yes, i believe spiral creates more surface area, and cfls work by reacting uv light with mercury (?) powder on the inside surface of the gas to releases energy in the form of visible light. or something like that. so more surface area = more light -> COMPACT flourescent.

but i could be wrong.

I had two going because of space limitations, but one turned out to be male the one i've got left is a sexy bitch, proper bushy. I made sure i picked a strain that wasn't that hard to grow. Yield i've not got a clue its my 1st gow with this setup.

A tubular/rectangular CFL i would say produces more penatrative light where as the spiral spreads it over a wider area and requires a slightly higher wattage for the same light..because of the damage cause to the phoshor while being manufactured. I could be completely wrong im not an expert. Im just going off the details from my source.

I can believe that tube flourescents are more efficient with light. However, they are also more fragile and difficult to transport, and they limit many options when it comes down to single plant or other small grows.

I've read that tubes are more efficient. In fact if you look at the T5 watt per lumen, it is more efficient than a CFL bulb. Part of that reason is that the light from the inner surface of the bulb has to make it outside, as opposed to the outer surface of the spiral. The center surface light is perpendicular to the other side of the bulb.

This is why the most effective parts of the CFL are the outer surfaces.

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Got CFL? http://www.rollitup.org/cfl-growing/71259-cfl-sog.html

Wait, when you refer to tubular are you talking about these(http://www.agri-culture.eu/catalog/i...FL_SB_125W.jpg) or like T8s?
Also, where can i get them, if theyre like the ones in the link ive never seen them in a walmart?

they are talking about "CFL"

that immediatly eliminates any non CFL :b

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I cant believe this site when you need a simple question asked,noone even answers you.tycoon 5/4

Has anybody heard of someone who has no place to put under lights,pop there seeds in water or paper towel and going right to ground when it gets warmer? Can someone respond? tycoon 5/4

You could always get lotus cfl's instead.

40watt pictured