harvesting a pound using cfls

Toolage87 said:

you might be able to harvest 1 pond of weed every month with CFLs if you have the right strains and don't have a hole batch of plants flowering at once and replace them all once harvest at once and you'd have to grow the strain enough to know how much time it takes from the start of 12/12 to harvest and you time that and put certin amount of plants in per week then it '' MIGHT '' be possible

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wtf are you talkin about

he said a pond of weed.. ponds can be any size.. lol sorry had to

dgk4life said:

he said a pond of weed.. ponds can be any size.. lol sorry had to

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maybe he meant a small pond

a puddle maybe-hmmmm he said you can grow a puddle of weed

i can grow a puddle ... not wit cfls though lol jk

My plants didn't take off till I turned the HPS on and left it that way and Wow babe they toke off more growth in less hours than with just cfl's alone.

I gave in to the HPS side! they are now showing faster growth, but both cfl and hps works great using cfl's for the under growth.

I agree though cfl's can be great but with your 400 watts of cfl's plugged in I wonder how close to a hps light it is in watt useage how does that work out.

Bet there real close in power consumption.

Old Coot said:

Here is one honest answer. If you stuff a 400HPS into a small space you may have to much light/ heat and possibly not be able to get rid of it with ventilation unless you have a hurricane style fans. To much wind in your box means watering more often and can cause stress also. If you have 400CFL...you pull a bulb or two until you get the heat right. If your plants are heat stressed, you might as well be using a little less light, keep temps in check, and reduce the risk of hermi plants. Thus I now run 340 watts in my cab instead of 400 + and my plants are happy as hell. Heat stress hermied my last two grows and while I have killer weed.....I got tons of seed. This is surely more economical than building a new cab for most of us.

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or get an a/c unit like i did. no f ing way on the pound off cfls/ cost verse yeild.

welcome to the dark side luke.. now for the bad news u did indeed sleep wit your sister..

Mr.Therapy Man said:

Ill bet you a thousand bucks that you cant put enough cfls in one room to grow a (dry) lb.

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I've done it in a closet, last year and I am half way to doing it again. Many members here followed that grow too. An I am talking DRIED, VERY Closely manicured buds, AFTER they wre cured 30 days in a jar.
I had 4 65 wat bulbs, 4 85 watt bulbs, 2 105s, and 8 42 watt bulbs, 1146 watts, running off of two circuit breakers.

I had two reservoirs, started 12 seeds, not feminized. I had Northern Lights, that were 80% Indica and 20% Sativa. I got 6 females, that produced one runt, that only gave me a half oz. The largest gave me exactly 6.9 ounces of dried manicured buds. The average was 3 to 4 ounces per plant. I had one cola that weighed 24 grams, that I had to cut into three pieces to jar it.

This is the 6.9 ounce plant, harvested at 46 inches tall, had 13 major upward branches:




Here you see it again, After harvest, the largest one with 13 uopward branches, the half ounce runt and a 3 ounce medium sized plant:

Got to have some great shears or scissors.
Attached Thumbnails DOUBLE CLICK THE PICS TO SEE THEM LARGER, THEN DOUBLE CLICK THEM AGAIN!
Attached Thumbnails



The more stalks, the more tops!Attached Thumbnails

For 3 years in a row, I was a CFL bulb junkie adding more bulbs to each grow, instead of going to HID lights and Venting the Heat out. In 2007, I did two tanks, got 6 females, and had 2 65s, and 4 85s and I got 9 ounces. In 2008, I dded the 42s and 105s.

This year I am using almost all 105s, but many less bulbs.

Hanging now is
3 6500k 85 watt bulbs
1 6500k 105 watt bulb
1 5000k 105 watt bulb
2 4100k 105 watt bulbs
2 3000k 105 watt bulbs
over three containers, over 14 plants.

I will add 4 2700 k bulbs. I started 12/12 two days ago.

Every other day, I rearrange the bulbs and mix the kelvins.

These VEGGED 5 weeks, 4 days, and were 30 to 33 inches tall when i strted 12/12 last Thursday.




The giant in the center bucket is bent over, trained to grow sideways.








Topping and Pruning is the trick!
This is more plants than last year. Remind you, this is not in a room, it is in a closet. And I will kiss your ass on the court house steps if I don't get a pound of dried manicured buds, like I alway get.

aww shit...to whoever said you COULDNT grow a pound.......roseman PWNED yo ass

That 5hit said:

theres a guy on here that used 6 42w cfl
on 6 plants and clamed he pulled 4oz
grown in a box

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Let me tell you about CFLs.

From Ed Rosenthal:

In the new Skunk Magazine there was a question in the "Ask Ed" section that just made my night last night when reading it...



The question was:

I intend to grow a single cannabis plant in a space 1' x 2'. What light would you recommend? I was think of using four 30-watt compact fluorescent lamps. Will this be enough? Cost isn't an issue but I am deterred from getting a high pressure sodium [light] because of the amount of heat the bulb produces.

Answer:

As you mentioned, you have several lighting systems to choose from, including compact fluorescents and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps. Among HPS lamps you have a choice between a single 100-watt lamp which uses a total of about 120-watts and emits about 8,800 lumens(73 lumens per watt) or a 150-watt lamp, which uses about 180 watts and emits almost double that-15,800 lumens (87 lumens per watt).

A 42-watt compact fluorescent (CFL) emits about 2700 lumens(64 lumens per watt). Four 42 watt CFLs use 168 watts and emit 10,800 lumens. Other size CFLs have a similar efficiency.

However, that is only part of the story. Plants use mostly red and blue light. Yellow and green light is of little use to them, so light that is emitted in these spectrums is wasted energy. Most of the light emitted by HPS lamps is in the yellow spectrum. Only a small amount of the emitted light is is in the orange or red spectrums, which plants use efficiently. Warm white fluorescents (2700 Kelvin) emit a greater portion in the red and orange sectors.
Although fluorescents produce only about 75% of the light per watt that the HPS does, the amount of light usable by the plant is equal or probably higher with the fluorescents. You may wish to experiment to see if adding a single cool white CFL to replace one warm white results in shorter, stouter stems and more vigorous growth. The reasoning is that warm whites don't emit much blue light, which the plants use for photosynthesis and to regulate their growth. The cool white bulb supplies the blue light.

My call for your unit would be to use several (three to five) CFLs with a total input of between 120-160 watts. Although the 150 watt HPS is a bit more efficient that the CFLs in total output, watt for watt the fluorescents provide as much useful light as the HPS lamp. Heat is another consideration. The HPS runs much hotter and emits more heat than the fluoescents.

Make sure to use reflective material around the garden so that any light escaping the garden is reflected back to the plants. Any light that doesn't get to the plant leaves is wasted.


Look at a lumen/watt ration of various CFL's. The higher the wattage of CFLs, the lower the lumen/watt ratio. This chart was submitted by Jerry Garcia, of RIU and edited for typos.

For example...

the 200w listed at 9250 lumens for a lumens/watt ratio of 9250/200=46.25

the 150w is listed at 7500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 7500/150=50

the 125w is listed at 6500 lumens for a l/w ratio of 6500/125=52

the 42w are listed for 2700 lumens, l/w ratio of 2700/42=64.28

I have some 26w that give off 1700 lumens for a l/w ratio of 1700/26=65.38

GE lists some 13w that give off 825 lumens for a l/w ratio of 825/13=63.46

So, according to these numbers the most efficient bulbs for growing are the 26w that emit 1700 lumens. If you used 8 26w bulbs (208 watts total) you'd be getting 13,600 lumens...4,350 more lumens than a single 200 watt cfl.

I suppose you need to purchase more sockets and cords and things to support 8 bulbs, but in the long run more lower watt CFLs seem like the way to go.

CFLs vs HID Lights

If you want to start an arguement fast, then visit an Internet Grow Forum or Chat Room and mention CFLs vs HID Lights.
Let me just tell you a fact. HID Lights (High Intensity Discharge Lights) are much more efficient than CFLs (Compact Flourscent Lights) and they grow FASTER and penetrate a large plant much better than CFLs do. HID lights grow tighter denser buds too. That is a fact no one should argue. HIDs win easily.
Wait a minute. What costs more to purchase? What requires a fancier Reflector and costs more to hang? What cost more to use and adds more to the electric bill? What cost more to handle the HEAT?

HEAT? I can touch a 200 watt CFL for ten seconds and not burn my hand. I can hold a burning 42, 65, or 85 watt bulb in my hand for five seconds and not get burnt. I can touch a HID bulb for half a second and have a serious blister and burn. Touching a HID bulb is like touching the burner on an electric stove. If you use HID bulbs, not only will you have to cool the bulb, you will have to cool the grow area too. Growing with HID lights requires VENTING the HEAT, and that cost extra money.

If you are a large scale grower, or commercial grower, HID lights are best for you.
If you are a small grower, a closet or tent grower, then CFLs are your best, easiest, cheapest way to grow.

As I mentioned, I like the cheaper CFLs because of their mobility and ease of use. When I did my first grow three years ago, a 65 watt CFL was the largest made and sold. Today I see up to 300 watt CFLS, but I do not advise using the larger watt CFL bulbs.

Illegal Smile said:

Done right, 4 plants with 4 42w cfls on each could very well yield a pound.

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i dont mean to criticize but there is no way you could get a plant to yeild a 1/4 lb on 1 42 watt cfl. if you have proof of this im coming to live with ya and be your apprentice for the next four years...
i would tend to agree with most of the other comments if you really do want to harvest a whole pound you should get HID lighting. in the long run you will use less wattage cuz you may get an ounce (if you had the best strain an got incredibly lucky) per plant qwith ine 42 watter on each plant. and a total of 16 plants. just doesnt seem worth it to me.

Roseman said:

I had 4 65 wat bulbs, 4 85 watt bulbs, 2 105s, and 8 42 watt bulbs, 1146 watts,

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you honestly dont think that 1 1000 wat hps wouldnt have resulted in the same or better bud? not to mention you must have spent 200 bucks on cfl's. especially since it appears to be cooled by central a/c.

SmokeyMcChokey said:

you honestly dont think that 1 1000 wat hps wouldnt have resulted in the same or better bud? not to mention you must have spent 200 bucks on cfl's. especially since it appears to be cooled by central a/c.

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Sure, that is what I just posted above in post # 73. Did you not read it?

I was just responding to "it is impossible".

In Dec 2006, the largest CFLs made were 65 watts and I started my first indoor grow with two of those, a 6500k and a 2700 k.
Later I added two more 85s. In 2007, I had the 6 bulbs, and started a 2nd grow at a friend's house with them. Later in 2007, I did not want to throw the 6 bulbs away, so I added two more. I could toss $200 worth of bulbs, and buy $200 to $300 more of HID lights, and add Venting for a couple hundred dollars too. That did not make sense, and I was happy with my results, So, I added more bulbs.....and more bulbs....and as the bulbs did three grows, I tossed the bulbs and replaced them wtih more larger bulbs.

I am saying it just evolved. And I'd be a fool to throw them away and buy more and add Venting to my closet in a spare bed room. My first grow was a STEALTH grow, a very small hidden grow, with the closet door closed and two bulbs. Then I learned could enlarge, increase the yield with increased lumens.


A 1000 watt HPS would NOT give me more ounces, the closet will only hold so many plants........and there is the HEAT.

I had 5 different PMs ask me to come here and show the grows. There they are.

i think for the most pART everyone agreees that it can be done... many cfls and elctric cords later. but wit what the op had originally stated it would not be possible..

I am not knocking cfl usage. My first grow I used 300w and harvested a bit over a QP.

Over all for all intents and purposes the efficiency of a cfl only competes at a low wattage hps. if you notice the efficiency of cfls peak in the 23-26 watt range. So to the most efficient HPS have a maximum efficiency save for the fact that the most efficient HPS is a 600 watt. There are ballast and lamp combos that can produce 120k lumens at a foot, only 20k from most 1kw systems.

As Ed said CFLs can compete with 100-250 hps but if you get a bigger set up going HPS ends up being more efficient.

Not to mention not having to reposition 12-20 bulbs for maximum efficiency every few days.

I can get my buds within a 1 ft of my cool tube before I notice bleaching. You do the math. I already have.

EDIT-Heat issues.

I will admit that the contents of a 600-1000hps bulb will burn slightly hotter than the combined temps of all those bulbs probably but once you distribute the heat out evenly through circulation it isn't that much different. The heat is just generally more concentrated. With the use of a cooltube (cheap look into glass hurricanes) and some average home depot venting you can probably get the total cost of the light at about 500 with ducting

You also had to buy power cords, strips, sockets, reflectors etc, I mean what was the TOTAL cost? I am guessing about 400...

never say never....


way to go roseman. Nice post. Showed the haters and doubters. Of course there are other ways, but don't say anything is impossible. Don't limit yourself with narrow thinking like that. Just chill and be happy.

GreedAndVanity said:

IYou also had to buy power cords, strips, sockets, reflectors etc, I mean what was the TOTAL cost? I am guessing about 400...

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Over 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, AND SEVEN GROWS.
YES, CLOSER TO $600.


a 65 watt 2700k bulb at Lowes is $16.95 today.
I pay $29 for 105 watt bulbs today. 420 watts = $120 today for the bulbs.


It just evolved.