CFL Club!

[TheGreenBastard]

It depend on the setup, generally large CFL's like you suggested produce a lot of heat, enough that it is often better to use an HID of similar wattage. I like 23w to 42w CFL's if that is the route I'm going, though, since using PL-l's I tend to only use CFL's as supplementary lighting for added spectrum or to lighten darker areas under the canopy were light is reduced due to lack of penetration.

 

[de145]

Which watt of cfl does everyone recommend? Should I go with one large cfl (125-250w) or a couple small ones like 23,26,32w?

23 watt is the sweet spot for cfl's, no question, I've experimented with this quite a bit.

CFL has some unique qualities to it which are all screwed if you go with too high a wattage and fewer bulbs.

The whole idea with cfl is to get the bulbs as close physically to the plant as possible without burning them and secondly to evenly cover as much of the plant surface as possible by using a lot of bulbs.

You can do this because they don't put out much heat and you have to do this because they don't put out as much light as other technologies.

23 watt is the highest you can go and still almost touch the plants without burning them and you can put more in a small cabinet to more evenly cover the entire crop without excessive heating problems.

With higher wattage you can't put the bulb as close, the heat is tremendous and so you cant put as many in so you end up with less coverage at a further distance.

Repeatedly I've come across this recommendation: Optimal CFL wattage per square foot of growing area: 90-100 watts / sq foot.

For me that's 10 times 23watt cfl's for my Rubbermaid micro cab ( 5 dual "Y" lightbulb adapters in a row in 2.4 sq ft) however I'm starting to question that amount and think it might be on the low side, rather than "optimal" it might be "minimal". I do get decent results but not spectacular ones though I'm still dialing in other factors so who knows?

 

[TheGreenBastard]

the highest I use are 42w's with fans blowing directly on them, you can get them very close to the plants with little heat, my favorite are 55w PL-l's though, all I need is a 120mm fan blowing across the length of the bulb and there is NO heat, I can literally let my plants grow into with no adverse effects.

 

[WESTCRAZY1]

I have 4- 42w and 2- 32w in my cab right now for a total of 6 cfls at 232w. I hope this is good enough to cover a 3ft x 2ft x 2ft space?

 

[growbie1]

, my favorite are 55w PL-l's though, all I need is a 120mm fan blowing across the length of the bulb and there is NO heat, I can literally let my plants grow into with no adverse effects.

I'm using 4x23w T5s and 2x55w Pl-l and i gotta accede TGB.
The Pl-l are working great. Gone go for 2 more of them and gonne stop using the t5's
I don't even use a direct cooling fan and my plantz go up to 2cm/1" to the bulbs and i havent had any problems yet.

 

[fukndenny]

grown plenty of dank with cfls.

 

[california7821]

So this is gonna be my first grow and ive decided to use cfl's. The space im working with is gonna be 2'7" x 2'7" x 5'11"(for flowering only) and i want to get the most out of the lighting space i have available without spending too much so i came up with a couple options and after doing some research and getting all kinds of mixed answers i figured id toss my options up here and see what you guys think.
Option 1 is just one 2' 8 bulb t5 unit(192 watts). roughly $250
Option 2 is a 200 watt standard cfl hooded fixture. roughly $150
Option 3 is 4 of the single bulb 2' t5's(24 watt each) and a 100 watt standard cfl fixture roughly $200 the prices are just based on products in my area.
I want to just go with option 2 because it is the cheapest and simplest but i just dont know forsure how much better t5's actually are. Ive been getting some mixed info on how much the lumen difference really matters. I also thought about mixing the blues and reds in the t5's when flowering to cover the full spectrum of things. Not sure if thats a good idea or not. thanks for readin and id appreciate any feedback.

 

[TheGreenBastard]

CFL's larger than ~42w's are less effective as you can't keep them very close too your plants. In place of a 100 or 200 watt bulb go with a few 23-42 watt CFL's as supplementary (side) lighting and a t5 panel as your primary light.

Although, if you plan on spending ~$100's and don't mind purchasing online, then PL-l's would be your best option. For under a $100 with shipping you could get four 50-55 watt bulbs with ballast and sockets, this equals 200-220w of light at ~19k lumens. The only thing you have to do is wire the sockets to the ballast, which is not difficult, though you will need lamp wire. It would also be advisable to buy/build a reflector. This is by far the most cost effective and arguably most productive t5 lighting system.

If your unfamiliar with PL-l's (base 2G11) they are essentially 4ft t5's bent back on themselves. There's a couple of threads here about them with a lot of great information.

 

[california7821]

Thanks for the helpful advice. I looked into the pl's and thats definitely what im going to be going with. Seems pretty easy and cheap to set up just ballast, lamp cord, socket assembly, and reflector. The only thing i havent quite figured out is how hot these things run. From what ive read its hotter then normal cfl's but for cab temp purposes do you know how hot these things run?

 

[TheGreenBastard]

They run incredibly cool, I have a sour 60 growing directly into the bulb with only a 120mm fan blowing across the length of the 55w bulb, this is there greatest advantage, they have high lumen output with little heat and less light diffraction compared to spiral CFL's. Most of the heat from PL-l's comes from the ballast and the socket/base which makes them a really easy light to cool.

 

[Legalize420]

Grown 5 plants under 150w CLF (spectrum: from 2,5k to 4,0k)



Easy rider F2 (ERxER)

 

[Milhouse]

I use PL-L and I really enjoy them. Take a look at my albums, all buds were grown under 440w PL-L and I am by no means an expert grower!!

 

[microgrow3r]

I am running a pc case stealth grow, i have little room obviously inside.I am using a 6 socket surgeprotector to put the lights into through light to wall socket connectors. I have 4 bulbs, is it ok if the cfl bulbs themselves kiss/touch each other. I know it can obviously produce more heat, but i have plenty of ventilation and the case rarely get to hot. Should I only be concerned with the amount of heat produced? I just want to make sure they cant blow up lol...These 4 bulbs for 1 plant, i hope it likes is light..o and their 2 x 23w 6500k, and 2 x 23w 2700k

 

[fredcdobbs]

I dont use only CFL's in Veg,but i thought i would show these new big ass 300 wtt CFL's.They work great for Veg with a HPS combo.These are the biggest ive found,not sure if there are bigger.Got these @ Lowes for $16 what is color temperature?

what is color temp?

 

[Jellyfish]

I like CFL's.

 

[NextUp]

what is color temp?

I got one tha'ts 2700k 300 watt Equiv'


I'm going to use 3 100 watts 5500k around it for my veg.........


Then, 3 5500k 100 watts and a 400 cmh...........flwr


larger cab..........

 

[NIKITA]

NIKITA'S Stealth CFL Grow..(pics)and yes I'm new..kinda

NIKITA'S Stealth CFL Grow..(pics)and yes I'm new..kinda

Greetings to my fellow lovers and growers of this extraordinary flower.I'm a 37 year old female living in a cozy house under the radar in New England.Brief summary about me and of coarse my grow..
I've struggled with Major Depressive Disorder and Insomnia from age 10.It became MUCH worse as I got older with many traumatic events.(It wasn't really recognized or accepted as a legit medical condition back then by most,including myself)I've been on many different antidepressant and combinations there of with therapy to no avail.I experimented and abused 1st with alcohol and moved on to bigger things but found Cannabis to be the ONLY med to work for me..along with my Art Therapy I researched,planned and aquired everything I'd need for a mother/veg/clone(which I had finished constructing) and flower cab a long while back.I'm now forced to downgrade my plan do to getting laid off..I just can't afford to run both cabs along with the intangibles they'd require.So I worked with what I had.
The dresser is 2ft6in(L),1ft7"(W),4ft(H).I glued and nailed what would have been the drawers to a piece of plywood for a removable front panel and have furniture gliders glued to the 4 bottom legs for easy movement over the rug.My exaust in a 4"Vortex fan on a speed control and day night temp thermometer with 2 8x8 darkroom louvers for passive intake.My light is 250watt 6500k Feliz CFL on timer and I have 2 small circulation fans inside cab.Lights on my temps are 76 to 80 degrees with about 50% humidity..lights off 66 to 69 degrees and 55 to 60% humidity.
I will eventually go ALL organic when I can afford to but for now my medium is ProMix HP,worm castings and perlite and I'll be using Earth Juice nuits.I can't afford to buy the couple strains I want so I have 3 bagseed sprouted in there along with 2 Blue Velvet and 1 NLxHaze I bought from Marc Emery some 13?years ago.(yes! they germinated with 1 of the Blue Velvets doing really well,1 lagging a bit and I think I have to pull the NLxHaze for it's not so fortunate).
So,I thank you who will be interested in following me on my journey..and a HUGE thank you to ALL who put up these websites,write the many books and speak out about this precious and NATURAL plant thats potential has really been just scratched..

 

[NIKITA]

some photos

some photos

 

[Jellyfish]

Sneaky!!!

 

[pearlemae]

Just finished my first SCROG. I'm using an T5 HOcfl, 8 lamps 24 watts each 2 ft x 2 ft fixture, 194 watts total. The cab is 4x4x2ft, flower side is 2x4x3ft and fits in a closet.
Two plants in a 2x2 ft scrog.