Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons

[Lyfespan]

OK. Plain water untill harvest.

I have a hard time trying to see the color of the trichs on the flowers because of all the orange hairs.
I don't know if I'm seeing an amber trich or an orange hair reflecting through a clear or white trich ?

some strains the trichs dont change color or amber till its too late.

 

[brown_thumb]

I don't know if it's the correct thing to do but I harvest mine when most trichomes turn milky and a few are turning amber.

 

[PCBuds]

I Googled the White Widow I'm growing and apparently the trichomes do turn amber.

One guy likes about 30% amber for day time use and 70% for night time.

Apparently patience pays off. The resin doubles in the last two weeks.

He also said he switched to 8 hours on and 16 hours off for the last two weeks to help with resin production.

 

[PCBuds]

I took a sugar leaf off a flower and checked the trichomes.
I might have another month to go ??

 

[SandyFantasyman]

.

 

[f-e]

With 144 tubes to chop, I might invest in a band saw. With a block of wood clamped to the table, you would have a guide that made positioning the tubes for cutting quite easy. That way you still have a lot of the tube intact, which is a good thing, when there is mains electricity on that board. You may even wish to put some poly-tunnel repair tape over, if you're spraying water about.

Edit: A milling machine would be even better, but costs a lot more

Edit2: I can see me with my jigsaw upside down, perhaps screwed under a table, with the blade sticking up through a hole. I don't have a band saw, but do have that..

 

[Hookahhead]

Edit2: I can see me with my jigsaw upside down, perhaps screwed under a table, with the blade sticking up through a hole. I don't have a band saw, but do have that..

Or a dremel?

 

[PCBuds]

I just checked the website again and the lens is glass.



I'm thinking the flat circuit board inside may have LED's on both sides of the board to help spread the light in all directions ??

So it looks like he'd have to use them the way they are or wait to find something else.

 

[Lyfespan]

With 144 tubes to chop, I might invest in a band saw. With a block of wood clamped to the table, you would have a guide that made positioning the tubes for cutting quite easy. That way you still have a lot of the tube intact, which is a good thing, when there is mains electricity on that board. You may even wish to put some poly-tunnel repair tape over, if you're spraying water about.

Edit: A milling machine would be even better, but costs a lot more

Edit2: I can see me with my jigsaw upside down, perhaps screwed under a table, with the blade sticking up through a hole. I don't have a band saw, but do have that..

144 t5s for 3 stories of veg, i dont have time to go messing with lights really, i have a lot to do as a one man show.

i did end up grabbing some phillips led t5s from homedepot for a cloner tower just to see whats up. seems the leds are free floating in the tube

 

[Lyfespan]

philips 5000k t5s at depot were only 12$

3500 lumens 24 watts

 

[HorseBadoritiz]

Are you going to take one apart?


And, are the HD 23W t5's 2'?

 

[PCBuds]

Do they have plastic lenses and end caps ?

 

[PCBuds]

philips 5000k t5s at depot were only 12$

3500 lumens 24 watts

I checked my local Canadian Home Depot to see if they had those bulbs here.

Then I found these...

















Now I'm thinking about retrofitting my 4' fluoro T8 fixture instead of retiring it and installing Walmart LED's ??

I'm thinking two of each bulbs but that would cost me $122 for the four bulbs.

But then again, that's about equivalent to 8 ten watt Walmart bulbs, which along with sockets is about $25.

I don't know what to do ??

PS. What does toggled mean ?

 

[repuk]

I'm thinking two of each bulbs but that would cost me $122 for the four bulbs.

But then again, that's about equivalent to 8 ten watt Walmart bulbs, which along with sockets is about $25.

I don't know what to do ??

For me it would be clear... $25 option. That's what this thread is about, to show off how good SILs perform.

 

[PCBuds]

For me it would be clear... $25 option. That's what this thread is about, to show off how good SILs perform.

Yea,.. You're right.

Even if the SILs are only half as efficient as the LED tubes, I could just add twice as many for $50.

I could hang a whole bunch right from my plant and do it up like a Christmas tree. lol

 

[PCBuds]

In keeping with the spirit of this thread, I decided to stick with the SILs and make my own light.





The bulb was $1 and the cord was $1.25 plus I can string 4 bulbs on one cord so that's a 40 watt LED "fixture" for 5 bucks.

 

[Boocoodinkydow]

I’ve never been successful soldering wire to a bulb like that. What’s the secret?

 

[brown_thumb]

I’ve never been successful soldering wire to a bulb like that. What’s the secret?

Thoroughly scratch the surface with a file and use flux.

 

[PCBuds]

A big ass soldering gun.



You tin the wire first then tin the fixture then join them.

With all that power it heats up the metal fast before the entire piece of metal heats up.

With a regular low power soldering iron the entire end of the bulb would have to heat up and maybe start melting the plastic.

 

[PCBuds]

Thoroughly scratch the surface with a file and use flux.

The bulb was new so the metal was clean and I have flux core solder.

Get the old school solder that's 60/40 lead.
The new "toxic free" silver stuff sucks.
I hate that stuff.