To CFL or not to CFL

[ratboy]

Quick question on CFL's. I know i'll cop shit for this but anyway.....

Have a small growing room in a cupboard, about 2'x1'x2'. Was wondering if a couple of 30W CFL's would even get my little ladies growing??? I can't really do any better.... don't ask why. Also would i need some sort of exhaust fan for this set up? I was under the imperssion that CFL's give of fuck all heat. Theres gap's under the door so it does get SOME air (dw bout the light leaking in the cupboard is in a very very dark place). Thanks guys.

[ianTE]

From what I have found out so far, the more (cfls) the merrier. 3 20w are better than 2 30w this has to do with how far the useable light travels. You will need to add more bulbs as she gets bigger. May end up around 10 at the end.

CFL color temps in kelvin (K) veg use a mix of 4100K 5700K 6400K then switch to 2700K for flowering.

When switching to 12/12 for flowering cause the powers not being used as much and you swap to 2700K CFLs up the watts of each globe. If you look around the net you will see some good cfl grows. Cfls have the ballast built into the globe even though it is small it does add up.

As for ventalation I think everyone will tell you you need it

 

As you can see I have asked these questions and done my research I think in the long run a 400w HPS stater kit is the way to go.

By the time you spend all the money on CFLs and battens wiring it about the same. Saying that if you are on a tight budget staring out you can add lights as you go, me I plan on starting under CFL then get a 400W HPS at veg time at the same time take clones at put them under the cfls.

Search CFLs stealth @ OSA good info here

[thedarkestone]

The old Amiga - classic! I knew there was a reason why I liked that shop. I was going to mention that you can buy a 120W CFL with a 14000k light spectrum. It's very blue and keeps the little buggers shorter. I prefer that to my 6400k light. Also, you will still get lots of heat if you pile quite a few CFLs together. In my very limited experience so far - HID rocks for flowering. Man, I wish I still had my Amiga 500.

Edited July 27, 2008 by thedarkestone

[ratboy]

Well i went to bunnings today and they have some 48W CFL's. Was thinkin of grabbing a few but was wondering if heat was an issue. My grow box has gaps around the edge like a couple of centimetres wide. The grow box itself is inside of a much larger cupboard so light leaks arent really a problem. i was wondering if you think i could just put a small desk fan inside my grow box it would be enough ventilation through those gaps for a few of those CFL's. Cheers.

[Mr Biggles]

I use the 48W Nelson bulbs from Bunnings, they generate a considerable amount of heat so ventilation is a must.

[ratboy]

I use the 48W Nelson bulbs from Bunnings, they generate a considerable amount of heat so ventilation is a must.

Yeah! thats exactly what i was gonna get. Do you think if i just put a desk fan in the box it will be enough? Like the fan would just vent the heat out of the gaps and maybe id put some holes in it or something. It will not let light in if i put holes in it so thats not a problem!!

[greenmynci]

I'm growing with CFL's at the moment ( 1 x 100w + 2 x 48w) and my cabinet temps range between 18C and 28C. (ambient temps 10C - 20 C). I use a 120mm PC fan rated at 30 cfm (with a homemadfe carbon filter) for ventilation and the plant seems pretty happy.

[torture]

I have a small veg box with a 130w cfl in it... the box is approx 700Lx400Wx500H

 

I used a small computer fan in the side and never ever had a problem with temps... there is definately one problem i found with at least vegging with cfls, and that appears to be the stems!

 

I have now cut a bigger hole in the side just to get a bigger fan to get them stems moving and thick

[TD.]

What THC says is spot on ian. If you can go with HID lights there is a big difference in growth and yield compared to CFL's. Have a look at this CFL grow by TD

https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners...showtopic=19411 for the compact space he was working with CFL's were perfect.

 

Peace MongyMan

 

 

woah, i was just wandering around here, while high and i seen this post.......cheers for the props mongyman puts a smile on my face indeed

 

as for the lighting i managed to get a plant grown from a random seed, and everything that surrounded that seed came from bunnings (sept some of the wire's for the electrical circuit, i borrowed some wire from my car)

 

now i also have a MH/HPS combo on the same reflector in a different box, both grows are a first attempt at using fluro and HID respectively, and if u dont want much heat then get as many CFL's as u can fit into your grow space, the long tubes dont hurt cuz they run up along side your plant as it grows so u get light on the entire plant not just the top.

 

heat, noise, lack of usable space and power consumption were the major reasons i started out in a really small box, and i have had alot of ppl telling me that it wont be enough light, or that the buds will be small and shit. nothing of the sort even came close to happening. as long as the plants arnt any closer than 5cm to a CFL u wont get burnage. the fluro tubes only get hot right at the ends where the prongs lock into the base. the rest of the tube is cool enough for the plant to touch permanently.

 

As for heat removal, if u have a small space rock and roll with just an extractor fan and see how u go, temps might be manageable with just air out. but if u managed to cram enough bulbs into a small space your going to need air in aswel. when i started with just 4 tubes and 1 CFL all i needed was exhaust vacuum to keep temp and humidity within nominal range. now we all know fresh air to the plant helps in multiple ways, but it wasn't necessary for my particular grow until i went over kill on the CFL's and temps rose. long and boring story short, if u want something that moves as much air as about 7 pc fans put together then go to bunnings and get a wall mounted exhaust fan for a kitchen ( it should be about 16cmx16cm HPM brand ) it builds up some solid RPM, internals are reliable and cost is a whopping $79 for one unit. compared to a bathroom exhaust fan which would be about $20 but to large to use on a small growing unit.

 

i noticed a page back u said u wanted to put a desk fan in your grow space, it wont get hot air out, or cool it, just spread it around.

[EDIT] Sorry for the essay everyone

Edited August 2, 2008 by TD.

[ratboy]

I've made the box and set up everything in it. I've got 2 of those nelson 48W bulbs both 5000k. my mate built the box and put like a vent thing on top and the desk fan seems to cool it fine it's not really hot in there at all i leave it on 24/7. Was just wondering if it's worth buying 2 more CFL's with the 2700K for flowering? Does it really give a significant yield increase?