Hey all, I've got a question.

Alright, so I've grown with CFL's before and not had any problems, but now I'm looking close at the packaging for some CFL's that I bought today and they say in the warning not to use it with electric timers.

Is an electric timer the same as a lamp timer? I assume so.

So I'm wondering, why not? What will happen? Does anybody know?

I know that there are some CFL's that say in the warning not to use them in totally enclosed fixtures, but that's because CFL's are much more heat-sensitive than incandescents and so if you don't allow air movement around a bulb that's designed to rely on air movement the reaction inside is affected and the lumens output of the lamp is reduced. So the warning against enclosed fixtures on some bulbs is because it will effect the performance of the product, not because it's a safety hazard. So I was wondering about the timer thing, what's the deal with that?

Is it a safety issue or a performance issue?

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Nothing that I say is true. When I use the word "I" I am referring to a fictional entity.

Current Grow:
http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/cfl-closet-grow-14588/

Nobody knows?

I havent had any problems at all with curlies and timers.I have had a timer on my cfl's for two years now. It really is the same thing as a light switch.Safety or performance ...I dunno

Thanks, that's what I thought, it's just opening and closing the circuit, right? The warning just baffles me.

Different brands warn of different things that sometimes seem weird but I've never heard of a warning against using timers before. If anybody's interested the brand I got is called Bright Effects.

__________________

Nothing that I say is true. When I use the word "I" I am referring to a fictional entity.

Current Grow:
http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/cfl-closet-grow-14588/

I am doing a cfl grow. I use a timer. No problems at all that I can see.

Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't be all CFL bulbs, just this particular brand Bright Effects.

I just put those ones I bought into regular fixtures around the house and I won't buy them again, just to be sure. On the bright side, there are no longer any incandescent bulbs in my home.

__________________

Nothing that I say is true. When I use the word "I" I am referring to a fictional entity.

Current Grow:
http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/cfl-closet-grow-14588/

High Nlover..

As I remember (and it ain't what it used to be!), some cfl (florecents) are not recommended for use with a dimmer switch.
They are either off or on... some now, are useable with dimmers.. As pineboy and Bonniesicker say, timer is just an on/off switch...
Never notice timers being an issue.. I'll go look..

GL

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Ciao
4maggi

The future ain't what it used to be... Yogi Berra..
Ask Lucas: https://www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=892

Dimmer and timer - two separate operations. As I understand it, CFLs are not to be used with dimmers.

High bonniesicker.. yes 2 different areas of operation...
some CFLs are now 'dimmer' compatable..

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Ciao
4maggi

The future ain't what it used to be... Yogi Berra..
Ask Lucas: https://www.cannabis-world.org/cw/showthread.php?t=892

OK. Thanks.

Yes, when I switched to cfls in my home, that disappointed me. i think a dimmer is a good thing in some rooms.

Peace

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j-angel

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Just so everybody doesn't think I don't know the difference between dimmers and timers here's an article that mentions electric timers being incompatible with bright effects bulbs. Bright Effects Compact Fluorescent Energy Saving Light Bulbs, Page 2 of 2 - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Paragraph 2 on the second page tells you what the bulbs are incompatible with, and electric timers are on there. I've been googling everywhere and can't seem to find reference to what happens with timers that's so spooky to bright effects bulbs.

In any case, I'm forced into using two of those bulbs at the moment because my hardware store has no other equivalent 6500k lights, and my grow was already imbalanced toward the 2700k's before I added the two new ones. So now I've got those two bright effects brand bulbs on the timer with two cfl bulbs by another brand with no anti-timer warning and 4 tubes. It's been that way for almost a week now. I just don't understand, is this supposed to be a brain teaser?

__________________

Nothing that I say is true. When I use the word "I" I am referring to a fictional entity.

Current Grow:
http://www.greenpassion.org/f24/cfl-closet-grow-14588/

Are dimmers needed In a grow room?

If i remember correctly. Whe you use an electric timer it makes the cfl bulbs more prone to burning out. I had this problem with 42w cfls. I went through 3 Daylight, as they seemed to always burn out. It may also depreciate the brightness of the bulb...take one you used for a while, hook it up, hook up a new bulb, put on some dark glasses, turn em on and compare--some will naturally become less bright, with use, anyway so it would be personal preference.

A dimmer is where the light can be made adjusted from bright to brighter--if you know music it acts like a crescendo, a gradual increase.
Some bulbs can be used for 3 way lighting. It will say specificly that it can. These ones are three step in brightness. bright, brighter, brightest

A light timer tells the bulb when to turn off and on.

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oh yeah, oh yeah.

i don't recall anyone using light dimmers. only fan speed controller.

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oh yeah, oh yeah.

Me neither.