Fluorex Lights - How do I wire these?

[Jon]

Crap. I got 4 of these 65 watt fluorex lights off of ebay. THe page said "All the necessary hardware and instruction manual are included. Comes fully assembled." so I figured when I get it I'd be able to plug it into a 120v socket and :Let there be light!" I was wrong!

It had two little wires sticking out of the back and now I dont know what to do. What tools do I need to buy? I'm clueless!

http://www.yinyanghome.com/Products/LOA/9266c.html

 

[bondjamesbond]

well it should be pretty simple, try to follow the intructions, but ill help you out

easiest way would be, go buy a 12ft extention cord with either 2wires(hot and neutral aka black and white) or 3wires(hot, neutral,& ground) if your light takes a ground(look for green screw, or read the directions for one)...cut off the female end of the extention cord, strip the wires(cord & light), wire nut them together by color(cord to light), electrical tape it all up, and volia your done

so tools you will need are-

wire strippers with wire cutter (most likely 14 gauge)
wire nuts (make sure you get the right size for the wire your using)
electrical tape

hope this helps

 

[FRIENDinDEED]

i have a better question? i have been wanting to buy a couple of those from HD, but wasnt clear on whether they have ballasts or not. and i dont want to spend the money to find out.

i would say your gonna hve to take them apart and see what your working with. after that you can see how best to wire them, whether or not you have to deal with a ballast or not. the last time i bought one of those bulbs and tried to just put it in a large mogul base socket, it blew out on me. i figured hell its a floro, so all i would need is the proper base for the bulb itsself. . . . i was very wrong. cause if it takes a ballast then anyone could just buy the bulbs for whatever they wanted to do and then just buy the proper ballast/s to get the job done

i tried looking up the specs at one point but got sidetracked with the grow so never followed through on the research to find out. if anything hell you can do waht jamesbond up there said as far as the tools needed, but all you would have to do, is find a way to hang them all in a row. maybe strap them to a 1/2" galvanized steel pipe or mount them on a piece of 2x3 witha couple circuit boxes for the wires.

 

[icon]

i also use these & they work well i have 2 that i bought like 5 years ago & thinking of buying 2 more in the next few weeks.

you can also get them from lights of america's website & you can get the replacement bulb for them from their website or lowes for $10.

there simple to wire like bond said & theres no need for taking them apart.
they get a little hot but nothing too bad just need a small fan.

friendindeed: they have a ballast in the reflector they wont work without it.

 

[Endo]

ive used this b4 for months on end they work great. i screwd 3 of them to a board and made a light bar. to wire them just get an extension cord, cut the end of and splice the wires accordingly. there is no real ballast to them. if you take them apart you will find a circuit board inside the light and inside the housing as well. they are pretty simple really but they work great. good luck with them. if your lucky in the summer you can find them for like 12 bucks a piece at wallymart.

endo

 

[icon]

 

[Jon]

Thanks Bond. That sounds simple as hell. I saw the wires and I was like WTF?

If anyone else has advice or tidbits on this particular light, feel free to drop a message. I'm an outdoor grower, but I'm looking to get my girls HUGE before I put them out.

 

[Jon]

So when I strip the extension cord, those colors will match the black and grey ones sticking out of the fluorex?

 

[Jon]

Another question:

Is there a specific extension cord that I need or do they all the same once stripped?

 

[Jon]

Does it have to be an extension cord? What about a radio cord I don't use anymore?

 

[icon]

pretty much any kind of 2 prong cord it could be from a radio or vaccume cleaner, curlng iron,hair dryer, whatever.just make sure that the cord is in good condition falty wires can lead to fires.

 

[icon]

 

[Jon]

Any tips on identifying positives and negatives?

 

[icon]

white is positve + & black is negative - but if your cord is just black then look at your prongs the bigger prong is positive so follow that side of the wire down to the end & attach it to the white wire on the lamp

 

[Old Yeller]

I got 2 of them & so far so good - strapped 'em between 2 4' double T12's with grow-lux & warm fluoro bulbs for sort of a reverse Spectra Max light & the plants are doing good. Not much heat at all.
Next project will be 3 wired together for my veg area - I think they would really come into their own if used in a basic gullwing reflector with the electronics wired on top - a real easy job.

 

[1love1earth]

does anyone know if the lights sold by here: http://cgi.ebay.com/4-500W-FLUOREX-...ryZ94941QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

are any different from the ones sold by this other guy here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Fluorex-Super-H...VQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1638Q2em118Q2el1247

One says 8900 lumens, and the other is rated at 8905, so I'm guessing they are the same light, by one is half the price of the other...(obviously the link I gave is for a 4pack, but divided by 4, we're talking $17.25 vs. $30

Are these mainly useful for just vegging, or would they be at all effective as a supplement during flowering? I'm real tempted to run 3 or 4 of these in my veg room...

 

[GreenScreen]

ya they are the same... as for using them for flower yes you could but i think a cfl with a lower kelvin would work better.. around 3000k RED...

 

[Old Yeller]

I'm experimenting with using them for flowering right now, so after I get rid of the males I'll add 2 more T12 shop lights with grow-lux bulbs to the sides & see what happens. I'd rather use one Fluorex than 6 small CFL's anyday.

I already returned 2, $7.00 23W 6500K spiral bulbs to Home Depot for being defective in the first 2 weeks of use.
Extra bulbs are available at any HD for around $17 but Grow-a Lot Hydro on Ebay sells them in 2 & 4 packs for a lot cheaper.

Worst case sceneario - stick 'em outside for security lights & scare away the zombies.

 

[chosen]

It's an easy wire. Love the fluorex for veg. It's nice to grow some clones and save some light.

 

[the_dungeon]

props!! i love how you wired them together like that. very cheap and effective!