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PLL PC Grow Construction & Diary

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ukganjafarmer

Hey, well yesterday i was reading the micro grow forums and all the amazing pc grows, i decided i was guna build my own for the fun of it.

I already had a old pc case so i stripped it out and well thats as far as iv got lol


im guna get 2x 36w pll lights for a total of 72w's of CFL power!

ill update this thread as construction continues :dance013:
 
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ukganjafarmer

ScrubNinja said:
Will be great to watch this come together. Nice lighting choice :)
Click to expand...

Thanks mate..

ok maybe someone can help me, iv found the bulbs, ballast and starters all on ebay for £12 is there anything else i need? can i wire them up directly without the bases?

:thank you:
 
ScrubNinja

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
Well first up, are you sure you got the right ones? If they need starters they sound like old school magnetic ballasts. One of my lights uses a starter but an electronic ballast would be more desirable. I guess it's not a huge issue though!

You can safely avoid buying the clips if you're willing to use some wire or whatever to hold the tip end of the bulb up. You can avoid buying the bases too but then you have no solid support, so your wire twist (or whatever) skills better be up to par. Obviously the bulb is hot, and another problem is you don't want to block light, and you want it to be safe, so basically I'd recommend getting bases to give you a firm starting point.



For this test I used terminals and wires from an extension lead. You need a fair bit of wire so have that at hand too. Peace.
 
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ukganjafarmer

ScrubNinja said:
Well first up, are you sure you got the right ones? If they need starters they sound like old school magnetic ballasts. One of my lights uses a starter but an electronic ballast would be more desirable. I guess it's not a huge issue though!

You can safely avoid buying the clips if you're willing to use some wire or whatever to hold the tip end of the bulb up. You can avoid buying the bases too but then you have no solid support, so your wire twist (or whatever) skills better be up to par. Obviously the bulb is hot, and another problem is you don't want to block light, and you want it to be safe, so basically I'd recommend getting bases to give you a firm starting point.



For this test I used terminals and wires from an extension lead. You need a fair bit of wire so have that at hand too. Peace.
Click to expand...

mm im pretty sure i got the right ones, but heres the links if you cud check them out for me?

Ballast
Bulbs
Starters

thanks for your help mate il hav a look for bases now *EDIT* wots the name of the base/socket for these lights? cant find em on ebay
 
grow1620

grow1620

Member
I'm not positive but I think that's the wrong kind of ballast...I think you need one rated t-5ho, not t-8...unless that's what the starters do...I don't even know wtf starters do really..:chin: ...do they give that initial burst of electricity that fires up the lamp?

edit: do a search on there for t5 ballasts...find one that's the wattage you want to run..plus some extra. I'm not sure how overdriving the bulbs n stuff works..but I do know that I bought a 2x 36w fixture that runs off of a fulham workhorse 5 ballast...which is the same ballast I would use to run 2x 55w..(it runs like 110 watts i think so that's 2x 36w pll's running off of a 110w ballast) ... so look for a ballast that's 72-110 watts and rated t5 and you should be good I think..and if you got a 110w ballast you could upgrade later to 2x 55w'ers if the future allowed.

I'm not an electrician or anything, better get a second opinion.
 
ScrubNinja

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
I got these ballasts. No starter needed. They're not brand new but they're fine. I think you could probably use that ballast but I have no idea with the starters and stuff. I know that your starter should be rated for your wattage, so 125w starters sounds wrong to me.

Search for 2g11 base or socket to find the bases. Hope someone can offer more assistance!

Edit: the bulbs you planned are okay.
 
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ukganjafarmer

ScrubNinja said:
I got these ballasts. No starter needed. They're not brand new but they're fine. I think you could probably use that ballast but I have no idea with the starters and stuff. I know that your starter should be rated for your wattage, so 125w starters sounds wrong to me.

Search for 2g11 base or socket to find the bases. Hope someone can offer more assistance!

Edit: the bulbs you planned are okay.
Click to expand...

ok that ballast you linked seems like a ok deal, il think i get that if i dont need a starter.

cheers!
 
ScrubNinja

ScrubNinja

Grow like nobody is watching
Veteran
Good stuff! If you can't work out the wiring, let me know :tiphat: I had to get help from someone to understand it.
 
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ukganjafarmer

turns out i dont have the side panel for the pc case so im putting this project on hold til i can get a new case, but i decided im replacing my 150w hps with plls for my next run in my flower tent! :jump:
 
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