slim83
Well-Known Member
just ran across this site and thought i would share it the fixtures look like they would be pretty easy design for diy build
http://cfl-growlight.com/store/
http://cfl-growlight.com/store/
kinda pricey but looks like a good design
- Thread starter slim83
- Start date
Slim93: Thanks for the heads up but before we say yay or nay I'd like to hear from people who have has those lights as to how well they work. It would also be good to know their dimensions, how many watts of current they draw, etc. There are a lot of ways to go nowadays and that looks pretty good.
I tried a couple of curly CFL's last year and they were okay but I still like my T-5s better. If you're looking for lighting I might suggest a 4' long rack fixture of four tubes of T-5's cost a little less than that at my local hydro stores and a fixture only 2' long is quite a bit cheaper. How big of a grow area do you want to illuminate?
Another thing to consider is that sometimes doing it your self is more trouble than it's worth unless you have access to some pretty sophisticated machinery and equipment. For a project like that made out of what looks like stainless steel reflective sheet metal it takes a sheet metal brake to get accurate bends on the reflector, and how much are you going to bend it? An adjustable aircraft instrument panel circle cutter for the insertion of the sockets would come in handy too. Otherwise a project like can really look home made like it was done by a bunch of redneck engineers.
The design does look reasonable compared to some others I've seen. I guess it just comes down to what's your time worth? HSA
I tried a couple of curly CFL's last year and they were okay but I still like my T-5s better. If you're looking for lighting I might suggest a 4' long rack fixture of four tubes of T-5's cost a little less than that at my local hydro stores and a fixture only 2' long is quite a bit cheaper. How big of a grow area do you want to illuminate?
Another thing to consider is that sometimes doing it your self is more trouble than it's worth unless you have access to some pretty sophisticated machinery and equipment. For a project like that made out of what looks like stainless steel reflective sheet metal it takes a sheet metal brake to get accurate bends on the reflector, and how much are you going to bend it? An adjustable aircraft instrument panel circle cutter for the insertion of the sockets would come in handy too. Otherwise a project like can really look home made like it was done by a bunch of redneck engineers.
The design does look reasonable compared to some others I've seen. I guess it just comes down to what's your time worth? HSA
Stankx
Well-Known Member
I'll chime in on this. I use very very similar CFL's units from the same guy. I live in Portland Or. and I bought mine (5 sets 2 800w and 3 1000w units) from him a couple of years ago. I think he mostly sells the 1400w units now. Yup, just found him in the local craigslist here:: portland.craigslist.org/mlt/grd/2684498787.html
I upgraded mine with more powerful bulbs and a few extra bulbs with another socket splitter or two. No complaints, yea not the most expensively built, but they work well and cover pretty good. I use them in veg and flower. They are IMO better than T-5's, because I can tweak the color spectrum over certain plants. Like Indica's I throw extra red light on them to get them to stretch out a bit and on saliva's I use 100% blue light for closer nodes. It seems to work pretty good but I still consider myself a noob. I'd say these are great lights for the grower on a budget.
I upgraded mine with more powerful bulbs and a few extra bulbs with another socket splitter or two. No complaints, yea not the most expensively built, but they work well and cover pretty good. I use them in veg and flower. They are IMO better than T-5's, because I can tweak the color spectrum over certain plants. Like Indica's I throw extra red light on them to get them to stretch out a bit and on saliva's I use 100% blue light for closer nodes. It seems to work pretty good but I still consider myself a noob. I'd say these are great lights for the grower on a budget.
Stankx
Well-Known Member
Watt Equivalent: 1400w
Actual Watts Being Used: 322w
Actual Amps Being Used: .8A
Uses 120V Power Supply: Uses the regular household sockets!
USEABLE Lumen: 22,400 (1000w HPS = 19,500 USEABLE Lumen)
Size of Unit: 3'x20"
Mixed-Spectrum Unit = 7 2700k (red) bulbs + 7 6500k (blue) bulbs + 2 spare bulbs; 16 bulbs total.
Copied it off http://cfl-growlight.com/store/1400-watt-cfl-grow-unit-p-6.html?zenid=56c7d5c9f919d2a0a7531229a4f78e27