New Wave or CFL!?

So I'm trying to plan my build and would like a well built cabinet. I've decided it's too much work and too suspicious for me to craft one myself so I went onto Ikea. I found this cab with a width of 24". Only problem is its 3 inches too short inside to fit the new wave 24" fluorescent lights.

So now I'm wondering how CFLs stack up to tube T5 fluorescents. I've heard success stories from both. Would I be losing or gaining anything if the wattages were all the same? Thanks.

I would suggest the t-5 overs CFL but that is just my personal opinion. I'm sure people are going to argue for both sides though. I currently use Cfl's to veg a couple seedlings in my veg box. I don't have very fast growth that I am seeing people get with these t-5's. I would suggest building H.I.D. over anything, they are the best if you can cool it. good luck

Unfortunantly I cannot cool that. This MUST be a stealth operation, and I'm sorry but HID is just impractical for a stealth box.

More research shows I can get the mogul base CFL fixture with the wing reflector on top and throw a 200W CFL in it. They also sell a 125W 2700k bulb. This would produce twice as much watts and best of all it would fit!

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-journals/123878-ppp-kilobitssecondgrow.html

There's a link to grow with CFL's, not the high wattage ones like yours. I think the highest he uses is 85 watt. I would suggest getting a couple 26 or 42 watt CFL's for the sides of your plant so it can grow nice and bushy

It's not HID that causes heat, it's wattage that is heat, and T5s are a lot shorter than you might think. The "4ft" are actually something like 40".

I would recommend t5's over cfls. Also you should get 6500k.

UserFriendly said:

It's not HID that causes heat, it's wattage that is heat, and T5s are a lot shorter than you might think. The "4ft" are actually something like 40".

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CFLs are good for stealth cause there easier 2 move around up down across the grow box as compared 2 da big t5s

I dunno bout that.. the T5 fixtures mount flat on the wall or ceiling of a cab with just a couple of screws whereas you need individual sockets installed for each of the CFLs or an additional powerstrip to mount and plug them into. T5s are much lower profile in this regard.

Each cfl dosent need its own socket u can simply use Y splitters 2 increase the # of lights u have I've seen up to 4 cfls on one socket plus they don't require a ballast &| are way cheaper

I would recommend hps

zagg01 said:

I would recommend hps

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X2

A friend of mine uses an armoire from IKEA and he has a 400w hps in it, lined it with mylar and put weather stripping on the door to take care of light leaks. Its pretty stealthy besides the smell

psg1 said:

I dunno bout that.. the T5 fixtures mount flat on the wall or ceiling of a cab with just a couple of screws whereas you need individual sockets installed for each of the CFLs or an additional powerstrip to mount and plug them into. T5s are much lower profile in this regard.

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The t5 would be sitting at an angle due to the inside only being 22.5" and the light being 23.3". Small technicality but that is why I started the thread.

So I've made an actual 100% to scale diagram of how the T5 would look in a case that it's too big for. It would HAVE to sit at this angle just to fit. I think I'll go with CFLs. Cheaper too. Thanks for everyones input!

zagg01 said:

I would recommend hps

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150 watt HPS.

nczeroballer187 said:

150 watt HPS.

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Are you guys tellin me that a 150 Watt HPS gives off the same amount of heat as 150 Watts of CFL light. I feel like I should start a new thread for that question.

Never mind I found my answer. Lumens determines how much heat is produced.

Can you put the bulbs on an ANGLE?

The CFls yes. But the T5 would be defeating the purpose as upwards of 40% of the light would be too far away to be effective, and maybe 10% be too close.

go with the 150 hps if you can cool it. if not then go with 4 or 5 sockets with y-splitters and 26-watt 5600k cfl's. its just all about your budget

sittinherebored said:

go with the 150 hps if you can cool it. if not then go with 4 or 5 sockets with y-splitters and 26-watt 5600k cfl's. its just all about your budget

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I think I've struck gold. If this is true that is... I read on another thread on here that the ballast contributes just as much the bulb when dealing with heat. Is this true?? Anyway I found a 150W HPS that has a ballast that is separate that I could place outside the cab.

Would this cause a heat issue in a 3' tall x2'x1' cab. Is 3' too short to even do a HPS anyway?

I know replies will be just ventilate it but I'm afraid a simple charcoal filter wont stop the smell from coming out. Keep in mind I also have an ionizer.

Thanks for all the comments again.

mobone said:

I think I've struck gold. If this is true that is... I read on another thread on here that the ballast contributes just as much the bulb when dealing with heat. So I found a 150W HPS that has a ballast that is separate that I could place outside the cab.

Would this cause a heat issue in a 3' tall cab. Is 3' too short to even do a HPS anyway?

I know replies will be just ventilate it but I'm afraid a simple charcoal filter wont stop the smell from coming out. Keep in mind I also have an ionizer.

Thanks for all the comments again.

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better cool it good if your puttin hps in it. i didnt know it was 3ft tall or i woulda just said cfls. it can be done but if your box is reflective then i would just put a bunch of cfl's in there