are cfls worth it?

estesj

Well-Known Member

• Feb 24, 2009

• #1

I was thinking of trying some cfls out for the hell of it. I want to get 6 200 watt lights for 4 plants start to finish. could i yeild a couple of oz a plant with those and my ff soil and nutes? or an oz a plant on some lowryders? also where do you get fixtures for those things?

 

subzerox

Active Member

• Feb 24, 2009

• #2

cfls worth it fer veg for shore man. when u go into flowering u might want somthing like an hps light for bigger yield i run both fer both stages

 

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TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member

• Feb 24, 2009

• #3

You may want to see my sig.... I don't think very highly of solely using HPS.

Most 200w I've seen are full spectrum, is that your plan? Sounds interesting.

If they're self-ballasted & mogul sockets: You can get Mogul sockets at the hardware store, or you can get Mogul to Medium(standard light socket) converters for them. Check the bulbs, make sure they have compatible voltage for your house and you can just screw them in.

 

bnoc450

Well-Known Member

• Feb 24, 2009

• #4

cfls are really worth it if u cannot use a hps. They work great despite what anyone says

 

Kingb420

Well-Known Member

• Feb 24, 2009

• #5

i have done both 156w of cfls (6-23w) got 1 0z per, and now a cooler option surprisingly 150w hps and its close to the same, for the money, they are worth it. i use 4-6 6500k's still for veg, work great

 

estesj

Well-Known Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #6

Thaks yal. I was talking about thhe 5000k spectrum 200 watt bulbs off 1000bulbs .com. Now that ive been doing more reading it seems I need T5 lights. Im not real sure what to get

 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #7

They're nearly as efficient as T5's. Probably more versatile. Built-in ballasts....

 

urbanfunk

Well-Known Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #8

No where near as efficient mate. By a long long way. T5 if you can get one. Check my thread for more info.

 

U

UserFriendly

New Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #9

1,200 watts of CFL is not the way to go man. Just get you a 1kW switchable, and grow a lot of weed. Besides the fact that the 1k would put out less heat (lower energy bills too), it'd be easier to cool with one hood and an inline fan. With all those CFLs you'd need a big-ass A/C cuz you ain't going to cooltube 6 big ass lamps. It's just not economical.

 

homegrwn

Well-Known Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #10

im not sure he understands there is no 200 watt cfl 165 is the equivalent of 400 incadescant... HPS is always always going to be easier if you have the room and it doesnt have to be micro stealth. For sure you can grow in the vegitative state with 7500k daylight cfl. Not being experience in using 5000k I would say that they are Full Spectrum and will give off less useable red orange yellow and more of a spread blue red orange. 4 26 watt daylight CFL 1 box fan and later added 2 t12 daylight. 4 ft plant oz ish dried. I used 2700k 23 watts for flowering. Read more on this site it will tell you all you need to know... I suggest reading the 5 posts at the very very very very top of the page... google and some shit ya heard.

GodgrowthSpeed

 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #11

I've seen 250 watt CFLS... they're about 18-24" long and 8-10" in diameter.

 

U

UserFriendly

New Member

• Feb 25, 2009

• #12

Dude, there are 300 watt CFLs too. They don't have an internal ballast, but they are readily available.

wormsway.com/detail.asp?sku=VCFB130

 

homegrwn

Well-Known Member

• Feb 26, 2009

• #13

I stand corrected Twice HEHE.. thats a one hell of a CFL!

 

U

UserFriendly

New Member

• Feb 26, 2009

• #14

homegrwn said:

I stand corrected Twice HEHE.. thats a one hell of a CFL!

Click to expand...

Yeah, but it's still a CFL.

 

M

MedicalUser09

Active Member

• Feb 26, 2009

• #15

This is a very, very subjective question.

If you have a small grow space, small budget, and only a few plants, then CFLs are by far the most economical. They don't get hot (easy to eliminate heat from grow space), they are relatively cheap (for the amount of light you need), and they are very versatile (can be placed in some of the most odd positions and as close to the plant you want).

Comparing CFLs to MH/HPS lights isn't really a fair argument. Bottom line, if you are just growing for personal use and need a compact but useable light source, CFLs are for you, the end. If you have 100 plants and multiple grow rooms and you're in a situation where you can freely and legally grow marijuana, then sure, you'd be better off investing in the more expensive lighting. It's not that hard, really.

 

estesj

Well-Known Member

• Feb 26, 2009

• #16

what is a 1kw swithable? can you send me a link where I can get one?

 

TeaTreeOil

Well-Known Member

• Feb 26, 2009

• #17

Yea... comparing HID to CFL isn't fair. CFL stomps them.

It's even in the grow FAQs. lol

 

U

UserFriendly

New Member

• Feb 27, 2009

• #18

estesj said:

what is a 1kw swithable? can you send me a link where I can get one?

Click to expand...

It's a 1,000 watt ballast that can run a high pressure sodium or a metal halide.

 

Roseman

Elite Rolling Society

• Feb 27, 2009

• #19

CFLs are worth it to me!

 

homegrwn

Well-Known Member

• Feb 27, 2009

• #20

all you that think you know whats up with cfl.....

The doctor just posted his findings and your gonna live god damit your gonna live!!!

much love to roseman.. no fancy words no off the hook charts real world experience real world results and real world get ya head banged up highs!

+rep