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Making the switch from cfl to led in micro grow

Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
A little confusion on the new Led lights. If you can grow with cfl bulbs I assume you can grow with the new led style lamp bulbs sold at the local B n M stores. Like the Feight and forget the brand home depot sells. Can you use these instead of led panels made for plants and are there any benefits and any threads supporting this if so? It's been a while and starting the box up again thanks for the replies.
 
Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Invertebrata Inebriata
Veteran
winner@420giveaway
You can definitely grow with CFL bulbs- check out a thread called CFL Club. I would be curious about light bulb style LEDS too. You need too look at the wattage, lumens and spectrum. I use a couple different kinds of CFL's for flowering, to maximize the spectrum.

I know it's not much help, but at least I bumped your thread, and I'll be subbed because I would like to know more myself.
 
L

Limeygreen

Well-known member
Veteran
Cheap solution other than the led bulbs, buy a couple and put a tomatoe plant under it, I am thinking the bulbs intensity and spectrum won't be great for growing.
 
Dion

Dion

Active member
the bulbs can be used
i think you are worried about spectrum but your real concern should be the lack of light/ cost using those bulbs-most r only 3watts so to get enough light to grow you will need a hellovalota them and that alone sours me on the idea

step into my lab and lets build smth cheaper than those bulbs

link below
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
Dion said:
the bulbs can be used
i think you are worried about spectrum but your real concern should be the lack of light/ cost using those bulbs-most r only 3watts so to get enough light to grow you will need a hellovalota them and that alone sours me on the idea

step into my lab and lets build smth cheaper than those bulbs

link below
Click to expand...
The bulbs are 100 watters and push only 16 watts. 3000 K with 1600 lumens. About half the wattage of a cfl. I can get the bulbs relatively inexpensively compared to buying a board. I dig the lamp in the tut by still pricy. Looks like I'll probably stick to cfl's. thanks for the reply,!:biggrin:
 
Dion

Dion

Active member
Art Vandelay said:
The bulbs are 100 watters and push only 16 watts. 3000 K with 1600 lumens. About half the wattage of a cfl. I can get the bulbs relatively inexpensively compared to buying a board. I dig the lamp in the tut by still pricy. Looks like I'll probably stick to cfl's. thanks for the reply,!:biggrin:
Click to expand...

no worries

but the bulbs are 16watters which means they produce 100L per watt at that efficiency id stick with cfls

if u did decide to go with the led bulbs how many do you imagine you will need in your space? and how much do they cost each?(how big is yoru space?)
 
blynx

blynx

WALSTIB
Moderator
ICMag Donor
Veteran
I've been looking at some of the LED bulbs you can buy off the shelves of retail stores.

I picked up a pack of these bulbs

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I cut one open and found this

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Unless you are going to hang this bulb down in between plants I don't think this bulb will work very well for growing. Most of the light is broadcast to the sides.

I am playing around with a different style LED bulb that was bought from a retail shelf. I have think what I found will work, but that does remain to be seen. I hope to get a new thread going in the near future.
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
Blynx thanks for the reply! I have been following your threads for many years. That's exactly what I found when popping off the cap. And prices are dropping significantly on the home led bulbs. I have a cab similar to yours around 15x15 and around 30 tall. Was trying to get the temp down a little and add of course more light but the led bulbs still put off a good amount of heat. And if I'm doing my math right I'd need about two times the bulbs that I'm using noe to get the same wattage. Currently I can only get 4 75 watt cfl bulbs before running temps around 90. You mind if I shoot you a couple pics on how I could update my cab to be more efficient?
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
Thanks Dion after the wattage math you're on the money oh well. Anyone have any experience with grow lights on Alibaba? I'm cheap and want more light!!!!
 
Dion

Dion

Active member
use ali express thats where i buy most my stuff
its owned by alibaba

just look into the product well before buying a growlight

chip types
how many actual watts(v x w ) etc

insteag get a spot light or smth else-the spectrums are a bit whack on these growlights

how much did you wana spend?
 
K

Killkingkong

Active member
I've been playing around with screw in LEDs for years. I found that the current ones on the market really don't have the light density for flowering. It took me 30 days to sex a plant before. I use COB LEDs now and like how they're working so probably won't invest too many more resources into the screw in LEDs, but I did take apart one of the screw in LEDs that I bought from China and found it to be a pretty simple design. Someone can easily replace the stock emitters and put 2-3 10w COBs on them and probably get something that can grow decent enough bud.



Here's a pic of the 10w COBs that they sell online for pretty cheap.
 
2

2 Legal Co

Active member
Veteran
Well, I'm like some others.

Hardheaded AND lazy. Soooo. ..... I used the old 'fireboard' design we used for CFLs. Put 10 sockets on a piece of plywood roughly 1'x2'. Started adding those expensive little beasts.

Long story short. I'm almost 5weeks into bloom with one sacrificial plant. The mix of 8 watt and 11 watt lamps came up to 156watts. They are a mix of soft white and daylight.

Looks to me like I need to be at 200-250 watts to match the 432 watts of T5 that the rest of the girls of that strain (AK47), are showing.

Quite the expensive way to go but I just HAD to see what they'd do. Not the level of buddage that I'm used to, but it's working. LOL

The good news for you is, that you'll get to recycle your CFL fireboard..... saving $25 or so? Looks to me like I'l get a couple ounces for the 156 watts (per my Kil-a-watt) ..AND it looks like she may finish in 6weeks, which is a couple of weeks earlier than with the T5s....

This brainless little exercise is out in the open, so lots of wasted light as well. I'm sure it'd be better if I put up reflective walls......

Hope this helps.

MY Quandary was and still is. Why are all the Fans needed on some of these lights when a household lamp doesn't seem to?

As to why? I'm retired and have fun playing with the newly legalized, horribly addictive, turn you into a zombie...... pot plants... I'm in Colorado in case you didn't know. LMAO It's a fun little hobby. All I can smoke (which my lungs don't like, and all the cookies I can eat. yeehaw "Cruising at 30k feet.
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
Thanks fish I am a card carrying member of the cfl club and was looking to try something new to possibly lower temps. My cab is 16x16 and 30" tall been running anywhere from 4 to 6 23 actual watt bulbs and temps run into the 90's. Needed more airflow.ive been using one 3000rpm ultrakaze 120mm computer fan until yesterday I hooked up my 8" 470+cfm inline fan that I used in my 5x5 tent temps are now Dow in the 70's to 80's with four bulbs. Pretty stoked but there goes the stealthy aspect of my micro grow but quality should be much better having consistent temps and lighting.
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
2 Legal Co said:
Well, I'm like some others.

Hardheaded AND lazy. Soooo. ..... I used the old 'fireboard' design we used for CFLs. Put 10 sockets on a piece of plywood roughly 1'x2'. Started adding those expensive little beasts.

Long story short. I'm almost 5weeks into bloom with one sacrificial plant. The mix of 8 watt and 11 watt lamps came up to 156watts. They are a mix of soft white and daylight.

Looks to me like I need to be at 200-250 watts to match the 432 watts of T5 that the rest of the girls of that strain (AK47), are showing.

Quite the expensive way to go but I just HAD to see what they'd do. Not the level of buddage that I'm used to, but it's working. LOL

The good news for you is, that you'll get to recycle your CFL fireboard..... saving $25 or so? Looks to me like I'l get a couple ounces for the 156 watts (per my Kil-a-watt) ..AND it looks like she may finish in 6weeks, which is a couple of weeks earlier than with the T5s....

This brainless little exercise is out in the open, so lots of wasted light as well. I'm sure it'd be better if I put up reflective walls......

Hope this helps.

MY Quandary was and still is. Why are all the Fans needed on some of these lights when a household lamp doesn't seem to?

As to why? I'm retired and have fun playing with the newly legalized, horribly addictive, turn you into a zombie...... pot plants... I'm in Colorado in case you didn't know. LMAO It's a fun little hobby. All I can smoke (which my lungs don't like, and all the cookies I can eat. yeehaw "Cruising at 30k feet.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your hard work and forward thinking as this was what I was thinking. For my application heat would be an issue.
 
Art Vandelay

Art Vandelay

Active member
Anybody have extensive experience with t-5 lighting. Pros and cons vs cfl again thinking of heat and the stealth factor
 
Jellyfish

Jellyfish

Invertebrata Inebriata
Veteran
winner@420giveaway
t-5's are fine for vegging, but CFL's can be used for flowering.
With t-5's you either have to have a room that's 5 feet wide or go vertical.
CFL's can be used in really small grow rooms.
CFL's run a bit hotter than flouros, but much much cooler than HPS.
Hope this helps.
 
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