DIY veg CFL reflector

[Leonardo420]

First, this creation wouldn't be possible without member Pres and his diy cfl thread. Also I have to thank my girl for helping with the design. Thank you!

I've been looking for a good veg light for my setup and didn't want to buy one. I have heard so many good things from 420 members about CFLs I went ahead and tried it.

here we go.....
My 10 bulb CFL Hood

Dimensions:
16.25" Width X 23.5" Long X 6.0" Tall at it's peak, weight 7lbs.
Materials:
(1) 16.25" Plywood circle UNTREATED wood
(4) 2" Screws
(1) 22.75" 2x4 piece of UNTREATED wood
(1) 8X24 Vent(sheet steel)
(10) Lamp sockets
(10) 26w CFLs (any K value)
(1) box of small brads/headed nails
(10ft) of 14/2 lamp cord
(20) blue ring terminals

Wiring is just 14/2 lamp cord daisy chained together with blue ring terminal connectors, setup is grounded.

Had lots of the materials around my house, so my total cost @$71.20 for 260 true watts. This thing GROWS!

Without further delay, PICS!

 

[SnowBender]

Nice!

Any plans to add a cooling vent/duct?

 

[Leonardo420]

thanks snowbender.

I thought about glassing it in and adding two small(2-3" holes) at each end with 2 computer fans drawing out hot air. but honestly, it doesn't get hot enough for the need to cool it. I can have my plants within 2 inches of bulbs with just a small 6inch table fan blowing across the canopy. It would be pretty rare to have built an Air-cooled CFL reflector....hmm it's got a ring to it!

 

[optical Buds]

hi Rafedial1 It's certainly a good reflector very nice!!
Your plants will get a treat ..
How many watts you got there?

 

[Leonardo420]

thanks Optical Buds!

260w, (10)X26w

fwiw, I have (6) 6500K veg bulbs and (4) 2700K flower bulbs in the reflector currently. this ratio gives me nice wide spectrum. leaves grow thick and bushy.

you could do many variations of bulb #s. Ex. all 10 bulbs 2700k for late flowering. or 5 and 5 for first couple weeks flower. any combo.

you could also build this on a smaller or even larger scale. say 8 or 12 bulbs, the geometry would stay the same, only dimensions would change. personally I love this one so much I am gonna build another just like it.

 

[H6251686]

(10) 26w CFLs (any K value)

I'd say that would be 260 watts.

 

[H6251686]

thanks Optical Buds!

260w, (10)X26w

fwiw, I have (6) 6500K veg bulbs and (4) 2700K flower bulbs in the reflector currently. this ratio gives me nice wide spectrum. leaves grow thick and bushy.

you could do many variations of bulb #s. Ex. all 10 bulbs 2700k for late flowering. or 5 and 5 for first couple weeks flower. any combo.

you could also build this on a smaller or even larger scale. say 8 or 12 bulbs, the geometry would stay the same, only dimensions would change. personally I love this one so much I am gonna build another just like it.

Yep, I am thinking of building one that will hold 16 of them and how it would do against my 400 watt HPS lamp.

 

[Leonardo420]

Yep, I am thinking of building one that will hold 16 of them and how it would do against my 400 watt HPS lamp.

I think you'd be surprised.

with that being said. I'll stir some controversy and say that this light is comparable to a 250w mh @ much less heat.

 

[DJMattz0r]

Nice job on the reflector! Do you plan on painting the wood or coating it with mylar?

Regarding your 10x 26w CFLs vs 250 Watt MH HPS:

They are comparable in some ways. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses.

-The CFLs and MH would both use approx. the same number of watts. (250 and 260 with MH being 10 watts less to run)

-The lumen output is almost equal but MH's 19000-22000 initial lumens compared to CFLs rated at 16000-17500 initial lumens (1600-1750 per 26 watt bulb) I didn't want to look up the mean lumens after they burn in but they may average out closer.

-The CFLs will not have as much penetration into the canopy as the MH, but you can keep the CFLs closer to the plants (see next point for temps).

-The MH bulb will be much hotter than the CFLs but the CFLs do produce heat as well just not so concentrated to require separate cooling efforts. The larger the area the less the need for cooling the CFLs since there is more air to cool them. My small cab will heat up real quick if I don't exchange the air fast enough with CFLs.

-And normally, I would say that with CFLs you can more evenly distribute the light over the plant by being able to arrange the lights however you need them and with a MH you are stuck with top lights. But with your reflector it isn't the case.

And just like you said it is bound to stir up controversy but this is just what I have learned so far. I plan to eventually get a HPS and use either PL-Ls or CFLs for side lighting.

Anything you may be able to add to stir it up more?

+reps

 

[Leonardo420]

thanks DJmatt

I should have painted the wood white before final assembly it would prob help, but not needed. The steel has great reflectivity, no dead light spots, and the light footprint is large enough for (35) 3" pots or (24) 4" pots at 10 inches from the light. Another thing that surprises me about this reflector is that I have had it as far as 12 inches from the plants and I saw no stretching.

I agree that 260w cfl v. 250mh, the 250MH would have better light penetration.

As for the lumen output. It may be less, but since I have 10 individual lights, those lumens are better spread out. The 16,500 lumens doesn't come from one source/one bulb. So that's why I think my reflector is perfect for vegging only, multiple(20-30) plants at a time. Not over 4 full flowering plants.

Loose CFL's DO have their deserved place in side lighting.

I wish I had a 250w mh to grow side by side. and my 400sw is over 4 (7weeks) girls in my flower room.

 

[DJMattz0r]

I see what you mean about the 10 bulbs vs 1 in terms of spreading out the lumens, I have never used a MH but I wonder what the footprint size difference is between the two at say 10".

Do you have a journal for your current grow or any pictures?

 

[Leonardo420]

No current pics, no journal yet.



I can't edit my first post but let me amend the materials/how-to list....

-Instead of just (4) 2" screws, it should be about (20-25) 2" screws. These secure the lamp sockets to the 2X4 beam.

-Also forgot a heavy duty 3 prong wall cord to power it. Try for 14 gauge wire or thicker.

-paint all sides of each piece of wood white (Djmatt)

-The 8"X24" steel piece is measured when in tube form. Near the plumbing section in your local hardware.

-it's important to stagger the lamp sockets on each side

 

[try2learn]

havent read all the comments but wonder if any one mentioned spacing out the lights a little more ?

i think im going to make a variation like this with 12 lights at 2 inches apart and see how it works vegging 10 plants .. maybe even try flowering a few. thnx for the pics and idea

 

[DJMattz0r]

i think im going to make a variation like this with 12 lights at 2 inches apart and see how it works vegging 10 plants .. maybe even try flowering a few. thnx for the pics and idea

I would be interested in seeing that. Put up pics if you end up finishing it

 

[raiderdave]

nice job great work

 

[AvonBarksdale]

Looks very cool, how did you come up with the idea

 

[jaja2]

that looks pretty kool bro

I also have a lil tutorial if you wanna check it out , it is also about building a cfl ballast( a bit easier though since you use a plastic lid and not wood, and you also don't need to wire the cfls-->only through simple adapters that you plug in.)

hope you check it out man.

 

[jaja2]

nice pics in this thread too bro. I just put up a couple simple paint pics for my thread since I don't have a camera

 

[Magnificient]

Very original and much better than my own design. I'll have to change mine now. Rep to you Rafe.

 

[Snuggs]

First, this creation wouldn't be possible without member Pres and his diy cfl thread. Also I have to thank my girl for helping with the design. Thank you!

I've been looking for a good veg light for my setup and didn't want to buy one. I have heard so many good things from 420 members about CFLs I went ahead and tried it.

here we go.....
My 10 bulb CFL Hood

Dimensions:
16.25" Width X 23.5" Long X 6.0" Tall at it's peak, weight 7lbs.
Materials:
(1) 16.25" Plywood circle UNTREATED wood
(20-25) 2" Screws
(1) 22.75" 2x4 piece of UNTREATED wood
(1) 8X24 Vent(sheet steel)
(10) Lamp sockets
(10) 26w CFLs (any K value)
(1) box of small brads/headed nails
(10ft) 14 gauge 3 prong wall cord
(20) blue ring terminals

Wiring is just 14/2 lamp cord daisy chained together with blue ring terminal connectors, setup is grounded.

Had lots of the materials around my house, so my total cost @$71.20 for 260 true watts. This thing GROWS!

Without further delay, PICS!
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03613_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03616_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03617_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03620_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03621_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03623_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03624_cropped.JPG
https://www.420magazine.com/gallery/data/500/DSC03625_cropped.JPG

Additional Information:

-Instead of just (4) 2" screws, it should be about (20-25) 2" screws. These secure the lamp sockets to the 2X4 beam.

-Also forgot a heavy duty 3 prong wall cord to power it. Try for 14 gauge wire or thicker.

-paint all sides of each piece of wood white (Djmatt)

-The 8"X24" steel piece is measured when in tube form. Near the plumbing section in your local hardware.

-it's important to stagger the lamp sockets on each side

Let's move this to a new page.

I can't believe this has been out there for a month and I'm just now finding it. You did a great job, well you and your girlfriend.

I added that additional information for ya in the quote.

Again great job and reps to ya!