Easiest, Cheapest CFL fixture for side and overhead lighting

goodro wilson

Well-Known Member
just an electric cord, 2 splitters, 2 Y adapters, 8 bulbs (4@6500K, 4@2700K), zipties, wireclamps
$5 $12 $12 $30 $30 $5 $2

$96 per fixture X 2 = 192
40 for center fixture = 232
fan and filter $125 = 357

less than 400
in the us it def wouldnt cost that much.....
extension cords about $2, splitters and adapters are bout about 2 bucks a piece, 8 bulbs would be less than 20 dollars (pics look like 23 watters)
you do the math....
you were right about less than 400 haha
and if by growlight you mean HPS/mh......they most def work better.....but are not always practical.

and no offense but why do people get on the CFL forum and steadily suggest HID's
 

goodro wilson

Well-Known Member
oh and 125 for a fan and filter is too much too. this guy canniboss is obviously talking about some high end equip.
i reccomend a diy filter for a fraction of that and buy as many 6 dollar fans you want with the money you saved
 

goodro wilson

Well-Known Member
oh one more thing, to art
just now saw this..... good info thanks makes me want to keep plugging in lights!!!!!!!

"no fire hazard, Goodro, as long as you hang everything properly; even with 40 bulbs, that's little more than 2/3 of what a SMALL 16 gauge cord can handle, if they're 27 watt bulbs (1080 watts=27 watts x 40 bulbs)"
 

artofscience

Active Member
keep plugging in lights :)

my next CFL project is an inline reflector set-up, I'm thinking 2 per side-of-Veg-room of 4 bulbs placed in a line inside a 4' section of 4" sheet-metal ducting.

so....

- is just there for spacing the diagram

= is a CFL

E is the female end of a 2-sided 16 gauge extension cord

is 4" ducting, split open into a crescent shape



~~~~

----------------------------
=E= =E= --=E= =E=
----------------------------
-----------[H I D]-----------
----------------------------
=E= =E= --=E= =E=
----------------------------

~~~~Plus an HID in the middle

:D
 

artofscience

Active Member
NICE!

if you really wanna see the girls go wild, buy a $25 roll of mylar, since the CFLs don't penetrate

then your side and bottom leaves get some reflected light, even if it's angled
 

goodro wilson

Well-Known Member
ya it was already flat white in the closet... so i just left it...was in a hurry to flower! where can i buy mylar? hardware store? was gonna chop up some car sun shade things for a lil more reflectiveness at least if i dont get the mylar...i need to get more supplies anyways..nutes, soil, cloning gel/powder
i had my second female show sex today! 3rd including the diesel ryder. 3 more that havent just thought id share cuz i needed to tell somebody!
 

artofscience

Active Member
you can almost ALWAYS find mylar at the grow store you buy your nutes at.

grrr I had what looked perfectly like all 9 females, but now two are popping balls. only one is a hermie, but I've tried so many times to find a light leak.

maybe I need to take a nap in the room so my eyes completely adjust.

p.s. cops in Corpus Christi are absolutely incompetent; they pulled over 400 horsemint plants from a park because they were suspected of being marijuana. one even bragged that it was one of the largest finds in department history, right before they tested it.

HA
 

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Phishjoy

Member
I am using this. Running at least 2 150 watt CFLs off one cord, so that's cool :)

I do imagine I will get annoyed with all the cords if I attempt to add numerous fixtures, but I did see something right above these at lowes. 3-way plug-in. Sorta like these...plug it in and you have a plug-in from the top, side and bottom...so I imagine these could allow you to have 2 downward pointing lights, maybe 1 depending on the size of the bulbs. I doubt 2 of these 150s would fit together safely. But if you have one pointing down in between the plant tops that would def help with whatever bulb you through in that area. And of course you can plug a short cord into one of the free sockets and repeat. I just wonder about the safety in this rigging. Only time will tell :)

Edit* I do remember seeing 300 watt CFLs at lowes as well, for those 'closet' growers. Maybe one of those in the downward position?
 

me8980109

Member
Yes Lowe's and Home Depot sell the 300w CFL's (65w actual). Home Depot is $2 cheaper ($15 vs $17). If you use them and I do, just get a plug and hang the light straight down so that the plants benefit from light from all side. When I say hang it down I mean hang it down (screw part up) between your plants not over them. The are great for side lighting between plants and hung this way and require no reflector.

You might want to consider a scrog grow and forget all those side lights lighting up areas of your plants that will never fill out much anyway no matter how much light you have. Most of you guys have enough light coverage already if used from above and you would do very well with a scrog style grow. You get rid of all the stuff under the screen anyway, so there is no point wasting light there. You really only need your lights on the buds.

One other thing, 20+ CFLs on a single line may not seem like much but make sure you get timers that are made for CFLs or you will be burning them up and that will be a fire hazard.
 
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