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***DrBud Takes CFL SOG to the Next Level***

TruthOrLie

Active member
Veteran
A lot of great information in this thread. I was looking into dumping my current setup once it's complete and waiting until I could afford an HPS, but this has inspired me to try and build a perpetual system using CFLs. Time to wire up a few more sockets and go from 150 watts to 500!

so you decided to grow all year what you could grow in a couple months... :tiphat:
 

MagicChef

Member
A lot of great information in this thread. I was looking into dumping my current setup once it's complete and waiting until I could afford an HPS, but this has inspired me to try and build a perpetual system using CFLs. Time to wire up a few more sockets and go from 150 watts to 500!

Hows your fan/exhaust set up? Going from 150 to 500 will increase heat output tremendously. More light means more fan unless your already overkill.

Peace
 

zbenjii

Member
i'm curious about the ventilation as well.

Right now I'm trying to somewhat replicate a miniature version of this grow and ventilation is really my main concern. If the ventilation is insufficient, there really is no point of even trying. Ironically, it's covered very sparsely in this thread.

props to dr. bud though. very revolutionary method of cultivation.
 

Helis

Member
The hardest part about the DrBud SOG is cooling all those CFL's for sure... PL-L's make the job easier though, definitely a nice change to the method.
 
Read this straight through to try and keep straight. All I can say is wow, what a collection of douche bags. The surprising part was that they (the douche bags) were all supposedly well thought of here. Doc, the epic part of this thread was without a doubt your patience in dealing. Having read your original thread on the subject here, I found all of the answers there. The haters and doubters seemed to obsess for no real purpose. The comments that were made are all obviously quite dated by now, but their import stands. Asinine.

I would also suggest, that since people never seemed to tire of the whole grams per whateverthe fuck rationalization for them acting stupidly, that they try some simpler math. How about, how much do you harvest per cubic foot of area per year? What's the electric bill look like? How easy is it to find your grow with a thermal imaging device (like the ones they carry in choppers now)? Fucking ridiculous. Why did they pick this particular micro to decide to try and compare apples to double decker buses? Other than Doc's good spirited effort to share, and those that were interested in learning and sharing, the rest was just depressing shite. Definitely some of the most juvenile bullshit I've ever read, and nobody gives a fuck how much of what you grew or how much cred you have - that doesn't entitle anyone to act like such a complete wanker. Just makes it all that much worse when you do.
 
G

gloryoskie

Cosmik, thank you for one of the most thoughtful posts regarding all the nonsense in the good Doctors threads. Having waded through all the posts I kept focused on what the Doctor was doing, dreading the idiotic "haters" puerile rantings.

The Doctor stands alone, we can only aspire to what he has actually accomplished, both in the grow box and out.

Peace.
 

Dremtar

New member
Would just like to say I've been inspired by your grow Dr.Bud. I was talking to another grower. He was telling me with my setup, it would be best to grow a ton of small plants SOG. I decided he was right, and started looking at different SOG methods. Your SOG was mind boggling, and a perfect example of keeping things simple. Thank you for enlightening me :D

Edit: Not sure if you post in here often anymore. I noticed you have exceptional ventilation on all of your cabs. Seems like a another important aspect of growing a ton of plants in a small area. More plants = Higher Requirements for growth.
 
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cassarubi

New member
built packaging crate style box to dr's dimensions in this thread.

a couple questions:
1. Which fan should I buy and where? I was thinking of getting a vortex because it is in-line centrifugal and pushes through ducts/scrubbers better than a squirrel cage. If I got a vortex which model should I get (one that's not moving too much air, just enough ya'know)?

2. How big of an intake hole should I cut for this box based on a vortex fan? Does dr have doors on his grow? where are his intake holes?

3. Any strains anyone recommends from seedbanks at this time? Any recommended links to seeds for this such as ak47, northern lights, dj blueberry.

4. Which dimensions should I make the mother/clone box for this?

5. Which dimensions should I make the dry box for this?

thanks. after taking notes on dr's 2 big cfl threads I still haven't been able to figure out these hurdles yet.

:ying: balance
 
There are numerous members that have been inspired by the good Dr. and who have added to the knowledge base considerably. Anti and Thundurkel are two that immediately come to mind. Check out some of their grows and ideas. Anti's designed some pretty cool boxes and Thundurkel's posts may help answer your strain quest. The seed bank issue depends a great deal on where you live I'm afraid. For example, many will no longer attempt shipping to the States...something about legality and extradition I would presume. I have read of good experiences with SeedBay, but understand that the seed seller's packaging is what you get, so stealthy it may not be.

As for ventilation, there are numerous stickies and posts to read, redgreenery's is a very good one that comes to mind. Each person's grow is likely to dictate somewhat different demands however, so I wouldn't think that there's just one answer. You'll have to cull through the available information and decide for yourself. Generally speaking the larger the intake the easier breathing the air flow system. Everything will be limited by your most constricting factor, but there are things like turbulence, static pressure and air flow path design restrictions that are going to vary a good deal, so again...it really depends on the specifics of your cabinet.

For example, do you require a high stealth quotient? There are plenty of fans that can move a lot of air, but the field thins out quickly if you need quiet. If you desire silent, that's a whole 'nuther kettle of fish, particularly because silent or even quiet can be such personally subjective terms. Does it have to be silent in a room with hardwood floors in a house out in the country, or silent in a room with a big ass aquarium next to it, carpeted concrete floors and an airport next door?

You also mentioned ducting. How long a duct you require along with what type of material you are using and how many turns you take will all have significant impacts. If ya wanna get really critical there are issues like laminar flow and pressure differentials that will also have an effect. The simple approach is pretty well covered with the Vortex and a double sized intake, but quiet they ain't. Sones, phons and dBA's are a group of terms that reflect perceived noise/sound levels as relates to fan choices, and the all don't necessarily correlate directly. There are a lot of low pressure computer style axial fans that could be called silent, but they are rated for an unrestricted CFM flow rate that doesn't hold up when you stick a big clump of crushed carbon in their path or try pushing and pulling through yards of corrugated flex duct. Existing ambient temperatures are going to have a hand in determining temperature control in your cabinet. There's a big difference there as well between growing in a stealth box in Death Valley vs. Moose Jaw. A single cooling fan approach that works in the desert summer might stress your plants out to no end with too high a flow rate, while in a cooler therm you may encounter excessive humidity build up where you already have a cooler temp to start with.

As for scrubbers, the larger the surface area generally the less restrictive it will appear to your fan, but of course that also may be limited by your available space and cabinet design. If this needs to be confined in your cabinet you might do better to start with what your actual flow requirements are (in total CFM's) and work from there - allowing for the air flow limitations of whatever sized scrubber you have room for or can afford. A wooden Medusa lookin' box with duct work and electrical wiring running all akimbo from it ain't exactly gonna put the landlord's mind at ease when he stops in to check the furnace filter (or whatever other Law of Murphy might apply to your case).

Dims for your Mums and clones are dependent on how you want to grow and how much space you have to start with. Again, some of Anti's cabinet designs that he knocked out in Sketch Up are way cool and may inspire your own genius. I don't recall where but Dr. Bud had some pics up of his bonsai'ed Mums, and I seem to recall that they were only in maybe six inch pots and no more than about a foot tall. I may be wrong in my recollection, wouldn't be the first time, but how much room they require is really dependent on how much room you want to give them. Also how big do you want to make your cuttings and how many do you anticipate needing? Do you intend to reveg...the good Doctor suggests that his best yeilds were from 2nd, 3rd and even 4th time around harvests. Are you going to try and reveg with your clones or Mums, separately or not at all? Do you want all of these different chambers to be a part of the same box and system? If so, now you've really complicated your ventilation design and control requirements. Venting for temperature control isn't necessarily the same as air exchange for good CO2-O2 exchange.

Dr. Buds first CFL micro grow cab that I caught here was done in his off grid cabin up in the mountains of the Great North West I believe. I didn't get the impression that stealth was a real high priority for him at that point, whereas minimal electrical consumption and simplicity of available materials was, so I don't know if his overall design is exactly right for anybody but him at that time and in that place. I believe he has since relocated a bit closer to uncivilization, so his stealth requirement may have gone up while available power may no longer matter. Like I said, every body's situation is somewhat unique and you have to set whatever design parameters your require beforehand and kind of work backwards from there to really meet your specific needs. There are a lot of other threads around here that can be very helpful even though they aren't directly related to Dr. Bud's methods. Check out some of the other CFL set ups for example. There is a kind of creative madness that permeates these forums, and a ton of great ideas.

Wasn't trying to over complicate but it helps if eliminate as many variables as possible when asking for information. That way people can give you more specific and appropriate suggestions since no two grows are ever identical
 

cassarubi

New member
There are numerous members that have been inspired by the good Dr. and who have added to the knowledge base considerably. Anti and Thundurkel are two that immediately come to mind.

Yeah I glimpsed at those two's grows If I remember they used axial fans. Anti's were a fixed combined system of cabs.

I was thinking of stacking my boxes on top of each other into a system, but that might be bottlenecked & not worth the savings in fans, scrubbers & electricity use.


Check out some of their grows and ideas. Anti's designed some pretty cool boxes and Thundurkel's posts may help answer your strain quest.

The strain quest is going to be difficult without some arrows I fear. I'll check that out Thundurkel's forsurity

The seed bank issue depends a great deal on where you live I'm afraid. For example, many will no longer attempt shipping to the States...something about legality and extradition I would presume. I have read of good experiences with SeedBay, but understand that the seed seller's packaging is what you get, so stealthy it may not be.

That's too bad. I will have to get local clones & seeds if I can't pick specific seeds online. Is SeedBay's packaging obvious for mail people to get suspicious?

As for ventilation, there are numerous stickies and posts to read, redgreenery's is a very good one that comes to mind.

I'll check that too when time prevails.

Each person's grow is likely to dictate somewhat different demands however, so I wouldn't think that there's just one answer. You'll have to cull through the available information and decide for yourself. Generally speaking the larger the intake the easier breathing the air flow system. Everything will be limited by your most constricting factor, but there are things like turbulence, static pressure and air flow path design restrictions that are going to vary a good deal, so again...it really depends on the specifics of your cabinet. If ya wanna get really critical there are issues like laminar flow and pressure differentials that will also have an effect.

I'm not sure what my limiting constricting factor will be yet. It could be attempting to make a stacked vent system. I can't use too much electricity, but each box must be vented proper to dial in plant growth & control smell.

It could also be the closet being located in a windowless & non-direct fresh air location of the house.

Strain, water quality & nutes will be weary work.


For example, do you require a high stealth quotient?

Stealth is secondary to enviromental functionality

There are plenty of fans that can move a lot of air, but the field thins out quickly if you need quiet. If you desire silent, that's a whole 'nuther kettle of fish, particularly because silent or even quiet can be such personally subjective terms. Does it have to be silent in a room with hardwood floors in a house out in the country, or silent in a room with a big ass aquarium next to it, carpeted concrete floors and an airport next door?

Concrete floor closet with fan ducted to attic or roof
8’ wide x 8.5’ tall x 5’deep
Box is made to drs flower box dimensions.
40” wide x 26” tall x 20” deep


You also mentioned ducting. How long a duct you require along with what type of material you are using and how many turns you take will all have significant impacts.

If I use ducting it will make as few turns as possible. It’ll go straight up to a fan and ducting in the ceiling.
I'll check the venting/attic/roof after work.


The simple approach is pretty well covered with the Vortex and a double sized intake, but quiet they ain't.

Is the simple approach effective? I'm not sure where I would put intake holes in this box to make a stack system, unless I vented each box seperately

Sones, phons and dBA's are a group of terms that reflect perceived noise/sound levels as relates to fan choices, and the all don't necessarily correlate directly. There are a lot of low pressure computer style axial fans that could be called silent, but they are rated for an unrestricted CFM flow rate that doesn't hold up when you stick a big clump of crushed carbon in their path or try pushing and pulling through yards of corrugated flex duct. Existing ambient temperatures are going to have a hand in determining temperature control in your cabinet. There's a big difference there as well between growing in a stealth box in Death Valley vs. Moose Jaw. A single cooling fan approach that works in the desert summer might stress your plants out to no end with too high a flow rate, while in a cooler therm you may encounter excessive humidity build up where you already have a cooler temp to start with.

It's normal temps possibly on cooler side, high humidity & clouds outdoors. Worried Vortex might make too high a flow rate unless it's dialed in

As for scrubbers, the larger the surface area generally the less restrictive it will appear to your fan, but of course that also may be limited by your available space and cabinet design.

As long as the boxes fit in the closet space everything’s good (boxes inside a box… microcloset). I’m not sure whether to:
1. stack all the boxes on top of each other (mother/clone, however many flower boxes) and Vortex/Dayton them into a scrubber at the top
2. stack them on top of each other & Vortex them into duct through roof (remove ceiling fan)
3. stack them on top of each other and Dayton them out the side (I don’t know what dr does for smell after he Daytons them out the side)
4. put a Vortex/Dayton inside the box connected to a scrubber outside the box (aimed vertical or horizontal) on every single box.


If this needs to be confined in your cabinet you might do better to start with what your actual flow requirements are (in total CFM's) and work from there - allowing for the air flow limitations of whatever sized scrubber you have room for or can afford.

How do I find my flow requirements in total CFM’s? I can afford whatever is ideal & cost efficient.

A wooden Medusa lookin' box with duct work and electrical wiring running all akimbo from it ain't exactly gonna put the landlord's mind at ease when he stops in to check the furnace filter (or whatever other Law of Murphy might apply to your case).

Landlord is not an issue. Also, have a guy to do electrical work if something needs to be changed.

Dims for your Mums and clones are dependent on how you want to grow and how much space you have to start with.

I believe I have closet space to hold quite a few boxes.

Again, some of Anti's cabinet designs that he knocked out in Sketch Up are way cool and may inspire your own genius. I don't recall where but Dr. Bud had some pics up of his bonsai'ed Mums, and I seem to recall that they were only in maybe six inch pots and no more than about a foot tall. I may be wrong in my recollection, wouldn't be the first time, but how much room they require is really dependent on how much room you want to give them. Also how big do you want to make your cuttings and how many do you anticipate needing?

¾” to 1.5” & a lot as you can imagine.

Do you intend to reveg...the good Doctor suggests that his best yeilds were from 2nd, 3rd and even 4th time around harvests. Are you going to try and reveg with your clones or Mums, separately or not at all?

I would only reveg if the strain allowed and it was efficient. Dr said it took him 9 days to reveg Chesaw and that everything else takes 3 weeks or more. Is it still worth it to reveg 3 times if the strain takes 3 weeks to reveg before flowering?

Do you want all of these different chambers to be a part of the same box and system?

I do want to make all these boxes stack on each other if it does not bottleneck the plants environment; the cat litter boxes kind of block the floor though.
If I need separate fans and scrubbers, or ducting to make an ideal environment than that’s the way. I am not sure which way would be better yet and that is in fact my greatest hurdle, currently.


If so, now you've really complicated your ventilation design and control requirements. Venting for temperature control isn't necessarily the same as air exchange for good CO2-O2 exchange.

I haven’t thought about air exchange/CO2-02 exchange. The closet airflow may be bottlenecked (no windows, closet door closed). Would you suggest implementing that in my closet situation?

Dr. Buds first CFL micro grow cab that I caught here was done in his off grid cabin up in the mountains of the Great North West I believe. I didn't get the impression that stealth was a real high priority for him at that point, whereas minimal electrical consumption and simplicity of available materials was, so I don't know if his overall design is exactly right for anybody but him at that time and in that place.

I assume his design was dialed in and that his new design in this thread is ideal for an urban setting.

I believe he has since relocated a bit closer to uncivilization, so his stealth requirement may have gone up while available power may no longer matter. Like I said, every body's situation is somewhat unique and you have to set whatever design parameters your require beforehand and kind of work backwards from there to really meet your specific needs. There are a lot of other threads around here that can be very helpful even though they aren't directly related to Dr. Bud's methods. Check out some of the other CFL set ups for example. There is a kind of creative madness that permeates these forums, and a ton of great ideas.

Wasn't trying to over complicate but it helps if eliminate as many variables as possible when asking for information. That way people can give you more specific and appropriate suggestions since no two grows are ever identical

I’m making a control box as identical as I can to dr’s (cfl, 16oz Gatorade/Kitty Litter, strains). I don’t understand what dr does with his smell though. Just that he vents it out the side with 2 Daytons and it appears they exhaust into a wall in a closed space and that his boxes have no doors. Maybe I should just use 2 daytons in each box that exhaust into the closet room? Sounds expensive and smelly.

:ying: balance & no behavior
 
Any system that moves air is going to depend on the complete system being balanced in order to properly function. A sealed closet with a chimney to the attic will provide half of what you seek, but without an open avenue for "make-up" air to replace what you are pushing or pulling out of the closet you're going to cause other problems. Exhausting into the attic could end up being drawn back into the closet if the ceiling penetration isn't sealed tight, or your fan(s)' efficiencies are going to suffer. Would it be possible to replace your closet door with a louvered door for example? Another partial fix would be to undercut the closet door, but that likely won't provide the necessary square inches of free area that you need without looking odd. Of course that would mean that you are then pulling air from the adjacent room and the question of where it is getting make-up air then comes into play. Most older homes are leaky enough that it's not an issue, other than wasting heat and a/c, but with newer more air tight houses it can get a little more complicated. Your air movement requirements shouldn't be that huge though overall.

Redgreenery's cfm thread I think is the one where I got my direction on optimizing air exchange for good CO2 to O2 exchange. I don't know if there's a conventional wisdom, but it is all a function of available light, nutes and temperature. While juggling all to try and maintain optimums, having some adjustability with your air exchange would allow you to better dial it all in.

This was the main reason that Anti had resorted to creating separate chambers/enclosures for his lamps I believe. By creating two different and segregated zones (one for high flow heat exchange and the other for low flow gas exchange) he was able to damper one zone down while using a common fan. This way his lights stayed as cool as possible while not overly stressing his plants with a gale, and his resultant air flow was also partially diverted to a drying chamber in one design I think.

The cfm comp is pretty simple, just take the cubic dimensions of the space you need to vent (if yours is built from 3/4" thick material than your resultant interior volume is approximately 17,450 cubic inches or a hair over 10 cubic feet), decide how many times per hour you want to turn the air over each hour (maybe once every five minutes - or 12 times per hour for example), and compute. 12 air changes per hour for a 10 cubic foot space is going to be 120 cubic feet per hour. Divide that by 60 minutes in the hour and you get a whopping 2 cubic feet per minute. Even a small Vortex is probably close to 100 times that. The Delta T comps for heat exchange have everything to do with establishing your required air flow for cooling purposes, but they will be significantly higher than the optimum needed to keep your plants supplied with a constant supply of environmental CO2. Again, by isolating the heat source in its own air chamber you can damper down the grow area to optimum and concentrate most of your fan's energy to more aggressive lamp and ballast cooling. Even a 200 cfm Vortex is going to be like a jet engine for that small a grow. Just to put it into perspective, an average bathroom fart fan is usually sized at 25-30% of that.

I like the stacked idea for a couple of reasons. First you have the natural convective thing working to help your fan(s). Second, it sounds like you might be able to use something like a common chimney/vertical duct - either integrated inside or attached to the outside. As the chimney/duct passes each successive cabinet the draft could be dampered to regulate different air flows. If you were to separate your lights from their respective grow areas with a piece of glass for example, you could then also connect them to the same chimney. Imagine an elevator shaft with doors at each floor that you could open and close as far or as little as you want. Just a thought.

Another aspect of the stacking is that you could arrange your boxes to allow for the warmest desired temps on top and coolest on bottom to again allow normal physics to help you out. The issue of the make-up air is still going to be important though. If the attic is accessible and stealth there is no issue, that would be a great place to situate a large area carbon scrubber that would be minimally restrictive. There are a bunch of DIY plastic box scrubbers described around here. Just imagine using one of those but with a much larger surface area that the usual.

Might wanna take a look at some of the Panasonic fart fans too while you're at it. Pretty readily available, very quiet and move good air. The problems with isolating fan noise, intake and turbulence noise can get pretty complex, but it sounds like you have some decent leeway there.

Anyway, good luck. There's never just one answer.
 

cassarubi

New member
Went up into the attic. The ceiling fan simply blows into the attic and the exhaust faces the roof. I could replace the ceiling fan with the panasonic. I'll look into panasonic fart fans (I think I've seen a fancy panasonic fan people talk about... WhisperLine Inline Fans 120cfm - 440cfm).

Checked the breaker box and it's on a 20 amp breaker. Looking into changing that to a 30 amp breaker w/ 10 gauge wire or splitting the grow in 2 separate rooms. Based on the amps I would like to make the system of stacked boxes so I'm not wasting watts on excess fans.

2-3 flower boxes to start and one mother/clone that can support up to 5 flower boxes.

It's quite overwhelming figuring out the venting situation.

How do I pick a fan that would pull roughly 2 cubic ft per minute through 3 boxes and then push that through a scrubber 5ft away or so? I'd have to buy the panasonic and test it. Smell isn't a huge issue, but better safe than sorry.

I'd like to use your duct idea for intake and one fan for exhaust to the scrubber in the attic.
If I put the intake duct in the boxes it will waste grow space. How would you attach the duct to the outside with damper doors to regulate airflow? How many of these boxes should I stack on each other? Maybe 3 boxes stacked tall per fan?

I'm not sweating the co2/o2 atm. It's a 60+ year old house. I'm also not very interested in separating the lights from the plants via glass. Dr didn't do it.
 
The simplest would be rigid metal run alongside if stealth isn't an issue in your closet. Most of the fittings that you need can be found off the shelf at the box stores or from a supply house specializing in HVAC, or Graingers if all else fails. The dampers can be as simple as the metal butterfly type that fit right inside the duct itself or you can get a starter/take-off collar that already has one built in. A couple of Y's to tie it all together and you can use metal or flex, insulated or non for the run. HVAC suppliers also have a wide variety of plenum boxes that already have take-offs fabricated in, but a sheet metal circle cutter is cheap and easy if you want to DIY. Seal the joints with foil tape (duct tape is a misnomer as it dries out and falls off when used on duct work), and you can use strapping or slips screwed together with self tappers to hang everything.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/hvacr/ecatalog/N-bi9/No-80/Ntt-duct

There are also square, rectangular and oval duct sections, transitions and adapters available that you can buy and bang together yourself. Take a look at a new home being built and you can get a better idea of how all of the different types and sizes can work together. If you were trying to build the whole thing into a wall to maintain stealth, then the flatter rectangular duct might be best. If the sight of a round metal chimney running up the side of the boxes doesn't matter, then the round might be best (round has better flow characteristics than the square corner types of similar section area).

The same basic principles used to design a central forced air HVAC system or a remote fan mounted ventilation system for residential construction can pretty easily be scaled down to suit your needs I believe. The tooling and skills aren't very complicated at all. Sorry I don't have a link for ya but you may also find central vacuum system parts that would work as well.
 

doktorSOG

New member
Hey I joined IC for the dr's threads, read a hefty chunk so far, where is this magical filter button?!?! it would save me time.

anywho, ive been planning/designing a 4 per foot zero veg sog in coco using canna nutes, under a 1000w hps.
im still growing my mommas out atm.

so your threads have convinced me 16 per sq.ft will yield much better, my QUESTION is do you think its safe to put 16 per sq.ft in a rubbermaid/pot/bucket with out dividers for the roots? i was originally going to build dividets for the 4 per foot method, but dividers for 16 per foot will be alotttta work & id rather not do somthing not neccessary.
 

cassarubi

New member
thanks for the info cosmik. I have one last question.

If the duct work goes up only one side of the box system will the airflow pull correctly through each box? or is it important to put ducts on each side of the boxes and block off the airflow inbetween the ductwork of each boxes so that the airflow zigzags and flows through the entirety of each box until it reaches the fan/scrubber? (left to right, right to left, and left to right again opposed to pulling from the left of each box straight up a single duct with dampers branching at each box).

it seems to me the airflow would be restricted if it can easily go from passive intake up to the fan scrubber without forcing it through the desired path.
 
This thread is perfect for me, I haven't come close to going through it all yet but I wanted to thank the Dr. and everyone else contributed positively to it!
 

NE_GROWER_978

Senior Member
Veteran
Nce dr. Love your work truly. 1176w of cfl is really gonna put your stain on over drive. cant wait to see this bad boy fired up.

Have Fun Be Safe
-NEG978-
 

señorsloth

Senior Member
Veteran
wow...i read the first 26 pages of this thread...needless to say it was about 2 pages of good info and bout 24 pages of childish bickering...i skip forward to the end and read back 8 or 10 pages and apparently sometime in between he gave up on the thread all together. i never did get to see his top cab in flower...

i'll give him one thing, i have NEVER seen a dude or a thread take so much heat! literally every single post for months was just one dude saying he is a liar and an idiot, and the the next saying give him a chance...so much bickering i don't even know if anything was ever proven with this thread because i couldn't bear to wade through all the garbage to get to it.

obviously there is more to lighting than most people understand...if lumens don't add up...(they don't) then his entire cab lit up would have been something like 6500 lumens or whatever the bulbs he was using would put out. ive measured myself...3 cfl's of the same wattage touching each other register the exact same lumens as the strongest of the three on it's own. yet my grow uses less wattage and puts out 5-8 times that in lumens(400w hps). i veg with cfl(though switching to t5) and have budded a single plant under one loooooong ago durring the og days. i know for a fact that with 600+w of cfl i could pull at least 8 ounces from there, if not more...yet the lumens...they don't add up so they are still super low compared to a basic hps...they must mean nothing then in the scheme of things? ive always wondered...

personally i think cfl's are great for micro, cheep grows, t5's are more efficient though, less heat for the amount of light your getting, watt for watt...if you're going to set up 6 or 7 hundred watts of cfl i can't help but wonder if a bank of t5's wouldn't be cheeper and better...
 

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