Why you should make the switch from spirals to tubes(PL-L

[big ballin 88]

Lumens isnt what i'm after but irradiance is going to go down with extending distance from the lamps. My cab is actually 13x13x11 i measured wrong the first time making the stupid assumption that it was a perfect cube. All i know is these lamps are gonna do a better job for me than spirals, i can already tell by the way the light spread , it also seems much cleaner, maybe the mixed spectrum does it.

 

[Crispywaffle]

excuse me as I am new and learning. What is a PLL?

 

[big ballin 88]

PL-L's are also known as T5 Biax or 2g11 base bulbs. Their a 4 pin T5 that is essentially bent in half as you can see. You need a ballast to run them but their not anything like HPS ballasts.

 

[Crispywaffle]

PL-L's are also known as T5 Biax or 2g11 base bulbs. Their a 4 pin T5 that is essentially bent in half as you can see. You need a ballast to run them but their not anything like HPS ballasts.

thanks for the fast reply. This site is great and the people are fantastic. thanxs again

 

[ScrubNinja]

Cab looks wikkid, BB! Where/how is the exhaust located?

 

[U_Puff_Peter]

I have same box as https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=117463

I'm currently in process of sealing it with aluminum sheet for front, back, and side that the door stays shut. The box leaks light like crazy in places so I think this is the easiest option. Plan is to use aluminum sheet metal to shorten the box a hair to hide a fan with carbon filter b/t the front of case and aluminum sheet. So cut the box length to 18". Not sure till I get the fan and filter made. I'm thinking 3x36w on top and maybe a 36 on each side sitting vertical. Maybe 4100k on the sides and 3000k on top?

 

[big ballin 88]

Cab looks wikkid, BB! Where/how is the exhaust located?

Thanks Scrub! I'm loving this new style i can already tell its gonna be hella good. I'm gonna try flowering in it since i have so much space it feels. Prolly only a plant or 2 in a scrog. Than again i have to see because outdoors plants come first.

My exhaust fans arent here yet but i have two 75mmx75mmx25mm computer blowers rated at 20cfm. I figured 40cfm should be more than enough, these bulbs are super cool and when they warm up are bright.

I'm going to try using one blower positioned near the bases to pull the hot air from them. If necessary i'll run the second one, the reason i wanted blowers is due to the lid closing. I had a feeling those axial fans weren't gonna last long pushing air into the lid. I already lost a 120mm fan to that, live and learn. This way the fans can handle the pressure of a closed lid and push past it.

 

[MicroDude]

Do you need a separate ballast for each bulb?

 

[big ballin 88]

No the workhorse 5 allows up to 4 bulbs its just limited on the wattage you can run. A workhorse 8 would allow 4-55w bulbs.

 

[feral]

Its not bad if you dont like wiring.

ha ha that's me. scared to death of electricity. I'll plug something in or change a bulb and that's about it.

 

[mad librettist]

I did great with cfl's!

all 475 watts of them lol.

pll's would have been the smarter choice for me.

 

[ScrubNinja]

To be honest, we should all be looking at LEDs, lol.

Never thought I would say that, and I will hate the stupid purple light, but the results are really coming in for those, imo. Sorry to get off topic but one reason I really love PLs is it's so crystal clear when viewing things using higher kelvins like I do, and with the whole roof being a platform of light. I couldn't imagine trying to judge how much food my plant needs under a hps or led glow. Even warm white CFLs are very hard to tell. Same goes for checking trichs.

 

[U_Puff_Peter]

Go to the fulham site and put in your type of bulb and config and it will tell you which ballast to buy to run them all safely. http://www.fulham.com/ Select twin for your bulb type. I thought 3x36w would work on a Fulham workhouse 6 but not according to their site as it says workhouse 7 for that.

 

[U_Puff_Peter]

To be honest, we should all be looking at LEDs, lol.

Never thought I would say that, and I will hate the stupid purple light, but the results are really coming in for those, imo. Sorry to get off topic but one reason I really love PLs is it's so crystal clear when viewing things using higher kelvins like I do, and with the whole roof being a platform of light. I couldn't imagine trying to judge how much food my plant needs under a hps or led glow. Even warm white CFLs are very hard to tell. Same goes for checking trichs.

The 26w LED pc grow looked really good. Only issue I have with them is where to buy the stuff to set it up.

 

[big ballin 88]

LED's are cool and all but they seem to be even more expensive right now, even if i wire my own. I'm loving these new PL-L's this cab is way cooler, i'm amazed since its almost two times the power. I really have to agree with you on clear light. The first time i turned these on i was amazed at how clear the 5k were. I also can't believe how much space i know have in my cab. I think i could flower in here no problem. Oh yea the best thing is theres no shadows now! Thats one thing that really bothered me about the spirals.

ML, CFL's do have their place but look at how much wattage your using lol. I'd love to see a gram per watt off that even though g per watt means relatively nothing.

Its not hard to wire your own led's just annoying once again. I love wiring and all but small wiring projects kill me a little each time on the inside, especially when they dont work the first time. You just need to get a power source which is the same as a neon transformer. You can get them in any neon sign shop and shouldn't be a problem.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Yeah cost and difficulty sucks for led. If I was in the game I would sell red led strips that fit between the 55w PLL bulb.

 

[big ballin 88]

Yeah cost and difficulty sucks for led. If I was in the game I would sell red led strips that fit between the 55w PLL bulb.

Thats a good idea, because thats all i need right now is some red LED's. The other only problem with LED's is their narrow range they emit in and their irradiance. i was thinking about wiring some LED's but it doesnt seem it would be worth my time or money for the small amount i'd get. I think i'll wait till they become cheaper and than i'll work something out. Red is really the only part of the spectrum needed with PL-L's i feel. The 5000k bulbs will do the rest, but we need some more green and red.

 

[ScrubNinja]

Hmm I know there has been some debate about green. You're sure it's useful? Most fluoro guys would want less green, and more red, I thought.

Did I understand right that knna is going to be making lights for sale?

 

[big ballin 88]

From the studies i have(from help with Secondtry) read concerning photosysnthesis in bright white light, green actually drives photosynthesis more than the red spectrum in a encviorment of high irradiance. Maybe that my total irradiance right now is to low to actually need the green though. I guess maybe for micro growers it would prove correct only if they had a more intense light it would find useful. I'll contact ST and see if he has any info pertaining it in relation to a micro grow. ST and Knna were having some in depth conversation a little bit ago that i'd like to find. It was in regards to LED's and their usefulness.

I do agree that we need a more intensity in the red side since PL-L's have a very broad spectrum just not very high. I've spent time comparing the pl-l bulbs by phillips and it seems we have sufficient blue but not enough red. Even the 3k bulb dont provide enough red, i would like to try one of these bulbs if I could. http://advancedtechlighting.com/philipspricolor.htm

 

[thehappyguy]

why are the workhorse 8 and 7 the same thing and the same price?