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

[tomm01]

I have searched everywhere and for the life of me I can't find any Y-socket adapters! I seriously just don't think they make them in Aus

Thanx for the info though roughrider and I'll look into getting the 10 1/2" clamp light with reflector! :jointsmile:

[sarah louise]

Those adaptors aren't available here, damn shame they'd make things easier for us electrically challenged.

Bunnings do have large desk lamps for about $20 that will take up to 100 W incandescent and is fluoro compatible. Also have a look for nelson superior bulbs, 48W in bunnings for $26. Runs great in the oversized desk lamp, perfect for getting growth happening with the current short day length.

[Opie Yutts]

I have searched everywhere and for the life of me I can't find any Y-socket adapters! I seriously just don't think they make them in Aus

If you can't find them online, just give me $5 for gas (13mpg) and money for supplies, and I'll send you some. I'm not sure though but I think you might need an adapter for the adapter. Aren't you guys a different socket?

[tomm01]

Bunnings do have large desk lamps for about $20 that will take up to 100 W incandescent and is fluoro compatible. Also have a look for nelson superior bulbs, 48W in bunnings for $26. Runs great in the oversized desk lamp, perfect for getting growth happening with the current short day length.

Do you know how many lumens those put out? I've looked at them but couldn't find it anywhere on the box. Din't know whether it was worth it....

If you can't find them online, just give me $5 for gas (13mpg) and money for supplies, and I'll send you some. I'm not sure though but I think you might need an adapter for the adapter. Aren't you guys a different socket?

Yeah we use BC (?) and I think Americans use ES. Although we do have ES here as well, most sockets are BC so I just bought the BC globes too.

I was wondering also, how much lumens do those circular fluorescents give out? Coz they would be perfect for growing. Could get perfectly even light to the whole canopy with a few of em.

[sarah louise]

Do you know how many lumens those put out? I've looked at them but couldn't find it anywhere on the box. Din't know whether it was worth it....

Yeah it's not on the box, I emailed the company and was quoted 69 Lm/W. They take a few hours to burn in, so if you do buy some, don't worry if they don't look that bright when you first turn them on. The brightness will improve in the first couple of days use.

I was wondering also, how much lumens do those circular fluorescents give out? Coz they would be perfect for growing. Could get perfectly even light to the whole canopy with a few of em.

no idea at all.

sara lou :hippy:

[tomm01]

thanx sarah :jointsmile:
Oh and opie thanx for the offer but i'll pass, just found out i could use fan lights coz they have four in a circle type thing.:thumbsup:

[thecavebears79]

as i have bagweed growing, but did it very sketch.

so i'm going to begin a new harvest i suppose.
i'm am going to use rubbermaids. i have been reading a grip of info
but still do not understand lighting.... when to use what colored CFLs and can you stick CFLs in regular house hold lamps? and wtf is a ballast... i'm guessing you need it for the CFLs, and if there are built in ballast already on the CFLs

[hudson88]

I believe CFL's are self ballasted, anyhow they just plug straight into a regular socket, you don't need anything else. You need a ballast for a HID (both MH and HPS), ballasts are matched to the bulb that will be used with it, so you can't use a 400w bulb with a 250w ballast etc.

When looking for CFL's you can find them in 2 basic colours, white, spectrum around 6500k (normailly marked daylight on the box) which give out a bright white light, these are best for veg. The others are more yellow in colour, spectrum around 3000k and will be will be called something like warm white, this is similar to the evening sun and are more suited to flowering.

[McToker]

It seems that just about every store I checked carries GE CFL bulbs but most of their packaging does not list the color temperature. I thought this link to GE's site might help others. It helped me.

The only packages I found that showed the color temp. was the Daylight bulbs.

http://genet.gelighting.com/LightProducts/Dispatcher?REQUEST=RESULTPAGE&CHANNEL=Consumer&FIL TER=FT0001:Energy%20Smart%E2%84%A2^FT0025:General% 20Purpose&CATEGORY=Lamps

[Gheizen64]

If i can spend 2 word on this things.

Lumens stats are inerently flawed.
For example, Deep Red Light has little to no lumens output (deep red lamp do no use lumens measurements, but watts, look on ledengin for example), however, plants use this light a lot. A better misurement of plants requirements for light should be LIGHT POWER, in W. On this site, you can see how lumens are not directly proportional to light power, and how they are inverselly proportionally to the distance to the peak wavelenght... (i know it's not this simple, i'm a physician, this will do).
What i'm trying to say is, measuring plants requirements in Lumens is pretty shitty, cause plants see light in a very differently way from us humans.
Lights Watts would be a much better approximation. This is the reason why LED, using light focused on certain wavelenght, can reproduce pretty well sunlight with a LOT less lumens output. I'm extimating a plant would need only one half or less of equivalent lumens in red and blue light.
I can do more exact calculation on the quantity of Watts given by a 50000 lumens per square foot using absorption graphics and the specter of the HPS lamps used. How i said, looking at the graphs, i suspect, using the right specter (Procyon 100W use a wrong specter on the red light, that has a very low absorption rate), that led Watts requirements are a lot lower, even if the initial $$$ investment are higher