962 watts of CFLs

[redsunknight]

I went to Ace yesterday and they had a sale that I just couldn't pass up! They had a shelf ranging from 13 watt to 26 watt CFLs for only 99 cents each! Plus They had the 20% off of whatever you can fit in their bag, so I ended up paying around 80 cents per CFL. I bought 37 :smokin:

So for those growers out there who are on a tight budget, go checkout Ace Hardware, the sale still might be going on.

Heres a pic of what they look like, and then a pic of one of my little girls;

[KL4D4]

wow thats crazy

[NorCal Grown]

wow, 1000w for around $30. what are the plans for mounting them? would be pricey to buy 37 sockets, maybe mount the lights to a board and solder wires to the contacts......?? good luck

[Opie Yutts]

That's a lot of bulbs. I couldn't read a color temperature on the packages. Are these for veg or bud? Remember you want the 2700K for bud, which is what those are I am assuming. For vegging you'll want the 5500K bulbs.

[redsunknight]

They are for budding.

I'm still trying to figure out how to mount them... I was able to solder 16 of the bulbs so that they hang individually and connected them to one heavy duty 660 watt plug in, but it took a long time to do that.

I want to make some kind of box to hold 5 bulbs at a time, any ideas?

Im too cheap to buy ceramic sockets, but it would make it much more simple...

[Paht_Hed]

Buy some weatherproof sockets and some y splitter to stretch your cash. Nice pickup on those bulbs even though you only have flowering spectrums. You can grow at least 10 plants with that many bulbs.

[Tendril.traY]

so your going to wire them all for flower room?

Im kinda doing this, but on a smaller level.

To start, Invest in the ceramic! save your lunch money. its worth it, if you do it do it right ya dig!

I've got 4, (1-2') pvc lengths, 3 L-bows pvc, 1 T pvc 6-8 ceramic sockets with mounts
length of cord with ground but the sockets can have either. and extra wire.
fit the sockets any way you fancy to the pvc wire up b-b,w-w, cap off wires fit a switch if you may.
mount a chain to support.

test :stoned:
and if it works it works if not somethings wrong.

~T.T.~

[klondike_bar]

dear-sweet-lordy......i get 26watters for about 4$ each.... damn u canadian tire!!!!

id suggest using only 1/2 at a time or so. 900watts of that shit is like 2000-3000watts of any other lights, if not more (it says 26w = 100w, buts thats a bit exagerated)

PS: expect about 5 of those bulbs to stop working within the first month. spiral CFLs are notorious for havin bad batches of low-life bulbs

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

You say your soldering them together, I hope you have an electrical background and Know what you are doing.

Remember: Going cheap on wiring is a recipie for disaster, I don't see a big fire hazard with your plan but I do see a big electricution hazard with your plan.

I would buy some boards and mount electrical boxes to them and use standard white plastic socket plates and wire it properly. Plastic blue box less than $1.00 each, white plastic socket around a $1.00 each.

JMO
Better to be safe than dead!

[Opie Yutts]

Great snag. You're probably aware, but you can get a Y adapter that is one regular screw in socket, but has 2 spots for bulbs. Anyway, might help in your design.

[redsunknight]

Buying 2 ceramic sockets is just a little more money then buying one Y adapter, but they are much more flexible for where I want to place them. I'm just gonna buy ceramic sockets for all of them tommorrow :thumbsup:

[PharmaCan]

They are for budding.

I'm still trying to figure out how to mount them... I was able to solder 16 of the bulbs so that they hang individually and connected them to one heavy duty 660 watt plug in, but it took a long time to do that.

I want to make some kind of box to hold 5 bulbs at a time, any ideas?

Im too cheap to buy ceramic sockets, but it would make it much more simple...

If you remove the socket-screw-in part from the bulb, there are two wires inside and you can easily hard wire the bulbs.

PC :smokin:

[Gundari]

Be careful not to break the bulb though...those things are full of all kinds of nasty chemicals.

[texas grass]

Wiring (http://www.bridgewerks.com/Pages/Wiring.html)
wire like the second diagram the parrallel diagram in fig 2
go to the home depot and get abunch of sockets that come ready to wire
figure out a good reflector, mount the sockets to the reflector and plug in


http://boards.cannabis.com/indoor-lighting/133007-just-made-cfl-light-fixture.html
theres one i just made a while ago and have had great success in my little veg cab. even have super tight node legnths

but if you plan on using 10-15, economically i think you would produce better with a hps with the same power consumption, but about 4-5 times the lumens

[klondike_bar]

he probly bought all the stock! id suggest wire em to say 4 seperate plugs. not for safety sake, since 1000w is nothing, but for convenience, else itll be a pain to set up

[redsunknight]

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

I have found a great way to set up 2 9 CFL fixtures for about $40 at home depot!

The first two pictures are of the new fixtures that I made and the last is of fixtures setup using Y connectors.

Check em out;

[jon.hatcher]

Try to fan them out and cover the sides of the plants. That would be an excellent and efficient way to us your lights. Every cola would be like a top cola (very close to the lights).

[rek4385]

Your so lucky bro the price for lights where I am is outrageous. For a 11watt CFL grocery store brand im look at 7 U.S dollars. Feel free to send me a couple ;)

[Jerry Garcia 2007]

Good Job looks safe from what I see!!!

Can you raise and lower them to keep them as close to your plants as possiable?

[klondike_bar]

wow, thats a bad price rek.

try a hardware store or a warehouse shop (dont know if youve got costcos in greece)

[Opie Yutts]

I have found a great way to set up 2 9 CFL fixtures for about $40 at home depot!

Wow nice idea. It's adjustable, and nice and tidy. Hmmm, am I going back to HD now? Gotta rep ya.

Now we just need an equally ingenious reflector, or perhaps individual mini-reflectors for each bulb. Anyone?

[NorCal Grown]

a beer can cut in half seems like the right size for individual reflectors......

[klondike_bar]

a beer can cut in half seems like the right size for individual reflectors......

hmm...id avoid that. depends how its mounted, but a metal can mounted on a 120v socket soesnt seem like the safest design