A Closet Grower-Envirolite

[Titania]

Ah.. finally a CFL set-up. I've been looking into one of these for the longest time. It is a pity that the volume of the grow space is so limited.. and these lights are basically in the infant stages of R&D. I'd like to see what these self-ballasted puppies do in the coming years.

MH and HPS put out so much heat that they have to be placed so far about the plants that the light energy is being lost exponentially over that distance (Inverse Square Law).

Again, it is good to see this thread (subscribed for future viewing) to see the results. Sorry to hear about the chemical burn though.. ya gotta remember, the soil will hold nutrients much longer than a hydro or aero set-up. Be carefull not to strain them too much.. hermies are a b*tch.

Enigma

i know what you mean, I was trying to look for an entire cfl grow for a while.
What is R&D?
These lights are only good for small grows, but the technology is improving, hopefully in a few years they'll get the intensity up. Proximity is the key!
Hope you enjoy the grow.

 

[email468]

i know what you mean, I was trying to look for an entire cfl grow for a while.
What is R&D?
These lights are only good for small grows, but the technology is improving, hopefully in a few years they'll get the intensity up. Proximity is the key!
Hope you enjoy the grow.

R&D=Research and Development but i'll bet you knew that

 

[Enigma]

i know what you mean, I was trying to look for an entire cfl grow for a while.
What is R&D?
These lights are only good for small grows, but the technology is improving, hopefully in a few years they'll get the intensity up. Proximity is the key!
Hope you enjoy the grow.

After doing reasearch I was skeptical of the larger CFL's as the Lumer per Watt was extremely low. Some ranging from the low 60's to low 70's L/W. I've also noticed that the efficiency degrades as the size and wattage increases.. which means you may have better luck using several 125W or 150W CFL's placed strategically around your grow for optimum results.

The thing I like about these lights the most is the limited amount of heat they produce. Which makes them able to be placed right on top, or next to, the plants. We all know the Inverse Square Law and how it affects the ability for a light to illuminate a certain area over a distance.

Very nice.

In the end, the resulting yield is what we are all looking for.. I'm keeping an eye on this one.

R&D=Research and Development but i'll bet you knew that

 

[Titania]

R&D=Research and Development but i'll bet you knew that

Lol I honestly didn't, It must be an American term.

 

[email468]

Lol I honestly didn't, It must be an American.

I'm pretty sure it is a universal term - it is usually associated with medicine, scientific instruments, computer and electronic design - it is what gave us many of our great technologies (that weren't discovered by amateur "gentlemen" scientists of earlier years).

Things like solid-state electronics, fluoride in toothpaste, and the Internet all sprung from R&D projects. As profit becomes increasingly the only thing corporations pursue, the R&D budgets are getting slashed. Once again, we are sacrificing long-term improvements for short-term profits.

 

[Titania]

I'm pretty sure it is a universal term - it is usually associated with medicine, scientific instruments, computer and electronic design - it is what gave us many of our great technologies (that weren't discovered by amateur "gentlemen" scientists of earlier years).

Things like solid-state electronics, fluoride in toothpaste, and the Internet all sprung from R&D projects. As profit becomes increasingly the only thing corporations pursue, the R&D budgets are getting slashed. Once again, we are sacrificing long-term improvements for short-term profits.

Tell me about it, the funding for Research academies (especially in the physics department) is being slashed in the U.K. Not good news for me, as I am heading in that direction. It's all about biological engineering, and pharmaceuticals these days, that's where the money is.

For anyone stumbling across this, it's still a grow journal.

 

[Enigma]

I'm pretty sure it is a universal term - it is usually associated with medicine, scientific instruments, computer and electronic design - it is what gave us many of our great technologies (that weren't discovered by amateur "gentlemen" scientists of earlier years).

Things like solid-state electronics, fluoride in toothpaste, and the Internet all sprung from R&D projects. As profit becomes increasingly the only thing corporations pursue, the R&D budgets are getting slashed. Once again, we are sacrificing long-term improvements for short-term profits.

I like this guy.

And I'm subscribed to his threads..

Enigma

 

[Titania]

I like this guy.

And I'm subscribed to his threads..

Enigma

Yeah, he's alright.

 

[email468]

Hey thanks!!! i like you folks too!

 

[sicknasty]

awesome plants nice use of proximity, this is really ecouraging I joined the CFL side after everyone said it couldn't be done and it grew shit bud just to prove em wrong. It seems in the last month this place has exploded with awesomely done CFL grows. I totally agree with the R&D thats what I want to do bad! I am thinking about switching majors to chemistry with a focus in organics. I love experimenting and tooling with things I just need to learn to keep more a more detailed notebook I get counted off for that. McGyver was my hero!

CFL growing comes down to light transmission to the photoreactive pigments, I wish I could find that link to the small rubbermaid grow with 6 or 8 CFL's (cant remember) 5.5 ounces yeild with 6 plants because no light could be absorbed in the box or escape for that matter all went into the plants and they were small too. I think boxes like this will be the main market for the personal grower in the future, thats what my next will be.

 

[wohthere]

heres the link https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html

recommended read he did it well with a pure professional DIY effort.

convinced me to give it a shot in a tent setup.

how these plants goin titan got any new pics? mine are getting pretty bushy for a 6" plant!
its all about the girth!

 

[wohthere]

As profit becomes increasingly the only thing corporations pursue, the R&D budgets are getting slashed. Once again, we are sacrificing long-term improvements for short-term profits.

and so true, just hope it fizzles back in before we get too complacent.

i want a smaller mp3 player with built in cold cure....

 

[Titania]

awesome plants nice use of proximity, this is really ecouraging I joined the CFL side after everyone said it couldn't be done and it grew shit bud just to prove em wrong. It seems in the last month this place has exploded with awesomely done CFL grows. I totally agree with the R&D thats what I want to do bad! I am thinking about switching majors to chemistry with a focus in organics. I love experimenting and tooling with things I just need to learn to keep more a more detailed notebook I get counted off for that. McGyver was my hero!

CFL growing comes down to light transmission to the photoreactive pigments, I wish I could find that link to the small rubbermaid grow with 6 or 8 CFL's (cant remember) 5.5 ounces yeild with 6 plants because no light could be absorbed in the box or escape for that matter all went into the plants and they were small too. I think boxes like this will be the main market for the personal grower in the future, thats what my next will be.

Cheers sicknasty, proximity IS the key

A major in chemistry hummm, maybe you could go on to develop high intensity cfl's

Wow 5.5 ounces with 6 to 8 cfl! I'd love to find the link to that, do you know what wattage they were? I too try to reflect as many lumen's back at the plants, and have been quite resourceful. Notice the juice carton lined with Mylar reflector on 1 of my pics, it does a great job! The best way to use these large cfl's, is to hang them verticaly, and then surround them with plants. I can't rap them up with Mylar too much because I have no vent, and the temps go through the roof.
Stick around, more pics coming tonight.

 

[Titania]

heres the link https://www.rollitup.org/do-yourself/51417-diy-4oz-minimum-yield-grow.html

recommended read he did it well with a pure professional DIY effort.

convinced me to give it a shot in a tent setup.

how these plants goin titan got any new pics? mine are getting pretty bushy for a 6" plant!
its all about the girth!

More pics coming to night, I have to wait until I wake them up at 19 00 UK time. Are you still in veg? I vegged mine at 6 inches, and with cfl's you really don't want them to get much taller during veg. Hope all is well, and good luck mate.

 

[email468]

The seemorebuds book (Marijuana Buds for less) shows how to grow 8oz of bud for less than $100.

It uses CFLs and Miracle Grow soil and 3 plants.

 

[sicknasty]

yes true but does see more buds tell you how to do it in such a small space? Don't get me wrong I think gnowms book is probably good I just wanted to figure this out myself and the cookbook approach to things doesn't work for me I want to understand the proccess and DIY. This setup will get me going for little more than I have already bought, and will produce utimately more in a small inconceivable place for the normal person to think I am growing.

 

[email468]

yes true but does see more buds tell you how to do it in such a small space? Don't get me wrong I think gnowms book is probably good I just wanted to figure this out myself and the cookbook approach to things doesn't work for me I want to understand the proccess and DIY. This setup will get me going for little more than I have already bought, and will produce utimately more in a small inconceivable place for the normal person to think I am growing.

growing with CFLs you have to grow in a very small space.... so yes. I wouldn't make it harder than what it is by not following a step-by-step book - especially for first timers or just trying to figure things out - but as long as you're having fun it is none of my business.

 

[sicknasty]

Part of it too I believe is the shape of that grow box. If someone could come out with one that allowed you to put the main buds at the focal point of an elliptical box with the CFL's at the other point, you could probably greatly increase effeciency. Would this help negate the inverse function of light greatly diminishing with distance? I would like someone with physics background to chime in.

People would probably buy this in a heart beat as it could be made extremely cheap molded plastic. just like rubbermaids. plants might need rotation but it might work.

sorry for hijacking I figure this is the best place though to discuss considering your going to come back.

 

[sicknasty]

i retract my statements that was retarded. There only needs to be a parabolic reflector in the top. If you could combine the reflector and the box I could guess there would be massive yeild per watt ratios.

 

[email468]

Part of it too I believe is the shape of that grow box. If someone could come out with one that allowed you to put the main buds at the focal point of an elliptical box with the CFL's at the other point, you could probably greatly increase effeciency. Would this help negate the inverse function of light greatly diminishing with distance? I would like someone with physics background to chime in.

People would probably buy this in a heart beat as it could be made extremely cheap molded plastic. just like rubbermaids. plants might need rotation but it might work.

sorry for hijacking I figure this is the best place though to discuss considering your going to come back.

the seemorebuds book has the lights mounted so they are relatively easy to move around and direct the lights where they are most needed. Which seems like a good way to go with CFLs.

If the shape of the box allows you to move the CFLs close to the plant then the impact of the inverse square law can be minimized. Otherwise, I would focus on having good light movers rather than any special box shape - but i'm no expert.