DIY CFL Fixture

crazy7605150

Well-Known Member
i know i already posted this thread but in the wrong spot so now im putting it in the DIY part.....

WEll i got stoned one day and kinda got an idea so i wrote it down( man that good shit makes u forget who you are!bongsmilie) i went to the store and picked up a few parts and just smoked a joint and let the creativity come out... i made 3 sections all wired together but u can make a single one which is what im explaining..

PARTS
- PVC pipe 2inch diameter, 1 ft long ----$0.50-$1
-3 light sockets (i used ones with rubber on the outside so it fit snugly) -$7-8
-3 ft of 2 different wire (i used yellow and white. 3 ft each..14 gauge) $2-3
-2 caps for PVC ends $2-3
-power supply cord $7- 10 ( or old computer cord.. thrift shop??)
-aluminum foil tape or something similar (optional) $5

cheap side about $20 or about 30 bucks for a lil nicer


1. first start out with your pvc pipe.. cut 3 holes on top ( my sockets where 1.5 inch so my holes where 1.5 each) pics 2 & 3

2. make a hole large enough for your power cord to go through where you want the cord to come out.. i chose on top

3. next put the 2 end lights in and put the wiring up through the center hole pics 3 & 4

4. take your wiring and cut off 4 pieces (2 of each color) about 2 inch each and strip of the ends. solder the 2 inch sections onto the ends of the 2 socket wires. ( my soldering gun broke so for now im twisting the wires and using electical tape NOT SAFE DONT DO!! ) PIC 6

5. now for your 3rd (middle) light socket.. take the wires you soldered onto your first(left) socket and solder those to second(middle) socket. then take the wires you soldered onto the third (right) and solder those to the same wires u just soldered.. pic 7 & 9

6. take your power cord and put it through the hole u made in step 2 and solder on a 2 inch section to both the positive and negative wires..( leave the ground thats not ganna be used) now take those wires and solder them onto where light socket 1 meets with socket 2. (this is where is a lil diff then the one im making.. im puting 3 of these pvc pipes together.. i have the 14 guage wire coming out instead of the power cord so i can hook it up to the next one... you should have a power cord instead tho) pic 7

7. use twist caps for your wires.. i just used tape for now (im not ganna use my light) until i get a new soldering iron.. shove all your wires into the middle hole and put ur socket in the hole now.. pics 10 & 11

8. put the caps on the ends of your PVC and plug it in ... but if you want you can put the foil tape along the whole thing to help with reflectivity. if you want a way to hang your lights all you have to do is go get a few screw things with loops on them and some clips (pic 13) scew the loops into the pvc one on each end and screw 2 loops onto the top part of your grow room. then hook the clips on them and use chain to raise and lower your lights...

like i said when i made mine i have 3 of them linked up to each other.. very easy if u need help tho let me know..

there are a few other modifications you can do if you can think of anything better or anthing to add on plz let me know ..



 

LolipopCrop

Well-Known Member
Nice work! VERY PRO LOOKING!
If people want something a little easier, u can get a bunch of these.


Screw the cfl into there and plug it into a cheap power strip ike this one
.

done deal. $8 for each total. or u can get the y splitters and run up to 6 cfl's.

I like yours too, these may just be better for lazy people like me
 

crazy7605150

Well-Known Member
thnx for the positive feed back... yeah i went that way b4 but then decided i wanted somthing more permanent .... also thinking that you would stand the pvc pipe up vertical rather then horizontal. could make one that is say 5 ft tall with the bottom foot or so being no lights (next to the pot) and place maybe 4 or so around the plant like poles or so... on a set up like that you could 9-12 lights on each one if u put 4 around a plant then that would be 36-48 lights... or just somthing like that .. just some ideas that pop in my stoned head
 

LolipopCrop

Well-Known Member
thnx for the positive feed back... yeah i went that way b4 but then decided i wanted somthing more permanent .... also thinking that you would stand the pvc pipe up vertical rather then horizontal. could make one that is say 5 ft tall with the bottom foot or so being no lights (next to the pot) and place maybe 4 or so around the plant like poles or so... on a set up like that you could 9-12 lights on each one if u put 4 around a plant then that would be 36-48 lights... or just somthing like that .. just some ideas that pop in my stoned head
i like that idea.
 

AllThatIsChris

Active Member
i really like its clean look when finished. i was at lowes yesterday trying to figure out how to make my own lamps, i just ended up buying some brooder lamps and taking off the reflector and throwing in some of those y splitters. i took off the reflector cause it wouldn't fit two cfls. works pretty nice and clamps to about anything.
 

spida

Well-Known Member
I found some great deals at lowes, but boy are those people stupid. I asked where Y-Splitters were for light sockets, and they were like what they hell are you talking about? I couldn't find anything so I hope the ballasts I got are okay. But we'll see. I like this DIY fixture. I was going to do it, but I couldn't find any of the right shit at Lowes today. :(
 

crazy7605150

Well-Known Member
thnx for the complements an all... i got it all from home depot... just go to the lighting section i think next to isle with the light bulbs and it should all be there.... im looking into getting reflectors but dont know if i want one on each bulb or one for every pvc pipe...
 

spida

Well-Known Member
I'd say do a batwing reflector for each pvc pipe. Would work perfectly. (in my head at least it does) Haha.
 

h8popo

Well-Known Member
nice man.. i was thinking of something along those lines at first, then went with what i have due to space.

Here is the first one that i made... I use it for my two moms. so far, they seem to love it.




And this is the one i made for my clones.

and the whole package
 

crazy7605150

Well-Known Member
what is that made out of... i see the rubber sockets like i have and the spitters but what is that reflector made out of... is that maylar on there ... looks pretty reflective
 

crazy7605150

Well-Known Member
i wish you can buy small amounts of mylar... like say 5ft long *4 ft wide.... my hydro shop only has 25ft*5ft or 50ft*5ft... to much to spend on that stuff.. i have to use those cheap emergency blanket for walls and other things i use foil tape.. i know no one likes foil .. neither do i but the tape is not bad at all ... i like it if u keep it from getting wrinkled....
 

h8popo

Well-Known Member
damn.. i got 25' for 17 bucks. find some mylar xmas wrap if your lookin for small amounts. alot of people find it dirt cheap.
 
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