brainfreezer187
Active Member
Good to know thank you for your very fast reply +rep
A Bored Electrician to Answer Your Questions
- Thread starter IAm5toned
- Start date
hardroc
New Member
Right on bro, that's exactly what I needed to know. + rep to you good sir and here
puff......puff........pass............
puff......puff........pass............
IAm5toned
Well-Known Member
anytime. im here to help
puff puff passes it backGood to hear...The first outlet is within 15 ft. of the breaker box and I want to add two more outlets on the other side of the room (about another 20 ft.)
IAm5toned
Well-Known Member
sounds like a loose connection behind the switch.
is it a rocker switch? (big button)
in a mobile home? they come out pretty easy.... just 2 screws
I've read from a few sources about running a lower wattage bulb, meaning a 400w bulb in a 600w ballast, without much adverse effects other then possible lower bulb life.
My question then is, would it be similar to me running two lower watt bulbs off one ballast, say two 250w bulbs in a 600w ballast. Thoughts?
My question then is, would it be similar to me running two lower watt bulbs off one ballast, say two 250w bulbs in a 600w ballast. Thoughts?
i am currently making my own growbox, and i am using ( hopefully ) multiple cfl's. I am young and dont know much at all about electrical questions. i am always seeing a multi unit cfl system ( one fixture holding like 4 or 6 bulbs) ...
A.) is this easy/safe enough to do?
B.) can u buy these anywhere, and i would still need help hooking it up.
thaaank you so much i look forward to hearing back from u
A.) is this easy/safe enough to do?
B.) can u buy these anywhere, and i would still need help hooking it up.
thaaank you so much i look forward to hearing back from u
IAm5toned
Well-Known Member
the lamps wont ignite without some modifications..... you really have to have a cap for each lamp, and have those caps being fed in parallel with the ballast. the cap must be for the lamp size, not the ballast.. so if you had a 1000w probe start MH ballast, you would need 4 capacitors for a 250w ballast with the same ansi code.
im not sure if this would work for digital, or pulse start mh, cmh, or HPS ballasts.... only regular old magnetic probe start MH ballasts.
IAm5toned
Well-Known Member
someone else already has a simple, great DIY for cfl fixtures, check it out, no wiring required!
full credit goes to dale's alter ego
I saw a number of grows using these power strip CFL fixture for VERY successful micro and slightly larger personal use grows. One of the usually less than mentioned bonuses of these power strip fixtures is you can customize like crazy!! (if you're a DIY nut like myself, that means fun) Say a lone branch started growing towards a light... no big deal, hop over a socket in the fixture. Got a dark corner? Put a higher wattage CFL in the socket nearest. Just a lot of options, and i like that.
So all in all, they seem pretty cool and I am in need of a light solution for my AG cabinet (link in sig). So off I went to pick up some bits and pieces to get a pair of these knocked out!
First let me introduce you to your new best friends...
The setup I'm going with is more targeted at flowering, hence the big 2700k bulbs and the smaller 6500k.
I'm using both, because from research I discovered that with CFL you want a slightly bigger spectrum than with HID. Something about the efficiency of the bulbs and the way the light dissipates and this and that... not the point we're building a fixture. Just my two cents, if you're going to do a Vegetative lighting rig, go with bigger 6500k and maybe no 2700k at all... I veg'd CFL with only the 6500k and did just fine!
Moving right along...
these are a bit of a pain to find, so a heads up, skip the home improvement retailers and head straight to Wal-Mart haha. I hate to promote the evil beast, but dammit they had the shit I needed!!!
So pretty simple from here, plug in the adapters, screw in the bulbs, hook up to your timer! That's all... hope this gives some anxious to get going growers some ideas beyond expensive HID lighting. It's cheaper than you think to get started!
Shack
sambo020482
Well-Known Member
mister bored electrician how many 250watt cfl lights are the same power usage as a 600watt hps? im getting a little worried about using 1450watts worth of hps in a small flat and would like to change sum of the lights to cfl.
IAm5toned
Well-Known Member
well my friend, a watt is a watt is a watt is what we say in the electrical trade.
it means that the power co bills you for wattage...
replacing a 600w hps with cfl lamps, is possible, sure, but in order to get the same intensity of light as the HPS, you would need alot of cfl's... more than you would think.
it will also slow down bud production a little bit.
For me, iin the past 86-129w per plant has always worked well for me. (2-3 43w lamps)
it means that the power co bills you for wattage...
replacing a 600w hps with cfl lamps, is possible, sure, but in order to get the same intensity of light as the HPS, you would need alot of cfl's... more than you would think.
it will also slow down bud production a little bit.
For me, iin the past 86-129w per plant has always worked well for me. (2-3 43w lamps)
Yeah I'm def going to take your advice with the relay, if youcould still give me a diagram that would be great. Remember I'm not an electrician, so try and keep it simple, thanks for all the help.