Rotating pot? Great idea! (I think)

I'm growing a couple of ladies under 18x26w 2700k CFL's and was having trouble getting the lights as close as I wanted because of the uneven growth. I started tying new growth down about a week into flowering (day 28 now) so I have lots of lower growth with a little in the middle and a lot on top, which makes it difficult to keep the lights within a couple of inches away from the buds.

It's not really practical to try to automatically rotate or move CFL's (at least the way I'm using them), so I thought I'd see if I could come up with something to turn the plant for me. Using an old pizza pan, some scrap lumber, a few nuts and bolts, an old power screwdriver, and about 30 minutes in the garage, here's what I came up with...


[video=youtube;LZ2qMR5GvWo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ2qMR5GvWo[/video]


I moved several of the lights to one side, so now everthing is within a couple of inches away from a bulb 11 times per minute.

So am I completely crazy here? If you can't move the lights, why can't you move the pot? Should I see even bud growth now? Is she getting dizzy?

-jc

I like it. Maybe if you could figure out how to make it spin slower...lol...but I don't see why it wouldn't work the same as a light mover

I think this will work for you in your space situation. How many weeks are they? Is there any reflective material to ensure they are receiving the as much light as possible? Peace

ya then u wouldnt have to surround them with lights.....just one solid wall

how many watts does it use? put it on a timer and save some electricity.

I've seen a couple of these and there is a company that sells them so unfortunately you won't be patenting the idea but it is an efficient way to disperse your light and cheap for you to build.

Metasynth said:

I like it. Maybe if you could figure out how to make it spin slower...lol...but I don't see why it wouldn't work the same as a light mover

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I tried! I couldn't find a power adapter that had less than 3.7v DC output and didn't want to waste a 1.5v D cell battery per day. It's *only* turning 11 times per minute... for 12 hours a day. HaHa!

donni101 said:

I think this will work for you in your space situation. How many weeks are they? Is there any reflective material to ensure they are receiving the as much light as possible? Peace

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They've been flowering for 4 weeks today. I do have mylar on 3 sides of my other plant, but figured I didn't need it for this one since virtually every inch of the plant is passing within 2 inches of at least one 26w CFL (usually 3 or 4) several times per minute. It will be interesting to see what happens.

kizzzzurt said:

Just here to say that's bad ass.

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Thanks!

Mort Fink said:

how many watts does it use? put it on a timer and save some electricity.

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I'm not sure of the wattage, but it's powered by a 3.7v 500ma cell phone charger. I guess it's probably pulling a bit more than a cell phone charging, but I doubt it's too bad. It's on the same timer as the lights, so it does stay off for 12 hours per day.


I'd still love to know thoughts on any potential effects that spinning at 11RPM might have on roots, soil, etc.. I'm also wondering if my theory about the lights passing the plant is correct. Is that the same or better than having more stationary light? If so, I wonder if one could accomplish the same thing with 3 or 4 stratically placed CFL's around a rotating LST plant? Hmm...

Seriously... Great minds think alike.... I have had this Idea lodged in my brain for the past 8 years..... I'm surprised something of the sort has not come up by now..... I'm just lazy... Not one to try and get rich and patenting things.... Seems like me trying to win the lottery or something...... But, yes..... Awesome to see you build something sorta like what I imagined...lol

And, yea.... I'm sure many growers have thought of this, so I doubt it's just me and you..... I actually told my buddy about this a while back, and he snaps his fingers, and says he was thinking of the same thing..... and he's not all there, if you ask me.....lol...... Guess it's just ppl like us that grew up with basically nothing, and try to think of stuff that would make life easier rather than just saying...... "Well, I'm gonna get 2 1000w.... CO2.... CONTROLLERS" So they dont stop and think of this stuff..... Well, I have come a long way since my CFL growing days, and my 3 gram first first grow, back when I didnt even use any nutrients, but water and dirt....lol... Didnt have internet, so it was hard to learn... not as easy as it is these days, where someone can pretty much have a successful first grow just by coming online and doing a little research, and listening to free advise....... yeah, That 3 gram grow was just with 1 single 23 watt i think, and would turn the light on when I got up, and turn it off when I went to bed..(I didnt even know it needed 12/12.... Just couldnt sleep with the light on....lol)... So that was pretty much luck on making it flower, cuz at first I just thought the more light the better... To tell you the truth, at that time, I didnt even know the plant would grow buds... I just thought you were supposed to make it grow as big as possible, and like dry it up whenever you wanted to....lol...(oh, btw.... I was like 13, and had never really seen how a plant would grow)....when it started growing bud, and getting stinky, I was surprised..... I just kept growing it till it stopped, and the leaves fell off..... I was sad, I thought it was sick, and that it stopped growing and died....... I dried it up by hanging it outside in the sun....lol, and I kept it in a plastic baggie for MONTHS, since I didnt even smoke at the time, but was just curious to see if i could grow it..... Seriously... Like a year later I busted it out when some of my new friends didnt believe that I had some..... And that's how it all began...... Hooked....lol... We got so baked, and we acted a fool, and the whole day was like a movie.... Skipped school walked the streets, and took all the back roads to my place, and just chilled in my backyard for like 5 hours, and finally came home around when everyone was out of school....

haha that is simply amazing! great thought put into realization!

You could always put in a barf bag safety kit!

J/K

I don't think it will harm the plants or stress em out, but Im just guessing of course. Your just gonna have to find out with your own trials and errors.

Thanks everyone!

Things seem to be working well and the plant is loving it. Here's a new video, after 48 hours on the spin-o-matic. She's been flowering for 31 days -- any guesses how much longer she'll take? This is my first grow, so I really don't know what to expect!

[video=youtube;S-IDDgnqM10]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-IDDgnqM10[/video]

haha man I like that. It would be cool if you could slow it down a bit.

thats awesome lol