42 watt average $10.00 each

65 watts, = $19.99 average price ($16.95 now at Lowes and Home Depot)

85 Watt, average $29.00 each




105 watt average $38.99 each


Pricea re droping now everywhere

Or Look for Clamp Reflectors and Bulbs together:




CFLs come in 15, 26, 42, 65, 85 and 105 watts and recently last year, even larger wattages.
The 26s and smaller are not as efficient to me.
26s to 85s do not put out any noticable heat unless oyu use a lot of them.. The 105s do put out some heat, but not as much as HID lights.
I can touch and hold a burning 65 or 85 watt bulb.
The 42's are about $9 each.
65 watts are abut $24 each, 85s are $30 each, 105s are $39 to $42 each, average is $40 each for 105s.
A CFL needs a reflector, like a hood. I like the $10 heavy duty clamp reflectors at Lowes, Home Depot or Walmart. They also offer a cheaper $8 reflector but it is smaller and flimsey.

With CFLs, you need the DUAL SPECTRUM, red and blue spectrums. That does not refer to the color of the bulb that you see. It refers to the kind of rays, like UVA or UVB, or the color temp, called kevins.
CFLS come in 2700 kevins, 3000, 4100, 5100, and 6500.
2700k is for BLOOM OR FLOWERING , 6500k is the VEG Spectrum. The others are "MID" spectrums or in between.
IF you sue the MID-range bulbs (4100) then also use the 6500 and 2700s.
In outdoors, the sun produces different rays in the spring (VEG Rays called Blue) and late summer for Bloom spectrum, the RED spectrum. (see more below)

CFLs are new on the scene, in 2006 the biggest made was 65 watts. When we talk about CFL watts, we are talking about the actually electricity used, NOT the equivalant. For example, a 15 watt CFL bulb puts out 60 watts.

Spiral and Tube type CLFS emit LIGHT FROM THE SIDES, NOT THE ENDS OR TIPS.

YOU CAN GET SPIRAL CFLS (15, 26, 42, 65, 85) AND TUBE TYPE CFLS 105s.

How much light is needed for growing?
Depends on the size of plant you are trying to grow. I'll try to answer this "in general" instead of being specific to one size plant. Light seen and perceived with the human eye is measured in Lumens. There is an ideal amount of lumens for growing and a minimum amount of required lumens. The very minimum amount of light required for smaller sized plants grown is around 3000 lumens per square foot. Let me put emphasis on "minimum amount" of light. However, that's not 100% exactly accurate, since although you may have a 10,000 lumen light, the amount of light that reaches the plant varies with the distance between the light and plants, and the reflectivity of the grow area. The ideal amount is somewhere around 7000-10,000 lumens per square foot for average sized plants. As long as the plants do not show burn, as much light can be used as you want to use. (Note, the sun produces about 10,000 lumens per square foot, on a sunny mid summer day).

Determining lumens for your grow area:
First determine the square footage of your area (example in a 4 foot by 4 foot area, there is 16 square feet, 2 by 2 feet is 4 Sq ft. ) If you have a 1000 Watt High Pressure Sodium Light Bulb, that produces approximately 107,000 lumens. Divide this by 16 (your square footage) 107,000 divided by 16 = 6687 lumens per square foot. So just divide the total amount of Lumens, by the total amount of square feet, and that's your lumens per square foot.

How far away from my plants do the lights go?
The lights in your grow room should be as close as possible to the plants without burning them. There is no such thing as too much light, unless there is overly sufficient heat to dry out and burn the leaves. A good rule is to put your hand under the light, if its too hot for your hand, chances are that the plants will be too hot too, so move the light up until your hand feels more comfortable. For seedlings or sprouts, I keep them a little further away from the light, because they are very susceptible to burning and drying out, at these young stages.

How do I decide which lights to use?
Efficiency is very important when choosing a type of light. The wattage is not the most important thing, different types of light produce different amounts of lumens per watt. For example, a 300 watt incandescent will produce about 5100 lumens. (not that you can grow with incandescent bulbs) While a 300 watt Metal Halide (just an example, they do not come in 300 watts), will produce 27,000 lumens. Obviously far more efficient for growing, while still using the same amount of electricity.

Approximate light production:
Incandescents: 17 lumens/watt
Mercury vapor: 45-50 lumens/watt
Fluorescents: 60-70 lumens/watt
Metal halide: 90 lumens/watt
High pressure sodium: 107 lumens/watt


Incandescent lights: Incandescent bulbs are the most popular type of lights in the world. They may come advertised as incandescent, tungsten, quartz, halogen, or simply standard. The important thing about incandescent bulbs when it come to growing is simply this: they suck. Using incandescent bulbs to grow plants is like trying to flag down the Space Challenger with a burnt out match! You can do it, but it won't work. There are some incandescents which are sold as "grow lights." They usually have a blue coating and usually come in 60W and 120W sizes. While they may seem like a good choice to new growers, they are next to useless; they produce some light at a usable spectrum, but only have about a 5% efficiency and generate more heat than usable light. Most of us have these in our homes right now. Don't use them for growing, instead opt for a Compact Fluorescent, CFL, as a cheaper but more efficient alternative.

Fluorescent lights: Fluorescents are far more useful than incandescents. They are efficient enough, and much less expensive than HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights. Compact fluorescent tubes, (commonly called CFLs) are popular with growers because of their good output to size ratio. Compared to standard 4 foot tubes, CFLs are smaller, more easily moved, and more can fit into a given small area. CFLs are good for small grows on a tight budget, and for novice growers, since they do not require any special sort of wiring or understanding of the necessary bulbs for a given fixture, and the small wattage ones (23, 42 and 65) are very widely available. Fluorescent lights come in many different Kelvin (spectrum or color) ratings; often the spectrums are labeled on packaging as being 'cool white' or 'warm white.' Cool white is more blue, and is good for the vegetative stages of growth. The bulbs are ultra white. Warm white light is more reddish in spectrum, and is best for the flowering stage. The bulbs are almost cream colored.

Color rating - Measured in Kelvin (K). The higher the number, the more bluish the light. 4000K-7000K is mostly on the blue side of the spectrum for Vegging or GROWING, while 3000K and under goes from a white spectrum, to a redder spectrum and is best for BLOOMING or FLOWERING.


High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lighting Systems:

Mercury Vapor (MV)
Mercury vapor lights are not the most efficient light for growing. They are very bright, and relatively cheap. They do emit light at the wavelengths necessary to support your plants growth, but not nearly as good as a MH or HPS light. Much of the light emitted by MV lights is bluish-white. Street lighting is what most MV lighting is used for.

Metal Halide (MH)
Metal halide lighting systems are optimal for use in the vegetative phase of growing. They emit mostly blue light, which encourages vigorous growth of foliage. They are very efficient, but can get rather expensive to start with; fluorescents may seem more appealing because of their lower price, and they are not much different when compared on a lumen-to-lumen cost level. These lights can be used through-out the grow, but leave a lot to be desired in the BLOOM stage.

High Pressure Sodium (HPS)
High pressure sodium lights emit mostly orange, yellow, and red spectrum light, which is perfect for the flowering stage of the plants growth. They are (in my opinion) the most efficient type of light available for any application if you are not on a budget and can vent the grow area for heat. HPS lights can be used through-out the entire grow. They produce more dense and usually larger flowers or fruit than any other light. HPS lights are generally a little more expensive than MH systems of similar wattage. They are more commonly used by experienced commercial growers because of their ability to produce tighter denser flowers, higher lumen-output-per-watt, and will produce from start to finish.

Just like everything else, available grow lights are evolving. Remember how the sun produces 10,000 lumens per square foot in the mid-summer. Well, today there are CFLs that can actually duplicate those lumens. If you can not grow under the sun, then bring the sun inside. Yes, you can have 20,000 lumens covering the entire grow space with the new 105 watt per bulb CFLs. Three of these bulbs in the proper reflector actually yields 20,000 lumens.This is what I get with my CFLS:



I am very happy with 4 65s, and 4 85s, VERY HAPPY, and the additional 105s are great, but I have to keep a fan running and I am not as STEALTHY as I used to be.

Dual Spectrum 65 High Output Fluorescent BulbsLow heat, energy efficient light bulbs for use with Stealth Hydro Dual Spectrum Lighting Systems. Available in blue (vegetative) and red (flowering) spectrums.






Price: $23.99 Dual Spectrum II High Output Fluorescent BulbsLow heat, energy efficient light bulbs for use with Stealth Hydro Dual Spectrum II Lighting Systems. Available in blue (vegetative) and red (flowering)
spectrums.



85s are 29.99 each
Multi Spectrum Fluorescent Tube CFLLow heat, energy efficient light bulbs for use with Stealth Hydro Multi Spectrum Lighting Systems. Available in 6500 K (vegetative) and 3000 K (flowering) spectrums.
Price: $38.99

The above can be found cheaper.

And $9 each for the 42s.

The pics do not show the 42s that I put on the sides, on a STAND I made from a metal shelf.

I like being able to move the CFLS around, and lower them down in between the plants, the clamp- reflectors are just $10 each.Lowes, Walmart, Home Depot:





then one of these:


and if you want to add two lights to a reflector, you get a Y spliter.


See the difference in COOL WHITE and WARM WHITE:

__________________
Roseman
When you grow with Mother Nature, you Grow with God.
May Peace and Joy Be Your Companions.
[FONT=Arial]Ask me about DWC, CFLS, and Indoor Growing.

well said roseman....this should be a sticky

One of many mistakes I have made over the years, is I wish I had labeled or dated my bulbs.

I have some 65 and 85 watt bulbs, and they have seen 6 GROWS. I wish I knew how to distinguish them from the new ones.

I highly urge everyone to date-label your bulbs.

__________________
Roseman
When you grow with Mother Nature, you Grow with God.
May Peace and Joy Be Your Companions.
[FONT=Arial]Ask me about DWC, CFLS, and Indoor Growing.

Lowes and Home depot only had 42 watts with the regular sockets, until a couple months ago, now they have a 65 and a 68 watt CFL for $16.95 each, both are 6500 K spectrum.

__________________
Roseman
When you grow with Mother Nature, you Grow with God.
May Peace and Joy Be Your Companions.
[FONT=Arial]Ask me about DWC, CFLS, and Indoor Growing.

What are the dimensions of 105W CFL tube?

- Thanks

Hi there DN welcome to Green Passion drop by and Introduce Yourself to the rest of the site.

I found some general info with sizes at different cfl lighting supply companies on the net.


2 Matching Results

Half Spiral Energy Saving Lamps(CFL)

Jun 11, 2008 HALF SPIRAL TUBE DIAMETER: 9mm/ 12mm/ 14mm/ 17mm WORKING TIME: 8000/ 6000Hrs BASE: B22/ E27 VOLTAGE: 110-240V POWER: 5-105W Suitable for indoor, dining room, hotel use!


6U Energy Saving Lamp/CFL/Compacted Fluorescent Lamp

6U energy saving lamp 1. voltage: 220V 50Hz 2. watts: 105W/ 125W/ 155W/ 185W/ 200W 3. the diameter for the tube is 17mm 4.lamp cap : E40 5. light output : 7550/ 9250/ 10250/ 11850/ 13450LM 6. color tempreture: 2700/ 6400K 7. life time : 8000-10000 hours ...
Chongqing Liebao And Technology Co., Ltd



Energy Saving Lamps (CFL Lamps)

Energy saving lamps 2U, 3U, 4U BASE: B22/ E27 VOLTAGE: 110-240V 9/ 12/ 14/ 17MM Diameter POWER: 5-105W tricolor, 8000hours Suit for indoor use and save power
Haiyan Guanghe Electrical Appliance Co., Ltd.



Many sizes and shapes available at most hardware stores or specialty shops. Good luck.

__________________

this has been a very useful thread, thank you.

great thread, does anyone know were i can get the y splitters? iv looked every were in my area in aus and on the net. maybe someone knows of a online store??

thanks

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

Any hardware store has them. Home Depot, Lowes, Granger and E-bay, if you want to buy them over the net. Peace.

i went to see the hyd guru today and apparently we dont have em in aus due to australian standards!? fff@$%.
im hoping his mistakin, so if theres any ozzys that can stear me in the right direction??

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

here ya go man, they have them at amazon, here's the link.

Amazon.com: light socket splitter

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

Sorry to give ya a bum steer. Good luck with the hunt.

thanks for your time folks, amazon wont ship them to my address, or my mates ill continue my hunt lol

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

i can't be sure as i don't live in Australia but i don't think it was you that
steered him wrong, i think it was his local hydro guru.

fact is, if they use the same size sockets for CFL's in Australia, those
splitters will indeed work, i promise, lol. ...and as you can see, they are
available at Amazon.

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

i'm confused, i thought Amazon shipped to anywhere!

lol i know i cant believe my luck with this, exactly as you say, the lights themselfs are the same so why the piss dont we have the adapters?
iv tried several amazon sellers/items

but i keep getting this:
Important Message

• Leviton 00600128I Twin Socket Adapter cannot be shipped to the selected address.

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

na man, no bum steer at all, thanks for your help

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

have you considered wiring up your own light sockets? ...are you at all handy?

wiring CFL's is pretty straight forward, very simple to understand.

also, if you start with something like this, if you can't find splitters, just use
2 of them.

Attached Images

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	DSCI0094smll.jpg (96.9 KB, 21 views)

__________________
peace, bozo

Those that give up Liberty to have temporary Security deserve Neither......Benjamin Franklin.

bozo's mother cab, bozo's bud box, bozo's bubble cloner, bozo's multi-strain micro-SOG

The Complete guide to Sick Plants,pH, and Pest troubles! MynameStitch

i think im goin to have to give it a go, ill stop hijacking this thread now. thankyou very much for your time man, sorry to be a headache. peace

__________________
all the information i provide is 100% fictional, pictures are for entertainment purposes only

Ok, somethings kinda weird but, we got more than one way to skin a cat. I built my first CFl lighting bar out of a extension cord strip and these direct plugins. The one on the right... It worked just fine. Peace.