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PLL Club. (if you don't know, now you know)

M

Melkor420

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So, I am such a fan of PL-L style lighting, and their results, that I am officially starting this club. No application necessary.... Apply within. BTW you can check out my PL-L grow at the link in my sig. Pease!:joint::abduct:
 

tejashidrow

Active member
i just scored a lot of 12 pl-l's off of ebay, all 39 watters. Cost a whopping $12.
(really 11, one came broke...oooh well...) I just got a workhorse 8, so hope to put 5 of them in a mini fridge across the top like yours. and do a scrog. Approx 195 watts!!! will get on it this weekend. PAX
 

CloudNine

Member
I've seen a lot of people talking about using pl-l bulbs lately. Could someone give me some information about them? What is pl-l for starters?
 

Hephaestus

Member
FYI - Your local commercial lighting supply shop will have these in stock - used in office towers lately cheap like borscht too...

Good place for ballasts - check with your local fresh/saltwater aquarium types (kijiji/craigslist usually have lots of em too) look for the coralife / etc light fixtures - 20$ on average for the basic 2x55w 24" fixture - cheaper than a workhorse, and comes with fans - all pre wired, just plug and go.
 

DonkeyPunch

Member
I am hoping to soon be a member. I was making good progress, and have everything I need but hinges. I got injured on the job about a week ago, (threw out my back) and it's gonna be a while before I get up and running.


I am going 440 watts of PL-L (55 watt per lamp) in my flower chamber

110 watts (2x55 watt) in the mother room

http://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=131805
 
M

Melkor420

tejashidrow: word, MiniFridgers Unite!:joint:

CloudNine: Trust you'll get everything you need to know on em here, start with all the different grows, and work your way up in info bro.:woohoo:

Jebus11: Thank you, been lookin for that highpod thread everywhere, guess you've answered my MJ prayers.:laughing:

ScrubNinja: Word:canabis:

Hephaestus: Thank you for the purchasing info.:bongsmi:

toastyspade420: Thank you, and stay tuned, they are only going to boom once I fill that screen bro.:smoker:

DonkeyPunch: Take your time, get better... and stay away from them damn donkeys. They go wherever they please and punch anyone who gets in the way... :wallbash:
 
J

Jebus11

Aerohead

space gardener
Veteran
I've seen a lot of people talking about using pl-l bulbs lately. Could someone give me some information about them? What is pl-l for starters?

PL-L' are basically T5HO's bent in half and over driven from my understanding and are also called T5 biax. They have a single sided socket rather then power from sockets on both ends. They also are able to retain lumens at cooler temps than T5's so there are some differences I'm not aware of, I welcome any input regarding this lack of understanding.

PL-L's first appeared for me in the aquarium world for lighting coral reefs. They would really give a HID (metal halide) a run for it's money by superior CRI (color rendering index) but didn't quite supply the punch for harder corals to thrive. What is important to note is that they would support almost anything you wanted to throw in the tank and make it look beautiful with less wattage and removed the need for running a chiller that sucks up another couple hundred watts.

Now I am seeing them used to cultivate cannabis and I can see why because they produce equal quality to HID's just less weight. The question is how much less weight? Seasoned growers with their system dialed in have no problems getting a gram per watt or more with HID's. Can we get that with these PL_L's? We are here to see if it can be done.

Even if it can't be done, they are still capable of growing in places a HID's can't go. Less heat, less cooling, less space, less power, and the same quality buds. They are not for cash croppers by any means, but they will give you top shelf buds with ease.
 

Aerohead

space gardener
Veteran
How come I have two seperate tubes?
Think of it as a single tube with all the contacts on one end.

Jebus11, great job with those links... Thanks

Melkor, Excellent thread, we needed this one to get to the bottom of these crazy lights.
I have also noticed you are running much less wattage than most but your veg growth is still excellent and with little stretch far from the lights. I think I am learning I might have had too much light in my case, not that it damaged the plants, but in a sense of diminishing returns. I really think your grow will help us find where that point is, make these lights even more efficient, and also give us a better idea of how many of them we will need to get an expected weight. Thanks!!
 
M

Melkor420

Garcias

I think that all of those ideas would be fine. Remember, the best results are your combined knowledge from all of us, and your own Imigination is usually the key to creation on a whole other level.

You are your own best guides. But there is nothing wrong with collecting all of what you think is the best knowledge to get your job done correctly for you. The more you know, the more you know, you know?
 
I'd like to see PL-L (actually, PL-L is philips' own brand designation, these are L type fluoros) tubes used in a drbud style hd sog perp. With their superior light distribution and way greater efficiency than retrofit coiled cfl (are they possibly more intense too?) they should be awesome at such things.. I'm going to try it but i'll be using way different pots to the dr (short, fat poly pots are all i can get in that size and pint cups are really inefficient in my space) and it'll be a while away yet so if anyone wants to jump the gun on that one feel free..

Been a convert to fluoros ever since i heard you could grow good buds under them. These are afaik the most efficient fluoros for what we do.. making them super efficient versions of the efficient :D :muahaha:
 
M

Melkor420

I'd like to see PL-L (actually, PL-L is philips' own brand designation, these are L type fluoros) tubes used in a drbud style hd sog perp. With their superior light distribution and way greater efficiency than retrofit coiled cfl (are they possibly more intense too?) they should be awesome at such things.. I'm going to try it but i'll be using way different pots to the dr (short, fat poly pots are all i can get in that size and pint cups are really inefficient in my space) and it'll be a while away yet so if anyone wants to jump the gun on that one feel free..

Been a convert to fluoros ever since i heard you could grow good buds under them. These are afaik the most efficient fluoros for what we do.. making them super efficient versions of the efficient :D :muahaha:
That is true.. They are unbelievably powerful, and economical.They are actually L type Compact Fluorescent Bulbs.
Read this:


Economy in compact form

To see how bright they can be, fit an 23W lamp into a luminaire designed to take a maximum of 60W. It will give out as much light as a 120W incandescent lamp. That’s twice as bright.
And as for their economy, they’ll last up to 15 times as long as an ordinary light bulb and consume around 80% less electricity for the same amount of light. Every lamp will save you many times what it costs.
Our compact fluorescent lamps are also good for the environment.
An 20W, for example, will save up to 1200kWh of electricity compared with an ordinary light bulb.
Compact fluorescent lamps are the bright economical alternative to ordinary light bulbs. They reduce electricity costs by up to 80% compared with incandescent bulbs of the same bright-ness and last up to 15 times as long.
 
M

Melkor420

Here's an Idea of brighness in my Fridge. Can you see the bulbs themselves anywhere near the tip without going blind?

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M

Melkor420

I have been a fan of the lights for a long time too. I used to use the Reptile ones before they went T5 and were still painted bulbs. They worked decent, but then I went to the tube lights for reptiles. Then I went to the T5 lights for fish tanks, and now I am using Reef tank PL-L 4 Pin bulbs and it seems that the technology. of the PL-L has brought even more power, with the power to overdrive them to more than double their wattage. Of course you kill your lifespan of the bulb, but as long as it lasts long enough for one or two grows, I'm stoked. Any other kinds of Compact, non spirley bulbs? Let us know.
 

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