i need help with cfl lighting

ok im tryin to get a setup with more cfls, i know they burn cooler than most lights so is it possible to safely have the glass of the cfl touching the other glass from the bulb of the other cfl, but the sockets arent very close to eachother its just the bulb is so large it barely touches the other bulb, is this safe or should i just use smaller bulbs that wont touch? i havent installed the setup yet because i fear this being a problem. i also have a fan constantly blowing on the lights.

Hmmm.
i think you'd eventually get a hotspot on the glass due to the heat..which would cause stress and eventually a crack etc.
i used to make neon signs years ago, and once the glass has been bent to shape it has to be annealed to take the stress out that was caused by heating it to bend.
altho cfls dont get hot as such, the glass could very well become stressed from the excess heat in one spot.
so i'd say dont do it, esp as the cfls has mercury in them too, so if the bust over your plant or soil, the plants fucked.
even a small amount of mercury can kill!!!

good explanation, ok ill use smaller bulbs, the bulbs im considering will be spaced about an inch apart.

frostythesnowthug said:

Hmmm.
i think you'd eventually get a hotspot on the glass due to the heat..which would cause stress and eventually a crack etc.

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GREAT QUESTION!!!

I have never heard this question

I think I agree with frosty.. BUT you could put a fan blowing on the lights at the point of contact and probably solve this problem

iloveyou

No probs...
Same theory as why you shouldnt touch the actual headlight bulbs on your car when you change them..the natural oils from your body create a hotspot on the glass and they blow.

There's a bunch of CFLs that are high wattage and relatively small design.. but they vary from manufacturer to manufacturer

i found some 75w equivs which i can fit 5 of them in there with no problem thanks alot! they are the same wattage as the previous bulbs they are just smaller. now i got 5 75w bulbs on one plant! and with my fan in there those lights stay cool, i can barely feel any heat emitting from them. my plant is on day 9 of flowering and it is my first plant, it has 4 stigmas visable currently so its a female, my room is beginning to skunk up.

sounds like yer on on the way to good greens.


keep us posted

ok ill keep you updated, im just getting very excited. i finally got a proper setup for my healthy little girl.

Bulbs touching is a bad idea... Even with a fan there is no air between the touching point and it will get HOT... Close is ok as long as air can pass between them... =]

moon47usaco said:

Bulbs touching is a bad idea... Even with a fan there is no air between the touching point and it will get HOT... Close is ok as long as air can pass between them... =]

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You know, I think MOON is probably smarter than me...
sounds smart to me...


touching is probably bad. even though the lights don;t get that hot.. over time something could go wrong..

Even the tiniest amount of space with a fan would HELP a LOT..

cheers

well the problem is solved, i found smaller lights, im also using an intake fan pointed on all the lights and there is plenty of circulation because the fan for the light actaully makes the plant move.

I Have 1000 watts of CFL's over 4 nice OVERGROWN sativas. They are all spaced about one inch apart, heat becomes an issue more so when the ballasts touch. Most of the heat is emitted from the ballasts, With out my AC unit on in my grow room, It will climb over 100 degrees in there on a 70 degree day. I will post some pics whenever my lazy ass gets batteries for the cam.