Advantage V. disadvantage CFL's

meristem

meristem

Well-Known Member
I got a stick of 1/2 emt conduit (ask an electrician) and bent it into a double U-shape and joined them into a rectangular ring. The ring is suspended by two chains at each end. See attachment.

I have 8 CFLs mounted on the conduit ring around the periphery of the plants with a 300 watt full spectrum LED suspended from the tent in the center, directly over the plants.

I very the color spectrum of the CFLs according to plant development stages. Right now I have (6) 23 watt CFLs at 2700K and (2) at 6500 K - the plants are in early flower. This rig is in a small 2'd x 3'w x 5'h stealth tent where I can grow 2 or 3 small autos. I can raise (or lower) the light ring and LED lite independently.

So far (3 grows using this arrangement) I've averaged about 1.5 oz per plant and haven't experienced any negative side-effects. Plants seem to like the lighting combo.

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frica

frica

Well-Known Member
I don't think CFLs provide any advantages any more.
If you look good/lucky sales you can find more efficient led bulbs for the same price or even lower.
 
frica

frica

Well-Known Member
KING CHILIE said:
So how many watts do you need for a 2 plant CFL grow? I am running a 125w right now but it sucks.
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You should double that.
2 plants is prob at least 4 square foot.

You should aim for +-65 watt per square foot with CFL if you want decent flowering.
 
skoalmint614

skoalmint614

Active Member
lastfrontier said:
"From what I have witnessed growing with different setups,both cfl and hps, is that adding more cfl lights will add more light spread, but not intensity as mentioned before"

in my experience the bluer the kelvinrating (6500) causes them to reach for the sky but in the (2000) they dont grow up they grow out and tend to fill in and build trycomes my hood provides the same ammout of lumens in incruments as a 400, 800, 1000, 1200 watts HPS meaning it can be set for any of those lumen ratings and wattage and i could not be happier i got the light from red-shield@hotmail.com he dose HPS MH and CFL's
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OKAY now im starting to think your trolling here buddy. simply because of the fact that its one of the most well known things that high kelvin ratings cause shorter distances between nodes which makes the plant short and bushy , and that low kelvin ratings make node space increase and causes plants to shoot for the roof. someone who has bin growing with CFL should know that and i would even stand to say that i dont believe its even possible for you to have the opposite results. , im just sayin!
 
skoalmint614

skoalmint614

Active Member
jaedenn08 said:
. so what are my options if i want to seal off the window completely from the outside world which would only then limit my options for any free flowing air i might want or need in order for my plant to live......right???? WHAT DO I DO????
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okay let me just say that ventalation is such a fucking NOT big deal. if you have your whole entire basement full of air then as long as your only growing a handfull of plants you will be just fine.
 
thewanderingjack

thewanderingjack

Well-Known Member
ROCK ON CFL!!!!

I started out with CFL for my small (personal) grow, for 3 reasons:

Cheap start up cost. I used home lights (sold in 6 packs for around $10). I was able to add lights slowly as I needed them, so I never spent a lot at once, and even in total it was cheaper than any other options for my space. Even using mostly 27000K for veg (didn't realize the kelvin thing) I got great plant with short nodes and lush canopies.

Cheap running costs. Low watts for great lumens, no additional cooling.

Convenience. My grow space has been fluid, so being able to move the lights around to different heights, angles, etc. was great. I went from just being a large pot where I sprouted seeds together, to 3x3x5, to 3x8x2 to 3x4x4. No single other light could have worked for so many situations... and certainly not for the cost of the bulbs and clamp lamps I did use (which added up to ~480watts). And I can use both the bulbs and clamp lamps for other stuff (like working under the house, shop lighting) so... cost effective all around.

I hear a comparable 480w high powered light would provide more penetration, and result in better yields... but between the expense of the light, the added cooling, and the fact that everywhere I look people complain about such lights burning out after just one or two grows... it didn't add up for me.

I am sure such lights do produce greater results, even proportionally better... but since I am not looking for record yields, CFLs were not only just fine, but did quite well for me.

I did switch to an LED (still using CFLs for added lighting)... but it just seemed like the way to go for me as I dialed in my closet size, maybe even a natural progression from CFL (since I was looking for bang for the buck). The LED was cheaper than similar watt high powered lights... covers my area, still keeps running costs low, doesn't add to my temps (which are just right now), and could be hung closer (necessary in my short space). Then there's the whole Par value thing...

Overall I recommend CFLs, not as the best light to grow under, but certainly as one that gets the job done at the lowest upfront cost.
 
TigerSquad

TigerSquad

Active Member
lastfrontier said:
you see it seem to me that people feel that if you give it the most intense light you can find and the best hydro setup that it equils dank fat buds and that is simpley not true.


CFL's do not have the danger or heat problems that HPS and MH have also it cost more all around to dissapate the heat and the smell with it also CFL's are self ballest in most cases and there are so many that if one goes out you dont have to shell up 150.00 or 250.00 or what if the ballast goes out what if either of them fail while you are out of town and you loose the crop if one or two fail then i loose a few lumens and keep on rockin again consider the fire danger while you are gone a fan can fail of trip the braker also they use less wattage and you are able to spread the light as you see fit in most cases instead of coming from a central location high above i will say in defence of the production grower large intense lights are a good and usefull thing because it cuts down on the doliers per OZ of production that in my opinion is the onley time you would need the extra lumens i my self will never grow more then 14 plants at a time i get around 3-5 OZ per plant with that light at 14 plants only geting 3 OZ per is still 42 OZ every 4 months what the hell will i do with all that and i am only using about 420-680 watts when you have MH and HPS you are stuck with on or two kelvin ratings and that is it with CFL's i can swap the kelvin rating as i see fit mabey i want to flower at 2100 kelvin mabey i like 6500 kelvin for veg or mabey i want to try 4500 kelvin for veg and see if i get a better sun leaf with CFL's there is room for discovery and creativity we know that all strands are not the same and come from diffrent parts of the world mabey you would like to plant all dark purple indiga and the next crop you want to plant a virgin sativa they have diffrent requirments for light and with CFL's you can provide that with half the cost just remember people that the higher you go in watts when buyin a single CFL bulb the lower you go in lumens per watt stay at 26-55 watts and that is the best spot to stay...................... here are the periods that belong up there disperse them as you please
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I'm finding that I like cfls more and more. As I use them I am relizing that there is no other way I could do a grow. So cheers to and for cfl #cfldrobro lol
 
matticus408

matticus408

Well-Known Member
TomThe"Ripper" said:
I don't think they get that high t 65w is the hightes I've seen and I have a coil that's 8500lum but I think the color temp is too warm but I'm confused on that
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TomThe"Ripper" said:
I don't think they get that high t 65w is the hightes I've seen and I have a coil that's 8500lum but I think the color temp is too warm but I'm confused on that
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Where are you seeing 65w?
 
TigerSquad

TigerSquad

Active Member
matticus408 said:
Where are you seeing 65w?
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I've seen them mostly online never in a store unless it was somekind of hardware supply shop they have had cool cfl styles from time to time. You need a high watt to increase the flux I'm the area. So just make sure your lumn count is as high as you can get. Veg = daylight/cool white (high end of the k ratings) flower = warm/softwhite(low end of the k ratings)
If your fan leaves are small narrow and not wide your not getting the light you need. A plant isn't going to waste any energy growing something that they don't use.
 
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toofpik

New Member
This is my first grow attempt, I've done a little research online but we all know how that goes. I'm just looking for help or suggestions from someone with cfl experience. My first attempt is using a total of 40x40w cfl bulbs, I calculated about 104000 total lumens, which puts me just over 7500 lumens per square foot (3.7x3.7 space) with a total of 6 plants. My girls seem to like the light, but seem to grow slowly. The only nutrient I use is FoxFarms Grow-Big. I've attached a few pictures of my grow space, PLEASE HELP!!
 

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Lucky Luke

Lucky Luke

Well-Known Member
What do you mean by "slowly" how old are they? What light cycle? Done any pruning and tipping?

Looks like a no to the tipping but have you pruned lower branches?
 
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toofpik

New Member
I just pruned them yesterday, and started tilting for extra light. All 6 are clones, I've had them for about 5 weeks, I've attached a picture of them about a week old. In the last 2 weeks I switched them to a 20/4 light cycle from 24 constant, they seem to be responding better with sleep. they've grown maybe 3 inches in 2 weeks. I was starting to think my light set-up might be what's wrong?
 

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SPLFreak808

SPLFreak808

Well-Known Member
toofpik said:
This is my first grow attempt, I've done a little research online but we all know how that goes. I'm just looking for help or suggestions from someone with cfl experience. My first attempt is using a total of 40x40w cfl bulbs, I calculated about 104000 total lumens, which puts me just over 7500 lumens per square foot (3.7x3.7 space) with a total of 6 plants. My girls seem to like the light, but seem to grow slowly. The only nutrient I use is FoxFarms Grow-Big. I've attached a few pictures of my grow space, PLEASE HELP!!
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Got damn that area looks fucking hot lol... Looks like some deficiencies/lock-outs. Start your own thread and im sure people will help out
 
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