replacing hid with cfl.... thoughts?

[sourpuss]

Lets say I teplace my 600 hps with 600 watts of cfl. Think the yield will still be ok? Will my budz be scrawny? I assume I can still make seed. Will flowering be longer shorter same?

Onky reason I ask is I want to go as safe as possible. No fire worry.

 

[im me]

your yield wil for sure be much less [no light penetration] but I've seen plenty of people get damn good results using cfl. and yeah you could still make beans.

 

[catbuds]

If u go sog, depth of (light) penetration becomes moot. I did something similar a couple yrs back, went from hps to t5s with cfl side lighting, & for my short stubby sog, it was better! Dense buds, no longer than before, but fatter. I'm a firm believer!

[Fluorescents have a wider light spectrum, more UVs. Their big draw back is penetration. This is why they're great for sog & smaller scrogs]


PS a friend did a side by side comparison last year. His flo grow was a little faster to ripen.His buds a little denser too. Beans grow great with this method btw.

 

[Firebrand]

The best deal I could find, 16.47$ plus tax for 68 watts.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/TCP-300W...-Light-Bulb-28968RP/100676712?keyword=68w+cfl

Almost perfect for flowering if you SOG or SCROG or LST. These lamps fit a standard base(e27) not mogul, they are about the size of a quart of beer, they give a tremendous amount of light for only being rated at 68 watts, at 2700k they are in the correct range for flowering, they even come boxed with a plastic carry case inside.

I have two of these I run beside a 400w CMH, I had to step up my ventilation as they do create noticeable heat.

 

[sourpuss]

Yeah as much as people think florecents run cool they do not. Maybe in a remote ballast setup only... fr9m research im finding the 23 watts most efficient and thinking more light sources should give better coverage. Thanks for the sog ideas, since I run a low ceiling height of 4 ft. Thinking this will be best. Wont have to worry about fire considering my elect4ical experience, fire hazard will be next to zero....

Got a 4 tube 4 ft ho t5 already for veg, im gonna buy another and have 2 in flower for something like 440 watts t5s, with some side lighting cfls. Rig up my own veg light, prob 200 watt cfls. Finding the growth with the t5s quite good. Not nearly the hps but for florecents pretty good. Should be better for summer. Im also thinking keep the 600 buy another 4 tube 4 ft t5 setup. Use t5 in f9wer aong w8th the hps. Hps to only come on for a few hours midday during the cycle

 

[growingcrazy]

I have actually considered doing this. You would need to go with the most efficient bulbs to make it work well. In saying that, the 13 and 23? watt cfl's were the most effienct lumens per watt wise when I was doing my research. You would need quite a few of them to get to 600 watts and it would still be less lumens than a 600 hps.

But.. you could also get much better light spread and have bulbs spread out all the way to the edge of the plants. You can also keep them quite close and get a decent amount of penetration for what they are.

I gave up just due to the fact of how expensive it would be to buy that many sockets and and bulbs and the wiring involved. It ends up just being easier and cheaper to use the 600.

I would really like to see a large scale CFL grow, I like the idea of easy light spectrum changes and the ability to mix and match spectrum.

Peace
GC

 

[sourpuss]

Yeah its ridiculous if you wanna run 600 watt cfls... look into 4ft t5s high output. Not nearly as expensive. For 350 I can get 440 watts of t5s including bulbs. Thats 8 4ft t5s. Add some side lighting and thats lets say under 500 total. Not cheap but peace of mind is priceless as long as quality is still good. Hmmm gotta th8nk about this one little more. Good bulbs r 10 bucks a piece. 80 bucks for new bulbs, not bad. Its the cfls that suck to replace. Yeah imo cfls suck t5s rule. I get 55 watt t5 bulb for 10 bucks. Trust me 68 watt cfl where I live is more like 40 bucks. Not 16 in the states, canada we get fucked. Anyway... cfls in the states might be a good idea not canada.

Might just shut the flower room down soon for the summer...

 

[sourpuss]

Oh so im pretty sure cfls of equivilant wattage put out more heat than an hid... not good. Ill deal with the 6.

Def not a summer solution.

 

[sensibuds]

Lets say I teplace my 600 hps with 600 watts of cfl. Think the yield will still be ok? Will my budz be scrawny? I assume I can still make seed. Will flowering be longer shorter same?

Onky reason I ask is I want to go as safe as possible. No fire worry.

Check out the thread in the new growers section I just put up! All about fire safety brother!

Now onto your question.

Yes, your yield will be ok but not equivalent to HID. Light penetration and lumens are not on your side with cfl's compared to HID. Bottom branches with cfl will be somewhat popcorn and smaller like.

Now for shorter flowering we can do two things.

First, the strains we use. Some can finish in flowering around 45 days (full blooded indicates) and some up to 90 days (fb sativa). Look into the short flowering times for your next run.

Secondly, we can shorten flowering with hydroponics. Since the nutrients are readily available for uptake the plants will just grow quicker pain and simple. Up to 2 weeks shorter in flowering, and up to half the time in veg compared to soil.

Hope this helps!

Sensi

 

[evertking]

Yeah I bought one of those 8 bulb t5 units when they were rolling out.. Thinking it would run cooler and use it for the summer. WRONG I had to switch back to my air cooled hood. Got a led I'm about to try out.

 

[hush]

I've never understood why people think that fluorescents and CFLs are a less-heat solution. That is such a huge myth in the growing world... You can cool-tube up a 600w HPS. You cannot do so with 600w of CFLs. They do make air-cooled T5HO fixtures, though. But at that point... why not go with an air-cooled HID?

Anyway, stick with your 600w HPS or go with LEDs.

 

[Jhhnn]

I've never understood why people think that fluorescents and CFLs are a less-heat solution. That is such a huge myth in the growing world... You can cool-tube up a 600w HPS. You cannot do so with 600w of CFLs. They do make air-cooled T5HO fixtures, though. But at that point... why not go with an air-cooled HID?

Anyway, stick with your 600w HPS or go with LEDs.

Hobbyist grade 54W T5HO hardware is cheap, not very reliable & fiddly if you have to work on it, at least in the aquarium realm where I've used them. Feh. Magnetic ballast HID hardware is simple & robust due to its industrial heritage, tank-like & fairly indestructible.

T5's would do well in very short ceiling situations or where even intensity is important & penetration unimportant, like beds of seedlings or clones.

 

[ZZTops]

I've never understood why people think that fluorescents and CFLs are a less-heat solution. That is such a huge myth in the growing world... You can cool-tube up a 600w HPS. You cannot do so with 600w of CFLs. They do make air-cooled T5HO fixtures, though. But at that point... why not go with an air-cooled HID?

Anyway, stick with your 600w HPS or go with LEDs.

I have to respectfully disagree Hush...

600 watts of HPS is much Hotter then 600 watts of T5's, plus you have to count the heat of the HPS ballast as well...

Now if you want to Vent most of the heat away from the HPS the same should be done with the T5's I think as far as comparing the two...?

Plus the Fire Risk of HPS is more of a concern then the T5's as well, I can touch my T5's I would not touch a HPS...lol

T5's are Easy/Cheaper and do not require the extra equipment HPS's do so I guess it's all about what you want and how far your willing to go to get it...

T5's get good penetration as will, not HPS but Good...

These were grown under a 432 watt T5 Fixture...

 

[sourpuss]

^^^very nice. how was the grams perwatt??? Looks heavy for 432 watts. Would love to see an led cfl combo grow.... thinking cfl side light led as the overhead main.

Anyy9ne else seen the florescent 15 year bulb/ballasts? Saw a 200 watt running. Looked very nicely made. The metal electrodes?? Whatever the thing that breaks down is on the outside of the bulb. 2 big huge metal things. Supposed 15 year lifespan. Put out quite a bit of heat tho from the ballast.