Cheap Lightbulb Experiment

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exte

exte

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Second post for me - I've been curious about growing with ordinary cheap lights I can get anywhere.

So I grabbed some $0.99 13w LED and some CCFLs I had laying around and been tinkering with different set ups.

I've got about 14 or so $1 Greenlite bulbs I picked up which are going to be properly mounted soon, mix or 3000k and 5000k

I'll continue to post as this evolves, currently I have them in a box I made still have yet to finish the inside, so the walls aren't done yet!

I do have two 7-1 light holders coming, where I'll throw in 3x3000k 3x5000k and a cheap LED blurple grow light to see the results.

All up probably about $40 worth.

So far this is about two weeks under the light bulbs, first two weeks were in a window
 
Cheap lightbulb experiment
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Jimster

Jimster

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It will work well, for a ittle while until the plants outgrow the lights in a few weeks. Countless growers have tried this and the plants start off well but quickly fizzle out and get thin/lanky. If you are handy at all with your hands and simple wiring (no soldering), you can buy some decent 50 watt modules that only need a cheap heatsink and 110V... about $10 if you put the heatsink on yourself (usually comes with the screws needed). The newer modules have built in drivers and don't need a lot of the old equipment needed, just hook up to 110VAC, attatch to heatsink, and let it shine. There are also a bunch of really cheap ready made lights that will work OK as well. Enjoy your experiments but you will need a LOT more light to have a sucessful plant.
Keep up the good work!
 
exte

exte

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Forgot to add, the seeds are from Ethos, but I forget what they are.

This is March 21 where I had them starting in the window - I'm fortunate my bedroom gets direct sun the entire day all season thanks to the 12ft ceilings and 8 matching windows!
 
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exte

exte

30
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Jimster said:
It will work well, for a ittle while until the plants outgrow the lights in a few weeks. Countless growers have tried this and the plants start off well but quickly fizzle out and get thin/lanky. If you are handy at all with your hands and simple wiring (no soldering), you can buy some decent 50 watt modules that only need a cheap heatsink and 110V... about $10 if you put the heatsink on yourself (usually comes with the screws needed). The newer modules have built in drivers and don't need a lot of the old equipment needed, just hook up to 110VAC, attatch to heatsink, and let it shine. There are also a bunch of really cheap ready made lights that will work OK as well. Enjoy your experiments but you will need a LOT more light to have a sucessful plant.
Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Thank you yes, well aware of this factor!

I have a real more powerful grow light already , but this is a little more fun.

One this is set up right, I'll have 14 bulbs running, until I finish building my other house where I've built a dedicated below ground grow room, this will suffice :)
 
exte

exte

30
18
Jimster said:
It will work well, for a ittle while until the plants outgrow the lights in a few weeks. Countless growers have tried this and the plants start off well but quickly fizzle out and get thin/lanky. If you are handy at all with your hands and simple wiring (no soldering), you can buy some decent 50 watt modules that only need a cheap heatsink and 110V... about $10 if you put the heatsink on yourself (usually comes with the screws needed). The newer modules have built in drivers and don't need a lot of the old equipment needed, just hook up to 110VAC, attatch to heatsink, and let it shine. There are also a bunch of really cheap ready made lights that will work OK as well. Enjoy your experiments but you will need a LOT more light to have a sucessful plant.
Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

One of these bad boys ?
https://www.amazon.com/LOHAS-LED-White-Energy-Saving/dp/B00D1GT772
 
Jimster

Jimster

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exte said:
Thank you yes, well aware of this factor!

I have a real more powerful grow light already , but this is a little more fun.

One this is set up right, I'll have 14 bulbs running, until I finish building my other house where I've built a dedicated below ground grow room, this will suffice :)
Click to expand...
Good planning! Make sure to have a good drain, plenty of power (ideally on a separate circuit), and good ventilation... ventilation being very important because you will be getting very stinky and the humidity buildup might be a problem. Depending on the size of the room, a furnace blower might be better than the smaller inline fans. They work for a small tent but a large room often overwhelms them!
 
exte

exte

30
18
Jimster said:
Good planning! Make sure to have a good drain, plenty of power (ideally on a separate circuit), and good ventilation... ventilation being very important because you will be getting very stinky and the humidity buildup might be a problem. Depending on the size of the room, a furnace blower might be better than the smaller inline fans. They work for a small tent but a large room often overwhelms them!
Click to expand...

Oh yes, whenever I build/construct I don't mess around.

Had to rebuild part of foundation at a property I have, it was an extension so had no basement, well it was easier to dig it out by hand, pour 3 new 8ft x 8" concrete walls and make a grow room :)

Got HVAC ducting running to the space already, going to be running something like a Panasonic Whisper inline exhaust fan at least 240cfm

Run a 20A branch circuit already.

PEX water branch already connected.

Work in progress, currently it's storage for tools until I'm ready to start working on the basement!

I'm very lucky I know electrical, carpentry, concrete and plumbing !
 
exte

exte

30
18
Jimster said:
Good planning! Make sure to have a good drain, plenty of power (ideally on a separate circuit), and good ventilation... ventilation being very important because you will be getting very stinky and the humidity buildup might be a problem. Depending on the size of the room, a furnace blower might be better than the smaller inline fans. They work for a small tent but a large room often overwhelms them!
Click to expand...

Some photos of the grow room last year whilst I was building it - about 8' x 8'

Was a useless POS extension someone built in the 60s without any proper footings!!!!!!!

Morons put cinderblocks on dirt !
 
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Jimster

Jimster

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Take a look at these. This is the ones that are super simple to put together yourself with a cheap heatsink. If you have a fan to blow over them it is even beter. Here is an Eay link, but they are available everywhere in various colors and powers, hooking up to any ACvoltage between 85 and 220 volts, For $10 you get a great area light!



I still prefer HID myself, but LEDs are making serious advances in efficiency and color availability. They make some nice UV LEDs out there too, but they are a little pricier.

www.ebay.com

1W 3W 5W White Blue Green UV Yellow Red RGB High Power LED SMD Chip COB Lamp PCB | eBay

PCB welding. Ultraviolet(UV). Cold White. Super Cool White. Cool White. Natural White. Red:620-630 Green:520-530 Blue:460-470. Red:350mA Green:350mA Blue:350mA.
www.ebay.com
 
exte

exte

30
18
Jimster said:
Take a look at these. This is the ones that are super simple to put together yourself with a cheap heatsink. If you have a fan to blow over them it is even beter. Here is an Eay link, but they are available everywhere in various colors and powers, hooking up to any ACvoltage between 85 and 220 volts, For $10 you get a great area light!



I still prefer HID myself, but LEDs are making serious advances in efficiency and color availability. They make some nice UV LEDs out there too, but they are a little pricier.

www.ebay.com

1W 3W 5W White Blue Green UV Yellow Red RGB High Power LED SMD Chip COB Lamp PCB | eBay

PCB welding. Ultraviolet(UV). Cold White. Super Cool White. Cool White. Natural White. Red:620-630 Green:520-530 Blue:460-470. Red:350mA Green:350mA Blue:350mA.
www.ebay.com
Click to expand...

thanks mate appreciate it!
 
B

Burned Haze

Guest
Awesome passion and grow mate , like the different outlook and experiment . Keep it up

‘I’m down, subscribed
 
exte

exte

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18
Indeed!
I’ve got a fan in there but something to keep an eye on specially if I remove the diffusers
 
exte

exte

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Playing around with the light arrangements, got some other plants in there for the moment (getting ready to go outside)

Short a couple of 2700k bulbs, so going to grab a couple more tomorrow, hack off the diffusers and paint the box.
 
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Hidd3nGr0w

Hidd3nGr0w

474
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Lumens are the key to the small bulbs. That and popping off the domes.
 
Hands On

Hands On

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Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons

Off the shelf retail store screw-in LED and CFL bulb comparisons

If you're a CFL micro grower like me, I'm sure you've been seeing more and more LED bulbs appearing in your local box stores next to the CFLs. Maybe you're wondering, like I was, are these things any good for growing? I know my initial impressions from what I was seeing on the shelves, was no...
www.icmag.com
 
revfunk

revfunk

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Should be fun for another week or three 😉

What is that contraption you have for your lights.....looks like a "chandelier " of lights 🤔
 
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