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PLL Club. (if you don't know, now you know)

Cransor2

New member
Anyone know of a supplier in Canada for PL-L's and related ballasts? Is this an item a general lighting supply store would carry?
 

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
I live in Oz, a technology wasteland, and enquired at a general lighting store and they could order them in at a high price, and were loosely familiar with them. It's definitely worth a call.
 

Saftevand

New member
I'm entering the PL-L club! Please help me with a few questions b4 I'll do something stupid.

Would it be possible to glue a Workhorse 8 - Fluorescent In-Fixture Electronic Instant Start Ballast - 277 Volt - Long Case - Fulham WH8-277-L (from 1000bulbs) to the back of my wooden growcab?

Would the same ballast work in europe? (here 230V is standard)?

Why workhorse 8 and not workhorse 7? Workhorse 8 got a maximun current on 0,74 AMP and workhorse 7 got a maximum current on 0,85AMP, but what do this really mean?

I'm buying from 1000bulbs.com. What color chould I choose for veg? What color chould I choose for bloom? There are 3000K, 3500K and 4100K.
 

Hydro-Soil

Active member
Veteran
I'm entering the PL-L club! Please help me with a few questions b4 I'll do something stupid.

Would it be possible to glue a Workhorse 8 - Fluorescent In-Fixture Electronic Instant Start Ballast - 277 Volt - Long Case - Fulham WH8-277-L (from 1000bulbs) to the back of my wooden growcab?

Would the same ballast work in europe? (here 230V is standard)?

Why workhorse 8 and not workhorse 7? Workhorse 8 got a maximun current on 0,74 AMP and workhorse 7 got a maximum current on 0,85AMP, but what do this really mean?

I'm buying from 1000bulbs.com. What color chould I choose for veg? What color chould I choose for bloom? There are 3000K, 3500K and 4100K.
You can use 3000K through 4100K for both bloom and veg. I use 5400K for veg personally.

It would probably work better if you drilled holes and zip-tied the ballast to the back wall. Glue may not hold and the ballast does get a bit hot. They say to keep it under 70F so if you can get a breeze going past it, it'll help a lot. :D

Edit: Dunno about the europe thing :( thought 277 was for europe but not sure. I also believe the workhorse 8 is a bit more power efficient. Unless you're running a bunch of them, the 7 should be fine. :D
 

Tilt

Member
277/480 volts is used in the US for commercial buildings. Usually for flourescent fixtures in the building. The voltage is stepped down in the building by a voltage transformer of the appropriate kva (watts in laymans terms) The fullham is an electronic ballast that detects the incoming voltage and provides the correct voltage to the ballast. This means that it will probably work quite well. 230 volts means that your amps will carry more watts. You can contact the distributer and ask them if the ballast will work for 230v 50hz euro voltage
 

Saftevand

New member
Thanks for the great answers people! I think I'll use a transformer for a laptop, it converts our 230V to 120V :)

For bloom I think I'll use 3000K for bloom and 4100K for veg.

I'll also try find a metalic plate as surface for the ballast.
:bis:
 

ricard0

Member
PLL's are my new favorite lights :)

PLL's are my new favorite lights :)

I posted my roughed in setup over in the "PL-L reflector shapes" thread. Here's what i've done with the PLL's since then thanks in large part to this thread.
scrog-2.jpg
scrog-3.jpg
scrog-5.jpg

My 1st scroggin' :joint: Kinda late in the game to start a scroggin', but what the hell :headbange
96w of T5
110w of PL-L
52w of UVB
 

420.se

New member
Saftevand: If you live in europe and have 230V mains, get a ballast that operates on 230V instead. The cost will be less than the cost of both a ballast running on 120v and a transformer capable of delivering enough current to it. Not to mention the extra cablework.
 

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
If you don't mind me adding my opinion Lord D, it would seem to me that each light is only 90* exposed to your plant that way. You'd have your bulbs backed into a corner as it were. It would still work of course, just doesn't seem efficient use of the watts. It would be a good place in terms of being out of burning range though.
 

Hydro-Soil

Active member
Veteran
Word of Caution


Just want to make sure that nobody missed the safety warnings that should be included with these lamps.

DO NOT expose your eyes to the light from these lamps when you're close up. Avoid spending a lot of time where your head is within a foot and a half of these lamps where you can catch reflections. These lamps are INTENSE and even though it doesn't seem to bother you at first, there is subtle damage being done to your eyes that takes time to build up.

Just like in an HID garden, it's best to have lower wattage CFL's or incandescents to use when you need to be in the garden for more than a minute or two. UV-B protective lens shades are also a great item to have on hand. :D

Stay Safe Everyone!

p.s. I just don't want to hear about 2,500 growers having cataracts or other eye issues in about 10 years.... because someone on the internet suggested PL-L without a warning. :D
 

D.I.trY

Member
i heed that warning hydro. I had my hand within a couple cm under the socket area of lamps when adjusting something in my pc and it never felt hot at any time, but about a minute later the back of my knuckles were red and i felt a painful burning. Where there is no fluorescent coating at the socket i believe some dangerous UV is getting out. It would make sense that with many bulb manufacturers some are more dangerous that others? Wouldn't want that in your eyes!
 

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
My eyes have turned to absolute shit since growing with lights (fluoro). I now keep a good pair of sunnies next to my cab and try to use them. I'm wondering - I think the lens system is called polaroid. Like if you drive in traffic, tinted windscreens get that synthetic rainbow appearance - are these protecting me? I got them when I worked outdoors in full sun/glare all day and they were very good for that. Timely warning Hydro.
 

Hydro-Soil

Active member
Veteran
I put up a strip of material to block my view of the lamps then ended up just turning the lights off when I work in the cab. I figure my eyesight is worth what little hassle it presents me and just fuels my drive to convert it to an easy slide out system. (so I can easily reach all the plants.)

Scub: I believe the word you're looking for is "Polarized" :D Yeah, those will help.

D.I.trY: WOW! I haven't had that happen but I can damn well believe it. Thanks for the heads up.
 

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
I noticed there's a new style reflector available in Australia, made by Ezi who would seem to be one of the most common brands in oz hydro stores for all sorts of general equipment. Their site is terrible and I think the ones they have listed are the older ones but not certain. They are 2 x 55's and a dimpled aluminium reflector.

picture.php


I don't go to hydro stores much but on ebay they sell for $79AUD. The same store sells the cleaner 2x55 like growmeds has for $94AUD, and the 4x55 like mine for $189. All minus delivery which I think is low 20's.

How is uptake in the hydro store market in the US and UK for prefabbed units? Do you see them on the racks? Do you have to get them online? Curious. :smoke:
 

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