CFL light penetration on the bigger bulbs.... 100w and up

keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
I was wondering how much light penetration increased on the bigger bulbs.. I have 4 55w and 4 26w currently and would like more penetration through getting bigger CFL or adding supplemental lighting, not sure what kind tho, but CFL are to hot for side supplemental lighting. box is 3 foot tall so thered be about 2 foot penetration needed at max.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
its kinda hard to add decent wattage ones around it without burning leaves really.
How big that is box? its looking pretty good from what i can tell, but id like to harvest 2-3 a month and dont really have as much open space, although its not super crowded going down through the canopy, and some of the strains get decent nugs on the bottom with some density. Are those 23 watt cfl on the side of your box?
 
yesum

yesum

Well-Known Member
About 4 inches for the 26 watt and 8 inches for the 55 watt. A y splitter combines the sidelight of the two bulbs and doubles the penetration. A good reflector will almost double the light coming off the lights.

If you can do it, going vertical is the most efficient way to do it. The lights down in between the plants, with plants in a tight circle around the lights.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
In the center may work, i know it really would if box wasnt rectangle shaped...
I remember the 55w having the 8 inch, but i was wondering how faR A 100w and bigger penetrate.. If the penetration kept increasing like from 26 to 55 does, then id ditch all 26w and get maybe 2 x100w bulbs and increase my light output a little and penetratation.

I have them close to the top of my mylar lined box, do you think a hood would work better? their about 2-3 inches from top of box.
 
scroglodyte

scroglodyte

Well-Known Member
you could prune the lower branches, and concentrate your light and effort to the canopy........popcorn is nice,,,,,at the movies
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
I normally dont leave to many lower ones, unless im pollinating it, or using a lower one to make pollen or for cloning it.. Unless it produces dense bud at the bottom.

And also, some strains ive done wont swell up like others when doing that, and ive hurt my yield that way a couple of times before.
MAybe the Uncle Ben 4 Cola technique will help out as well, planning on doing that this time with two chernobyl, a white widow, and a sour ak.
 
Weedasaurus

Weedasaurus

Well-Known Member
you might be better off with more small bulbs than a few large ones. if you're doing that might as well go with an hps.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
i was thinking of hps as well.. think a 250 w cool tube? shouldnt get much hotter thanm the cfls should it? theres 8 cfl in there now
 
Catchin22

Catchin22

Well-Known Member
If you're going to spend another $100 on a CFL you might as well go HPS. See my sig for a cheap one. There's no point really in going with a ton of CFLs for larger grows IMO. You're going to have to deal with positioning them all the time, moving them around and trying to not touch the plants... Too much of a pain IMO. I wish somebody would have talked me out of going with CFLs to begin with and with an HPS instead! But I was in a rush to get things going. :/
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
UYea, i was looking at that one and a similiar one on ebay. Id like a 4oow, that would be awesome! But im worried about heat, and know id have to get the cool tube. Im just worried about heat levels, and if i have enugh vertical height.. How close can plants get to the cool tub without damaging them?

Im basically through positioning CFL everywhere and just go from above, i have a couple 26w down low before but didnt see enough of a difference to keep em there.

Ive been using my current setup about a year.

Also, do you think a 250 hPS would outperform the 340w or so of CFL i have? i would more than likely use 2 of the 55w cfl i have just to keep it around 350w..... is there much heat difference btween a 250 and 400?? if not, id prolly go with the 400.
 
Catchin22

Catchin22

Well-Known Member
250HPS vs 340w CFL... likely still do better honestly. I don't think heat is a big issue with a 400w from what I hear. You probably make more with your CFLs, just not from one source. There's dimmable ones as well so you could run it at 50% if you desired. I think you can keep them about 5" above the plants if you want from what I remember reading.

Check this 600w...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005DOS0R8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=rollit-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B005DOS0R8

Also dimmable and not much more costly than a 400w. You could run it at 300w, 450w or 600w. I think id pick that one over the 400w.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
I saw those on ebay as well, I like the idea of being able to get bigger bulb if i got to having the space to get a tent.
I havent been able to see much about the heat on 400's, i just saw a thread where thye 250 doesnt get as hot as the 400's. havent seen much on how hot 400 gets, plus, with a cool tube they could get maybe even closer to the bulb??

If i knew heat didnt become a issue, id definitely go for the 400, im sure that would make my yeilds and bud size increase a good bit.

I know to have the 8 cfl cooled, i had to get the 4" fan i have now, and am not wanting to upgrade that. Those cfl can get pretty hot tho, but the 55w dont get as hott as the 26w...
 
Catchin22

Catchin22

Well-Known Member
The 55 doesn't get as hot as the 26w? Huh? Must be because of the size and heat distribution? Well, why not get the 400 dimmable and run it at 50%? Heat would be low and I am sure the plants would benefit greatly and you can always test run it at 400.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
Not a bad idea.. bulbs are only 10-20 bucks. I think with the limited space i have ill definitely need a cool tube even if temps arent to high because of limited height. I see any close than 5 inch and they burn. \

They have some dimmable air cool hood models on ebay as well, and it comes with hps and mh as well.
 
keifcake

keifcake

Well-Known Member
from reading the 250w thread, i think the 400w would be a better option definitely i can get within heat limits, which a cool tube or air cool hood should help with the 4inch fan.

and the air cooled hoods look better and should get better distribution of light than a cool tube.. I want to order the kit with what i need, seems they have every option available, dotn want another order after

But the drawback to the hood over a cool tube is the extra 3-4 inches itll take up in th box.

Are the MH bulbs only for flower?
 
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