your home made cfl light fixture

stoney_stoner

Well-Known Member
im just tryin to get an idea on how to make mine so im wondering if some of you guys can post up some pics of your home made cfl light fixture.

im just tryin to think what to use and then a design ..
 

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
Don't have a pic, but I can describe my setup.

I took two 1x3 boards and drilled holes along their length. I pulled approx 6' of 12ga wire through each of the holes and wired standard light sockets to the end. Attach wires with wire-nuts and tape to relieve stress. Parallel wire the other ends and connect to a 12 ga lamp cord in the same fashion. Now, I hang these fixtures (I have 2 fixtures, each holding 8 lights) from the ceiling and plug into timer. Here's the nifty part. I can pull the wires through the holes in the boards to raise the lights and then place a paper binder clip on the wire to hold in place. My 42watt cfls are suspended over the plant tops and my 23watt cfls are dropped lower, between the plants, to shine on the lower growth.

It's not the most ideal setup as it can get frustrating adjusting so many lights so frequently but it gets the job done and it's cheap. The sockets cost less than $1 ea, the wire is $10 for 50', a bucket of wire nuts are about $5. The whole setup, with the exception of bulbs, cost less than $40 and holds 16 lights. This is suspended in a room thats 4' x 3' x 7', and with all the mylar looks like a small sun when you open the hatch :)
 

stoney_stoner

Well-Known Member
Don't have a pic, but I can describe my setup.

I took two 1x3 boards and drilled holes along their length. I pulled approx 6' of 12ga wire through each of the holes and wired standard light sockets to the end. Attach wires with wire-nuts and tape to relieve stress. Parallel wire the other ends and connect to a 12 ga lamp cord in the same fashion. Now, I hang these fixtures (I have 2 fixtures, each holding 8 lights) from the ceiling and plug into timer. Here's the nifty part. I can pull the wires through the holes in the boards to raise the lights and then place a paper binder clip on the wire to hold in place. My 42watt cfls are suspended over the plant tops and my 23watt cfls are dropped lower, between the plants, to shine on the lower growth.

It's not the most ideal setup as it can get frustrating adjusting so many lights so frequently but it gets the job done and it's cheap. The sockets cost less than $1 ea, the wire is $10 for 50', a bucket of wire nuts are about $5. The whole setup, with the exception of bulbs, cost less than $40 and holds 16 lights. This is suspended in a room thats 4' x 3' x 7', and with all the mylar looks like a small sun when you open the hatch :)

its kind of hard to understand for me with out a pic but thanks...
 

g0nz0

Active Member
They also sell "Y" shaped splitter plugs at hardware stores for like $2.50 .... allowing you to run 2 lights per every outlet. For those like me who choose to try to keep extra wiring down to a minimum.
 

ILoveUMaryJane

Well-Known Member
Here's mine, made it today





Basically deconstructed a cheap desk lamp and attached it to a bent pannel of steel linew with mylar using coat-hangers! It's pretty ghetto but it seems to work damn well!
 

TheConstantGardner

Well-Known Member
for all the money I've invested in cfls alone I could have gotten a 400watt hps w/ballast and adjustable reflector and had enough left over for a 6 pack of Coronas. Oh well, live and learn. Maybe I need to construct a second room for flowering?
 

ILoveUMaryJane

Well-Known Member
Umm, it's just your average screw fitting. Came from a desk lamp. The bulb's off a popular online auction site for £15 :)
 

Spittn4cash

Well-Known Member
Here's mine, made it today





Basically deconstructed a cheap desk lamp and attached it to a bent pannel of steel linew with mylar using coat-hangers! It's pretty ghetto but it seems to work damn well!
where did ya get that panel from? that lil setup woulda saved me a lot of time, and it doesnt look like much of a fire hazard as mine does...

 

g0nz0

Active Member
foil causes hot spots and is generally not an efficient reflector. As mogie pointed out you can go to a local dollar store and look in the gift wrap section for the "polywrap" or the silver/chrome wrap. I just purchased three rolls for 3 bucks.
 

g0nz0

Active Member
just mention how it is for your cousins/friends birthday and how you hope you make the party in time.
 

stoney_stoner

Well-Known Member
just made mine last night (reason for askiin so i got a good idea)anyways here is what i came up with its not fully done but its being used cuz i dont need 6 lights this min....
 
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