Switching my socket CFL'S for LED grow Bulbs.

Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
So I have 2- 8 socket fixtures that I've made inside of homemade Rubbermaid tub hood that I'm currently using spiral CFLs in for veg lights on top of my go green LED. But I've been thinking that I'd probably be better off switching it to the blurple led bulbs you can buy on eBay for a dollar or two. Just search led grow bulb in ebay and sort search to lowest price first and the whole page is them. But would this probably be adequately more light and better for the sockets to use 8 & 8 in each hood rather than the mix of 2700 & 5000k cfls I'M using now? Input would be appreciated greatly. Thanks!!!




Pic1- where we stand today

Pic2- where we started at weeks ago, when we first got seeds sprouted and roots out the rockwool to transfer into buckets. This pic just shows the diy lights I made very well.
 

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jeroly

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Probably better off buying the regular sized 5000K Cree LED lightbulbs you can get at Home Depot... better spectrum (white not blurple) and better efficiency.
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
To buy 16 of those would cost me a fortune though man. I agree Completely though. But they're like $9-15 a piece!!
 
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jeroly

Well-Known Member
When I search on eBay, I see the cheapest under LED grow lights at $3.15 for a 6 Watt bulb, which is probably a true 3 Watts from the wall ($1.05/Watt). If the Cree bulbs at HD are $15 for $18 true Watts ($0.83/Watt), they're actually cheaper per Watt. That's not even counting PAR which will be higher per Watt from the more efficient Cree bulbs.

I would think that you could get the same effect from using 2-3 of the Cree bulbs as 16 of the blurples.
 
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jeroly

Well-Known Member
Are the gogreen lights insufficient to veg on their own? If so, what do you use for flowering?
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
It's more than enough. It's great. I only use half power (2 of the 4 cobs) for veg. I plan on switching them all on for flower, and either getting ALL 2700K CFL spirals or blurple or the cree LEDS to replace the smaller sized spirals mix of 5000 & 2700K bulbs I have running now.
 
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jeroly

Well-Known Member
Airwalker16 said:
It's more than enough. It's great. I only use half power (2 of the 4 cobs) for veg. I plan on switching them all on for flower, and either getting ALL 2700K CFL spirals or blurple or the cree LEDS to replace the smaller sized spirals mix of 5000 & 2700K bulbs I have running now.
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"I'm currentlyusing spiral CFLs in for veg lights on top of my go green LED."

If it's great, why do you need to supplement with the CFLs?

If you want to use the additional LEDs for flower, consider using 3000Ks or 3500Ks.
 
PicklesRus

PicklesRus

Well-Known Member
Hey dude, I ordered two of those cheap blurple led lights off eBay to try them out. One of them was so dim that I doubt it will grow anything really. The other one is a lot brighter, I just set it up yesterday to see how well it will do.

I have (high efficiency) blurple lights, and they don't really flower my plants. They work great for vegging though.

I would say that full spectrum (white) is the way to go

If you are looking for LED I made this it might help, there's not much on it now but I will hopefully have a lot more added to it in the near future:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10qxLrUdP11fsa3jtCv9ttLF68Cm91EsMVyc7qxsw6Lc/edit?usp=docslist_api
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Ya, Jeroly probably has the right idea. For me to get 8 Cree bulbs of Daylight 5000K and add them amongst the largest spiral CFLS of 5000K I can find and set up 4/4
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
Airwalker16 said:
To buy 16 of those would cost me a fortune though man. I agree Completely though. But they're like $9-15 a piece!!
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Check out the GE 10w (60w equiv) BrightStik. See these threads:


On the box, they don't appear to be very efficient. But, the design seems to create a much more efficient light than the omnidirectional Cree (which could be a more efficient diode, I'm sure).

I grow with Cree lightbulbs and like them. But, you're right, they're expensive. The GE brightstick is $3.50 at Home Depot. (See this article for ideas about how to mount them.).

The only caveat (besides what's mentioned in the two threads above), I haven't grown a plant with them. That's kind of an important omission. :) But, they seem really good for the money. I assume they will grow very well. But, I haven't tried it yet. I hope to grow a plant under them soon. And, @zachyweezer88 has started growing a plant with them.
 
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jeroly

Well-Known Member
I think that part of the deal with the Cree bulbs is to use them with the right sized reflector (8 1/2"???) to optimize the utilization...

In any event, best of luck with your grows!!!
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
jeroly said:
I was told for flower to use 3000K-4000K.

5000K for veg only
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For the Cree 9.5w A19, I veg with 3:1 or 4:1 (cool:warm, 5000k:2700k). Flower should be 1:1. (This is what captainmorgan and others, like franjan, used. I have a link to their thread here.

I also use some Cree 18w PAR38 floodlights in flower. They are 3000k. I sidelight with 2700 & 5000k. You can see them in use in my MiracleGro Tomato grow journal.
 
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az2000

Well-Known Member
jeroly said:
I think that part of the deal with the Cree bulbs is to use them with the right sized reflector (8 1/2"???) to optimize the utilization...

In any event, best of luck with your grows!!!
Click to expand...
I only use the Cree 9.5w (60w equiv) A19. It works well in the smaller 5-1/2" reflector. If I used the 18w (100w equiv) I would use the taller/wider reflector you mentioned. It's a taller bulb and doesn't fit/reflect well for the 5-1/2".

However, the GE 10w (60w equiv) BrightStik produces 23% more light in the same 5-1/2" reflector. And, it only costs $3.50 at Home Depot. That's like CFL price (and does 66% more light than a 15w CFL in a reflector).

But, the thing I really like is that you can get by without a reflector. The GE is already directional (to a large extent). New growers struggle just to get up to a basic environment. Dealing with the nuances of reflectors is more than they care about. They hang CFLs in mid-air. The GE (without a reflector) delivers almost 5x more light than a CFL (without a reflector).

The only downside is the added drama of removing the diffusion cap, and powering them through a GFI outlet to protect against shock hazard.
 
nevergoodenuf

nevergoodenuf

Well-Known Member
On the bulb, I removed the diffuser and slipped a piece of heat shrink over the electrodes. I think I used a piece of 1".
 
Airwalker16

Airwalker16

Well-Known Member
Are these the brite sticks you're talking about? You need to look at the pics I posted on the first post. I can't use reflectors. I have rubber maid tubs I've mounted 4 sockets into with each on a split y. So 8 total sockets. ALL the light shines down because the isode has been foil taped. They're actually really awesome. All the wiring is housed in a baking tin and even has its own off on switch I added. Haha but if I buy these all I'd have to do would be to screw it in to the sockets and I'm off!
 

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