Grow lights

[sberry]

I went in to a specialty sytore that sells retail products for this use. I see a few common timers installed with some sheet metal for 149.95, I can only assume most of the fixtures to found there are priced similar as well as lamps. I cant spell flourecent beyond what I know from a few common light fixtures.

T5 T8 all greek, whats the best cheapest etc and would some wholesale houose or internet be the way to buy some tubes and fixtures? 12 plants, 125 sq ft or so start up for 8 or 10 weeks in cold weather prior to moving out doors. I could even cover for intermitant in the event of frost or move indoors for that matter.

I think there are occasions to cover in fall in advent of early frost. I know there are sites on other sites about the specifics but I am sure a bunch of diy/mother earth types have done this.

Someone mentioned I should go look at new strip lights in local lumber yard, big improvement I guess, just dont know the first thing about illumination althugh I do have a card in my book from aquaintance?

 

[bdamico]

not trying to be mean or rude but you really might read your post better before pulling the trigger to see if what you're saying would make sense to others. Kind of lost

 

[Gary S]

I've been growing plants indoors for the last 40 years under florescent lights to extend my short growing season.
1. Any cheap florescent fixture and lamp will do the same job as the highest priced fixture and special grow lamps. Plants aren't fooled by a sales pitch. They care only about light levels.
2. Any timer that can switch the lights on and off when you want them will work. It doesn't matter if it was made in China and costs $4.95, or if it was made in Japan and costs $495. Again, plants aren't fooled by sales pitch or impressed by how much money you spent.
3. T5, T8, T12? This has been covered here more times than there are hair on a dog.

Pick up a cheap light meter and some cheap lights and get started. The sooner you start, the sooner you get somewhere. Place the lights as close to the plants as you can get them. Florescent lights do not get hot enough to damage a plant even touching them. Move the lights up as the plants grow.

 

[Angelfire]

not trying to be mean or rude but you really might read your post better before pulling the trigger to see if what you're saying would make sense to others. Kind of lost

I think he's been partaking too much of those plants.

 

[jhelrey]

 

[sberry]

I was n a hurry when I wrote this. I have been seeing some new fixture styles that apparently use less for more light? Is this correct or are old florecents still just about as good?

 

[sberry]

3. T5, T8, T12? This has been covered here more times than there are hair on a dog.

Yes, spose it has, I was being lazy and plain dont remember or woirk with it all the time. I am not very sophisticated either, in my world it is often easier to fix it than learn how it all works if you know what I mean.

I am one of these "mechanics" that knows nothing about electricity, people look at a wire job and the equipment and from the installation end it looks like I know what I am doing, got to think about using a volt meter. Only thing I understand about it is overload, short circuit a little about V drop, which breaker etc. Maybe can add the difference between the green and white etc. But real rudimentary.

Only reason I know what I do is people tell me, if I had to be dilligent academic student the world would stop. Electricity doesnt really interest me in a technical sense, how it can work for me is another matter. To do that one needs a code compliant legal installation that could and would pass a forensic examination,,,, some of this I have pre-empted with cooperation with my ins co and underwriters, all the stuff up to code, sturdy etc, piped wiring is an asset.

Same for truck inspections, have the same guy for good long time, the guy is the head dude at the county garage, say anything about trucks he is the jman,, cost the same as getting it done anywhere else but the guy knows me and would testify that if there was a problem it was not intentional but rare human error. Every once in a while I find something I miss, just do the best we can to not let it happen again.

Some of the stuff is really scary and I look for problems, most people dont look, its amazing stuff lasts and runs the way it does without accident.

 

[sberry]

Anyway we started tomatoes wayt too early and my MIL is already growing peppers in a terrerium. Last year we used common steel shelving and hung 3 or 4 racks with fixtures from Walmart and put it in her house near a heat source, have a wood stove in livingroom so we can make it hot cheap and as I recall maybe 8 - 2 lamp fixtures with daylights in them. There is a tendancy to want to start too early here where I want to hold on the brakes and make up for it with ideal conditions etc.

I did some contracting for a couple medical weed growers, installed piping and wire between buildings, they did the hookups, I came back before it was operating and inspected, corrected a minor clamping violation and went to both panels and install the ground wire correctly, remove bond at second panel etc. I had speced the correct wire, the old installer used 3.

Seems they had what appeared to be some pitiful small lights over some pretty big plants, I asked about wattage, seemed awfully small and awfully tall to work so well although one location was under greenhouse, one indoors. Somehow I think they were starting them early and finishing late, it only required a couple lite circuits, I think all the lights would have run 15A.

 

[vartz04]

So you're saying you're too lazy to google what all of the different bulbs mean? The world doesn't take researchers anymore. Just a internet connection.

Get T8 fixtures.

 

[sberry]

If I wantd to look it up I wouldnt have asked.

 

[Gary S]

Cliff notes on florescent.

T12 is the old way, and bulbs are being phased out so you don't want to go there. Years ago, T12 fixtures used ballast transformers to generate the high voltage to fire the lamps. Transformers waste power.

Today, florescent lights use electronic ballasts which use a small electronic circuit to generate the high voltage. This is the way to go because they are cheaper and more energy efficient.

T12 in a 4' tube is 40watt
T8 in a 4' tube is 32 watt
T5 in a 4' tube is less, I don't really care because T5 isn't cost effective yet.

But, not all 4' tubes are created equal as far as lumens of output. I have two identical 4' fixtures over my workbench. Currently one has T12 40 watt, and the other has T8 32 watt. Moving past all the hype and sales talk, my T12s put out more light than the T8, but they also cost more to run.

Bottom line is like vartz04 said. Go with T8. They are the most bang for your buck today.