0regonKush
Active Member
I decided to use CFL lighting for my first grow but didn't want to have to buy $200+ worth of hoods to get 4 plants to bud. What is the point in using inexpensive CFLs then?
So after some searching online I found some good ideas but none of them took good use of the lighting by only exposing the tips of bulbs to plants. Some were angled better than others but still not enough light. So this is my remedy to spending a bunch of extra money on hoods, cords and slitters. Build my own hood.
You will need:
2' aluminum drier ducting
8' extension cord
2X 1/4" threaded rods
8X 1/4" nuts
3X double light sockets
soldering iron
shrink tubin
IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. GET HELP FROM AN ADULT. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WIRING UP A LIGHT FIXTURE AND THEN PLUGGING IT IN DON'T! PLEASE GET PROPER HELP OR DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE ATTEMPTING.
First thing to do is drill 4 holes 1' in from each of the 4 corners. This will allow you to insert the threaded rods and adjust the nuts to open them up. I opened mine to about 14" from tip to tip. Then lay down an old phone book or piece of wood and drill 3 larger holes down the center of the duct pipe. I did 1 in the center and marked off 6" from that in either direction for the placement of my other fixture mounting holes.
You should end up with something that looks like this...
Feed your black and white wire through the threaded piece on the back side of the double sockets. Make sure to use the provided washers and install the 3 fixtures into your hood.
It should look similar to this...
Now cut the female end off your extension cord and throw it away. Bare about 1/2" of wire from the cut end of both wires of the extension cord. You will need to hook all of the white wires to one side of the cord and all the black wires to the other side. It doesn't matter which wire you put on which side. Just don't hook and black wires to the white wire side. I prefer solder but you can also use plastic wire nuts. I do not recommend ever using electrical tape for anything electrical. I prefer solder and shrink tubing. I sleep well at night knowing my family and I are safe.
Here is what your wiring should look like.
I then cut my chain into 2 equal lengths and slipped them over the threaded rods. I added a couple S hooks in the front to make adjusting the chain easier but it isn't necessary. This was my veg. stage lighting system. But I just built a second one when the plants moved to bigger pots.
Not including the bulbs each hood cost $25 to build. I hope someone finds this useful. Please feel free to ask questions if I was vague on any points.
Here are a couple shots of the finished product and my girls enjoying the glow....
So after some searching online I found some good ideas but none of them took good use of the lighting by only exposing the tips of bulbs to plants. Some were angled better than others but still not enough light. So this is my remedy to spending a bunch of extra money on hoods, cords and slitters. Build my own hood.
You will need:
2' aluminum drier ducting
8' extension cord
2X 1/4" threaded rods
8X 1/4" nuts
3X double light sockets
soldering iron
shrink tubin
IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS. GET HELP FROM AN ADULT. IF YOU ARE UNCOMFORTABLE WIRING UP A LIGHT FIXTURE AND THEN PLUGGING IT IN DON'T! PLEASE GET PROPER HELP OR DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE ATTEMPTING.
First thing to do is drill 4 holes 1' in from each of the 4 corners. This will allow you to insert the threaded rods and adjust the nuts to open them up. I opened mine to about 14" from tip to tip. Then lay down an old phone book or piece of wood and drill 3 larger holes down the center of the duct pipe. I did 1 in the center and marked off 6" from that in either direction for the placement of my other fixture mounting holes.
You should end up with something that looks like this...
Feed your black and white wire through the threaded piece on the back side of the double sockets. Make sure to use the provided washers and install the 3 fixtures into your hood.
It should look similar to this...
Now cut the female end off your extension cord and throw it away. Bare about 1/2" of wire from the cut end of both wires of the extension cord. You will need to hook all of the white wires to one side of the cord and all the black wires to the other side. It doesn't matter which wire you put on which side. Just don't hook and black wires to the white wire side. I prefer solder but you can also use plastic wire nuts. I do not recommend ever using electrical tape for anything electrical. I prefer solder and shrink tubing. I sleep well at night knowing my family and I are safe.
Here is what your wiring should look like.
I then cut my chain into 2 equal lengths and slipped them over the threaded rods. I added a couple S hooks in the front to make adjusting the chain easier but it isn't necessary. This was my veg. stage lighting system. But I just built a second one when the plants moved to bigger pots.
Not including the bulbs each hood cost $25 to build. I hope someone finds this useful. Please feel free to ask questions if I was vague on any points.
Here are a couple shots of the finished product and my girls enjoying the glow....
...I will add more t5's and as you can I could screw in 6 more cfl's or 12 with splitters.....that's about $60 for the electrical parts plus $40 worth of bulbs
