Remote CFL Ballasts..... Who has the skinny on these?

[Squeeky]

Ok guys please don't buy them all as I do not have the money to upgraded right now. Maybe someone like Thunk can do a comparision grow between twisted and straight CFLs. Put I was able to find the perfect spectrums for us and at very good prices.

http://www.buylighting.com/55-Watt-PL-L-6500K-Daylight-p/e49312.htm

These are 55w 6500K bulbs at roughly $10 a pop. 4800 Lumens

http://www.buylighting.com/40-Watt-PL-L-3000K-White-Value-Brand-p/z25685.htm

If your willing to drop down to 40w for flowering that have these 3000k bulbs for only $5.00.

As for ballast they only have one that is listed to pump PL-Ls, it will only operate 2, but that would leave 110W and 9600 lumens for a veg cab, which would be perfect for a micro grow.

http://www.buylighting.com/2-Lamp-F54T5-PLL50-PLL55-Electronic-Ballast-p/s61334.htm

I'm gonna do some more looking for ballast on the cheap, I know it's been said that create less heat. Can I ask is it a decent amount of heat loss.

Thanks
Squeeky

 

[magiccannabus]

Overdriving DOES change the spectrum a little bit, though not necessarily a huge amount. Be very careful running electrical equipment outside it's ratings.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Ok guys please don't buy them all as I do not have the money to upgraded right now. Maybe someone like Thunk can do a comparision grow between twisted and straight CFLs. Put I was able to find the perfect spectrums for us and at very good prices.

http://www.buylighting.com/55-Watt-PL-L-6500K-Daylight-p/e49312.htm

These are 55w 6500K bulbs at roughly $10 a pop. 4800 Lumens

http://www.buylighting.com/40-Watt-PL-L-3000K-White-Value-Brand-p/z25685.htm

If your willing to drop down to 40w for flowering that have these 3000k bulbs for only $5.00.

As for ballast they only have one that is listed to pump PL-Ls, it will only operate 2, but that would leave 110W and 9600 lumens for a veg cab, which would be perfect for a micro grow.

http://www.buylighting.com/2-Lamp-F54T5-PLL50-PLL55-Electronic-Ballast-p/s61334.htm

I'm gonna do some more looking for ballast on the cheap, I know it's been said that create less heat. Can I ask is it a decent amount of heat loss.

Thanks
Squeeky

I already listed the best place to get ballasts I've found so far. 1000bulbs.com Here are the
Fulham Ballasts (No reason to go less than 220w for that kinda price)

Here are the PL-L 55w 3000K for as low as $4.50 each I use the more expensive ones though.

Here are the PL-L 55w 5600K Admittedly they're close to $20 each. They're also excellent quality light sources. (I'm actually using the 5400K lamps as they're 4,800 lumens as opposed to 4,100 lumens for the 5600K.)

I hope you didn't go buy the dual lamp ballast yet. You can get a Fulham 220w for only about $10 more. (Drives up to 6 lamps too)

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Thanks Hydro.

The 23-27w vs 42 are pretty close in lumens/watt, but PL-Ls blow those away.

I'm thinking about building an NGB cab with 220w of these. I was also planning on getting the workhorse. Anyone know what the difference is between the 8 and 7? I notice someone else said they used the 7, and you use the 8. The 7 is ~4$ cheaper and 1.82amp instead of 1.80. There has to be some other difference, but the spec sheets don't show it.

It's interesting that it can run 6 bulbs. I guess since it's 220w you could run 6 32 watters for 192w total. I'm not sure if there would be any advantage if they are all going on the ceiling, but it would work if you don't have 22".

Glad I could help.
I dunno what the real difference is. I do know that I have the 8 and it works killer. Only gets uncomfortably hot, not burning up hot.

Does the 7 also drive 6 lamps like the 8?

 

[Squeeky]

well after search online reef communities, I just bought 2 workhorse 7 ballast for 35 shipping. one brand new the other has been used. my veg cab is currently running 4 23w cfls. I will first upgrade it and see how things go. In the long run I would love to have a NGB style cab that is vertical. with micro SOG on bottom, mom/veg area above with utility room. These bulbs and remote ballast will really help reduce heat.

in looking at my current setup the 4 bulbs have 92watts and 6400 lumens. if I run 2 55w pl-l that's 18 more watts but 3200 more lumens. yeah!

 

[charlesweedmore]

have homebox XL ( 4' X 4' ) 16 sqft with 600w HPS for flowering room.
I am planning on growing 15 girls at the same time.

Besides,i want to make seperate vegging room for not only vegging,but also for '' vegging moms ''.

i will buy 6.86 sq ft (2,62' X 2,62 ') grow tent as vegging room.

i can use 6 X 55w fluores.6 X 4550 = 27300K total lumens @ 6000K for vegging stage in vegging room.

but i have some questions:

1 ) are 15 plants good or too many for 16 sqft ( 4' X 4' ) tent under 600w HPS ?
how many girls should i grow at the same time in that tent ?

2) Can i vegg 15 girls in 6.86 sq ft (2,62' X 2,62 ') tent under 27000K fluores for first 30 days ? i will buy PLL lamps for vegging..
how many lumens for per sqft are needed for vegging ?

what do you think ?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

have homebox XL ( 4' X 4' ) 16 sqft with 600w HPS for flowering room.
I am planning on growing 15 girls at the same time.

Besides,i want to make seperate vegging room for not only vegging,but also for '' vegging moms ''.

i will buy 6.86 sq ft (2,62' X 2,62 ') grow tent as vegging room.

i can use 6 X 55w fluores.6 X 4550 = 27300K total lumens @ 6000K for vegging stage in vegging room.

but i have some questions:

1 ) are 15 plants good or too many for 16 sqft ( 4' X 4' ) tent under 600w HPS ?
how many girls should i grow at the same time in that tent ?

2) Can i vegg 15 girls in 6.86 sq ft (2,62' X 2,62 ') tent under 27000K fluores for first 30 days ? i will buy PLL lamps for vegging..
how many lumens for per sqft are needed for vegging ?

what do you think ?

Can't help ya on #1 but I'll take #2.

These lamps have about a 10" maximum effective distance, especially without a reflector. You'll be able to comfortably veg your clones to around 8-9" without stretching.

I'd definitely mix in some 5400K lamps during vegetative growth or eliminate the 2700K lamps entirely for veg. Keeps the plants very compact and branchy.

Personally, I follow the Lucas/pH rule of vegging under bloom wattage whenever possible.

I would use the PL-L lamps to make short, thick, STRONG, bushy clones with strong root bases and then throw them under the 600w to veg for at least a week before flipping to 12/12.

You may need to change the number of plants you have in the flower room. (Check with others on what size and number would be best under that wattage in that area)

Keep at it, you'll love it!

 

[stink.whistler]

First of all, this is a fantastic thread. I hope you post some pics soon, Hydro - i'm very curious. This thread actually made me register and make my first post after lurking for years in OG and here after the death of OG.

One question, when I looked at the Fulham lamp chart (it shows the millions of different combos of lamps you can run the ballasts at, it is available on the product page at 1000bulbs) - it only shows that you can run 3 55w lamps with the Fulham 8, but you are running 4 with yours - correct?

No problems, I assume?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

First of all, this is a fantastic thread. I hope you post some pics soon, Hydro - i'm very curious. This thread actually made me register and make my first post after lurking for years in OG and here after the death of OG.

Wow, I have to say myself that this thread has become more interesting than I anticipated. I'm indebted to a lot of folks for dropping by and chiming in.

Welcome aboard.

One question, when I looked at the Fulham lamp chart (it shows the millions of different combos of lamps you can run the ballasts at, it is available on the product page at 1000bulbs) - it only shows that you can run 3 55w lamps with the Fulham 8, but you are running 4 with yours - correct?

No problems, I assume?

The diagram you looked at stops at 3 lamps for the sake of simplicity. (Anyone who's done graphic design will understand immediately) You can actually run as many lamps as the ballast has power leads. One to each lamp. (Or 2 to 1 if you want to overdrive it. )
The Workhorse 8 ballast comes with six(6) leads so you can run up to 6 lamps. The maximum wattage of all lamps combined has to be 220w or less. 4 55w lamps just happens to be 220w

I haven't had a single problem at all. The ballast gets uncomfortably warm to the touch but not burning hot. Lamps light up great and get hot but not burning hot to the touch.

I have a 50cfm bathroom vent fan venting through an air scrubber and it keeps things 7F over room temps. They're very easy to cool.

I'm not using a reflector so I don't have optimum light output. I CAN tell you that the plants seem to stretch like mad until they get about 7 to 8 inches away from the lights and then they just get super bushy. LOL I'm looking forward to the results of my first run with these

Thanks for dropping by and I look forward to hearing your success with the PL-Ls. I may be able to post pics of lamps mounted in a new cab. Planning on doing photos of the wiring and setup plus overdriving 2 lamps.

 

[J-Blunt]

yo Hydro-Soil....so the Fulham ballast has 6 red leads and 6 yellows? so those just got straight to the TG11 remote ballasts like in your other topic on wiring? Im definitely no electrician, but if its truly as easy as u make is seem to be then i might just have to use these bulbs for my cabinet. You have turned me into a believer

 

[Hydro-Soil]

yo Hydro-Soil....so the Fulham ballast has 6 red leads and 6 yellows?

It's actually 6 red leads and only one yellow. You simply run a wire from each lamp on the yellow side and connect them all together to the one yellow coming from the ballast.

so those just got straight to the TG11 remote ballasts like in your other topic on wiring? Im definitely no electrician, but if its truly as easy as u make is seem to be then i might just have to use these bulbs for my cabinet. You have turned me into a believer

Yep, it's as easy as I showed in the wiring thread in my sig. I'll have to put in another pic showing the single yellow lead being split to each lamp, thanks.

I was super surprised myself how easy this is, once I figured it out. Following the steps I listed should prevent you from making any of the errors that I made.

 

[J-Blunt]

one more question....whats the heat like on these? as compared to a coiled CFL of about the same wattage, is the heat given off about the same or even alot less?

 

[Hydro-Soil]

one more question....whats the heat like on these? as compared to a coiled CFL of about the same wattage, is the heat given off about the same or even alot less?

It's less for two main reasons.

1) The ballast(s) are mounted outside so that heat you don't have to deal with. Screw in CFLs each have a ballast inside that big plastic part the coil is attached to. (The bigger ones have a remote ballast but see #2 below)

2) They don't shine their light on the back of a coil heating it up. All the light goes up to your reflector or down to your plants. The larger your coiled CFL (over 27w) the more light is being used to heat up the glass of the coil next to it. Wasting watts through producing heat instead of light.

I cool 220W of PL-L lamps with a 50cfm fart fan restricted with an air-scrubber. I can't even cool a 150w HPS properly with that little airflow unless I build a cooltube.

 

[charlesweedmore]

@ hydro-soil

Personally, I follow the Lucas/pH rule of vegging under bloom wattage whenever possible.

What is that rule ?

and thanks for ur reply

 

[Hydro-Soil]

@ hydro-soil




What is that rule ?

and thanks for ur reply

Veg under BLOOM WATTAGE!

This means that as soon as you possibly can, get your clones, plants, whatever under the same wattage during veg that you're going to bloom them under.

Plants grow differently according to the light they're exposed to. By vegging under bloom wattage (at the very least for a few days) the plant adapts it's leaves to take advantage of that particular light and also uses that extra light for veg growth. Switching to 12/12 while the plant is still adapting to the light it's suddenly exposed to doesn't allow the plant to get things going as quickly as it should. One thing at a time folks

 

[Squeeky]

FYI - I received my Workhorse 7 ballast today, after waiting over 2 weeks They have a total of 4 red leads, so they can run 4 lamps.

I will be using one in flower and one in veg, I'm going to start a thread on best spectrum to use.

Squeeky

 

[bakelite]

This thread is beautiful man :smile:

I've got a Fulham WH7 running (4) 36watt bulbs in my veg compartment right now and a Centium ballast that'll run (4) 55 watt PL-L's that I picked up on ebay for $30. I'm just waiting to order the bulbs and sockets and and I'll be good to go. I also have to fabricate some reflectors for it. Shouldn't be hard. Some sheet metal bent, then line with Mylar. Works fine on my 36 watt bulbs.

I'm glad PL-L's are catching on :smile:

-bakelite

 

[Squeeky]

bakelite,

Do you have pictures of your veg area and reflectors. I started another thread and attempting to setup an all-in-one cab using PL-L and possibly a UVB bulb also.

 

[Peanut Butter]

I was just reading around the net and stumbled across this statment:

"Just for he record and FYI for you DIYer light folks:

Someone asked me today if a Fulham Workhorse 7 electronic
ballast can operate 4 55watt PCs. I checked with Fulham
and, while the ballast can properly operate 2 36watt PCs, 2
55watt PCs (straight pin) or 2 96 watt PCS, it cannot
operate 4 55 watt PCs. If you hooked up 4 55watt PCS, the
ballast would only provide about 400mA of arc current to
each bulb, much to low for these bulbs that require 550mA.
The bulbs might light but wouldn't be a s bright as they
should be and underdriving them would probably cause them
to fail prematurely. In fact, none of the Fulham ballasts
can provide 550mA to 4 bulbs."

That means if someone has 4 55watters wired into either a workhorse 7 or 8, and they remove a bulb, they will see an increase in intensity and probably a slight spectrum shift from the 3 bulbs remaining. Hydro-Soil, would you mind verifying this if you dont mind?

Went on Fulhams site and looked for a ballast/wiring diagram to power 4 55w twin bulbs, and none are listed.

 

[PHB]

I was just reading around the net and stumbled across this statment:

"Just for he record and FYI for you DIYer light folks:

Someone asked me today if a Fulham Workhorse 7 electronic
ballast can operate 4 55watt PCs. I checked with Fulham
and, while the ballast can properly operate 2 36watt PCs, 2
55watt PCs (straight pin) or 2 96 watt PCS, it cannot
operate 4 55 watt PCs. If you hooked up 4 55watt PCS, the
ballast would only provide about 400mA of arc current to
each bulb, much to low for these bulbs that require 550mA.
The bulbs might light but wouldn't be a s bright as they
should be and underdriving them would probably cause them
to fail prematurely. In fact, none of the Fulham ballasts
can provide 550mA to 4 bulbs."

That means if someone has 4 55watters wired into either a workhorse 7 or 8, and they remove a bulb, they will see an increase in intensity and probably a slight spectrum shift from the 3 bulbs remaining. Hydro-Soil, would you mind verifying this if you dont mind?

Went on Fulhams site and looked for a ballast/wiring diagram to power 4 55w twin bulbs, and none are listed.

They may not list 4x55W, but they do list 4x50W at:
http://www.1000bulbs.com/images/PDF/Fulham-Lamp-Chart-brochure.pdf

That document references the wiring diagram #7 for 4x50W using a Workhorse 7:
http://www.fulham.com/images/WDgifs/wire7.gif

or wiring diagram #27 for 4x50W using a Workhorse 8:
http://www.fulham.com/images/WDgifs/wire27.gif

I haven't wired either of these so take this with a grain of salt, but it does appear that Fullham does support these configurations.

PHB