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

[bushed]

Not sure if this has been mentioned as its such a long thread, has anyone else had any experience with led outdoor worklights. Im using one as a veg light just because I had one its 45w and 5000k, I didnt take the casing off as I didnt want to break it. It works great as a veg light and is a really simple alternative to using lots of smaller watt bulbs.



Im thinking I might flower a plant under it, what differences can I expect compared to an hps?

 

[blynx]

Not sure if this has been mentioned as its such a long thread, has anyone else had any experience with led outdoor worklights. Im using one as a veg light just because I had one its 45w and 5000k, I didnt take the casing off as I didnt want to break it. It works great as a veg light and is a really simple alternative to using lots of smaller watt bulbs.

Im thinking I might flower a plant under it, what differences can I expect compared to an hps?

Do it and share your results.

HPS has more red than the 5000k LED worklight so plants probably won't stretch as much under the LED.

 

[PCBuds]

... its 45w and 5000k, ...

You should be able to get around 45 grams from your plant.

 

[PCBuds]

My new SIL grow.

 

[ScrogMonster]

Hookahhead - dude sick green house! I love the tall ceilings it has! Well built too! I also love what you’re doing with those SIL’s.

I can’t wait to see that fixture complete and running. That makes want try that out.

Does any one know if someone has broke down the SIL’s and put them on baking sheets or metal strips like that some where in this thread?! I thought I remember someone referencing it but I tried looking for it but gave up. This thread is so long.

I could really use to make a flat fixture out of some SIL’s for the inside of this box. I recently added a third bulb. This canopy has six more weeks to go so I might switch to the 8w bulbs in a second here after I get the canopy a bit more even.

 

[igrowone]

Hookahhead - dude sick green house! I love the tall ceilings it has! Well built too! I also love what you’re doing with those SIL’s.

I can’t wait to see that fixture complete and running. That makes want try that out.

Does any one know if someone has broke down the SIL’s and put them on baking sheets or metal strips like that some where in this thread?! I thought I remember someone referencing it but I tried looking for it but gave up. This thread is so long.

I could really use to make a flat fixture out of some SIL’s for the inside of this box. I recently added a third bulb. This canopy has six more weeks to go so I might switch to the 8w bulbs in a second here after I get the canopy a bit more even.
View Image

not a baking sheet, but i do use a steel pizza pan
for a micro grow, amazing how small you can go with SILs
27w and it will grow a healthy 2 1/2 foot plant no problem

 

[PCBuds]

Does any one know if someone has broke down the SIL’s and put them on baking sheets or metal strips like that some where in this thread?!...

Yeah, that was me, and no I never did it.
I jumped ship and bought LED strips. Lol

I've got the baking sheets though... And a whole bunch of SlLs... Maybe I'll make something and post it here if anyone is interested?


My supplies...

 

[Hookahhead]

Thanks ScrogMonster, I couldn’t be more pleased with how the green house turned out. We’re still adding in the small things like hanging support screen, putting in a sink and small supply shed outside. Now I just need to fill it up!

I’m certainly not the first one who came up with disassembling the bulbs for a lower profile. Blynx has also experimented with different bulb shapes such as the more compact down lighting package. It’s really no different than wiring up a bunch of sockets, just make sure you insulate the bare metal components haha. I would suggest using thermal tape/paste to actually get some use out of the heat sink, but be careful with the bulbs that have LEDs on metal plates. I have seen some of these conduct electricity to the edges by testing with my multimeter. The ones I used in this build were on PCB.

What I would really like to do is be able to take just the plates and run them from a single driver like if they were quantum boards or LED strips. This eliminates the numerous inefficient drivers in favor of a single efficient one. Unfortunately it seems like each bulb has a different layout among different wattages and manufactures. So I would need all of the same bulb, and better knowledge of electronics to accomplish this.

Bushed your work light probably has a 45w COB or tightly packed LED plate. These make great grow lights as well. However, they are still a single point light, which means it needs to be further away to get better coverage and appropriate intensity. With the SILs, we are able to spread the same amount of light equally across the canopy, and keep the bulbs closer to the tops. This is more of an advantage for micro style grows where a gain of 6-12 inches of headroom can make a huge difference.

P.s My light is all wired up and tested, I’ll hang it and post the last few pictures in the morning. Here’s the wiring. I used an old extension cord that had been previously sacrificed in a different project. I split part of it in half, and ran the negative and positive “rail” on different sides. I used wire strippers to slide the plastic coating down just a bit, so I could “tap” each driver into the line.

 

[PCBuds]

The ones I used in this build were on PCB...

Hey, that's not on me my friend !! Lol

..., but be careful with the bulbs that have LEDs on metal plates. I have seen some of these conduct electricity to the edges by testing with my multimeter...

The metal plate itself is insulated from the electricity with paint or ceramic or something but installed in the SIL, you would never touch that metal plate in case there is a failure and it becomes electrified.
It stays within the SIL or shorts out and blows a fuse.

The SIL is covered in plastic so you won't get a shock but an energized heat sink can give you a shock.

 

[f-e]

Hookah, you may want to bunch the AC wires to reduce RF noise. See how you go..

Tech: Each wire sets up a magnetic field, and each wire is flowing in the opposite direction. This makes the fields the same, but apposing, giving cancellation.

You should really ground that plate. Sometimes I don't work to code, when a project is going to be short lived, and it's out the reach of unqualified people. That needs doing though.

If you repeat this, there are heat conductive alternatives to using silicone. Heatsink Plaster isn't bad. Two part thermal epoxy costs as much as the name suggests but is better. Both will see the heat leaving the little boards a lot quicker. Both are electrically insulating.

The little boards you have pulled out, are actually available in bulk from places such as Ali. There are a range of sizes, that don't stop till about 8" across. I feel this is crossing over into smart cobs though, and the law has spoken about getting off topic

 

[Mars Hydro Led]

I could really use to make a flat fixture out of some SIL’s for the inside of this box. I recently added a third bulb. This canopy has six more weeks to go so I might switch to the 8w bulbs in a second here after I get the canopy a bit more even.
View Image[/QUOTE]

Seems the plants in box will need more lights for flowering.

 

[ScrogMonster]

Seems the plants in box will need more lights for flowering.

Actually the Lights that are on the outside of the box flowering the branches of the plant that are outside the box is what I’m going to use to flower what’s inside the box, after the outside branches are done flowering. That’s the whole point of the experimental dual stage plant. When the outside is done, the inside will be ready to flower and all’s I gotta do is take those walls down. What I was thinking is that I could brake down some SIL’s like Hookahhead is doing to make a little more room in there while the inside is “waiting for it’s turn”.

PCBuds - yes please make a pizza sheet deconstructed SIL fixture!

 

[Hookahhead]

Thanks for the input f-e, I always appreciate your comments. You definitely have a better grasp on circuitry and electronics than most of us!

I took your advice and paired the wires back together with electrical tape. Unfortunately I don’t know how I should ground the light. I hadn’t considered that at all.. my previous builds were on wooden frames. There isn’t any electricity hard wired in this area of the house, so power is being carried on an ungrounded electrical cord. I should probably take this opportunity to replace it with a heavier duty, grounded wire.

I did cut off the excess metal at least. I cut and folded the edges so they weren’t as sharp as razor blades. Safety first kids! A hole drilled into each end allowed me to hang it with just a zip tie.

 

[ScrogMonster]

That fixture looks good Hookah. Thanks for sharing I’m definitely gonna have to play with one of my bulbs and see how easy it is take apart.

Hey F-e, would a 3 prong ext chord without the green wire soldered onto the metal do the trick of grounding a fixture like that? Could you wrap the ground wire around a metal screw alternatively?

 

[Hookahhead]

Thanks SM. That’s exactly what you would need to do, connect a wire from the frame to ground, which is typically the green wire on a 3 prong cord.

 

[f-e]

If you don't have a ground in your supply cable, perhaps you have other services in the room? As a child I would often clip on to my radiator valve, knowing the house was a big mass of metal pipe, that was grounded as an essential part of the electrical installation. However, if nothing in the room is grounded, you would have to touch both live and neutral and the same time to get a shock. You can poke at a live wire with a wet finger, all day long, if you don't form part of a circuit to somewhere.

Don't use your radiators unless you know for a fact they form a wire to ground. Or you will just make them all live if you have such a fault.

 

[ScrogMonster]

I started taking apart the different bulbs I have laying around. Fun times. I remember a while back when I posted about my fiet bulbs and the “taser” prongs sticking out there was speculation about them having something to do with a heat sink but now I see what I’m sure most of you also realize by now that they’re definitely the leads. That’s the bulb on the right in this picture. That’s how all three of these bulbs are set up and I imagine most or all SIL’s are the same way.

 

[Hookahhead]

Your rig will be a little easier to setup, as you won’t have to desolder/resolder each plate. I like the ones that just slide on the prongs like you have.

If you want a little more room between the drivers and LED board, you can use female to male jumper wires. They’re cheap and come in all sorts of sizes on EBay or Amazon.

 

[Sunshineinabag]

i snipped the leads prongs off with nail clippers flush......im not wiring, i do have master electricians in my family so i guess ill ask them to help with a board for my veg room, takes awhile to set up empty bedrooms instead of tents lol

 

[Andyo]

nutrient uptake in hydroton flood drain under 35 w sq/ft sils

nutrient uptake in hydroton flood drain under 35 w sq/ft sils

A big supprise.
Started resevoir with rockwool block in in 5 litre hydroton at ec 1.5
after 7 days i checked ec of tank dropped to ec 0.9 supprised !
Ive run flood drain over 40 yrs never seen that much drop not even near.
So topped up to 1.5 tommorow i will take it to EC 2.0
Only thing i can think is sils better spectrum
sylvania 4000k colour 13 chips 12.5w total 35w per square ft

will post picture later today.A