cfl bulbs not advertised right !!

I have been reading here and on other forums about how great cfls are. So I went out and looked at the usual places..and purchased what I "thought " were 100 watt 6500k cfls! after niticing that the plants weren't growing as fast as I'd heard ( I'm using a sh 6 pot hydro ponic set up) So I started doubting the bulbs as being what they said. I found that in smaller writing that they were 26 watt bulbs! So where do we get these much larger and more effecient bulbs? and do you need special plugs etc? I may have to chance the heat and go to my 400w hps.Thanks for any info on these lights, will the ones I'm using now hinder the groth and should I look for the other type cfls? Thanks again all.

yeah.. this is the prob with cfl's.. you have to look close and you will see 100 watt equivelent.. and what they mean is that a 23 watt cfl will put out the same lumens as a 100 watt incadesent bulb.. it says the 23 watt part real small as well..
you can usually buy up to like i think i saw a 65 watt cfl at walmart the other day.. any higher, and i would imagine that you would have to go to a specialty store.. i also think that the 65 watters will fit in a normal light socket, but don't hold me to that..
yeah, i agree that there should be a thread devoted to just clf's and how to diagnos the info on the package as it can be misleading if you don't know what you are reading...
you should look into t5's.. i got one and love it.. it is a fluro tube, and works greaat..

23w cfls are ok you just need a lot of them. I prefer 42s, you can put 2 of them in a large clamp reflector with a Y splitter.

Well after looking around on-line it looks like to buy 6 more "proper" cfls it would cost another 100 plus bucks !!So I just turned on the HPS hope the cooler temps outside will help keep my little grow sloset cool enough !!Might have to spend that money on a better exhaust fan !! Damn and I just ran out of weed too !! !00 mile round trip to the dispensary !

if you had 4-"100" watt cfl's, do you really think it has the same output of a 400 hps? you need many cfl's for canopy penetration.

Yeah I got screwed as far as I'm concerned ! The cfls I ended up with were only 26 watts ! Not the 100 that was writen in LARGE letters on the package !! Unfortunatly when I got them I wasn't wearing my f---en glasses!! I've got my 400 watt hps on now , maybe for my next grow I'll get a better vegging bulb MH 400 !? Oh well this was my first grow so its a learning experience and my plants are still looking good just a little smaller than they could have been ...

ol hippy said:

Yeah I got screwed as far as I'm concerned ! The cfls I ended up with were only 26 watts ! Not the 100 that was writen in LARGE letters on the package !! Unfortunatly when I got them I wasn't wearing my f---en glasses!! I've got my 400 watt hps on now , maybe for my next grow I'll get a better vegging bulb MH 400 !? Oh well this was my first grow so its a learning experience and my plants are still looking good just a little smaller than they could have been ...

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I've heard that some people use the HPS during veg also, not the right spectrum but puts out more lumens. The 400w MH puts out 36,000 lumens whereas the 400w HPS puts out 51,000 lumens.

But watch out for the heat, I'd monitor it real close for now, until you see how the temps are running.

i had 18x 23 watt 100 watt replacements for a while, they got so fucking hot i went out and got a 150wat hps. temp hasnt been over 80 degrees since. oh, you can get those cfl's for about 1.00 a piece i bought 20 of them for 20 bucks. you just cant buy them at home depot or anywhere like that for a dollar, they'll charge you up to 4.00 a piece.

ol hippy said:

Yeah I got screwed as far as I'm concerned ! The cfls I ended up with were only 26 watts ! Not the 100 that was writen in LARGE letters on the package !! Unfortunatly when I got them I wasn't wearing my f---en glasses!! I've got my 400 watt hps on now , maybe for my next grow I'll get a better vegging bulb MH 400 !? Oh well this was my first grow so its a learning experience and my plants are still looking good just a little smaller than they could have been ...

Click to expand...

The package also says something like "100w equivalent" or "100w replacement", then down in the corner it says what the actual wattage is. You didn't get screwed, you just didn't read the packaging thoroughly.

You'll need 16 26w bulbs or 18 23w bulbs to get 400w. Check Lowes and WalMart. You can buy one 65w bulb for $18 or on ~150w plus a few Y connectors to put more than one bulb in a socket. Some people like the bigger bulbs but I think that the 23/26w bulbs are the most cost effective route. Granted, I'm brand new to growing anything but I do a lot of price shopping.