How big is that cola? How the hell do you get that long fat bud, mine usually are quite small.
Is it low colas per sq ft?
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Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons
- Thread starter blynx
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How big is that cola? How the hell do you get that long fat bud, mine usually are quite small.
Is it low colas per sq ft?
Roughly 30cm in height.
My cabinet is 60cm x 120cm, with 4 clone trays holding 2 plants per tray (1 plant per sqft) Pot size is 12x12cm with Dank Frank's soil mix and tap water. I grow everything from seed, usually untopped and flipped from veg when the plants are roughly 22-26cm tall. Lighting is two, six light bathroom vanity strips with 3000k / 5000k 14w LEDs, cooling is two computer fans pulling heat from the roof.
I love your setup. I've been waiting to see someone go larger with SILs, more pics as the forest develops please.
This thread is great. I have never seen such low light levels producing such bud.
The 7 lamp batons look ready to air cool. Just add fan.
I cracked open a corn lamp to find mains voltage available at my fingertip.
Power meters often calculate watts with the simple VxA sum that's really applicable to DC circuits. It's ok for resistive AC circuits. Some will have a go at power factor correction for inductive loads, but give them something like an ac15a load, and they can't figure it out.
I have never heard anything about using a fuse to about 60% capacity. Years ago when rewireable fuses were common, it was wise to avoid the rating as they got stinking hot and caused damage. The regs were to use heavier cable though. Fuses are chosen to meet demand, and disconnect as soon as possible in an overload situation. By picking a fuse too big, you increase shock hazard. I would be very interested in building code that says something different
The 7 lamp batons look ready to air cool. Just add fan.
I cracked open a corn lamp to find mains voltage available at my fingertip.
Power meters often calculate watts with the simple VxA sum that's really applicable to DC circuits. It's ok for resistive AC circuits. Some will have a go at power factor correction for inductive loads, but give them something like an ac15a load, and they can't figure it out.
I have never heard anything about using a fuse to about 60% capacity. Years ago when rewireable fuses were common, it was wise to avoid the rating as they got stinking hot and caused damage. The regs were to use heavier cable though. Fuses are chosen to meet demand, and disconnect as soon as possible in an overload situation. By picking a fuse too big, you increase shock hazard. I would be very interested in building code that says something different
noknees
Member
i would love to hear what you did in your grow, and where you're going with this.
pretty please stick around, and continue to kick all the ass.
https://www.amazon.com/HDE-LX-1010B-Digital-Luxmeter-Display/dp/B00992B29I
veg 25k or so. if anything, less. flower? try 50k. read the plant though. i still like CFL for babies.
El Tigre
Active member
At the end of the day, the best advice for managing SILs lights. Just ordered a cheap luxmeter LOL
Drop That Sound
Well-known member
Nice job Hastings! Look back at page 189 where I attempted to explain this could\should be done. Glad to see it scaled up finally.
I was going to use 9w bulbs with 90 sockets, for a single fixture, but not now. 6 rows of 10 it will be.
Walmart dropped the price on Great value 100w equivalent SILs to under $9 dollars a 4 pack (for warm whites, under $10 for 5k daylights) so I been buying the heck out of them over the last few months. Mostly 2700ks becuase its hard to find the 5ks but I still do sometimes.
I keep coming across 15.5 watt bulbs but they also have 14w ones on the same shelf so i'm not sure which ones are newer or being phased out.. 1 fixture will definitely be all 15.5's x 60 for a total of 930 watts.
Anyway, I was about to buy 12-13 10 packs of cheap e27 socket bases off ebay at $3.95 per pack, but they arent UL listed so I'm kinda worried about that...
Which brings me to thinking up a new design. Im going to flush mount the LED pcb side of the bulbs (where the globe comes off) to a panel with 60 holes, and use high temp RTV silicone to glue them in place.
Im just gonna skip the base sockets altogether (and save $50 bucks) and pry the metal screw end off the bulbs to expose the wires, and wire directly to the internal transformers using quality connectors on the existing wires.
Here's where it gets awesome, im gonna box out the top of the panel (possibly with plexi glass) and add a duct on each side of the fixture, and air cool the 60 SILs! In the center of the SILs PCBs there is a hole, where the 2 pins connect the pcb, but i'm gonna dab a little RTV to seal them up too. Also I feel that will insulate from any shorts, and I will trim the pins off a tad before I do.
I'll be able to keep a sealed room and have the 2 8-930 watt fixtures with there own closed loop air cooling systems.
I'm also gonna use switches so I can turn off a few of the rows and go half power or whatever I need at the time. Each fixture still going over a 4.5 x 3.5 grow area, and I will probably start with just one so I can compare with my current lighting.
If all go's well on the first fixtures test then I should have roughly around 1800 max watts of SIL lighting in my flower room, after I complete the second fixture. Do I need that much? Probably not
Hookahhead
Active member
This thread is amazing. I would have never imagined SILs would perform as well as they do before seeing all of the lovely pictures in this thread. About 6 months ago I switched out vegging under my big CFLs for SILs and couldn't be happier. Since then, I've been recommending them to anyone who will listen.
I managed to convince a buddy who has never grown before to give them a shot. The low cost made it reasonable for him to at least try. We slapped him together a quick 6 socket fixture using 9.5w Osram bulbs (3 cool and 3 warm). I gave him 2 clones out of my closet, so he ran 12/12 from the start.
Well he's made it to the chop now, we are both very pleased with his setup and the bud it produced. I have a feeling he will stick with the hobby. So thanks to everyone here that has contributed and have encouraged others to give it a try.
I managed to convince a buddy who has never grown before to give them a shot. The low cost made it reasonable for him to at least try. We slapped him together a quick 6 socket fixture using 9.5w Osram bulbs (3 cool and 3 warm). I gave him 2 clones out of my closet, so he ran 12/12 from the start.
Well he's made it to the chop now, we are both very pleased with his setup and the bud it produced. I have a feeling he will stick with the hobby. So thanks to everyone here that has contributed and have encouraged others to give it a try.
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Well the idea was to see how these would grow in very crowded conditions with minimal to zero training like LST. I topped once at node 5. The theory is that plants will cooperate instead of compete in this scenario. It "kinda" worked... the canopy is "kinda" even. LOL
I did defoliate some, and also cut off most of the weakest suckers. Bubble hash and rosin is my favorite smoking material, so any fluff will be welcome.
This was also just my second time with organic methods - seed to harvest with plain water only. I plan on taking all the main colas for harvesting first, then I'll top dress with tons of fresh new worm poop and plant my cover crop while the plants are still alive for a couple weeks before I cut the stems just below soil level. I'll let the cover crop go for a week before pulling enough aside in each 15 gallon tote to plant my seeds. Being incredibly lazy, I don't even bother transplanting.
The 7 blurple bulbs came from one of those Amazon returns clearance events. They add nothing to the grow except a pretty color. They're like only 4 watts each!
Here we are at the end of week 5 (this morning):
i just got a new specmeters.com quantum meter and thought i would share some basic readings on a single bulb.
i am using the great value brand from walmart 14w 100 watt equivalent 1500 lumens daylight bulb with the lenses removed.
at 2.75" i got 2000 umols, which is the point photo inhibition starts and is too much light. this produces 86.4 moles in a 12 hour period and exceeds anything in nature. exceeding even mid day sunlight at the equator which is 72-74 moles per day.
at 3.25" i got 1500 umols, which produces the maximum rate of photosynthesis with cannabis and is 64.8 moles per 12 hour day.
at 4" i got 1000 umols, which is a good strong flow rate for production. 43.2 moles per 12 hour period. this is more than most plants at 35 degrees latitude get in a day in nature.
when growing really large plants using de hps lights i would set the lights to produce 1200 umols and produced very high quality extremely dense nugs. 51.84 moles per day.
so far i have cloned and vegged only with these sils and am very impressed with the overall quality of plant i'm producing.
i've got about 3 weeks to flower the first ones.
just want to add that i'm using only one bulb over each plant during this phase.
i am using the great value brand from walmart 14w 100 watt equivalent 1500 lumens daylight bulb with the lenses removed.
at 2.75" i got 2000 umols, which is the point photo inhibition starts and is too much light. this produces 86.4 moles in a 12 hour period and exceeds anything in nature. exceeding even mid day sunlight at the equator which is 72-74 moles per day.
at 3.25" i got 1500 umols, which produces the maximum rate of photosynthesis with cannabis and is 64.8 moles per 12 hour day.
at 4" i got 1000 umols, which is a good strong flow rate for production. 43.2 moles per 12 hour period. this is more than most plants at 35 degrees latitude get in a day in nature.
when growing really large plants using de hps lights i would set the lights to produce 1200 umols and produced very high quality extremely dense nugs. 51.84 moles per day.
so far i have cloned and vegged only with these sils and am very impressed with the overall quality of plant i'm producing.
i've got about 3 weeks to flower the first ones.
just want to add that i'm using only one bulb over each plant during this phase.
Interesting stuff! I think the best thing about SILs is the flexibility. I'm running 60 bulbs in flower, but the fact you can unscrew/screw in bulbs to turn them off and on gives you a great advantage. I start with only a couple bulbs on top of each seedling, then screw in more as the plant grows. I'm a converter from the HPS crowd, and my electrical bills are smiling! Plus if LEDs fail for any reason, a child can replace it within 30 seconds. I only had one failure so fare, but it could have been that way from the start. One of my ecosmart bulps had only half the leds working. It was replaced quickly.
Thank you for doing this with an actual meter! Now I know my ghetto light meter is measuring in umols as I suspected it was.
just to show exactly which meter and bulbs i'm using. thse bulbs are only $10 per 4 pack. they are the older series and are still on the shelves but there is a newer series that is also 14w but claim 1550 lumens instead of 1500. but they are more expensive.
about another 10 days and one plant will be going under a 3x3' array with 21 bulbs using warm white 2700k bulbs interspersed with these daylight bulbs. they'll be vegged there approx 3 weeks and then to flower under a 4x4' array using 39 bulbs, again mixed spectrum
i'm really digging the lower heat output.
about another 10 days and one plant will be going under a 3x3' array with 21 bulbs using warm white 2700k bulbs interspersed with these daylight bulbs. they'll be vegged there approx 3 weeks and then to flower under a 4x4' array using 39 bulbs, again mixed spectrum
i'm really digging the lower heat output.
Thank you for doing this with an actual meter! Now I know my ghetto light meter is measuring in umols as I suspected it was.
I must say, I was using HPS before this and this thread and especially your grows really inspired me. I can't thank you enough for your contribution to cannabis growers around the world.
Drop That Sound
Well-known member
Just got back from Walmart a bit ago, snagged 6 more 4 packs, they only had 5 more boxes of 15.5 watt daylights @ less than $10 a box, I was worried they were gonna phase out and only have 14w if any at all. Happy I got all 60 bulbs now 50/50 2.7 and 5 k for the first fixture, without having to order online.
Funny thing how they have soft white 15.5s for cheaper ($8.24!)right on the shelf below the 14s which are like 50 cents more, but rolled back from $14 normal. Oh and the 15.5s say they last 18 years compared to 9 lol. And shatterproof
Heres a pic of a soft white 15.5 if ya wanna compare.
I was worried they would sell out of 15.5s and only have 14s so I been hunting em down at 3 different walmarts and each place always has different stocks. Is it the other way around though and 15.5s are the new stock? They say 2018 on the tag.
Funny thing how they have soft white 15.5s for cheaper ($8.24!)right on the shelf below the 14s which are like 50 cents more, but rolled back from $14 normal. Oh and the 15.5s say they last 18 years compared to 9 lol. And shatterproof
Heres a pic of a soft white 15.5 if ya wanna compare.
I was worried they would sell out of 15.5s and only have 14s so I been hunting em down at 3 different walmarts and each place always has different stocks. Is it the other way around though and 15.5s are the new stock? They say 2018 on the tag.
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Just got back from Walmart a bit ago, snagged 6 more 4 packs, they only had 5 more boxes of 15.5 watt daylights @ less than $10 a box, I was worried they were gonna phase out and only have 14w if any at all. Happy I got all 60 bulbs now 50/50 2.7 and 5 k for the first fixture, without having to order online.
Funny thing how they have soft white 15.5s for cheaper ($8.24!)right on the shelf below the 14s which are like 50 cents more, but rolled back from $14 normal. Oh and the 15.5s say they last 18 years compared to 9 lol. And shatterproof
Heres a pic of a soft white 15.5 if ya wanna compare.
I was worried they would sell out of 15.5s and only have 14s so I been hunting em down at 3 different walmarts and each place always has different stocks. Is it the other way around though and 15.5s are the new stock? They say 2018 on the tag.
damn, my store doesn't even have those 15.5 watt bulbs. they are the newest version in that range and the price is excellent.
i haven't built the next array yet so i'm off bulb hunting. so far i've only bought 8 bulbs for small plant vegging so i'm not heavily invested in these 14 watt ones.
i'm thinking these 15.5's must put out more light so now is the time to switch. thank you!
i'll put up some readings on them when i can.
by the way, i'm burning the lenses off with a 10 dollar soldering iron from wally's. takes no effort or force and less than a minute each. in the backyard sitting upwind from the work so i'm not breathing poly vinyl chloride or whatever this type of plastic produces.
editing to ask for the walmart item numbers for both of those as they don't appear in the online catalog either. maybe it's limited to certain geographic areas.
never mind on the item numbers, they are now in stock at my local store but they are 13.24 per 4 pack while the older series 14w bulbs have been reduced even further to 8.97 per 4 pack from 9.97.
so, being the cheap bastard that i am i will continue to buy the 14w bulbs until i see one of those famous wally world rollbacks.
so, being the cheap bastard that i am i will continue to buy the 14w bulbs until i see one of those famous wally world rollbacks.
noknees
Member
this is the bulb i tested last summer, due to price! post 2250
i thought maybe my readings were bad. should've trusted my gut
**edited to add: their new 17W really thumps too. 54 chips! right at 16 watts (.13 amps)
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Drop That Sound
Well-known member
Delta9, don't forget that walmart price matches, especially from there own website. I'm in WA so use an area code from here on walmarts site and print or show them the link on your phone.
I even talked the shift manager lady yesterday into selling me single soft white 15.5w bulbs for 2.08 each (the 4 pack price) because I bought all the last 4 packs out last week.
Its weird because the site does list the daylights I just got at $14 but they are $9 at the store so I feel lucky with them..
BTW they are listed as 16w on the site, but all the review ppls pics have 15.5 on the box..
I even talked the shift manager lady yesterday into selling me single soft white 15.5w bulbs for 2.08 each (the 4 pack price) because I bought all the last 4 packs out last week.
Its weird because the site does list the daylights I just got at $14 but they are $9 at the store so I feel lucky with them..
BTW they are listed as 16w on the site, but all the review ppls pics have 15.5 on the box..
