CFL Light Fixture Plans

The following are the plans, photos, and some tips for building a simple 240-288 watt CFL light fixture. This fixture is relatively inexpensive and is extremely easy to put together. It’s well suited for an LST, Scrog or SOG-style grow cabinet, since the light will be spread evenly over all your acreage. But it’s probably not the best option if you plan to skip training your plants and go for that one massive cola.


This design is sized for my 30-inch Closetmaid wardrobe cabinet (30” X 20” X 72” Tall). But the design is scalable and can be adapted to fit just about sized cabinet.

Parts list:

• ¾ -inch, Schedule-40 PVC pipe, 8 feet
• ¾ -inch PVC slip elbow, 4 each
• Plastic light sockets, 8 each- Note, there are many types. These came from Lowes and cost about $2 each. But you can get similar ones online
  • http://www.amazon.com/Pass-Seymour-Socket-S752wcc10-Sockets/dp/B000BQRY5M/ref=sr_1_33?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1318347694&sr=1-33
• 12” X 24” aluminum leather grain Sheet from Home Depot for about $12 (They don’t show this size online but do have the 3’ X 3’ for $23)
  • http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202091747/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
• 12” heavy duty extension cord (or buy the 3-wire cable and a plug).
• 1/16 inch wire rope, 6 feet
• Ferrules for 1/16 wire, 6 each
• Light yo-yos, 2 each
• Carabiners (key chain-style), 2 each
• #8 screws (1” long), about 24
• Eye screws, 4 each
• Hook screws, 4 each
• Zip ties, one or two each
• CFLs, 8 each- Note that my fixture has inside dimensions of 19” X 15” and will accept four, 30-watt lights and four, 42-watt lights. Simply extend or shorten the PVC to meet your needs.

You’ll need some basic tools:

• Saw- I bought a cheap (less than $20) miter saw from Home Depot and have used it over and over again while making my grow system. A great deal.
  • http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100120777/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
• Electric drill with drill and screw driver bits
• Spring clamps are always useful
  • http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-100027346/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
• Wire stripper- Don’t even consider a cheap one from Harbor Freight. Go Craftsman or some reputable brand.
• Tape measure or yard stick.

Tips:

• If vertical space in't an issue, eliminate one set of hook screws and mount the yoyo directly to the cabinet ceiling.
• If vertical space is limited, exchange the carabiner for a small key ring. This will yield an additional inch or two.
• The PVC will fit snug enough without glue. Don’t use any.
• Drill holes in the leathergrain aluminum before you bend it.
• The leathergrain aluminum bends very easily. Just clamp it to the sharp edge of a table. Put a board or other straight edge on top, and bend by hand.
• Wire the assembly using a single, stripped extension cord, rather than cutting a bunch of short pieces to go between lights. There are two tricky parts to this operation.
  • First, experiment with ways to remove the cover from a center section of wire. There are several methods and I’m sure there’s a better way than the one I used. Just figure it out, and practice on a spare piece of wire before cutting into the actual extension cord.
  • The second crux is calculating where to strip the wire. Make sure to leave at least six feet of cord between the plug and the light fixture. Start with a 12-foot cord. Account for the inch (approx.) of wire required to wrap around each contact screw. Check your calculations twice before grabbing the wire stripper. Start working from the light closest to the plug, moving outward, toward the end. Use at least 14-gauge wire.

You don't need to be a 'Handy Manny' to put this fixture together. Just take your time. It's pretty basic stuff.

The following photos should make it all clear.

Hope someone can benefit from this post and I look forward to your comments and questions.

Never stop growin'!!!

damn man prob one of the best cfl setups ive seen so far!
good luck!

This is what I have been trying to find/think of. THank you for the amazing detail and list of materials required! +rep

plus rep for my weekend project! bookmarked!

Good job! This is quite like the fixture I thought up in my head. I will be building one in the next month; Now I have a template to work off of.

im gonna build this using 8x 45w!

Brilliant!!!

looks like you got a plan man...Now get over to the Depot and get your supplies....If an employee there asks you what you need all that stuff for you just tell em' "Weed man, weed....I'm about to grow some killer weed"

Thanks for d'kind words all.

Hey Guys,

Been using the light fixture detailed above for 43 days now. It's working great!!!

Please stop by and check my grow journal.

The cabinet I'm using has several invoative features that are worth a look. And there are plenty of photos and plans.

Let me know what ya think.

Hey,

Check this out.

I originally designed this fixture to provide evenly distributed light for a SCROG or SOG cabinet.

But my inexperience at SCROGing has resulted in the tallest stalks on my current grow to be concentrated along the front and back of the cabinet, and not feeling the full impact of the lights.

So in an effort to get light to the edges of my growing space, I considered redesigning the fixture so that the sockets are secured to a piece of PVC running down the centerline of the fixture. This would yield an "H" shaped fixture as opposed to the existing rectangular frame.

Seems like a pretty good idea, but I came up with a way to expand the fixture's coverage without making any changes.

Just twist the main PVC pieces on the light fixture so that the tips of the lights are pointed downward. Twisting the pipe is easy because the PVC is held in place with friction. No glue is used.


The above diagram illustrates that in "Expanded Coverage Mode", more light reaches the edges of the cabinet and that the bulb tips are closer to the canopy, which is good. But the tradeoff is that a narrow band along the centerline will get less light.

Note that you could just as easily rotate the PVC in the other direction, making the light tent-shaped, and more focused on a single row of colas.

Bottom line is that the fixture can be adjusted to expand or focus coverage by twisting the main PVC pieces.

Pretty cool if you ask me.

Whatta you guys think?

Look pretty sweet dude, good idea to angle the lights. +rep.

Thanks Silver. Was wondering if anyone was reading...

all I can say wow

lots of thought and effort, nice setup

this is so cool! im going to use this to the max! haha

good info man.. thanks