Fluorescent Light Wattage Question!

Hello guys, I'm growing my 1 week seedlings in my closet with my fan inside the box I have.I was really wondering on returning my original Fluorescent and get a better 1!. I want to know what should I look for if I want a better light system so my plants grow quicker! My plants are growing pretty ok but I feel they can grow faster. I don't wanna spend a lot of cash for like a grow room operation..

Do I have to buy the materials separately or do they already come included like the one I have? My product is called the Fluorescent Light Fixture and it's 22 inches long with a 120 VAC 60HZ. W/e the hell that means.

I would greatly appreciate your help! thank you!!

ugh... what in the heck are T8 and T12 lamps? What are HPS and CFL? All I want is a stronger lighting system so my plants grow faster!

Please help!

Hey,,
try going to the older lighting threads, they have all you need info wise.
Just to answer, cfl = compact flurcent light, HPS = high pressure sodium,? maybe,,basically depends on what you need. Id say cfl's for your cupboard/box,they are cheap, dont need ballest and all that, and dont produce any heat. I can touch my 250 watt cfl. Dont touch it though as it smugdes the glass,,,its roughly 19,500 lumens, for 8,000 hrs, bout a year, I wont use it for more than 6 months as it will lose its lumens over time.
Plug and grow make good cfl's, a reflective hood makes all the differnce too,
It really depends on your grow room, number o plants, heat, eleccie cost etc.
This forum has all the info you need and if not try a hydroponics shop,,they can help and advice you on lights and even sell them to you,.
also try the amazing power of 'google' and read all the info on lights.

60hz is the operating freaquancy,120 VAC is the current i think,, to be honest it means f all. the important ones to find are the PAR or spectrum,,2700k for example, the watts, 250 watts say, amps, you need to know for you ballest, and hours or life of the bulb say 8,000hrs .
Hope that helps,, take it easy.

the T is how big around it is. For growing plants you want the t5 which are smaller so you can space them closer together. you want a high output (HO) t5 bulb. you will need a specific ho t5 fixture. They typically are sold in 30? and 52 watt varieties.

bunnyface said:

Hey,,
try going to the older lighting threads, they have all you need info wise.
Just to answer, cfl = compact flurcent light, HPS = high pressure sodium,? maybe,,basically depends on what you need. Id say cfl's for your cupboard/box,they are cheap, dont need ballest and all that, and dont produce any heat. I can touch my 250 watt cfl. its roughly 19,500 lumens, for 8,000 hrs, bout a year, I wont use it for more than 6 months as it will lose its lumens over time.
Plug and grow make good cfl's, a reflective hood makes all the differnce too, It really depends on your grow room, number o plants, heat, eleccie cost etc.
This forum has all the info you need and if not try a hydroponics shop,,they can help and advice you on lights and even sell them to you,.
also try the amazing power of 'google' and read all the info on lights.

60hz is the operating freaquancy,120 VAC is the current i think,, to be honest it means f all. the important ones to find are the PAR or spectrum,,2700k for example, the watts, 250 watts say, amps, you need to know for you ballest, and hours or life of the bulb say 8,000hrs .
Hope that helps,, take it easy.

Click to expand...

1. all light bulbs produce heat equal to their wattage rating. ALL OF THEM. PERIOD. florescent lights don't possess some magical quality that makes them immune to the laws of physics. Soo funny that everyone jocks on flouro's. Hello...they are more inefficient than HID lamps in terms of lumens per watt.

2. the electrical stuff does mean fuck all. 120 is the volts. 60hz is the frequency but you'll never have to worry about that. Just remember that volts x amps = watts.

3. yeah, just get a big CFL bulb.

Thankx alot you guys... This information was very helpful

So now the only problem is... how the heck I'm gonna be able to plug my CFL bulbs without a cord -_-. That's the main reason why I bought the fluorescent strip. It's like where do I connect to because connecting it straight to the power jack is no good... What can I do?

I'm growing 4 plants atm... and I want to plant 6 in total so how many bulbs would I need for them to grow fast! and how many watts should I am for? Thx a ton!

I'm willing to help those that are trying to help themselves. Put seriously....where do I plug it in? You are not ready to grow decent buds my friend.

I would suggest you subscribe to my coffee can grow... lots of good info on how to grow buds on the cheap..

https://www.rollitup.org/grow-room-design-setup/383705-coffee-can-single-flashlight-bulb.html

lol, I saw those bulbs in the store didn't come with any sort of equipment to use it with. Fair enough, I'll see what else I can find that will be useful.

legallyflying said:

1. all light bulbs produce heat equal to their wattage rating. ALL OF THEM. PERIOD. florescent lights don't possess some magical quality that makes them immune to the laws of physics. Soo funny that everyone jocks on flouro's. Hello...they are more inefficient than HID lamps in terms of lumens per watt.

2. the electrical stuff does mean fuck all. 120 is the volts. 60hz is the frequency but you'll never have to worry about that. Just remember that volts x amps = watts.

3. yeah, just get a big CFL bulb.

Click to expand...

You are wrong about #1 my friend. Google it, light doesn't = heat. Flourescent lights are more efficient. They produce less lumens per watt but they also produce less heat per watt. The ratio is a substantial consideration, you can run 1 400 watt hps and measure the lumens, then set up a comparable fluorescent output of lumens, it would be way less efficient as far as how many fluorescent's you would have to purchase, but the heat produced would be considerably less.. careful on your facts about physics.


http://home.howstuffworks.com/question236.htm

The problem with incandescent light bulbs is that the heat wastes a lot of electricity. Heat is not light, and the purpose of the light bulb is light, so all of the energy spent creating heat is a waste. Incandescent bulbs are therefore very inefficient. They produce perhaps 15 lumens per watt of input power.

boxingfan21 said:

Hello guys, I'm growing my 1 week seedlings in my closet with my fan inside the box I have.I was really wondering on returning my original Fluorescent and get a better 1!. I want to know what should I look for if I want a better light system so my plants grow quicker! My plants are growing pretty ok but I feel they can grow faster. I don't wanna spend a lot of cash for like a grow room operation..

Do I have to buy the materials separately or do they already come included like the one I have? My product is called the Fluorescent Light Fixture and it's 22 inches long with a 120 VAC 60HZ. W/e the hell that means.

I would greatly appreciate your help! thank you!!

Click to expand...

I suggest you go with t5's. It seems as if your not wanting to invest alot. If you are on the other hand, i would go with mh/hps balast with both bulbs, a tent and some crafty ventilation. before you know it you will more than happy with your investment.

legallyflying said:

1. all light bulbs produce heat equal to their wattage rating. ALL OF THEM. PERIOD. florescent lights don't possess some magical quality that makes them immune to the laws of physics. Soo funny that everyone jocks on flouro's. Hello...they are more inefficient than HID lamps in terms of lumens per watt.

2. the electrical stuff does mean fuck all. 120 is the volts. 60hz is the frequency but you'll never have to worry about that. Just remember that volts x amps = watts.

3. yeah, just get a big CFL bulb.

Click to expand...

hey, no,,,its not hot, warm maybe,,so you are wrong,, I can touch my bulb,, its not that hot,, do you have a 250 watt plug and grow? if not ,how do you know. . so go suck lemon
i never said cfl's where better than hps, hid or fluros , hps may have lots more lumens, but produce up to 3 time the heat...so arnt any good in a enclosed space.
Pyhsics balls man, My buld is not hot at all, its bit luke warm,, so buy a cfl, 250 watt plug and grow..., plug it in and touch it, honestly, its not that hot. so your physics is all wrong.]