CFL vs HPS the war continues pros N cons

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
Hi I am boricuaboi and I would just like to welcome the newbie’s to experienced ones to this interesting thread!!


For my newbie’s I would like to say don’t let ppl discourage you and tell you what to buy going for those expensive things like Hydro systems and such is not always worth losing your crop instead you can go cheap and build up to a experienced level of growing.

For my experienced one who say bad things about growing styles such as cfls think about where u started at with seeds and probably dirt did you know what you were getting yourself into! Hell no growing cannabis is a gamble from day one and we need to not discourage our newbie’s but help them out in a nice way!


Let’s just do a basic rundown


Cfls pros

- Affordable
- No ballast
- Easy to maintain
- Energy savers can anyone say ching cha ching!!!
________________________________

Cfls cons

- Lumen ration less than a hps
- Hot but not as hot as an hps lamps
- If positioned wrong you won’t hit the sides to produce enough buds
- gets bulky if with a lot of reflectors!
- HOT HOT if the summer time comes and you dont have a/c , its about 80 degrees outside and your plants are in the closet yep burnt leaves to dead plant which means waste of cash!! this can happen with hps too
__________________________________

Hps pros

- Lots of lumens way more than cfls
- Buds galore
- Higher light penetration so this means less positioning rather than those bulky cfl reflectors
- Bigger buds rather than popcorn buds
What else can u say about an hps lamp on a positive note?
____________________________________

Hps cons

- Big investment
- Experience is needed with these types of bulbs you have to know how to cool exhaust and vent properly
- Higher energy bill for sure
- HOT HOT if the summer time comes and you dont have a/c , its about 75 degrees outside and your plants are in the closet yep burnt leaves to dead plant which means waste of cash!! this can happen with cfls too
- Bulky ballast n reflectors
- More likely to cause a fire if not handed correctly!
______________________________________

More cons to becoming a successful HPS grower!

I am for both Hps and Cfls, if you are a big drug lord that’s get your money from your cannabis crops then yes go with the Hps you will have lots luck with that type of lamp! If u are a Adult still living with your parents in the basement or in a room with a closet with no cash cause your in college or you just cant afford it Cfls or a lower wattage Hps will be your best bet. People always talking about 250 400 600 and 1000 watts what happened to the little guys you can grow efficiently with a 150 watt or even a 70 watt hps bulb! If your parents start yelling about their energy bill lol that’s on your behalf but you can also position cfls to grow top cannabis it has been done people just don’t want to tell you they want you to do what they doing What every happened to being a LEADER NOT A FOLLOWER I see HPS lets jump on it when u could be saving money! Now if you won’t to be greedy and grow ounces upon ounces of bud that you cant smoke in one month then why be greedy but its some personal smokers that are like that I know I am but I am going with the affordable way of growing!

Newbie’s its time for school get out your papers and pens time to get schooled!!!

Now if you have been downed for using cfls just stick your tongs out at those big hps
Bullies!!!

Now first you want to start with your area mines I have a clone box above which I soon will be getting a new setup and below is my flower box it is 2ft by 2.5 ft which about 4 sq ft.

If you were to purchase 2x 65k for 7 at Wally world for the seedlings

And the purchase 3x 2 26w at 27k for about 15 bucks and a vanity fixture and y connectors for 2 bucks each you would almost be at 30 bucks by now

If you were to purchase a 150 watt security light for 40bucks and the necessary tools to house the wires and do the wiring it would bring u at about 50 bucks now what would you choose but don’t for get the cons they get hotter than cfls and have way more lumens now your stuck in a hard spot!!!! UPDATE COMING SOON!!! - boricuaboi

New update!!!


6x26w 27k cfls put out 9000 lumens
1 150w hps puts out 16000 lumens

U really cant compare on lumens
 

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
I'm still running cfls even though I got a 400watt hps sitting in the closet. It's been over 100 every day now for god knows how long. I will be hps'ing it up come fall though. I might even buy a second one.

Cfl buds are really fluffy and light. I don't mind too much as I rather enjoy smoking the fluffy clean burning cfl buds, but I would rather have some weight come this fall.

wattage isn't an issue as I'm running 400 watts of cfl and probably getting 1/4 the lumen and 1/10 the light penetration.

heat is the only issue. That'll all be solved before next summer rolls around.

I'm harvesting about 35 grams average per plant cfl, but if I could turn my massive amount of popcorn buds into big boy buds I think I could damn near double that.

The next two go 'rounds I'm going swc sog to see if I can get a higher gram/watt ratio than dirt/cfl. Then I'm going to do 400watt hps swc sog to see how it compares.
 

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
I'm still running cfls even though I got a 400watt hps sitting in the closet. It's been over 100 every day now for god knows how long. I will be hps'ing it up come fall though. I might even buy a second one.

Cfl buds are really fluffy and light. I don't mind too much as I rather enjoy smoking the fluffy clean burning cfl buds, but I would rather have some weight come this fall.

wattage isn't an issue as I'm running 400 watts of cfl and probably getting 1/4 the lumen and 1/10 the light penetration.

heat is the only issue. That'll all be solved before next summer rolls around.

I'm harvesting about 35 grams average per plant cfl, but if I could turn my massive amount of popcorn buds into big boy buds I think I could damn near double that.

The next two go 'rounds I'm going swc sog to see if I can get a higher gram/watt ratio than dirt/cfl. Then I'm going to do 400watt hps swc sog to see how it compares.

yes that is true but ive seen those exact big boy buds from cfls
 

JohnnyPotSeed1969

Well-Known Member
well, you gave way more negative aspects to HPS than positive. the only way that CFL's beat HPS is in price. you cannot compare the outcome of the two.

so it sounds to me like this was more of a pro CFL post as opposed to a fair and balanced comparison, that's all i'm saying.
 

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
well, you gave way more negative aspects to HPS than positive. the only way that CFL's beat HPS is in price. you cannot compare the outcome of the two.

so it sounds to me like this was more of a pro CFL post as opposed to a fair and balanced comparison, that's all i'm saying.
I updated it and yes you can anyone can have a opinion about them Im for both if you didnt read.But i love them both but cfls have the newbie and cost wise advantage
 

Pseudonym

Well-Known Member
I updated it and yes you can anyone can have a opinion about them Im for both if you didnt read.But i love them both but cfls have the newbie and cost wise advantage
Well you can have your opinion, but let me know when you're able to produce a larger quantity and more quality bud with a comparable CFL system.
 

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
Well you can have your opinion, but let me know when you're able to produce a larger quantity and more quality bud with a comparable CFL system.
Bottm line a Cfl will never produce more than a hps lamp thats not the point of this thread this thread gives you the run down on pros and cons of a Cfl and a Hps
 

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
yes that is true but ive seen those exact big boy buds from cfls
Don't get me wrong, I can grow some fat colas with cfls. It's the buds lower down that are runts. That's why I'll be flowering clones after 1 week of veg this go round. I can get my spirals down close and get light from top to bottom. I'm hoping to utilize my space and light rack effectively this way
 

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
Don't get me wrong, I can grow some fat colas with cfls. It's the buds lower down that are runts. That's why I'll be flowering clones after 1 week of veg this go round. I can get my spirals down close and get light from top to bottom. I'm hoping to utilize my space and light rack effectively this way
yes i saw your dwc i admire your clf/dwc grow i tried to add you to my network but yea thats what i was saying about the right positioning if you have the right skills u can get fat colas and save money but every thing has a pro and con lol
 

Pseudonym

Well-Known Member
Bottm line a Cfl will never produce more than a hps lamp thats not the point of this thread this thread gives you the run down on pros and cons of a Cfl and a Hps
Oh alright. That's my bad then. I got the impression (especially from the first post) that your intent was to try to persuade people that CFLs will produce better plants than HPS.
 

boricuaboi

Well-Known Member
Oh alright. That's my bad then. I got the impression (especially from the first post) that your intent was to try to persuade people that CFLs will produce better plants than HPS.
Oh no im for both of them its a 2way street thats why i said pros and cons! lol but yes shit i want me a hps and im getting 1 soon its been hot as hell though outside
 

drock101

Well-Known Member
i COMPLETELY agree w/ the original thread and its intent. I am all for everyone going at it their own way and just simply sharing their ideas. Rather than everyone trying to prove that what they are doing is so much better. With more incouragement to the people trying new methods, we might end up with something better than the IMMORTAL HID'S and all of the engineering problems they create for small growers. Something i dont see talked about enough in the CFL vs xxx threads is that all the HID's require extra money, time, education and monitoring. I have a 250W HPS sitting in my closet that was given to me for FREE and im still using CFL's all the way through. It supplies myself PLENTY and its better than most anything i can buy on an average Americans salary.
Share, listen, and learn....... we'll all be much better off
Some of us just enjoy the challenge of something different
 

trapper

Well-Known Member
i COMPLETELY agree w/ the original thread and its intent. I am all for everyone going at it their own way and just simply sharing their ideas. Rather than everyone trying to prove that what they are doing is so much better. With more incouragement to the people trying new methods, we might end up with something better than the IMMORTAL HID'S and all of the engineering problems they create for small growers. Something i dont see talked about enough in the CFL vs xxx threads is that all the HID's require extra money, time, education and monitoring. I have a 250W HPS sitting in my closet that was given to me for FREE and im still using CFL's all the way through. It supplies myself PLENTY and its better than most anything i can buy on an average Americans salary.
Share, listen, and learn....... we'll all be much better off
Some of us just enjoy the challenge of something different
ive smoked enough weed in two weeks to buy a complete 2000 watt system complete with venting,mud,fans timers.it is relative to what you smoke,when working in the bush i would by a pound for personal,me and the boys would be out two weeks later.it would take a hell of alot of cfl to keep us in personal smoke.but for others it might be perfect.so it all depends on your needs and time.
 

sheppie

Active Member
Although cfl's are "energy savers" they are not as efficient as hps. a 150w hps should emit about 16,000 lumens. 150w of cfl's would not give you that much. The only advantages of using cfl's are they are cheaper to purchase, less heat, and you can easily hang them in between plants to illuminate the lower portions. Also from my experience, keeping them about an inch away from the tops keeps them short and stocky. An hps at 18" away would have them stretching a little more. If i had the cash in hand i would surely go with hps, for now the cfls are treating me ok.
 

Talisman

New Member
I have 1000 hps. Also I have two 54X8 cfl high output systems. I have tried both at the same time on the same strains and I have maybe 3 ounces less from a 20 plant/20 plant sog harvest from the two. Lets sum up. Electric bill larger, heat greater, startup cost higher with the hps. No burn, (mostly) with cfls. Not nearly the heat, no worries about handling the cfls, not the lumen change from new to old with the cfls, bulb replacements cheaper, and watts to yeild not even worth the trouble. Yes more light the better but Hps X 1000 covers only 5'x5' so in the end don't think you will get a crop like the pot heads on here show in a 15' x 15' area without 2 to 3 1000w hps lights. It is all bs bs bs.... And to this sites little pussies, all of you little girls should just go homo because you are a joke and I am glad you are stoned and not in the US Military. Pusssssssieeeeeesssss....:spew:
 
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