Answers about CFL, HPS, How Much Light...

[fishens]

Hey Gundari, if you are still around (sorry just read thread), I have a Philips fouro tube box. On the box it states:
soft white = 3000k
cool white plus = 4100k
30 watt bulb.
Just in case you can read the tube..sorry all I have are soft white right now. Don't know if this helps or if maybe I am too late.

good luck
Fishens:jointsmile:

[Roughrider]

Question about light roughrider.. I am starting my very first grow.. My space is 3 foot wide 3 foot deep and 6 foot tall.. How many lumiens do you think I need or is there a "FORMULA" that you know so I can figure it out.. Because once I solve my light issue then I can get to growing.. :thumbsup:

3' x 3' = 9 sq. ft.

5000 lumens per sq. ft. and you'll do fine. So that's

9 x 5000 = 45000 lumens

...which is pretty much dead on what you'll get from a 400w HPS. I would use that to flower. It will cover your entire grow area very well. Make the most of the light--flat white plant or mylar on the walls.

However, for veg, I stick with the budget alternative. Get two 10.5" clamp lights at Wal-Mart for $10 each. Get six Y-socket splitters for $1.50 each. Get three three packs of 26w GE Daylight (6500k) CFLs for $8.00 each. Put one Y-socket into each of the clamp lights and then a Y-socket into each end of the screwed in Y-socket. Now you've got four bulb sockets for each clamp light with a good reflector. Those lights will put out about about 7,000 lumens each...perfect for taking 6-8 plants through the first few weeks of vegging. IMO, CFLs do the best job in vegging...each one of those could even take a plant all the way through flower if you wanted. Regardless, it's $55 well spent.

[RackitMan]

23w CFL = 1600 lumens = 69.6 lumens/watt
30w CFL = 2000 lumens = 66.7 lumens/watt
40w CFL = 2600 lumens = 66.3 lumens/watt

compared to

150w HPS = 14000 lumens = 93.3 lumens/watt
250w HPS = 28000 lumens = 112 lumens/watt
400w HPS = 50000 lumens = 125 lumens/watt
600w HPS = 90000 lumens = 150 lumens/watt

There is a 32 watt CFL (by Supra Lite? I can look it up if interested) that gets 73 lumens/watt. That is the best CFL ratio I have found.

And a 2 foot 2 tube T5 Biax system that gets 84.5 lumens/watt. This appears to be the best for tube fluorescents.

Might be worthwhile to add this info as the ratios are definitely coming much closer to HPS.

[Roughrider]

Almost all CFLs are in the 65-75 lumens per watt area, and it doesn't seem to be improving much or soon. I think 75 is the upper barrier for CFLs; it may get to 80. You're right...T5s are more efficient. I've heard of them getting 90 or even a little more lumens per watt.

But once you get to a 250w HPS, you're going to get at least 100 lumens per watt. The difference between 70 and 100 doesn't sound like much, but it is. To cover a 5 sq. ft. area, you can use one 250w HPS. Or you can use about 360 watts of CFLs. CFLs are great for grows in less than 3 or 4 sq. ft. Once you get to 5 sq. ft. and above, HPS (or T5, I guess) is just better.

Thing is, a lot of people do grow in 4 sq. ft. or less, and CFLs will do a great, great job in situations like that with a minimum of hassle or start up costs.

[tomm01]

sorry double post

[tomm01]

Ok so I somehow found this site about Australian Street lights (who the hell makes a site about that? lol) but anyway I'm glad they did because it tells me 99% of Victorian (where I live) street lights have changed to HPS. I was wondering how much it would cost approximately to get a ffixture/lamp/whatever you use for one of these street light globes. Anyone have any idea?

[tomm01]

Ok so dw about my last question, I went to Bunnings and tried to get a 400watt hps coz it was only $30 then I asked this guy what I would use to plug it in to and he said "I dunno" then asked this other lady working there and she said "what're you using it for" and the guy goes "growing his marijuana" and i just fake laughed and said "nah im using it for plants though". F*$^ my blood was boiling he was one of those typical 'stoners are lowlifes' people.

Anyway point is I can't get anything for HPS so can anyone give me detailed info on how to connect 4 CFL's to one extension cable? Then connect the cable into a wall socket.
I have 4 bayonet CFL's.

THANKS PEOPLE!

[Roughrider]

Any HPS bulb will require a special type of base/fixture and power regulator. The power reghulator for HPS (and MH) lights is usually called the ballast. These types of lights must have very constant energy flow to their bulbs. A sudden change in energy will cause the bulb to short out and, possible, break. So to use an HPS bulb, you must use a HPS ballast and fixture. You'll need to go to specialty light store for this sort of thing, or order it off the internet (ebay.com.au should have some). You should be able to find a 400w setup (bulb/ballast/fixture/reflector) for around AU $175-200.

As for the bayonet CFLs...sorry, I don't know how you'd get multiple bayonet fixtures. You could try to find the equivalent of the outlet/bulb converters sold in other countries. Just go to a hardware store and ask about an item that has a plug on one end and a bayonet socket on the other. If you've got four of those, it shouldn't be too hard to rig some sort of lights.

[tomm01]

Thanks Roughrider. I should be able to afford that price. If not, summer will be round soon anyway.

As for the CFL's, I just bought some really cheap lamps from K-Mart, smashed the outside and used the cord and ballast/fixture whatever. I wired two (one on each end) of an old fish tank cover. Then I just have one good lamp that I can't smash with a home-made reflector. These three bulbs equal 4 650 lumens. For one plant. I'm working on getting another cheap lamp to smash lol. I will then put that into the fish tank cover also and this should suffice for a while right? Once I have more than a square foot to cover I might purchase four more bulbs and lamps to put around the sides and have four on top. Think this would do the trick?

[Roughrider]

That sounds okay. Remember you need less light during vegginm, because the plants are smaller. One 23w bulb will pop a seedling and get you through a couple of weeks of vegging. So if you've got 3 or 4 CFLs, that's actually enough to get 3-4 plants going for a few weeks. You can go smash more cheap lamps after that. :thumbsup:

Actually, look into getting a 10 1/2" clamp light with a reflector at Wal-Mart. They're around $10 American. I bet one of those and a Y-socket adaptor would be less than AU $20. Maybe even cheaper than cheap lamp--and you get a reflector too!