Cfl Proximity To Foliage

BeastGrow

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
i think CFLs are good for running around 80-150watts for a single plant.

if you want more than 150w you might as well get HPS... nearly twice as efficient.


you say 430 watts for 30,000 lumens. ~70 lumens/watt

400w HPS is 50,000 to 54,000 lumens. 125+ lumens/watt
 
hiitsbob

hiitsbob

Well-Known Member
beast everyone agrees 100% hid is more efficient and yields better. but your thoughts without proof are just that and not right.
but your gonna tell me i am wasting my time running 500w of cfl in a 2x2x4 box and yielding 5-7 ounces per run.
i would have to run a cool tube to keep my grow cool well pretty hard to get cool tube, reflector, ducting in 2x2.
i couldn't use hid my grow space is not tall enough to keep at least a foot above plants.
would i love to have hid absolutely but is not possible for a lot of places that cfl's go.
blue widow grown under 375w cfl pulled 3 ounces.
10-20 021.jpgnov 18 017.jpgView attachment 2905465
7g pineapple express grown grown under 250wcfl
View attachment 2905466View attachment 2905467
first run ever liberty haze pulled 5.5 ounces under 500w cfl.
View attachment 2905468View attachment 2905469
like i said no one doubts your numbers but numbers are just that and don't work for everyone.
so before pushing hid so much stop and think not everyone can accommodate hid.
not only that a 150w hid would still need supplemental lighting to pull 5.5 ounces
that would be over 1g/w with a 150w hid.
but anyway just get sick of everyone pushing hid.
cfl's work just fine let people do what works for them.
yes in a perfect world we would all have 5x5x8 grow running 1000w hid.
so think before you spout crap. good luck with future grows
i know i will be happy with my crappy tiny fluffy cfls harvest in future.:bigjoint:
bob
 
H

harris hawk

Well-Known Member
One can grow very good crops with cfl's (400 watters) , 2 inches from top of plant and no more than 6 inches (6 inches better coverage if more than one plant)
 
MRJOKERFACE

MRJOKERFACE

Member
Cfls work great especially if you have enough lumens I didn't wanna run a shit loud of little lights all ghetto wired so I decided to go with fewer bigger better lumen lights I'm currently running 3 x200 watt/65actual4100k 2 x 200 watt/55actual 3800k 1x 300 ,watt/85actual 6500k 1x 800 watt/200actual 6500k its definitely doin the job!

Sent from my C5215 using Rollitup mobile app
 

Attachments

Stankx

Stankx

Well-Known Member
BeastGrow said:
i think CFLs are good for running around 80-150watts for a single plant.

if you want more than 150w you might as well get HPS... nearly twice as efficient.


you say 430 watts for 30,000 lumens. ~70 lumens/watt

400w HPS is 50,000 to 54,000 lumens. 125+ lumens/watt
Click to expand...
That sounds good on paper until you realize that the lumen numbers stated HPS systems and bulbs are total lumen..NOT useable lumen to your plants. Only 13% of the lumen emitted by HPS lamps is in color spectrum's your plants can use. I don't see the efficiency with them that you do. They don't last and need to be replaced frequently while creating infra red heat (not good) and other spectrum's that have little or zero benefits to your plants. HPS lights are crude shotguns when compared to the best alternative systems. Don't take it from me. I learned it from Ed Rosenthal. http://cflgrowlight.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-ed-rosenthal-said.html
I've been growing over 5 years with 1400w and 2000 watt CFL systems. The only change i might make is to add some LED's, since the price on those has dropped. Do some more research Beast. Both CFL and LED grow lights can both be much more efficient than HPS lights when used properly.
 
Stankx

Stankx

Well-Known Member
hiitsbob said:
beast everyone agrees 100% hid is more efficient and yields better. but your thoughts without proof are just that and not right.
but your gonna tell me i am wasting my time running 500w of cfl in a 2x2x4 box and yielding 5-7 ounces per run.
i would have to run a cool tube to keep my grow cool well pretty hard to get cool tube, reflector, ducting in 2x2.
i couldn't use hid my grow space is not tall enough to keep at least a foot above plants.
would i love to have hid absolutely but is not possible for a lot of places that cfl's go.
blue widow grown under 375w cfl pulled 3 ounces.
View attachment 2905463View attachment 2905464View attachment 2905465
7g pineapple express grown grown under 250wcfl
View attachment 2905466View attachment 2905467
first run ever liberty haze pulled 5.5 ounces under 500w cfl.
View attachment 2905468View attachment 2905469
like i said no one doubts your numbers but numbers are just that and don't work for everyone.
so before pushing hid so much stop and think not everyone can accommodate hid.
not only that a 150w hid would still need supplemental lighting to pull 5.5 ounces
that would be over 1g/w with a 150w hid.
but anyway just get sick of everyone pushing hid.
cfl's work just fine let people do what works for them.
yes in a perfect world we would all have 5x5x8 grow running 1000w hid.
so think before you spout crap. good luck with future grows
i know i will be happy with my crappy tiny fluffy cfls harvest in future.:bigjoint:
bob
Click to expand...
Nice crop, and those are pretty good yields. I'll bet your power bill hardly moved. Also, is it me or does CFL grown bud smell and taste more pronounced than HPS bud? I might be biased..lol. It may be the slight mixed spectrum's I use in flower to get all the CBD's and THC's to mature.
 
BeastGrow

BeastGrow

Well-Known Member
Stankx said:
That sounds good on paper until you realize that the lumen numbers stated HPS systems and bulbs are total lumen..NOT useable lumen to your plants. Only 13% of the lumen emitted by HPS lamps is in color spectrum's your plants can use. I don't see the efficiency with them that you do. They don't last and need to be replaced frequently while creating infra red heat (not good) and other spectrum's that have little or zero benefits to your plants. HPS lights are crude shotguns when compared to the best alternative systems. Don't take it from me. I learned it from Ed Rosenthal. http://cflgrowlight.blogspot.com/2013/06/what-ed-rosenthal-said.html
I've been growing over 5 years with 1400w and 2000 watt CFL systems. The only change i might make is to add some LED's, since the price on those has dropped. Do some more research Beast. Both CFL and LED grow lights can both be much more efficient than HPS lights when used properly.
Click to expand...

That is a good CFL setup but still doubt there is 1000 grams of buds there
 
Last edited:
E

emerald forest

Member
jolly8541 said:
I've been growing with cfl's for almost a year now. I went that route for cost, b/c I'm just getting into growing. I've harvested 5 separate crops of plants numbering from 3 to 6 plants. My first plants were pathetic like 17 grams of wet bud per plant. Two days ago I harvested 3 plants and got about 150gr per plant. I had one cola from an 15 inch tall plant that weighed 57 grams by itself!

As far as potency, its some of the stoniest bud around. I'm still growing bag seed and the bud has been killer. After I hone my skills with the cfl's I'm ordering some Ak-47 seeds and investing in hps lights.
Click to expand...
That's encouraging, I am growing now with cfl's and my girls are flowering, they look healthy. I hope I get a good harvest. Thanks for sharing.
 
Guzias1

Guzias1

Well-Known Member
thought id throw this up here. went ahead and upgraded lighting..


swapped from cfl, to LED!!

have not tested these against endurance yet. but these new LEDs are pretty damn bright, and send the light a good distance..

here ya goes







light meter proves justicce!!

each led cost about 40$ shipped. ($80 total)
 
B166ER420

B166ER420

Well-Known Member
How do you like those led floodlights,Guz?Are they from Amazon?..........I've been think on getting a couple of the 50w myself....like this one...31lkNW+OMVL.jpg .Do they get very hot?Are you using them for supplemental light or main lighting?nvm I think I see as main lighting,COOL!

Either way your plants look like they love it!:)
 
Last edited:
Guzias1

Guzias1

Well-Known Member
I'm in love with them. The air cooled fins got to about 115f. Similar to the cfls on direct contact...

so if say the heat is damn near the same as before.

but much much brighter! I'm thinking of getting another two. So I'm going to run three for veg, and have a spare replacement :)
 
puertorrican diesel

puertorrican diesel

Well-Known Member
Garden Knowm said:
see how the CFLs are on the top and all the sides of the plant...

IT IS STILL NOT PERFECT - not even close.. the plants on the far right need at least 1 more CFL...

these lights are great at 1 inch... but beyond 1 inch they start LOOSING lumens.... it is important to give the leaves as much light as possible.. ALL THE LEAVES... low branches, side branches, top branches.. etc

this is another reason it is important to flower early... when using CFLS...

it is not practical to grow big plants with CFLS because it could easily take 40 CFLs to cover a 5 foot pant... LOL
Click to expand...
i agree with everything u say but, the 1 inch away from plants., i have to set them at 2 to 3 inch everyday because ALWAYS when i get home they are almost about to touch the lights., i used to put them at 1 inch but i started to get to MUCH LEAF BURN., IMHO
 
Jonathanholmes3128

Jonathanholmes3128

Active Member
puertorrican diesel said:
i agree with everything u say but, the 1 inch away from plants., i have to set them at 2 to 3 inch everyday because ALWAYS when i get home they are almost about to touch the lights., i used to put them at 1 inch but i started to get to MUCH LEAF BURN., IMHO
Click to expand...
dead on man . they grow rite into my t5 cool tube n get light burn only when they touch but ya they are like moths to the flame. n I keep the lil 150 hps about a foot away I can do 6 or 8 inches if I point the fan at it but I wait til the end of flowering to really blast em. small lights can have a shit ton of intensity when u get them rite in the plants face
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top