I'm a little crazy, don't laugh..

Hi everyone.. I've been trolling these forums for a week or two, and figured I'd finally post..

I'm not growing, or I would test just for fun(maybe some day?).. but I was wondering if anyone has ever tried using cheap LED strips from ebay to make a Veg light? I know it wouldn't be anything special- but crafting stuff is just a way to keep my mind occupied.

Here's the silly idea i had. Lightweight aluminum screen here, rolled into a 4" tube and held together with screws and nuts. The plan was to wrap the entire cylinder in white LED strips, then maybe a full spectrum on the bottom pointing down, with a pc fan in the middle blowing air from bottom to top. I could also use the housing with reflector from an old fog light on the bottom and retrofit a bulb in it.

I'm not looking to take over the world, just wanting some opinions on whether my idea is feasible; and maybe some of your ideas to improve the project if I fo through with it. If I really want to grow, I'll end up buying lights or building a COB of my own.. this is more just a way to kill time, but if it works...

Pic so you can get a better idea of what I'm describing. It's about 21.5"x4". Testing the components with the 12v converterfromr the Nintendo Wii.. rofl

You can get not so cheap strips that have decent efficiency but i believe they still need to be mounted to a sink. Unless your talking about the strings of led lights no heat sink required, those pretty much suck for growing. The strips need to be mounted flat so round is not going to work very well. Would help if you posted a link to what LEDs your planing on using.

JavaCo said:

You can get not so cheap strips that have decent efficiency but i believe they still need to be mounted to a sink. Unless your talking about the strings of led lights no heat sink required, those pretty much suck for growing. The strips need to be mounted flat so round is not going to work very well. Would help if you posted a link to what LEDs your planing on using.

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It would just be like the random roll of flexible strips is what I was considering for the "fixture" being round. Figured being stuck to the aluminum frame would act as a ghetto heat sink with the pc fan inside... Medicated mad scientist thinking ofc.
I know the flexi strips are not ideal for growing, but say I had a decent COB in the tube like a big can light- would the light emitted from the cheap flexi's help AT ALL?

Something along these lines..

Search bucket grow in this forum only.....few been done...over in Micro too...

I would go with some moderan incarnations of the strip light using 561 diodes imho....not sure if there is a flexy version though. Just as cheap as the ebay option....

Abiqua said:

Search bucket grow in this forum only.....few been done...over in Micro too...

I would go with some moderan incarnations of the strip light using 561 diodes imho....not sure if there is a flexy version though. Just as cheap as the ebay option....

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Appreciate the feedback.. nice having smart & crafty folks to bounce ideas off of.
I'll definitely want to dig around in micro some more.. the stuff I've seen in there so far is pretty damn cool!

Edit: I guess in essence you guys are both correct.. if I had to use non flexible strips I could still mount them vertically- like an octagon around the metal tube.

A cob on the end seems rather silly imo. But I have thought of doing something similar with the strips... curl the aluminum to a c shape and line the inner curve with them. Would be able to bend the c shape to be more open or close depending on need then surround a plant on all sides with vertical lights and from the ceiling

pockitsPM said:

A cob on the end seems rather silly imo. But I have thought of doing something similar with the strips... curl the aluminum to a c shape and line the inner curve with them. Would be able to bend the c shape to be more open or close depending on need then surround a plant on all sides with vertical lights and from the ceiling

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The COB on the end was just a quick idea of how I would get light directed downward instead of wrapping the bottom in strips too.. Since the tube would hang vertically, the strips would shine more to the sides (in theory) so I would put something like a COB with a reflector aiming directly at the plant

The flexi strips i think your talking about require no heat sink. I really doubt they would help a cob much where you have them. Run a cob then put the strips in your corners they might help a bit there in a micro grow. Other then that they wouldnt be worth the time in a grow room or tent of a decent size.