good for 7 years.

 

[XxUpInSmokExX]

Old skool,
do you use the longtube cfls or spiral bulbs

 

[OldSkoool]

Perhaps instead of just throwing them away you will use them somewhere else in the house. Many of those lights say they are good for 7 years.

CFL's should not be thrown away, they contain mercury vapor.....and we already have enough crap leaching into the soil in land fills. I believe most of the large building supply stores have bins for floro's.

 

[OldSkoool]

Old skool,
do you use the longtube cfls or spiral bulbs

Spirals......Foam Board Light Canopy

Check 'em out.

 

[pagan]

ive got a little over 400 watts of cfl lights putting out about 31000 lumens and that shit gets hot...but they seem to be doing the job..check it out.

 

[ItsChrome]

High every body!

I absolutely love my CFL's. I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with them.

Heres a shot of my last grow.

Harvested little over 4 ounces from these ladies.

 

[XxUpInSmokExX]

Lighting and Lights"

[Indoor/Greenhouse Edition]

Ed Rosenthal

Green plants use light for several purposes. The most amazing thing that they can do with it is to use the energy contained in light to make sugar from water and carbon dioxide. This process is called photosynthesis and it provides the basic building block for most life on Earth. Plants convert the sugars they make into starches and then into complex molecules composed of starches, such as cellulose. Amino acids, the building blocks of all proteins, are formed with the addition of nitrogen atoms.

Plants also use ligh to regulate their other life processes. As we mentioned earlier, marijuana regulates its flowering based on the number of hours of uniterrupted darkness. (See part 25, Flowering)

Sunlight is seen as white light, but is composed of a broadf band of colors which cover the optic spectrum. Plants use red and blue light most efficiently for photosynthesis and to regulate other processes. However, they do use other light colors as well for photosynthesis. In fact, they use every color except green, which they reflect back. (That is why plants appear green; they absorb all the other spectrums except green.) In controlled experiements, plants respond more to the toal amount of light received than to the spectrums in which it was delivered.

The best source of light is the sun. It requires no expense, no electricity, and does not draw suspicion. It is brighter than artifical light and is self regulating. Gardeners can use the sun as a primary source of light if they have a large window, skylight, translucent roof, enclosed patio, roof garden, or greenhouse. These gardens may require some supplemental lightning, especially if the light enters from a small area such as a skylight, in order to fill a large area.

It is hard to say just how much supplemental light a garden needs. Bright spaces which are lit from unobstructed overhead light such as a greenhouse or a large southern window need no light during the summer but may need artificial light during the winter to supplement the weak sunlight or overcast conditions. Spaces receiving indirect sunlight during the summer may need some supplemental lighting.

Light requirements vary by variety. During the growth cycle, most varieties will do well with 1000-1500 lumens per square foot although the plants can usemore lumens, up to 3000, efficiently. Equatorial varieties may develop long internodes (spaces on the stem between the leaves) when grown under less that bright conditions. During flowering, indica varieties can mature well on 2000 lumens. Equatorial varieties require 2500-5000 lumens. Indica-sativa F1 (first generation) hybrids usually do well on 2500-3000 lumens.

Some light meters have a foot-candle readout. Thirty-five millimeter cameras that have built-in light meters can also be used. In either case, a sheet of white paper is placed at the point to be measured so it reflects the light most brilliantly. Then the meter is focused entirely on the paper.

The camera is set for ASA 100 film and the shutter is set for 1/60 second. A 50 mm or "normal" lens is used. Using the manual mode, the camera is adjusted to the correct f-stop. The conversion chart, 10-1, shows the amount of light hitting the paper.

Most growers, for one reason or another, are not able to use natural light to grow marijuana. Instead, they use artificial lights to provide the light energy which plants require to photosynthesize, regulate their metabolism, and ultimately to grow. There are a number of sources of artificial lighting. Cultivators rarely use incandescent or quartz halogen lights. They convert only about 10% of the energy they use to light and are considered inefficient.

FLUORESCENT TUBES

Growers have used flurorescent tubes to provide light for many years. They are inexpensive, are easy to set up, and are very effective. Plants grow and bud well under them. They are two to three times as efficient as incandescents. Until recently, fluorescents came mostly in straight lengths of 2, 4, 6, or 8 feet, which were placed in standard reflectors. Now there are many more options for the fluorescent user. One of the most convenient fixtures to use is the screw-in converter for use in incandescent sockets, which come with 8 or 12 inch diameter circular fluorescent tubes. A U-shaped 9 inch screw-in fluorecent is also available. Another convenient fixture is the "light wand", which is a 4 foot, very portable tube. It is not saddled with a cumbersome reflector.

Fluorescents come in various spectrums as determined by the type of phosphor with which the surface of the tube is coated. Each phosphor emits a different set of colors. Each tube has a spectrum identification such as "warm white", "cool white", "daylight", or "deluxe cool white" to name a few. This signifies the kind of light the tube produces. For best results, growers use a mixture of tubes which have various shades of white light. Once company manufactures a fluorescent tube which is supposed to reproduce the sun's spectrum. It is called the Vita-Lite and works well. it comes in a more efficient version, the "Power Twist", which uses the same amount of electricity but emits more light because it has a larger surface area.

"Gro-Tubes" do not work as well as regular fluorescents even though they produce light mainly in the red and blue spectrums. They produce a lot less light than the other tubes.

To maintain a fast growing garden, a minimum of 20 watts of fluorescent light per square foot is required. As long as the plants' other needs are met, the more light that the plants receive, the faster and bushier they will grow. The plants' buds will also be heavier and more developed. Standard straight-tubed fluorescent lamps use 8-10 watts per linear foot. To light a garden, 2 tubes are required for each foot of width. The 8 inch diameter circular tubes use 22 watts, the 12 inch diameter use 32 watts. Using straight tubes, it is possible to fit no more than 4 tubes in each foot of width because of the size of the tubes. A unit using a combination of 8 and 12 inch circular tubes has an input of 54 watts per square foot.

Some companies manufacture energy-saving electronic ballasts designed for use with special fluorescent tubes. These units use 39% less electricity and emit 91% of the light of standard tubes. For instance, an Optimizer warm light white 4 foot tube uses 28 watts and emits 2475 lumens.

Both standard and VHO ballasts manufactured before 1980 are not recommended. They were insulated using carcinogenic PCB's and they are a danger to your health should they leak.

The shape of the fluorescent reflector used determines, to a great extent, how much light the plants receive. Fluorescent tubes emit light from their entire surface so that some of the light is directed at the reflector surfaces. Many fixtures place the tubes very close to each other so that only about 40% of the light is actually transmitted out of the unit. The rest of it is trapped between the tubes or between the tubes and the reflector. This light may as well not be emitted since it is doing no good.

A better reflector can be constructed using a wooden frame. Place the tube holders at equal distances from each other at least 4 inches apart. This leaves enough space to construct small mini-reflectors which are angled to reflect the light downward and to seperate the light from the different tubes so that it is not lost in crosscurrents. These mini-reflectors can be made from cardboard or plywood painted white. The units should be no longer than 2.5 feet wide so that they can be manipulated easily. Larger units are hard to move up and down and they make access to the garden difficult, especially when the plants are small, and there is not much vertical space. The frame of the reflector should be covered with reflective material such as aluminum foil so that all of the light is directed to the garden. Fluorescent lights should be placed about 2-4 inches from the tops of the plants.


check out the whole thrread at:

Marijuana Grower's Handbook

 

[growGuRoo]

hey deacnbleu, here are some pics of my CFL set up.
pretty much just used scrap wood from the home depot, mylar for reflection, and Y socket splitters.