easy ways to hang cfls?

my plants are on a computer desk and now that they are big im having issues setting up my lights to tall/ no where to Hang them.

What do you guys do to make your cfls easily adjustable?

You could use something like this then have some extension and y adapters to add 3-4 CFLs per clamp.



Or you could purchase a 3 or 4 light bathroom vanity, insert y adapters to make a 6 or 8 bulb fixture, this takes a little electrical no how.



Another option would be to buy a T5 or T8 already setup, then hang with chains.

ebcrew said:

You could use something like this then have some extension and y adapters to add 3-4 CFLs per clamp.

Or you could purchase a 3 or 4 light bathroom vanity, insert y adapters to make a 6 or 8 bulb fixture, this takes a little electrical no how.

Another option would be to buy a T5 or T8 already setup, then hang with chains.

Click to expand...

great advice thanks

KillsPlants said:

great advice thanks

Click to expand...

I'm actually using a 3 light vanity bar right now and it works great.. 3 y connectors gives me 6 bulbs, gonna add another 1 or 2 for flower and a clamp light.

I bought a t5 off eBay for $50,surprisingly it had decent reviews on the Internet not ebay....came with the ballast already installed...only 2 ft long 4 bulbs 2 sided reflector panels 20,000 lumens 96 watts...yeah you will need more cfl's added but really good start for the prices....light bulbs are $12 for all 4 (u can pick either 2700k-6500k) 1 set comes with it as well

wiethe20 said:

I bought a t5 off eBay for $50,surprisingly it had decent reviews on the Internet not ebay....came with the ballast already installed...only 2 ft long 4 bulbs 2 sided reflector panels 20,000 lumens 96 watts...yeah you will need more cfl's added but really good start for the prices....light bulbs are $12 for all 4 (u can pick either 2700k-6500k) 1 set comes with it as well

Click to expand...

I would suggest buying t5s and t8s yourself for 10 bucks then just add the shield that'd save you 20 plus bucks. im running 533 watts atm 3 t8s rest are bulbs rangin from 80 to 23 going to make a vanity as this seems to work best for me

KillsPlants said:

I would suggest buying t5s and t8s yourself for 10 bucks then just add the shield that'd save you 20 plus bucks. im running 533 watts atm 3 t8s rest are bulbs rangin from 80 to 23 going to make a vanity as this seems to work best for me

Click to expand...

Yea I am deff adding more and more thought to the lights, it's very hard to get things where I live all I have is online..?I try to space shippings my goal is for 400watts and it will equal to around 90,000 lumens

wiethe20 said:

Yea I am deff adding more and more thought to the lights, it's very hard to get things where I live all I have is online..?I try to space shippings my goal is for 400watts and it will equal to around 90,000 lumens

Click to expand...

You can get a decent 600-1000w HPS setup for around 200-250... Thats the route i wish i would of went, instead i spent about that much for 650w of CFLs and while im not complaining about my bud or yields the buds are a bit fluffy and not as dense as an HPS would produce.

Theres no Home Depot or Lowes around you? You can get your CFLs, clamps, and bathroom vanities there instead of ordering online. They also have T5s and T8 setups with ballast and reflectors for pretty cheap.

I used a gutted window blind to raise and lower my cfls when I was dead broke.

Other options are light yoyo's and ratchets.

Rhizzologic said:

I used a gutted window blind to raise and lower my cfls when I was dead broke.

Other options are light yoyo's and ratchets.

Click to expand...

window blind parts, genius man! I like the idea, how easy was it to pull up the weight of the lights?

ebcrew said:

window blind parts, genius man! I like the idea, how easy was it to pull up the weight of the lights?

Click to expand...

It won't hold a lot of weight but I never had a problem with it falling on my plants. PVC and bare light sockets don't weight much, make sure you secure it well wherever you mount it.

8 slot extension cord thing, few dollars for a cheapo..

Socket to outlet converter

Then y splitters...

Each little power strip will hold 6 lights. 4 of them will fit in a ~2x2 space.thats 24 cfls.. and a good little hood ca be crafted.

Zip tie cfl y splitters on to the outlet to make sure no falls. Attatch all 4 power strips to a piece of ply wood. Screw in 4 looped or hook screws, thread in some chain... pulley on the cieling. You pull lights go up, hook any chain link into a screw on the wall, completely adjustable. All the parts are a couple dollars each



Good luck

ebcrew said:

You can get a decent 600-1000w HPS setup for around 200-250... Thats the route i wish i would of went, instead i spent about that much for 650w of CFLs and while im not complaining about my bud or yields the buds are a bit fluffy and not as dense as an HPS would produce.

Theres no Home Depot or Lowes around you? You can get your CFLs, clamps, and bathroom vanities there instead of ordering online. They also have T5s and T8 setups with ballast and reflectors for pretty cheap.

Click to expand...

Lol I have been to every Lowe's and Walmart (literally no Home Depot ) and most places only carry 13-14 watts...clamps Yea that's easy....my state sux only thing was going good was responsible ohio

KillsPlants said:

my plants are on a computer desk and now that they are big im having issues setting up my lights to tall/ no where to Hang them.

What do you guys do to make your cfls easily adjustable?

Click to expand...

If i had to grow without hps then i would go down the t5 road,i veg under them and to be honest there good,But get a hps light ya can buy them at really good prices nowadays,when i very first started it was a different ball game..Buy the right exhaust fan and good inlet and you can do a smallish room,in fact you be suprised how small but you will need a cool hood.