Many Small vs. a few Large CFLs?

Are their any advantages to the small lights over big?

I'd like to install about 180 total watts of cfl light in my 17"X18" micro space.

Do smaller lights put off less heat per watt?

Are they more efficiant?

Originally I planned to use eight, 23 watt bulbs. But this doesn't leave any room for a filter in front of the 140mm computer fan.

Any reason I shouldn't use four 42 watt bulbs instead?

You should use 4x42 watt's.

agreed with foolet use the 42w lights, however only if the overall lumen's output of the 8 23 watts isn't higher which it should be??? essentially your looking for over all total lumens not wattage as wattage almost has nothing to do with the measure of light emitted. as with older incandesent light (they could draw up to 100w) and not put out any comparative lumens to smaller better built cfl bulb. same principle goes for the cfl vs cfl of different wattage. it all depends on the amount of effective lumens you present the plant with ya dig. so I say all that to say do what you feel you can get away with heat wise. I for instance have two 140mm case fans in the smaller flowering cab I just built. and it only has 7 lgihts in it(4 13watt, 3 26 watt 2700k). with the 140mm fans being hooked up each to a single 5v cell charger. I can contain the temps at between 82-87.5 F in a 2 sq ft space within a 14 hour light period. heres a pic of said cab took door off for better view no plants in there now either.
I am presenting only a maximum of two plants trained well with 8500 lumen's breaking down to be 4250 lumen's per sq ft.


View attachment 1632541


So in conclusion what ever set up has the best lumen's output the better off you will be in the end. but remember although cfls do put out very little heat when compared side by side with HID. they still do emit enough heat to raise temp to a non cohesive temp for your plants. invest in a thermometer it'll save your plants!

Locdawg,

"Stay Faded"

Thanks for the input guys.
Both of you recommend using the 42 watt lights, but neither of you say why.
Since I posted the question, I’ve done a little more research. It looks like the smaller bulbs are actually more efficient that the larger ones both in l/w (5-7%) and l/$ (>10%).
Source: 1000bulbs.com (23 watt vs. 42 watt TCP-brand bulbs)
Any other opinions?

ive done alot of cfl grows and i prefer the little ones for small areas like yours since you can get them closer to the plant and completely surround the plant. they are easier to put into the optimal place as they are smaller than the bigger bulbs as well. did you know they make cfls now that are also air purifiers/carbon scrubbers? ive yet to try em but everyone ive talked to who has says they work very well at taking care of smell.

I tried both and the only advantage of smaller wattage bulbs is that you can have them around the place, other than that I'd recommend getting big wattage bulbs. Although you could also get one big and couple small...

If you can control the temperature in your box, go with the 42 watters. They are very effective but hotter than hell . The smaller bulbs run cooler but I've never personally run a comparable wattage of small bulbs to large bulbs, but have heard that a high number of small bulbs will be cooler than a small number of big bulbs. Make sense?

My point is if you can pull enough air though your grow to keep it cool, go with the 42 watters for veg then bump up to the 65 watters for flower, at least this is what I do, and have been happy with the results. Imho, the big lights penetrate much better than the little guys.

dan casus is correct what I should have added to my previous post was hit bit about light penetration. it means everything when guys like us are usually growing under less then 300w total and the hps counter parts put out a butt load of lumen's. to combat that we have to get the most usable light to the bud sights on your plant. That is in my Humble opinion the larger wattage bulbs are far more worth the money spent. plus on another note think about the amount of plug in adapters, and y adapters one would need to get those 14-20 smaller lights positioned. it would make for a more clutter grow space and thus hence leaving the plants with less room for expansion. i have also grown under both forms of light and to be honest the larger amount of smaller wattage lights put out more heat then a few of the 65 watters would. right now in my 4sq foot grow box the temps (when the door is shut) reach about 87 degrees, that is with only 4-14w 6500k and two 26w 2700k i have two larger computer fans(140mm case fans) hooked up to their own power supplies for the heat extraction. I say that all to say watch out with thinking that smaller means less heat... you get too many and you'll go off to work one day and come home with a fried plant if you cant exhaust all that heat.

Locdawg,

"Stay Faded"

I don't like to read posts unless their important to me.
All I'm going to say is 20w-40w lights are the most efficient lumenwise,
and it's much easier to surround a plant with many small lights, than one large cfl that doesn't have the light intensity to reach lower growth.

Also it's not very natural to blast a flowering plant with as many lights as possible. It's natural to pull back slightly for flower.
This is meant for dan casus, I'm NOT AT ALL saying to reduce your lighting for plants.
This is more for HPS growers.

Another fictional post by c. indica. Yeah, its normal for people to cut back on lighting for flowering. sure.

darkdestruction420 said:

Another fictional post by c. indica. Yeah, its normal for people to cut back on lighting for flowering. sure.

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I for one am fucking sick of your uneducated and useless posts. No wonder you have 10,000, seriously, read more, post less.

Also you are incorrect in calling it fictional.
20w-40w CFL's are more efficient than any other size.
You need to learn before you correct.


In nature, the sun is long and harsh in the summer, towards the fall when cannabis naturally flowers, it becomes short and less harsh. Also at a lower angle.

I didn't mean to cut down by a large percentage.
All I'm saying is maybe 1000w -> 900w or something like that.

I don't know if it will yield more, but it truely is natural.
I never said it would yield more either, I simply said it's natural.

You are a fucking nuisance in my mind.
Oh and I forgot to mention, I'm not going to stick around and chat about it, so just read it and shut up.
Good luck with your grow OP.

i agree with C.Indica with luseing smaller lights when growing instead of all big ones not just for his resons but also if u look about it u can mix 2 light specks with smaller bulbs rather then 1 big one and if you use 26 watters like my self then your getting more watts/lumens for your watts...thats just my 2sents

Wouldn't it be better to use big bulbs over head and scatter the small ones on the sides in areas of need. I say put 105-200 watt bulbs or bigger above the plants for bathing your plants in a decent intense light. Then spot light with your smaller ones. On sides, under foliage, where ever they need it. People keep saying that the lumens per watt are more efficient for smaller bulbs. But the bigger bulbs have a higher concentration of light in one focused point. There are big bulbs out there that can pump out 12,000+ lumens from one spot you cant fit 8 smaller 23w bulbs in that same space to match its intensity . And what about as the lumens fade wouldn't you rather have some big boys in there still pumpin a decent amount of lumens ? Just some things to consider. I personally think they should not be battling each other " BIG vs. little" But they should both be used together for their individual advantages.

C.Indica said:

I for one am fucking sick of your uneducated and useless posts. No wonder you have 10,000, seriously, read more, post less.

Also you are incorrect in calling it fictional.
20w-40w CFL's are more efficient than any other size.
You need to learn before you correct.


In nature, the sun is long and harsh in the summer, towards the fall when cannabis naturally flowers, it becomes short and less harsh. Also at a lower angle.

I didn't mean to cut down by a large percentage.
All I'm saying is maybe 1000w -> 900w or something like that.

I don't know if it will yield more, but it truely is natural.
I never said it would yield more either, I simply said it's natural.

You are a fucking nuisance in my mind.
Oh and I forgot to mention, I'm not going to stick around and chat about it, so just read it and shut up.
Good luck with your grow OP.

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Good stuff a man that knows his lights

You are the nuisance. Spreading disinformation everytime i see you. your the one who said all your posts are fictional. You chickened out last time you challenged me on my number of posts. after you told me it was an ungodly number and it was obscenne and i should go outside more-
I've been here 2 1/2 yrs. So about 912 days so It comes out to about 11 a day. WOW, thats so many. I would suggest you take a math class.
Not to mention-most of them were helping other growers, alot of them first timers. I've helped thousands in my spare time, what have you done?

Also- I'm not the only one here who see's you for what you are. It's good you try to help but until you know what your talking about you shouldnt be so cocky.
Anyway, you can say what you like about me, i'll be here helping others long after your gone. Best of luck.

HopesAndDreams said:

Wouldn't it be better to use big bulbs over head and scatter the small ones on the sides in areas of need. I say put 105-200 watt bulbs or bigger above the plants for bathing your plants in a decent intense light. Then spot light with your smaller ones. On sides, under foliage, where ever they need it. People keep saying that the lumens per watt are more efficient for smaller bulbs. But the bigger bulbs have a higher concentration of light in one focused point. There are big bulbs out there that can pump out 12,000+ lumens from one spot you cant fit 8 smaller 23w bulbs in that same space to match its intensity . And what about as the lumens fade wouldn't you rather have some big boys in there still pumpin a decent amount of lumens ? Just some things to consider. I personally think they should not be battling each other " BIG vs. little" But they should both be used together for their individual advantages.

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yes indeed there are cfls out there that do. Do that but very few people find them selfs going out and spending the extra cash on a first grow or even a 2nd really reson why there useing cfls in the first place is because they are low on cash..now im not trying to start a flame war i would do exactly what your saying if i had the cash and the proper means of equitment but then again if i had those means i would not be growing with cfls eather i would be growing with a HPS or MH lights over cfls but then again im not worried about stealth eather...but also with worried about stealth you would want to use as least amount of lights as possible and go for the biggest yeild i can get with sed lights...eh im just a pothead

ps and adding those lights with 12k lumis means u have to go out and get a fixture that fits it and u cant split that fixture into 2 or 6 light holders from 1 socet 1 light per 1 fixture

Dr.GreenThumB007 said:

yes indeed there are cfls out there that do. Do that but very few people find them selfs going out and spending the extra cash on a first grow or even a 2nd really reson why there useing cfls in the first place is because they are low on cash..now im not trying to start a flame war i would do exactly what your saying if i had the cash and the proper means of equitment but then again if i had those means i would not be growing with cfls eather i would be growing with a HPS or MH lights over cfls but then again im not worried about stealth eather...but also with worried about stealth you would want to use as least amount of lights as possible and go for the biggest yeild i can get with sed lights...eh im just a pothead

ps and adding those lights with 12k lumis means u have to go out and get a fixture that fits it and u cant split that fixture into 2 or 6 light holders from 1 socet 1 light per 1 fixture

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I agree with your cost concerns but there are ways around them. You can find some decent 105w+ bulbs between 20-30 bucks. And yes they do make big bulbs that will fit in reg sockets just look for medium base or e26 socket/ base when bulb shopping. Feel free to check out the vid I posted on the "Tutorial to growing with cfl's" sticky page 71. the guy that made the vid is using 200-300w bulbs in those same sockets now just check out his you tube page. And if you would rather go with MH and HPS but initial cost is holding you back, Just type in "HID light" in a craigslist search you can usually find some 400 watters with bulb ballast and reflector for only $30. I'll do it right now to just prove my point be right back here's one http://rochester.craigslist.org/mat/2447311453.html and look another http://rochester.craigslist.org/mat/2402190649.html shit ill even give you a how to video I found[video=youtube;wKFWr1fA8d0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKFWr1fA8d0[/video] the true savings in cfl is on your electric bill. Your gonna spend as much money if not more buying a crap load of the small bulbs with a bunch of splitters and sockets and such. In my opinion a couple big boys and a few small ones just as spot lights is the way to go with cfl's.even when considering costs.

C.Indica said:

I don't like to read posts unless their important to me.
All I'm going to say is 20w-40w lights are the most efficient lumenwise,
and it's much easier to surround a plant with many small lights, than one large cfl that doesn't have the light intensity to reach lower growth.

Also it's not very natural to blast a flowering plant with as many lights as possible. It's natural to pull back slightly for flower.
This is meant for dan casus, I'm NOT AT ALL saying to reduce your lighting for plants.
This is more for HPS growers.

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I'm going to save you a whole lot of reading and just say that the OP is going to have a tough time putting a bunch of little lights around his plant considering the size of grow box, nevertheless, I don't think it's a real good idea to cook my seedlings under big lights, when my girls get good and hardy, I hit them with the big boys and they eat it up.

I reckon I'm ''pulling back slightly" when I go to 12/12.

Dan Casus said:

I reckon I'm ''pulling back slightly" when I go to 12/12.

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Truth!!!!!

Thank you guys for supporting me. I don't know why he's so upset.
Good luck with your grows, I for one am in a good mood :]