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Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons
- Thread starter blynx
- Start date
hehe so I guess its a bit overkill then, its maybe a good thing the philips 13.5w bulbs were so expensive or there would have been 24 of those in there
I didnt realise the light intensity increased so much with the plastic dome removed. Awesome
Depends on the bulb, I have measured with a Lux meter, between 20%-40% increase by taking off diffusers, each brand and model is slightly different, the main thing it does is makes the light shine downwards instead of spreading it out the sides so much.
You might want to consider down the track replacing all those bulbs with just 4 x Cree CXB3590 3500K 80cri LEDs. It will give you way more light, typical LED bulbs only do about 90-100 lumens per watt. The CXB3590 will do about 160 lumens per watt.
Which means a lot less heat.
I like the cabinet, it's a good size, the white coating inside is very handy for growing
PoweredByLove
Most Loved
Yeah they all get hot in my experience. I mounted a120mm fan on my lights to blow across the bulbs.
hehe so I guess its a bit overkill then, its maybe a good thing the philips 13.5w bulbs were so expensive or there would have been 24 of those in there
I didnt realise the light intensity increased so much with the plastic dome removed. Awesome
fucking beautiful man! You're an artist. It looks like you can move the shelf with the lights up & down when needed which is amazing. 50w a square foot should give up nothing to any other type of lighting.
To reiterate what the others have said, awesome cab and 50w per sqft is stupid bright. I am flowering at 27w per sqft and seeing better results than I ever have in the past. My 2x2 small veg area has six 8.5w bulbs in it and is flowering bright, I can't even imagine what 24 is like. 
If the bulbs get too hot, you can blow air across them or you can evacuate heat from the roof of the cab. Pulling from the roof will suck the most heat out of your grow space. There are two ways to do it, with holes in the roof:
or pipes that suck air from the roof to existing holes in the side of the cab"
If the bulbs get too hot, you can blow air across them or you can evacuate heat from the roof of the cab. Pulling from the roof will suck the most heat out of your grow space. There are two ways to do it, with holes in the roof:
or pipes that suck air from the roof to existing holes in the side of the cab"
HuffnPufferfish
Member
2x 80mm fans on 12v int he top keep my whole box at room temp, i just have 3 big holes in my bottom and i let nature do the rest, if i close the door it will literately suck anything you drop in front of the closet; had a receipt, dropped it and WOOSH gone it was, sucked up into my box 
its important to keep temps under control, but even more important, the rh at night, with 1 fan and 2 holes i had 80+ rh at night (and after watering+misting) and kept it till the lights went on again, thats a problem waiting to explode so last night i misted and watered, rh was back to 50-60 within an hour
its important to keep temps under control, but even more important, the rh at night, with 1 fan and 2 holes i had 80+ rh at night (and after watering+misting) and kept it till the lights went on again, thats a problem waiting to explode so last night i misted and watered, rh was back to 50-60 within an hour
R
ratsidecar
Thanks for all the compliments people, it makes the hard work feel worth it
The height of the lights is fixed and instead I move the plants up or down for the correct distance. The reason for this is the shelf with lights braces the box nicely and stops it flexing if it has to be moved around, it also minimises any fan vibration noises.
The holes into the filter chamber are roughly level with the bulbs and top of the plants. This serves 2 purposes.
1. It gets as much heat away from the bulbs as possible, I had spotted what looked like a few stress marks appearing in the bases of the philips 13.5w when they were just sitting under a table with no air flow around them.
2. It keeps a good flow of air across the canopy and hopefully means I wont need to add a circulation fan.
The cree cxb3590s look really interesting, I had considered them but went with the household LEDs for convenience, price and the ability to keep things really tidy looking. I had no idea they could be so efficient 160lumens/watt sounds incredible. I thought the philips 13.5w were good at 112 lumens/watt, the 8.5w work out at 100lumens/watt
What sort of area will a single cxb3590 at 50w cover effectively?
The height of the lights is fixed and instead I move the plants up or down for the correct distance. The reason for this is the shelf with lights braces the box nicely and stops it flexing if it has to be moved around, it also minimises any fan vibration noises.
The holes into the filter chamber are roughly level with the bulbs and top of the plants. This serves 2 purposes.
1. It gets as much heat away from the bulbs as possible, I had spotted what looked like a few stress marks appearing in the bases of the philips 13.5w when they were just sitting under a table with no air flow around them.
2. It keeps a good flow of air across the canopy and hopefully means I wont need to add a circulation fan.
The cree cxb3590s look really interesting, I had considered them but went with the household LEDs for convenience, price and the ability to keep things really tidy looking. I had no idea they could be so efficient 160lumens/watt sounds incredible. I thought the philips 13.5w were good at 112 lumens/watt, the 8.5w work out at 100lumens/watt
What sort of area will a single cxb3590 at 50w cover effectively?
This is great. I haven't posted here but usually browse every so aften.
I have been interested in growing some pure sativa strains in anything from 3x3 to 4x4 tent or little grow box. I was looking into one of those cree cxb3590 setups myself but these screw-ins locally sourced has its appeal for sure. Some killer grows on them...
Since I'm looking to grow out some pure sativa strains I am thinking 5000k up to 10,000k all the way through if possible. I'll probably grow in rockwool or coco mix... open to soil again though, not sure on that, i'll see what I can get locally.
For 4'x4' I am thinking 12 16watt led's maybe.... Any suggestions? I have up to about 6' height availble for tent or box.
I have been interested in growing some pure sativa strains in anything from 3x3 to 4x4 tent or little grow box. I was looking into one of those cree cxb3590 setups myself but these screw-ins locally sourced has its appeal for sure. Some killer grows on them...
Since I'm looking to grow out some pure sativa strains I am thinking 5000k up to 10,000k all the way through if possible. I'll probably grow in rockwool or coco mix... open to soil again though, not sure on that, i'll see what I can get locally.
For 4'x4' I am thinking 12 16watt led's maybe.... Any suggestions? I have up to about 6' height availble for tent or box.
CptnFeatherswrd
New member
Just a heads up Ratsy. Ikea stuff with mdf is an absolute mold magnet. Unless you are in a low humidity room I would seriously recommend painting any exposed mdf, like the back side of the back board, I bet thats raw mdf and I guarentee it will blow up into a mold breeding ground.
HuffnPufferfish
Member
all ikea stuff is coated with a non smooth plastic layer
R
ratsidecar
I have silicone coated all the raw edges of the chipboard where holes were drilled through and the joins. The backboard is plain finish on its rear though so will give that a coat of paint to be sure. Cant stand mold and damp.
Are the lights too close or too far away for 1 day old seedlings? When I didn't put anything under the containers the first seedling that popped started growing too fast upwards, creating a long thin stem. Not too worse yet cause I spotted it after a night of sleep, so I put them 4" (10cm) away from where the light gets emitted (not the glass/plastic but where the leds actually are).
If you see anything else that could be improved in my case I would appreciate it to let me know. Thanks, have learned a lot from this forum.
(Click picture to enlarge)
If you see anything else that could be improved in my case I would appreciate it to let me know. Thanks, have learned a lot from this forum.
(Click picture to enlarge)
M
Mr. Sparkle
so long as the seedling stays decently cool you'll be fine, but you might get some heat stress, only time will tell
CptnFeatherswrd
New member
Not on the back it isnt
HuffnPufferfish
Member
but thats not mdf...
CptnFeatherswrd
New member
You really like to argue huh. I was just giving a heads up as I have seen a lot of mold on ikea stuff.
Stop being a dick.
R
ratsidecar
Lets just agree that if its unpainted/unfinished and it is a woodish/cardboardy kind of thing like mdf or fiberboard or whatever else that its a very good idea to paint it to prevent all kinds of moldy madness from happening
CptnFeatherswrd
New member
Exactly ��
