Tutorial to Growing with Cfl's

Dr.Chronic said:

Nice setup my friend. Ill Go ahead and invite you to the group. Welcome and make sure you copy the tag into your signature.

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misshestermoffitt said:

I buy clip on shop lights at walmart, (around $6.00) but I don't put the reflective hood on mine since I use the splitter for 2 bulbs.

If you get too many lights going some times those hoods really get in the way.

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tst2015 said:

I'm new to growing but decided to give it a try. I'v been doing tons of reading and decided on a closet grow. Its 2ftx5ft and 8ft high but I could partition it lower to 5ft if necessary.
Anyway, I've decided to use CFL for my first grow. Mainly because it should create less heat that will be easier to manage.
I'm building a 16" by 50" lighting unit from 6" ducting that will have 5 sockets with Y connectors for a total of 10 bulbs.
I'm wondering if 10 (5500k) - 45w at 2650 lumens each will produce enough total lumens in a closet that size.
I'm hoping to put in 4-5 plants.
Thanks for any help

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Frank Nitty said:

Dude, your room is going to be hotter than a sauna unless you have great circulation going on in there... Trust me, I've been there... Not to discourage you, do what you like, im just speaking from experience...

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tst2015 said:

Its going to be in a spare bedroom that never gets used. I have access to a window for venting but I was trying to keep from having to get too complicated on my first grow. That's why I wanted to try CFLs. Figured it wouldn't be as hot as HID

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Frank Nitty said:

I thought the same thing you are... Tent was hot!!! Then I got a 300w Roleadro upgraded led, shit was still hot, even with 4 fans... Got a qb288 135w kit and all my prayers were answered!!! Temperatures never really get higher than 86 degrees, right now its at 79... You can't bear it for $185!!! Best money I've spent so far until I get these autopots... Check this out...View attachment 4155586

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tst2015 said:

Nice! How many plants you got going on in that pic?

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Dr.Chronic said:

Tutorial to Growing with CFL’s by Doctor Chronic

What is a CFL?

A Compact Fluorescent Light is a type of fluorescent that was originally designed to replace the standard E26 Edison Incandescent Lamp. The reason being, CFL’s will put out the same amount of visible light using much less power and a significantly longer rated life span. Even though the price of the CFL’s is higher than Incandescent bulb’s, they are generally rated to run anywhere from 8,000 to 15,000 hours. There many advantages of using CFL’s. Maybe you are growing personal smoke, or you can’t afford an HID system, or an HID system just isn’t practical. For some, HID lights aren’t available in their area. However, CFL’s are sold almost anywhere (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, etc&#8230. CFL’s are in general a much cheaper growing solution, and their just plain simple to use –self-ballastedand it screw’s into a regular light socket. I’m NOT saying CFL’s are better for growing than HID‘s, but in some cases it’s the only thing that will work.


CFL Wattage

Now sometimes there can be a lot of confusion when it comes to power of the light due to poor labeling but we will do our best toclear all of that up. Normally light manufacturers that make CFL’s generally will put two numbers on the box your CFL comes in. One is Actual Wattage and one is the Incandescent Equal. As you can see here on this CFL the Actual Wattage is 23 Watts, and it’s Incandescent Equal is 100 Watt’s. You need to totally ignore the Incandescent Equal and pay attention only to the Actual Wattage of the Bulb.

Color Temperature

You might see a lot of different labels when shopping at the store for CFL’s. Label’s including Soft White, Warm White, Cool White, Bright White, Halogen White, Daylight White, Full Spectrum. And also label’s like 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, 4000K, 5000K, 6400K, and 6500K. These are all the color temperature of the light you are using. This is a measure of how warm or cool the light given off by a lamp appears, with warmer colors having a yellowish tinge and cooler colors being tinged with blue. What confuses some people is that the warmer a color is, the colder its color temperature is. (ex. Warm White = 2700K). Bulbs ranging in the 2700K-3000K spectrum are usually labeled Warm White or Soft White, bulbs ranging in the 3500K – 4000K spectrum are bright white or cool white, 5000K is labeled Full Spectrum, and finally 6400K – 6500K is labeled Daylight. You can grow an entire crop with CFL’s if you chose the right spectrum of bulb’s. For Vegetation you will want to use 6500K or 5000K, and when you flower you will want to switch to 2700K or 3000K . The reason being, throughout the year the plant’s outside receive more 6500K light because the day’s in summer are long and hot and as Autumn/Winter get’s closer the day get’s shorter, and gradually receives less 6500K light and more 2700K light as the plant flower’s. Do what you can to avoid bulbs within that 3500K – 4000K because they emit very little light that Is useful to your plant. Notice here the difference between the CT of these lamp’s

How to use CFL’s?

In order to efficiently use CFL’s to grow your MJ you will need to position the lights around 2 – 4 inches from the foliage of the plant. If you place the light too close, then your plant will have nothing to vertically stretch to and it will remain short and stocky. (Ex. My First Grow and FarmingToronto’s) Some people combat this by addingCFL’s to the side of foliage instead of on top of it. On the other hand if the light is too far away from the plant, the stem will suffer elongation (stretching), which will result in loose and fluffy bud’s.It is very important to note that when using CFL’s it’s a daily “battle” to have lights in the right spot. Many of us are in our grow areas at least once a day anyway, so to move your bulbs a bit really isn’t that big a deal. Also many people wonder is it better to have many low watt CFL’s or just a few high watt CFL’s. Both way’s are capable of provided you a good harvest but I suggest you chose the configuration that is easiest for you and your grow area.

Where can I get these CFL’s?

Many low wattage (23-42) CFL’s can be bought at locate retail giants , such as Wal-mart, Lowes, Home Depot, and just about any hardware store you can find. If you are looking to purchase higher wattage (42 – 200) CFL’s I would recommend ordering them online. http://www.1000bulbs.com/2-to-200-Watt-Compact-Fluorescent-Screw-In-Light-Bulbs/ has very good prices on CFL’s ranging from 2 – 200 Watt’s. http://www.buylighting.com/Non-Dimmable-Compact-Fluorescent-s/75.htm has a good selection ranging from 5 – 200 Watt’s in a wide range of spectrum’s. I have used both of these sites several times and I would recommend them to anyone that plan’s to grow with CFL’s.

In the end there are many different GOOD setup’s so don’t set your mind on the ONE perfect CFL setup. Just apply these basic tip’s when starting a CFL grow and you WILL see success. If you have any questions or comment’s I would greatly appreciate it. I want to thank the one and only, FarmingToronto for editing this Tutorial. Sincerely

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Dro3420 said:

Would u say from pic that my nodes are to close. I have 125w total cfl. 3 6500 and 2 2700. Should i take out the 2 2700 and put more 6500k in there place. I thought it would b better to give both. that ok u think. Or just use 6500 for veg and 2700 for flower dnt mix????

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Love420faces said:

The only blue spectrum for veg and only red spec for budding is new to me and i will give it a try.. thanks for the tip..

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Dro3420 said:

So dnt mix all color range cfl for whole grow. 6500 and 2700. Just 6500 for veg and 2700 for flower. Dam fr thought they would benefit from both. Gata switch some bulbs around...

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Boatguy said:

This is an ancient thread. Dr. Chronic and Humbolt havent logged in since 2011
Start a new thread and you will probably get more help

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Dro3420 said:

So dnt mix all color range cfl for whole grow. 6500 and 2700. Just 6500 for veg and 2700 for flower. Dam fr thought they would benefit from both. Gata switch some bulbs around...

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