WIRING HELP.. CFLs

good idea

watch the ratings for those sockets.... sockets are usually 60w rated...

and nudge those cfls a lil closer... there is a pretty big difference in growth going from 4" away to 2"... from what i understand, the cfls dont have a a lot of light penetration...

keep with it... work in progress? my box is never done....

happy growing

JQP

yup. theres always work to be done. but wat do you mean about the rating of the socket?? i thought my lights are 26 but their actually 23s. so i now have two 23 watt 1600 lumen 2700k bulbs 2" away from my baby 12 hours a day . thanks for the support and good luck to you and your girls.

yea man, having those 3 there right now is good, but i definately suggest saving up or setting aside more money, cause CFLs suck ass in terms of intensity, i have like 12 30 watt 1800 lumen cfls half 2700k half 6500 and they are all inches within the plants, like 3 at most in crazy bud sites, and im in flowering, its good for what you have now but you are going to NEED to get more cfls if you want any decent bud/yields im almost done my grow my setup is in the sig but that was like a montha go ive moved it around, but i parallel aligned all my sockets along with a couple of extra corded outdoor soil lightsockets (amazing for tub grows) and definately pickup some Y adaptors they make every socket that much more special.

yeh. sounds like we share the same setup ideas just, i just started and have nothing compared to you. you have to make sure you get those warm white cfls tho eh... im sure ou already no this im just makin sure. all my lights are soft whites cuz its in the veg state. the next lights i buy will be warm white for flowering.

about the rating... if the first socket (the one that the rest are attached to) is rated at 60 watts, and you have 3 y adapters hooked up to it, with a total of 4 CFLs, rated at 23w each, then you are pulling 92 watts out of that first socket. which can spell fire. i would hate to see a crop go up for any reason, but especially that reason.

you gotta watch your wire ratings too... dont buy shitty 14g extension cords, i prefer 10g, (the lower the g number, the fatter the wire, therefore the wire is safer for conducting more current).

budgets suck, i understand this. 100 bucks at a hardware store will buy ya a plug, security light, and a nice extension cord. im not telling you to ditch the cfls, (hell i did 3 harvests start to finish with cfls), but they require so much attention... they will burn your plants if too close, but wont grow well if they are too far away...

jqp

oh yeeh .. i never even thought about that. thanks for that. if i burnt everything down i think id just have to cry

Wiring cfl's is a lot easier than you think unless i have done it complety wrong! But had no problem with the way i have wired them so far . If you still wanna know let me no. And i'll try explain the best i can!

hmmm123 said:

Wiring cfl's is a lot easier than you think unless i have done it complety wrong! But had no problem with the way i have wired them so far . If you still wanna know let me no. And i'll try explain the best i can!

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its not that the actual wiring is hard, its staying patient enough with rewiring over and over again if you dont set it up perfectly adjustable from the beginning, its simple electrical pos-neg currents on A/C cords, i did mine haggardly and by myself creating my own system of sockets and old cords from shit(seems dangerous but if you know what you're doing, not so), but there are much simpler ways (ac plug adaptor sockets etc)

yeh i would like to know. i have a box i want to set up with lights stickin in all around.

smokercraft0420 said:

yeh i would like to know. i have a box i want to set up with lights stickin in all around.

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I will post a guide how i wired mine in a bit for u, just got to go out first. Not sure how safe it is though, but i think mine should be fine cos i have everthing plugged into a surge protected extension. Like i said i havn't had any problems with the way i wired them yet though.

alright. thanks alot. i look forward to this guide.. i gotta work tho i wont see it till late tonight

but i will. so post it asap! i'm also looking at doing a cfl grow, so i just need to figure out what i should buy to build the setup. i'm learning quite a bit from this thread lol

What you need:
electrical tape.
normal electric wire (with live, neutral, postive, wires.)
3amp plug.
bulb holder.
and of course your cfl bulb!


Step one:
take your electirc wire and cut it to the right length then strip both ends with a pair of scissors, finally tape the yellow wire up, you wont be needing that one.


Step two:
wire your plug to one end of your electric wire. Remember where not using the yellow and green wire so don't wire that one up. First unscrew the plug taking it to bits, then all you have to do is wire the blue wire to the left, and the brown wire to the right. Then screw it all back together easy.


Step three:
Now wire the other end to your bulb holder. unscrew the bulb holder so it's in 2 pieces, then slide the plasic casing over your wire,

then wire the brown and blue wires to the holes on either side of the bulb holder (very simliar to what you did with the plug.) These wires can go either way round unlike in the plug though.


Now you should have a wire with a plug on one end and a bulb holder on the other like so:


Step four:
Now for the tricky bit take your grow cab/box and once you have decided where you want your bulbs you need to drill a hole though the side of your cab big enough for the bulb to fit though but not the the bulb holder.


Finally:
push the bulb though the hole you have just made and then screw the bulb into the bulb holder. (the bulb should be on the inside and the the holder on the outside.)


Then just plug it in and your ready to go!


Hope that helps. (sorry about the bad pic quality best i could do.)

123, that guide is perfect and i appreciate it. the one thing you need to fix is to get clearer pictures. get more light in there and they will be so much better.

but thanks alot

Yer i know just did it in a rush then for you. Will try and remember to take pics next time i need to wire one.

smokercraft0420 said:

123, that guide is perfect and i appreciate it. the one thing you need to fix is to get clearer pictures. get more light in there and they will be so much better.

but thanks alot

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you have to be carefull with electrical advice on this site. i'm an electrician and i have seen alot of stupid and dangerous electrical answers on here. a tiny mistake could cause a big problem later on down the road. alot of people dont know the little things like should i ground the box or the fixture itself. good luck with your grow

they sell 300 watters just like that

jordan, i know wat your sayin. im in the trades myself n no its risk. im lovin that picture too. im close to that beautiful tower

smokercraft0420 said:

jordan, i know wat your sayin. im in the trades myself n no its risk. im lovin that picture too. im close to that beautiful tower

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yea im not that far from it myself, about 30 minute drive, but i havent been up to the top since i was a kid.