Question on CFL placement

I have 26 watt, 1600 lumen CFL bulbs and am wondering what distance is ideal and how far from the plant does the light stop being effective

If 1 inch too close(liable to burn)?

Do they still being effective at 2.5-3.0 inches away?

I was under the impression they have to be right up on the plant... I have single bulb lamps, not light strips or florescent type bulbs.

I usually get them about 1.5" from the plants...the closer the better. If your using a fan...you shouldn't be worried about the heat really...at least i don't.

Any idea if the bulbs are still effective at 2-3" away? Because I'm using lamps, like small desk lamps with hoods, it's hard to put 2-3 lamps on a plant and get them all within 2". So I was hoping to hear the lights are still pretty effective even if 3" away from the plant. Plus, when the plants get bigger and have a few nodes it's going to be hard to get the lights on the entire plant.. Just wondering.

Look at my gallery...i have a picture of 1 plant with 7 cfl's on it...it's not hard if you do it right.

Nice pic HGB. It looks like the CFLs are inches from the plant, and that you didn't have hoods or reflectors on some of the lights. I'm going to try to find some of those Y adaptors(if that's what those are) and some kind of stand for them. It would solve a lot of my issues if I could raise and lower when needed. I might be getting hung up on how close the lights need to be. A few inches doesn't look like a problem.

Thanks.

Actually i did have a reflector on top of it all...but it was taken off to take the picture, and the lights were no more then 2" from tops.

Any suggestions on a cheap but adequate reflector? Thanks.

You should check the DIY sub-forum....

Simple Reflector For Your Compact Fluorescent

I took a shelf unit that could come apart in several pieces, they would come apart into squares that were about 14"X14", then i took mylar and wrapped all the squares up, and placed the pieces on the sides and top of the plant.

There are several ways to make reflector...another cheap way is to get some flashing, bend it into a hood and away you go.