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I made the mistake of assuming all CFL were the same and purchase some 42 watt "general purpose" CFL bulbs. Today i realized I have no Idea if these are warm or cool bulbs. How might I figure that out. These are GE energy Smart 150 equivilent pc:97728 Desc fle42hlx/2/sw/bx. Thanks for any help
They should be warm white.
Put your CFL next to a regular light around the house. They should look fairly similar in color. If it's a cool white, you'll most definitely see a difference. Those cool white/daylight/6500k bulbs have a harsh blue tint to them. You'd probably never consider using those as regular lights around the house.
lol i had a 6500k bulb in my sons room for a couple of weeks cuz i ran outta reg bulbs and i swear he got a tan lol
Hey SOG420, I was wondering how those cfl's worked out for you. I just purchased those earlier today.Well I went looking for some daylight 42w/150w (6500k for veg) and some soft white 42w/150 (2700k for flowering). But all i could find at WallyWorld was the General Purpose 97728. But i cant find the specs for these bulbs. If you already used them, let me know how things turned out.
heres some info i found here: shahine.com/omar/ - More on CFLs
My Testing Results
So, here is what I think of the CFLs that I've tried.
Sylvania Soft White
no instant on
color temperature is about 3000k
I found the color to be a bit industrial looking
grade: B
GE General Purpose Soft White
no instant on
color temperature is about 2700k
color was a bit yellowish but acceptable
grade: B+
Philips Duramax
instant on
color temperature is about 2700k
color was a bit yellowish but acceptable
grade: A-
Commercial Electric
instant on
color temperature is about 2700k
color too yellowish
grade: B
n:vision Soft White
instant on
color temperature is a bit cooler than 2700k
color was just right (a bit whiter than incandescent). Nice for general purpose, hallways, sconces etc.
grade: A
n:vision Bright White
instant on
color temperature cooler, 3500k
color is bright white . Nice for a bathroom or office.
grade: A
n:vision Daylight
instant on
color temperature cooler, 5500k
color is bluish white. Not sure where I'd use a light like this. Looked very weird to me. Maybe in a garage? Hanselman likes these, I have no idea why.
grade: n/a
and this is part of an article i found here: Compact Fluorescent Lamp Recommendations
Some compact fluorescent bulbs have color codes. A color code is a 2 or 4 digit number that refers to the bulb's color temperature in degrees (or hundreds of degrees) Kelvin. On many Osram and Sylvania bulbs, a 2-digit abbreviation of the color temperature may be immediately preceded by "D8". On GE ones it may be preceded by SPX. Some others may be immediately preceded by an "8". The "8" or "D8" or "SPX" indicates a claimed color rendering index in the 80's, generally 82-86, usually 82 for compact fluorescents.
Examples:
F13TT/27K (this is 2700 Kelvin.)
PLC*15/28/28 (The second-last number here is wattage, the last means 2800 K)
F40T12/D835 (The D835 means 3500 Kelvin)
Now, here is what these numbers mean to you.
Numbers from 27 to 30 or 2700 to 3000 represent generally incandescent colors. Sometimes, the color may be a bit less yellow and slightly more pink/purple, but it is a basically incandescent color.
Numbers around 35 or 3500 represent a whitish incandescent color, similar to that of projector bulbs, some photographic lamps, and the whitest halogen lamps. Unless you are using enough of these bulbs to make your home as bright as a classroom, the color may seem slightly greenish or slightly generally "off". If you have a lot of this light, then this color is generally pleasing.
Numbers around 41 represent colors generally like that of "cool white" fluorescent lamps. A few of these are also very slightly on the purple side. They generally don't make colors look dull like standard cool whites do, since they have a different spectrum from use of different phosphors. However, unless you have classroom-bright light levels, this color often has a "dreary gray" effect.
Avoid buying any "Abco" brand bulbs unless the color code is visible and desirable. I have (in the 1990's) seen some with the 41 color code marketed as "warm white".
There is also a 50 or 5000 color. It is an icy cold pure white that sometimes looks slightly bluish. Like the 41 color, they can cause a dreary gray effect unless you have very bright lighting levels - despite this being a close approximation to the color of noontime tropical sunlight!
anyway, as far as i can tell, those GE general purpose bulbs are around 2700K or 'warm' light
hope this helps
Thanks. Actually that does help. I was worried that I had purchased a general purpose bulb that was more of a "daylight" bulb than a soft white. But if its rated @ 2700k then i'm good. Thanks again my girls will appreciate it.
LOL, no man, thank you, trying to answer your question, i found an answer to one of mine, lolQuote:
Originally Posted by arkitekt
hey guys so if im correct with reading this thread these 42 watt=150 watts general purpose cfl's will do the job for 3 auto-ak X auto-blueberry..if so how many should i buy..i want to buy six of them and use a 2 way connector in the clamp on fixture but..will cut the fixture in half so lights will be sideways instead of vertical.. and use 4 lights on top 2 along side of plants..or however someone can suggest a better way with these types of CFL'S and these gen purpose 42 watters will do the job for flowering correct??? i have been going nuts for a week now figuring this out...please be specific if possible thanks...