CFL is this worth it?

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if this would be any good to use ? does anyone know if they last long or not?

550W Floatation Bulb USES 85W Energy Savings fluorscet - eBay (item 140159994840 end time Apr-16-08 20:49:15 PDT)

thx
pops

According to the description, it's really just an 85w bulb. Considering bidding would start at $35 and that isn't likely to put out more than 5k lumens, I would say it's a waste of money. You could get 15 or so 26w cfls for that price which would be somewhere between 15k-20k lumens and it would be coming from 15 different sources meaning a wider angle of coverage.

they last uptp 2000 plus.
but i would only use flos for vegg.
if you are wanting to do vegg and 12/12 with flos.
you really need 5 t5's flos for that and that is more expensive than a hps what i miles better.
i would get 2 cheap flos from the diy store for the 1st 3 to 4 weeks of vegg.
and in that time save up for a 250 or 400 hps, what will be ok for vegg and 12/12, but flos are best for seedlings.

then if you have flos and hps, you can be vegging while your flowering.
then its not as long inbertween grows, also you can do clones with flos and start them off before you use the hps.
tell you the truth its better to have a vegg and 12/12 room at the same time, its a long time between grows and it makes it quicker and you get more harvests.
like i say if your growing your growing.

When comparing CFL to T5 the only difference is that T5's are a bit more light efficient. It is the same technology...it is just that the cfl is coiled vs being straight. In other words 20K lumens of T5 is the same light output as 20K lumens of CFL. CFL will use a bit more wattage. They are both mercury vapor lamps with phosphorous coating.

ok i hope this isn't a dumb question but i haven't done a lot of indoor grows. i wanna use cfl's to add lighting to my aerogarden what kind of lights do i need i know nothimg about lighting. please help i am such a noob to indoor growing and don't have money for expensive lighting.

Tanuvan said:

When comparing CFL to T5 the only difference is that T5's are a bit more light efficient. It is the same technology...it is just that the cfl is coiled vs being straight. In other words 20K lumens of T5 is the same light output as 20K lumens of CFL. CFL will use a bit more wattage. They are both mercury vapor lamps with phosphorous coating.

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Which would be more cost effective/affordable overall?

Well, you can easily grab a 4 or 5 bulb vanity fixture from a home store and a replacement cord to wire it to a standard outlet, and pick up some y splitters and create an 8-10 bulb cfl light system for less than $30. (minus the bulbs). T5 fixtures are pretty expensive.

upi can get those bulbs at menards for 16.00. I am using four or five of them right now, plus a 200w and 5 or 6 42w. I like the 85w. Not too mongo, but large enough to be effective when used near a plant.
I see tanuvan is posting on here, so I expect him to say 100 13watt bulbs would be better if you can get it in a laser sighted super optically alligned bio-globe 3 dimensional geometric hexagonal pattern around your plant.

40acres said:

upi can get those bulbs at menards for 16.00. I am using four or five of them right now, plus a 200w and 5 or 6 42w. I like the 85w. Not too mongo, but large enough to be effective when used near a plant.
I see tanuvan is posting on here, so I expect him to say 100 13watt bulbs would be better if you can get it in a laser sighted super optically alligned bio-globe 3 dimensional geometric hexagonal pattern around your plant.

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ROFL I like the 26 or 42 watts. Easier to spread around. And I am all about the ScroG with CFL.

i made my own light fixture following the method in the book Buds For Less and am using 9 42 watt bulbs for now. total cost for grow so far: 1X6 board, hardware, 9 42watt lights at $9.50ea, moisture meeter, ph meeter, soil, perlite, 3 gal pots, timer.....$150
the light fixture is very adjustable and inexpensive. i've only grown once before and it was outdoor. this book made it easy for me to get to where i am at now. it's like a daily diary of a grow with explanations, instructions and ideas, and daily pics.
anyway, don't go buy a light fixture if you're on a budget. building one was easy and quick. and adjustable.
Bullfrog

The light fixture was all of $15. The Y's were like what maybe $1 and some change. Replacement Cord was perhaps $7.

It's not like it was terribly expensive. Also, for growing like GK does...yes you would need something flexible.

If you grow with an LST or ScroG method, you don't need that kind of flexibility because you are only lighting the top of the plant. That is why makes ScroG so efficient. But of course, whatever works for ya!

I bought a 10 pack of 13w CFL and they have a 10,000 hour life and the 42w CFL has a 12,000 or 13,000 hour life and I am using 8 lights in all and my girls Doubled in size in 1 month

thanx for the info on cfl's that really helps out alot.

I have a ceiling of tightly spaced T-8s tubes, over two rows of plants. I made a board with screw base fixtures every 14 inches. I lay the board on top of my pots so that a large CFL is surrounded by 4 plants. Then each plant receives top light and side light. It works well.