...

[Capt. Growsalot]

go for the electrical supply goods, iv seen them used with great effect. There 100% and industrial quality so they last. A little modification may be required required depending on your setup, what is your setup? tent? grow room? ...

U can buy glowlux 400watt bulds for £10 in some supply stores,takes you to look around sometimes.
An yeah there hps son t ,twice the price in a grow store.

[Capt. Growsalot]

sounds like a nice llittle setup you have there, best of luck with the grow. the light i have seen in operation was the very same as one of those flood lights you'd often see lighting up the side of a church or something like that. As he was using a grow tent and the complete light, ie. the metal casing, ballast and everything else that was part of the light was much too heavy to suspend inside the tent he had to modify it a little bit befour he could use it. Firstly by opening up the light, unscrewing the buld and removing the light fitting from the casing. Once this was done he attached the bulb and the fitting to the reflector he already had which was then hung in the grow tent. Then he ran a new extended piece of flexible cord from the reflector out through the tent and back to the ballast/light casing which was placed outside the tent. Perfect! If you are going to attempt this it would be wise to consult a competent trust worthy electrician, or just make sure and be damn carefull when re-wiring the light fitting and bulb.

[DocLeaf]

We used to grow off 250w bulbs from street lamps (ask the man when he's changing them),, using self contained reflector and ballast units salvaged from an old petrol station forecourt (again just ask). Total cost diddly-squat

Buy a load of these bulbs at discount and sell them to the local growshop :wink:

[Rosy Cheeks]

Using worn out street bulbs may have a good effect on your wallet DL, but less good on your plants.
I can't stress the importance of giving your plants high quality artificial lighting, you see the difference in growth and yield immediately. For instance, I recently changed a few of my Philips 55w horticultural neons for Osram equivalent ones. The Kelvin is supposed to be the same, or thereabout, but the growth of my rooted clones has changed under the Osrams, growing finer, spindlier plants with thinner leaves. And that from only a few degrees change of K...

If you've been running your 600w non-stop for three years the irish one, then change is long due. The life-span of a bulb depends a little on heat wear and ballast, but on average 3 or 4 grows running on 12/12, about a year of non-stop use. Then, the light quality starts to degrade, and the spectrum slowly moves towards the red.

If you found a cheap outlet for Philips Son T PIA bulbs then great, they're the best grow bulbs on the European market. Both the Agro and the Green Power give great results, in fact I've never had better results than with the Son T PIA Green Power, which can be used in both veg and flower.

So, no point in going to a growshop that will sell you a different bulb that is at best equivalent, but probably inferior, for a higher price.

Right?