"soft white CFL bulbs"

[Jdrennan]

I just got some cfls's, plugged them in, and noticed they were "soft white" bulbs. There's 550 lumens per bulb. Can I grow with these?

 

[DroJo]

Whats the wattage on those bulbs? I mean you could grow with it, but you wouldnt get great results, sounds like you got a 13w cfl or maybe even lower. Could you get some 23w bulbs? When growing with cfls, from personal experience I would tell you dont go lower than 23w bulbs. The lu/w ratio isn't that great

 

[Jdrennan]

They're 40 watt bulbs.

 

[Jdrennan]

Ohhh, wait a second, actually it said it was the "equivalent" to a 40 watt bulb. brb on that though

 

[Jdrennan]

It says 40 watt equivalent, but it only uses 9 watts. Does this matter?

 

[Screwnuts33]

It says 40 watt equivalent, but it only uses 9 watts. Does this matter?

Not worth trying. You would need way too many to make it worth while.

 

[Linkorien]

you want to pack as much lumen in there as possible, im running 12 cfls 9 of wich are 23 watts at 1700 lumen 6500k and 3 at 29 watts 1600 lumen 2700k

check out my quick cheap efficient starting guide for good cfl advise

 

[RandyL]

Pay attention to the color temperature rating, rather than the "soft white" name. 6500K for veg, 2700K for flower.

And 9 watt bulbs are useless, get the biggest bulbs you can find. Look for the amount of ACTUAL power use, not the "equivalent" rating.

 

[BendMMC]

Home Depot, $20.00 T8 shop light. add the 2 $7.00 Natural Sunlight bulbs. Wrap the reflector with foil or mylar, hang the light(s), plug em in (120v cord already attched) and your ready to go. Thats how these babies started til I went and purchased a full T5 system.

More photos in my gallerie. The lights seen in the background on the bottom photo are my old T8's from home depot, they worked! I grew start to finish on three plants with that light. it took a little work but it was worth it. Cheers & Good luck!