My home made grow light!

[Potfairy]

Look at my homemade light!
$2 bathroom vanity bar from ReStore
$11 GROUNDED extension cord
$free piece of wood from the garage
$free chain I had laying around
$20 4-pack of 100w equivalent 3000k soft white. After extensive research these have a similar spectrum to a MH.

At 18” from the canopy I get 116,000 lux and 24” from canopy I get 102,000 lux. Since I already know around about what spectrum I have, im focusing on strength of light so im using Lux instead of PAR.

Not only do they work, but signs of light stress inspired me take the light measurements. Thats how I found out just how strong they really are 😂

If you do something similar, make sure you get the spot lights. They act as their own “hood” and at 18” above the canopy, the DLI at canopy level increased by 2.3 as opposed to round 360° beam bulbs.

Im not going to claim it is a 400w equivalent without a professional luminosity test. But seeing light stress at 12” from canopy is enough to convince me they are strong enough 😅

Happy growing!

 

[Potfairy]

Numbers were off, thats 106,000 at 18” and 116,000 at 12” 😅

 

[Mr.GreenthumbOG]

That’ll do. In a pinch.
Pray it doesn’t catch fire🔥🙏

 

[Potfairy]

That’ll do. In a pinch.
Pray it doesn’t catch fire🔥🙏

Oh, it will do for an extended period 😉 its properly wired, grounded, and insulated. I happen to know what I'm doing. I appreciate the concern though! Always nice to know people are willing to look out for a complete stranger that for all they know is an incompetent, ignorant dunce. I happen not to be, but I cant blame anyone for assuming 😇

 

[Shaded_One]

Hello! 🧙‍♂️

Not trying to damper your excitement but most of those store bought LED bulbs are like 10-20w true draw. So you've built yourself an 80w LED plank! Well done and good on you for being resourceful :)

I would be a little reserved on those LUX numbers though. And you haven't even used a knife to cut off the outer "shell" of the bulb yet to expose the diodes... 😎

Unless those are not LED lights and you can ignore everything I've said.

 

[growsince79]

Look at my homemade light!
$2 bathroom vanity bar from ReStore
$11 GROUNDED extension cord
$free piece of wood from the garage
$free chain I had laying around
$20 4-pack of 100w equivalent 3000k soft white. After extensive research these have a similar spectrum to a MH.

At 18” from the canopy I get 116,000 lux and 24” from canopy I get 102,000 lux. Since I already know around about what spectrum I have, im focusing on strength of light so im using Lux instead of PAR.

Not only do they work, but signs of light stress inspired me take the light measurements. Thats how I found out just how strong they really are 😂

If you do something similar, make sure you get the spot lights. They act as their own “hood” and at 18” above the canopy, the DLI at canopy level increased by 2.3 as opposed to round 360° beam bulbs.

Im not going to claim it is a 400w equivalent without a professional luminosity test. But seeing light stress at 12” from canopy is enough to convince me they are strong enough 😅

Happy growing! View attachment 1272291

3000K is closer to HPS than MH. No way are those lux numbers right. What meter are you using?

 

[PipeCarver]

Look at my homemade light!
$2 bathroom vanity bar from ReStore
$11 GROUNDED extension cord
$free piece of wood from the garage
$free chain I had laying around
$20 4-pack of 100w equivalent 3000k soft white. After extensive research these have a similar spectrum to a MH.

At 18” from the canopy I get 116,000 lux and 24” from canopy I get 102,000 lux. Since I already know around about what spectrum I have, im focusing on strength of light so im using Lux instead of PAR.

Not only do they work, but signs of light stress inspired me take the light measurements. Thats how I found out just how strong they really are 😂

If you do something similar, make sure you get the spot lights. They act as their own “hood” and at 18” above the canopy, the DLI at canopy level increased by 2.3 as opposed to round 360° beam bulbs.

Im not going to claim it is a 400w equivalent without a professional luminosity test. But seeing light stress at 12” from canopy is enough to convince me they are strong enough 😅

Happy growing! View attachment 1272291

You need to knock a couple of zero's off your lux numbers. 11,600 & 10,200 . They'll do for short vegging but they'll get long and lanky without more intensity. Flowering will be a problem if you want any quality buds.....buds yes, some, but light and airy .

Nice to see innovation and good luck, A guy here a while back @BigCube did similar and his came out pretty nice.

 

[Potfairy]

Hello! 🧙‍♂️

Not trying to damper your excitement but most of those store bought LED bulbs are like 10-20w true draw. So you've built yourself an 80w LED plank! Well done and good on you for being resourceful :)

I would be a little reserved on those LUX numbers though. And you haven't even used a knife to cut off the outer "shell" of the bulb yet to expose the diodes... 😎

View attachment 1272370

Unless those are not LED lights and you can ignore everything I've said.

Oh no you are most certainly correct! The actual draw is absolutely a mere 180 watts 😊 having a semi-professional photometer has given me the confidence that their claims of “100watt equivalent” are more or less accurate. As when they refer to “equivalence” for human lights, they are referring to actual Lumens, but “plant light” manufacturers that are attempting to compare the growth rate of plants between two lights with only misconstrued, misguided studies as evidence, and rarely any PAR/PPFD measurments.
Have to remember, these are people lights for seeing that I am using, not “plant lights” produced by charlatans. To a greater or lesser extent they have to match any number they have on the box. To include my research into what exact wavelengths they combine in those LED bulbs in order to achieve a certain eye effect on humans, I found the 3-4000k to have a rich red spectrum and moderate blue spectrum. You can check manufacturer listed light measurements yourself, and generally assume that even if an off-brand doesnt have a measurment, they will probaly knock off some name brand for how to mix their spectrum. If its a name brand with no measurements listed on the packaging, be very VERY wary.

My photometer also has a temp meter, DLI calculator, and PPFD calculator. Like I said, more amateur than professional, as a more expensive one would have a dedicated PAR meter included in its sensor array. Combined with all this, as well as light stress beginning to appear at 12” from canopy, I am confident in the conclusions that have been drawn, money spent, and results thereof. For the time being, I see ver little benefit in deconstructing the housing on an enclosed diode panel, especially knowing the failure rates of the microwelds used on the chip board, as well as the failure rates of the internal ballasts that are already exposed to shifts in current brought on by exposure to a raw electrical outlet. I see no reason to increase the failure rate by exposing them to humidity and sprays or other garden elements when my measurements, the manufacturers measurements, and dictates of general safety all account for the intact protective phosphor dome.

Thank you for your input though! Im sure you have every bit of success with your methodologies 😊

 

[Potfairy]

3000K is closer to HPS than MH. No way are those lux numbers right. What meter are you using?

True, thanks for catching that. I was thinking of 5000k. The numbers are correct, of you would like you build one yourself to check them, I can give you more details and you may choose any light meter you like 😊

 

[growsince79]

True, thanks for catching that. I was thinking of 5000k. The numbers are correct, of you would like you build one yourself to check them, I can give you more details and you may choose any light meter you like 😊

If the lux was 106,000 are correct those plants would be dead.

 

[Potfairy]

You need to knock a couple of zero's off your lux numbers. 11,600 & 10,200 . They'll do for short vegging but they'll get long and lanky without more intensity. Flowering will be a problem if you want any quality buds.....buds yes, some, but light and airy .

Nice to see innovation and good luck, A guy here a while back @BigCube did similar and his came out pretty nice.

LUX measurements are correct. These are for veg only. I actually have a four panel array from SunCo for bloom. As well as planning on achieving full 50+ DLI by moving the entire 6ct SOG out into the noon daylight everyday. As I run a productive nursery, im well aquainted with hardening off and moving plants according to light requirements.
I will be replacing the SunCo lights with a setup similar to my current veg that is posted, just more extensive with 3-4 6ct socket vanity bars and higher wattage bulbs. Suposedly “150 watt equivalent” 😂 well, we will see. If not, back they go, receipt in hand and light meter numbers also.

 

[Potfairy]

If the lux was 106,000 are correct those plants would be dead.

Correct! Which goes to explain why they were showing light stress in two days and have been moved to 24” away 😊

 

[Shaded_One]

Have to remember, these are people lights for seeing that I am using, not “plant lights” produced by charlatans. To a greater or lesser extent they have to match any number they have on the box.

Speaking of Charlatans...you're the 1st person in the world to build a light using home hardware bulbs that puts out more LUX than a 200w QB using LM301H diodes.

 

[Ponky]

Limited-time deal: 2 Pack LED Garage Lights, 200W Garage Lights, 20000 Lumens LED Shop Light, LED Ceiling Lights for Garage, Workshop, Barn, Warehouse, Yard https://a.co/d/d8hI7KK

House plants like these. They're cheap

 

[Moshmen]

You need to knock a couple of zero's off your lux numbers. 11,600 & 10,200 . They'll do for short vegging but they'll get long and lanky without more intensity. Flowering will be a problem if you want any quality buds.....buds yes, some, but light and airy .

Nice to see innovation and good luck, A guy here a while back @BigCube did similar and his came out pretty nice.

Grown with flood light before got smokeable mids - now I’m fully lit and runnin fire

 

[Deadstill]

Oh, it will do for an extended period 😉 its properly wired, grounded, and insulated. I happen to know what I'm doing. I appreciate the concern though! Always nice to know people are willing to look out for a complete stranger that for all they know is an incompetent, ignorant dunce. I happen not to be, but I cant blame anyone for assuming 😇

Sorry not to sway too far from topic here but - I'm kind of dealing with that at the moment. This guy I got from Hawaii grows weed on the mountain in Kauai and he knows his shit, don't get me wrong. But we're not in Hawaii, we are in Colorado - quite convincingly one of the hardest places on Earth to grow outdoor Cannabis 🤣

I keep having to remind him that I have grown here for over 10 years and this is a WHOLE different ballgame.. If I had a nickel for every grower from Cali or Florida that came out here in the past 10 years to grow and failed, I'd be a millionaire.. It's ok though, he's learning! I do have to keep an eye on him, though 🤠


At any rate - cool homemade light I dig it!

 

[ritoMox]

Look at my homemade light!
$2 bathroom vanity bar from ReStore
$11 GROUNDED extension cord
$free piece of wood from the garage
$free chain I had laying around
$20 4-pack of 100w equivalent 3000k soft white. After extensive research these have a similar spectrum to a MH.

At 18” from the canopy I get 116,000 lux and 24” from canopy I get 102,000 lux. Since I already know around about what spectrum I have, im focusing on strength of light so im using Lux instead of PAR.

Not only do they work, but signs of light stress inspired me take the light measurements. Thats how I found out just how strong they really are 😂

If you do something similar, make sure you get the spot lights. They act as their own “hood” and at 18” above the canopy, the DLI at canopy level increased by 2.3 as opposed to round 360° beam bulbs.

Im not going to claim it is a 400w equivalent without a professional luminosity test. But seeing light stress at 12” from canopy is enough to convince me they are strong enough 😅

Happy growing! View attachment 1272291

Ever used something like these?: Link: T8 LED Bulbs 4 Foot
They seem like an easy solution. Just wondering if you or anyone else has had any experience with them, and if so, what are the up's and down's of using such bulbs.👍🏻

 

[Moshmen]

Sorry not to sway too far from topic here but - I'm kind of dealing with that at the moment. This guy I got from Hawaii grows weed on the mountain in Kauai and he knows his shit, don't get me wrong. But we're not in Hawaii, we are in Colorado - quite convincingly one of the hardest places on Earth to grow outdoor Cannabis 🤣

I keep having to remind him that I have grown here for over 10 years and this is a WHOLE different ballgame.. If I had a nickel for every grower from Cali or Florida that came out here in the past 10 years to grow and failed, I'd be a millionaire.. It's ok though, he's learning! I do have to keep an eye on him, though 🤠


At any rate - cool homemade light I dig it!

Big learning curve when I moved from Mich to Fla