DIY CFL Fixtures

[Where in the hell am I?]

malbulja I am really curious as to how much bud you get from this single plant cfl method. Also, are the buds loose? Iv'e read that cfl flowers are loose and less.
It looks great for people like me who don't need multiple plants and tons of weed around. Love it!

My buds were top shelf! In every sense. They were tight, gooey buds that smelled, tasted and felt like heaven

 

[Cane'Bosem]

My buds were top shelf! In every sense. They were tight, gooey buds that smelled, tasted and felt like heaven

I just drooled...

Good to know!

 

[Ligerius]

hey that is a good idea man, i have been trying to brainstorm a way to make a cfl fixture for cheap, guess now i dont have too! however i did notice one unneccesary and easily fixable flaw in your project, why use 3 extension cords? you only need 1 going to the first socket, then just wire the sockets in series. to wire them in series, you see how your sockets have 2 silver screws and 2 brass ones as well? just get some wiring and connect wire from silver screw to silver screw and brass to brass. that way you can save yourself some extension and also free up some light sockets

 

[malbulja]

why use 3 extension cords? you only need 1 going to the first socket, then just wire the sockets in series. to wire them in series, you see how your sockets have 2 silver screws and 2 brass ones as well? just get some wiring and connect wire from silver screw to silver screw and brass to brass. that way you can save yourself some extension and also free up some light sockets

Thanks for the tip! I had thought about that early on but I was worried that there could be a maximum wattage rating. If I ran a Y-Splitter to each post and each post had 2 42w CFLs, then that would be 252w running to a single AC outlet and I don't know enough about fundemental electricity to know if that is safe to do or not so I just ran an extension cord to each lamp-post.

So would I be fine running 252w to a single AC outlet? If so, I'm gonna rewire the fixture the way you suggest because it's a little unruly having to deal with these 12' extension cords!

 

[Where in the hell am I?]

Thanks for the tip! I had thought about that early on but I was worried that there could be a maximum wattage rating. If I ran a Y-Splitter to each post and each post had 2 42w CFLs, then that would be 252w running to a single AC outlet and I don't know enough about fundemental electricity to know if that is safe to do or not so I just ran an extension cord to each lamp-post.

So would I be fine running 252w to a single AC outlet? If so, I'm gonna rewire the fixture the way you suggest because it's a little unruly having to deal with these 12' extension cords!

Yah most likely are runnin far more than that on a regular basis! Each of my dolla stoe cords are rated 660W, so ya know ya can take far more than that. Yer every day microwave runs from 1200-1800W!

 

[ShackC]

i like all of the fixtures. Another way to get more for ur dollar is to top then low stress train them, those more flat setups would be awesome, ill get pics up of my setup i use 2 high w. cfls along with T5 strip lights for side lighting, when these bulb burn out i plan on making an expanded version of the angled setup.

 

[rentjr]

Wow, looks like the last person to post in this thread was 5 months ago. well, I just wanted to thank you for this DIY. I made mine after checking yours out. thanks again +rep

 

[curly11]

I am growing 3 medusas under 4fixtures like that and should get at least 1.5oz per plant a friend uses just clamp lights with up to 6 y splitters in each lamp and averages over 2oz per plant

 

[Liddle]

thanks man, no prob, all the connectors and power cord are rated 1600watts or so
im using about 130w

The Powercord Looks So Cheap Though.

 

[Liddle]

[video=youtube;NFzIP_TN75A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFzIP_TN75A[/video]

 

[JohnnySocko]

I made mine outta pvc and hardware from Lowes/Home Depot....the clamp on lights are there on purpose ,,,,

 

[Mattbastard750]

I decided to start with the grow light. Since I'm a total DIY'er, I researched a bunch of ideas and decided to go with this one:

Amp draw:

2800 lumens each give me over 10,000. Since I'm starting with only one plant I'd say that's enough. Also, for flowering I'm going to swap out the bulbs with some 2700K ones of the same size. That's easier than building one with 8 sockets.

 

[UncleReemis]

Very cool, Matt. I'm going to be constructing a CFL fixture of my own pretty soon. I'm aiming for simple + high efficiency. I'll post it here when I do.

 

[B166ER420]

I just saw this thread today.....diy cfl fixtures are my specialty

 

[B166ER420]

..this ones my avi

 

[rdo420]

Here's my easy one. Bth. light bar $10, $5 for sheet metal in duct section, $3 for 3 splitters all at home depot. Old extension cord.

 

[Mattbastard750]

Very cool, Matt. I'm going to be constructing a CFL fixture of my own pretty soon. I'm aiming for simple + high efficiency. I'll post it here when I do.

Thanks man. Since that posting I've switched to the 2700K bulbs of the same wattage because my Auto NL started flowering. Electric bill barely moved, and these have very little heat output. If anything I may add a 5th and 6th socket in the middle, but for now it's good.