Newbie CFL Watt Inquiry

J

JoeBloynster

New Member
Morning all, I'm getting ready to do my first grow. Small micro space set up ready to go. Looking to stay on a low budget. I will grow one plant at a time, my space is 19" high x 24" wide x 12" deep. Mylar is up in the space all around. I want to use the most logical and cost effective lighting considering my space and budget. If I go with CFL's for one plant in my space what wattage would be the minimum for success? I was thinking of using a metal domed shop light and putting a Y adapter to use two CFL bulbs.

I was also looking at an inexpensive 150W HPS (from HTGSupply), or going with the dual bulb fluorescent grow light you can purchase from home depot, however I think each bulb is 13 watts (6500K).

Please Help!
 
BeastGrow

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
I would put 1 warm white CFL on both sides of the plant.. also 1 Warm white and 1 daylight/cool white CFL on top.. get some 28watters they are pretty efficient
 
diet coke

diet coke

Active Member
You can get 2 55w cfl @walmart or home depot. or find a lighting store near you. Cost is around 25.00 for 2 bulbs
 
J

JoeBloynster

New Member
diet coke said:
You can get 2 55w cfl @walmart or home depot. or find a lighting store near you. Cost is around 25.00 for 2 bulbs
Click to expand...
Thanks! I was thinking of getting some of the Y adapters to either do 2 or even 4 bulbs on the metal domed shop light I purchased. Can you do 3 Y adapters safely to run 4 CFLs from the same receptacle?
 
OopsCake

OopsCake

Active Member
Those higher watt bulbs could be cumbersome in a small grow space with only 19 inches of height, they are much much bigger than 23 watt. They had this awesome 65 watt bulb for 12 bucks at a place near me but I held off cuz it was 13 inches long and it was 6500k and that's not what I need at the moment.
 
OopsCake

OopsCake

Active Member
JoeBloynster said:
Thanks! I was thinking of getting some of the Y adapters to either do 2 or even 4 bulbs on the metal domed shop light I purchased. Can you do 3 Y adapters safely to run 4 CFLs from the same receptacle?
Click to expand...
Yea I'm doing that in a couple spots in my 4 socket vanity strip
 
MrEDuck

MrEDuck

Well-Known Member
JoeBloynster said:
Thanks, I have a few auto flowering fem seeds on their way, the seedbank states these are super short plants . It is ok to start 12/12 right away?
Click to expand...
Autos flower regardless of photoperiod so you never need to flip them to 12/12 and you diminish your yield if you do.
 
Chuckdizzle

Chuckdizzle

Well-Known Member
If you use four (4) 23 Watt CFLs you'll be drawing 92 Watts and will be producing 6,400 lumens. If you get a 150 HPS, which as you said are reasonably priced, you'll produce 16,000 lumens, and only have one light to worry about. If you were to put 150 Watts of CFLs in (roughly 6 or 7 bulbs), they would produce around 10,440 total lumens...with the HPS you get 35% more lumens for the same amount of Watts that you'd consume with the CFLs. For about the same upfront cost as buying the CFL bulbs and sockets you can get the 150 HPS and have more lumens per Watt thoughout your entire grow.
The only drawbacks are that you can't direct the light where you want it with the single HPS as well as you can with multiple CFLs and you won't have the blue spectrum in your light. However, from experience, a single 150 HPS on one plant will produce a perfectly beautiful and happy plant!
 
Sunbiz1

Sunbiz1

Well-Known Member
OopsCake said:
Those higher watt bulbs could be cumbersome in a small grow space with only 19 inches of height, they are much much bigger than 23 watt. They had this awesome 65 watt bulb for 12 bucks at a place near me but I held off cuz it was 13 inches long and it was 6500k and that's not what I need at the moment.
Click to expand...
With this sized grow box, you will need to use proper pruning methods to train her. That aside, 6500K is the proper veg spectrum but I hear you on the bulb size. I find any CFL over 40 or so watts will unplug themselves from extension cords unless you support their weight.

I was also looking at an inexpensive 150W HPS (from HTGSupply), or going with the dual bulb fluorescent grow light you can purchase from home depot, however I think each bulb is 13 watts (6500K).>>>

>>>An HPS/MH system in that sized box will cause immediate heat issues, idea #2 doesn't contain enough wattage.

Good luck!
 
J

JoeBloynster

New Member
Sunbiz1 said:
With this sized grow box, you will need to use proper pruning methods to train her. That aside, 6500K is the proper veg spectrum but I hear you on the bulb size. I find any CFL over 40 or so watts will unplug themselves from extension cords unless you support their weight.

I was also looking at an inexpensive 150W HPS (from HTGSupply), or going with the dual bulb fluorescent grow light you can purchase from home depot, however I think each bulb is 13 watts (6500K).>>>

>>>An HPS/MH system in that sized box will cause immediate heat issues, idea #2 doesn't contain enough wattage.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
I am stuck on deciding between this 125Watt CFL http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-FLCDG125D-125-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B001UV6P9I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Or thisHPS.
http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Light-150W-System-Bulb/dp/B0041E0D6C/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1366642217&sr=1-4&keywords=150+hps
 
OopsCake

OopsCake

Active Member
JoeBloynster said:
I am stuck on deciding between this 125Watt CFL http://www.amazon.com/Hydrofarm-FLCDG125D-125-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent/dp/B001UV6P9I/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top
Or thisHPS.
http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Light-150W-System-Bulb/dp/B0041E0D6C/ref=sr_1_4?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1366642217&sr=1-4&keywords=150+hps
Click to expand...
The CFL has a lot of great reviews. Whats your venting situation like? You will need some good air flow in a small space with a HPS, which I'm sure you've heard a lot by now,
 
J

JoeBloynster

New Member
OopsCake said:
The CFL has a lot of great reviews. Whats your venting situation like? You will need some good air flow in a small space with a HPS, which I'm sure you've heard a lot by now,
Click to expand...

I think I have good vent 3" cool air in, and 3" forced (with fan) out. I'm going to go with the CFL to avoid heat issues.
 
Meowlistenhere

Meowlistenhere

Active Member
Before you go and drop a bunch of cash on those higher wattage cfl's, check out some T5 fluorescent high output fixtures. They have 2 footers single bulb all the way up to a 8 bulb. With a foot deep, i think you can cram a 2 bulb in there. I love cfl's, but for your money/lumens those T5 high outputs really put out. Also 1000bulbs.com is a fantastic site. Damn though...19" height bro? What are you using for a pot? I can't picture that working no matter what you use, just my opinion though. Good luck to you!
 
J

JoeBloynster

New Member
Meowlistenhere said:
Before you go and drop a bunch of cash on those higher wattage cfl's, check out some T5 fluorescent high output fixtures. They have 2 footers single bulb all the way up to a 8 bulb. With a foot deep, i think you can cram a 2 bulb in there. I love cfl's, but for your money/lumens those T5 high outputs really put out. Also 1000bulbs.com is a fantastic site. Damn though...19" height bro? What are you using for a pot? I can't picture that working no matter what you use, just my opinion though. Good luck to you!
Click to expand...

Totally agreed with the height, I had left in a high shelf and after thinking more about it, I removed the shelf and added another 10 inches to a foot of height. The T5 set up from HomeDepot looks perfect sizewise because of how thin it is. But the bulbs are only 14watts each... is that an issue?
 
hiitsbob

hiitsbob

Well-Known Member
Figure out what you think will work best for your setup.
i have 4 in intake and 3 4 in exhaust in my 2x2 box with 18 23w cfl I can only keep it 6-8 degrees above room temp. So you will have some heat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top