some questions about 'plug and grow' lights

ive been reading a lot recently about 'plug and grow' lights. they are CFL lights.
does anyone out there know the size of these lights (width cm X length cm)?
do i need to buy a special light fittings with them or can i use a standard light fitting?
do they look like 'normal' energy saving bulbs or can you blatantly tell the difference (like say throughj an x-ray machine for example)?

They do look like normal bulbs, just about 5 times bigger I have two: 250W and 150W, they`re both about 35cm long, the 250w has 15cm diameter on the ballast(which is round) and the 150w is 9cm on the ballast(its square on this one). They both use E40 fittings.

if i was to put some in my bag and board an aeroplane do you think it would raise eyebrows at customs due to the size? (im talking about the bag that goes into the hold not my carry on bag!)

I don`t think so, they`re just light bulbs after all. What are you planning on though, grow-wise? Because I`m not too impressed with them, if I was to start now I would have probably used T5`s or more but smaller CFLs.

madmad said:

I don`t think so, they`re just light bulbs after all. What are you planning on though, grow-wise? Because I`m not too impressed with them, if I was to start now I would have probably used T5`s or more but smaller CFLs.

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only one plant (max 2!) security is a big issue for me as i dont live in a liberally free country liike the uk or usa and my resources are limited! cant get hold of proper equipment where i am so im just viewing all my options! my first idea was to use 8 x 36 watt flrouro tubes inside a wardrobe (placed vertically. 2 to each side!) but that would give me ten plugs! where as if i use one 'plug and grow' light that would give me 3 or 4 plugs (1 light, 1 extractor, 1 cooling fan and maybe an ionizer!)
BTW if i do decide to get an ionizer it would be in the same bag as the light bulbs! could look a bit dodgy!

Don`t grow 1 plant, grow 2 cuz if anything bad happens you have to start from scratch. As for fluoros, I`m pretty sure you can wire multiple ballasts together and onto 1 plug, I was even looking at some guy`s DIY 8-bulb light fixture explained step by step on some aquatic website not long ago. I wanted to do it but it would have taken me too long to order parts and make it and I needed a light quickly. That 250W one vegged two plants beautifully, now I`m doing 4 under it and it it seems ok too, but I flower with hps, once those plants get bushy the cfl light doesn`t penetrate too deep. Oh, and I wasn`t impressed with the ionizer too, and I have quite a big one. Carbon filter is definitely required to kill smells - I bought an ionizer to "mop up"anything that leaks through my filter and it wouldnt even manage that, all it did was make dust fall and stick to everything, lol. May I ask do where you live so that security is such an issue? And thats why you want to buy your gear abroad and bring it home I guess? You can send me a private message if you want.

Those bulbs might pose a problem for you boarding an airplane. They contain toxic chemicals which, when the bulb is broken, can make people sick. I wouldnt do it.

just had an idea last night! do you think it would work if bought some high wattage (say 150W) flouresent spot lights (the ones used on building sites for working at night)? ive seen them for sell with plug pre installed. i know i need different lumens (or whatever they are) for different parts of the grow but can it be done off one light? veg and flower that is.

FALANG said:

just had an idea last night! do you think it would work if bought some high wattage (say 150W) flouresent spot lights (the ones used on building sites for working at night)? ive seen them for sell with plug pre installed. i know i need different lumens (or whatever they are) for different parts of the grow but can it be done off one light? veg and flower that is.

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You can use one light for the entire grow. It will not be the " ideal " but it will work. The higher the wattage the better, while your watching your plants grow do some reading here on RIU on the topics of light spectrum and distance of lights to the top of your plants. You can literally learn it all right here, good luck

right, mate its not about brightness, well it is but colour balance is the basic. it can be as bright as the sun but if its not inthe spectrunm of useable light for growing plans it just wont work. so buy bulbs for the job! check the ratings which are ritten on the bulbs. to get an understanding check out greenshorticulture.com or greenseahydroponics.com both have bulbs and advice. if you only want to use one light and get a definate crop, check out a strain called auto Cream Caramel. all autos only require one light(the fed one, flowering light), fuck all space and soo little nutrients its beautiful. they can be a little unstable but have only read good things about the CCautos! it may be worth the added risk and hastel of buying the seeds of auto strains as they will fit your room and energy needs, also they come feminized so no sexxing issues. but they wont clone, from cuttings, so back to seed every time. but you dont have room for mothers, cuttings and clones yet any way. also a cutting in rooting solution is a clone. a clone is a plant so 1 mother and 10 brances in rooting hormone, of which you may only use 3, still counts as 11 full plants! also the loacl indiginous herbs group up to 8 foot tall, could be a problem for you.

i think you should by compact red spectrum fluorescence (cfl red) from a regesterd horticultural dealer you will need 250w+ ( cfl 250w red) i would be tempted to 500whats straight away, more of the right light, more bud! mount them using a 'parabolic' style lamp shade, this alows the light to dangle in the middle of your plants, simply build a chicken wire case to stop plants touching bulb. its only a minor fire risk with out the chicken wire, but too many leave and the light wont reach the plants. but autos only grow to 3 foot so you may not even have that problem!

a small air mover is a must! can be a £1 job jst to keep the plants active, and your extraction whole should be larger than your in take vents! you can build a cheep carbon filter if you need to, out f duckting tights and charcoal, but buying one would be much better im sure.

im going to leave you with that for meow
peace

. As for fluoros, I`m pretty sure you can wire multiple ballasts together and onto 1 plug,

it is safer to use lighting contractors with every thing. most cfl don't need a ballast system, but they are usually weaker in watts (eg 125wh as apposed to a 250w) so an be used safely with a simple surge protected 4 bar extension, isolated from any wetness of corse, plugged into a lighting contractor.