Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

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Greatgardens
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Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#1

Post: # 7055Unread post Greatgardens
Mon Jan 20, 2020 8:15 am

It's getting close to starting time, and I'd like to improve my system. I currently use in my garage growing area two, two tube T8 shop lights with 6000K Daylight bulbs next to a south-facing window. Works pretty good, but I still get a fair amount of "stretching." I'm thinking about substituting one or two, 18 watt full spectrum LED fixtures ("pink" LEDs) for two of the current T8 bulbs. That will also save a little electricity -- 18 or 36 watts vs the current 64. (My electric utility keeps sending me "hate mail" that I not doing as well as "my more efficient neighbors.") :roll: The first goal is to improve my plants; the second is to reduce electricity consumption. I'm not looking to grow plants in the garage during the winter. This is just a spring growing area before going outside to the cold frame, typically in late April.

So what do you use, and are you happy with the results? If you are planning on making any improvements, what are you considering? Any pictures or links would be useful.

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SQWIB
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#2

Post: # 7056Unread post SQWIB
Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:01 am

I started out with standard shop lights 4 bulb 5200k I believe.

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Then a modified 10 bulb setup with T8 fluorescents and Led's they worked great.

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Modified again with all Led's. 8 led tubes and 4 led tape strips.

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Then went to Roleadro Lights

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Then the Viparspectra 450's

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I then order 3 Viparspectra 700's for the grow tent last year.

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This was the difference between the Roleadro's and Viparspecra 700's

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Since I did not set up the Grow tent this year I decided to replace the Viparspectra 450's with the Viparspectra 700's on the grow table.

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I also have a 700 in the bathroom for my Lemon and Lime bush.

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I also have a 4 bulb 6500k shoplight that I use for an overflow, I just hang an adjustable shelf from the ceiling.

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For seedlings and saving electricity purchase 4 LED shop lights 6000k - 6500k to replace your existing fluorescents.
They will probably never need replacing. Your Fluorescents should be replaced every other year (from the general consensus).
There are several types of LED replacements out there, some require bypassing the ballast and a few mods and some are plug and play.

Almost anything will work for seedlings but if you decide to grow some greens, you may want to look into other lighting methods, don't get me wrong standard fluorescents or tube led's will work but growth is relative to the light as you can see in my pics above.

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GoDawgs
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#3

Post: # 7061Unread post GoDawgs
Mon Jan 20, 2020 9:34 am

For years I used the two-tube T-12 fixtures and never had a problem with stretching as I'm a fanatic about keeping the lights (on a chain) about 2" from the tops of plants.

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A couple years ago, after reading several discussions on lighting I switched to T8's, using one 6500k daylight and one 3000k warm light in each fixture to cover a range of light. I think they are a bit better than the old fixtures but the plants seem to use more water.

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Still, I'm happy with the results. They make some pretty plants, which go out to the porch to harden off as soon as they're ready for that. I don't do any start-to-finish things like lettuce during the winter so I can't say how these lights would perform for that.

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Cole_Robbie
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#4

Post: # 7082Unread post Cole_Robbie
Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:04 pm

Nice pics, both of you.

Because it is always cold when I am starting seeds, I like an old fashioned 1000 watt metal halide. The warmth from lights is much nicer for plants than electric heat.

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Daphne
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#5

Post: # 7087Unread post Daphne
Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:33 pm

I've been using simple cheap tube lights for some years now and was very content with those, but last December I bought a small LED growlight set. I have some micro tomatoes under them and one thing I know for sure is that I'm really really glad I didn't throw my tube lights away. Not a fan of my LED set to say the least.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#6

Post: # 7099Unread post SQWIB
Mon Jan 20, 2020 1:51 pm

Daphne wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:33 pm I've been using simple cheap tube lights for some years now and was very content with those, but last December I bought a small LED growlight set. I have some micro tomatoes under them and one thing I know for sure is that I'm really really glad I didn't throw my tube lights away. Not a fan of my LED set to say the least.
I would post the description of the lights you are unhappy with, it may help someone from getting something they too would be unhappy with.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#7

Post: # 7103Unread post zendog
Mon Jan 20, 2020 2:27 pm

I'm growing under various LED T5 type lights and some old fluorescent fixtures I rewired to work with replacement LED bulbs. Both work and if anything they are almost too bright. When I got them, some last year and some the year before, they weren't listed as grow lights, just LEDs around 5000K color temp. This year I've added a few 2ft LEDs that are "daylight grow LED growlights" and I'll see how they do. I think it is a bigger deal when you are trying to grow and produce year-round indoors vs. just trying to get seedlings started and ready for the garden.

Here are onions started under the LED t5 type units mounted on a PVC frame so I can easily raise and lower. I also taped some aluminum foil along the sides to keep the light in, but it is folded up out of the way in this picture I posted over in the seed starting thread.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#8

Post: # 7118Unread post worth1
Mon Jan 20, 2020 4:14 pm

I was using CFL lights I made myself as far as the frame and everything.
Very happy with then.
Being that it is just me around here now I have sort of let things go into disarray and haven't done anything for awhile.
Still looking for that inner peace you might say because there are a lot of trains coming into the tunnel and doing the best I can to dodge them.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

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Cole_Robbie
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#9

Post: # 7124Unread post Cole_Robbie
Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:02 pm

I really like my homemade cfl fixtures, too. Those bulbs are getting hard to find now. Everything is led.

Does anyone here use the household led bulbs, the new ones in the shape of the old incandescents? I would guess they would work, but I have not tried them.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#10

Post: # 7175Unread post Greatgardens
Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:49 am

Cole_Robbie wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:02 pm I really like my homemade cfl fixtures, too. Those bulbs are getting hard to find now. Everything is led.

Does anyone here use the household led bulbs, the new ones in the shape of the old incandescents? I would guess they would work, but I have not tried them.
I've used the new LED (bulbs) in some older GE plant light fixtures that were originally designed for incandescent bulbs. I did not use these for tomatoes, but did use them for supplemental winter light for our ficus tree, cactus, and Norfolk Island pines. Does a great job -- certainly as good as CFL in this application. For this, I used "warm white," mostly because it looks better in the room.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#11

Post: # 7182Unread post SQWIB
Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:23 am

Cole_Robbie wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 5:02 pm I really like my homemade cfl fixtures, too. Those bulbs are getting hard to find now. Everything is led.

Does anyone here use the household led bulbs, the new ones in the shape of the old incandescents? I would guess they would work, but I have not tried them.


yes
BR40 Dimmable LED Lamps 52W (205W Equivalent) 5000K 5300
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top of picture.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#12

Post: # 7185Unread post bjbebs
Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:07 am

I use a little of everything. 4 tube T8's, screw in LED's and a HPS in 150w-250w. The LED boards are configured to suit my needs. A 100w LED in 5500K Daylight and a lampholder costs $3. Add a splitter for another $2. The set up pictured has 18 bulbs consuming less than 300 watts. The plastic diffusers are held to the base with a bit of adhesive. These are popped off with channel locks. Plants grow well placed 6-9" below these LED's. If you need extra heat screw in a few CFL's.
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SeanInVa
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#13

Post: # 7189Unread post SeanInVa
Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:49 am

I've tried the standard old shop lights, and a 4-tube T5HO fixture. Sick and tired of dealing with the fluorescent tubes and the mercury worry.

100% LED now.
I have one each of the following:
* ViparSpectra v600 (260w power draw)
* AvancedLED XTE200 (165w power draw)
* Commercial Electric industrial high bay (from Home Depot, 171w power draw)
Tomato Talk - general tomato discussions with a focus on breeding and grow reports

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#14

Post: # 7361Unread post Daphne
Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:05 pm

SQWIB wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 1:51 pm
Daphne wrote: Mon Jan 20, 2020 12:33 pm I've been using simple cheap tube lights for some years now and was very content with those, but last December I bought a small LED growlight set. I have some micro tomatoes under them and one thing I know for sure is that I'm really really glad I didn't throw my tube lights away. Not a fan of my LED set to say the least.
I would post the description of the lights you are unhappy with, it may help someone from getting something they too would be unhappy with.
Well it was the same old story; I went to Aldi to buy some bananas and chocolate and I walked out with a grow light. :mrgreen: I will look for some specs later.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#15

Post: # 7500Unread post Sue_CT
Thu Jan 23, 2020 6:09 pm

This thread should be helpful to me, but some of this is way over kill for me and just has me confused. I have been using 4 T12 flourescent hanging plug in shop lights from HD. They worked great for a few years. Then they seemed to dim, and I replaced the bulbs with identical T12s from HD two years ago. They are obviously too hot, and caused severe leaf curl two years in a row, even though I raised them up from the plants the second year. I have had it with those things. I would like to replace them with something else that is also a hanging plug in. I raise and lower them on a pulley system so I would like to keep the same set up and just replace the fixtures with new LEDs, T5s, HO or something. Looking for 4 foot hanging, plung in lights that will not give me leggy plants or burn the leaves or cause leaf curl. Is there anything reasonably priced that easily obtainable from HD, Amazon, etc?

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#16

Post: # 7504Unread post SQWIB
Thu Jan 23, 2020 7:11 pm

Sue, I'll post some stuff for you in the morning when I can get in my computer.

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#17

Post: # 7508Unread post Sue_CT
Thu Jan 23, 2020 7:54 pm

Thanks!

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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#18

Post: # 7532Unread post SQWIB
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:55 am

OK, I'll try not to mess this up.

Time to mod the fixture for the new Led's. The Led's I will be covering here are being sold are "Single end powered ballast bypass", "direct wire LED fluorescent replacement tubes" and theres a few more names out there.
What that means is that these Led's are powered on one side and that there is a positive and negative on one side of the Led bulb and the other side is not powered, so the bulbs need to be installed with the power end on the fixture to the input end of the Led bulb. The ballast can be removed.


There are 2 choices when selecting Led bulbs, I will be covering the first choice not the second choice but did put up a brief description of the 2nd choice.

Single-Ended LED Lamp (what we are discussing here)
A single-ended LED lamp is a lamp that has the live and neutral pins on the same side of the lamp. This end will be the “Input” end. If the lamp is being installed as a retrofit into a fluorescent fixture, you will need to replace the fluorescent, shunted lampholders (also called tombstones) with non-shunted lampholders on one side of the fixture. Single-ended LED lamps that will be installed by direct-wire do not use a ballast to be operational. If the lamp is being used in a retrofit, the ballast will need to be removed and the lampholders replaced.
This is what I used.




Double-Ended LED Lamp

A double-ended LED lamp is a lamp that has the live and neutral pins on the opposite side of each lamp. Fluorescent lamps are typically double-ended as well, making retrofit applications easier to complete with double-ended LED lamps. Double-ended lamps use shunted lampholders, so that the two contact pins on the live side of the lamp are shorted together, creating no voltage difference between the pins.

There are Ballast Compatible Led lights which means you would remove the old fluorescent tubes, install the new bulbs and you are done. The problem I have with this is if the Ballast fails, so does your light output and for this reason I stick with Ballast Bypass


Disassembly and ballast removal. Ballast wires are cut a few inches from the ballast for two reasons; 1) to reuse the wires and 2) just in case I need to reuse the ballast.

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Tombstones have one wire so that means they are shunted.

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I checked the tombstones with a volt meter and verified that they are indeed shunted, so I need to fix that problem.

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Shunted

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Shunt removed. There is a little tab in the center that connects the two sides, this is a shunted tombstone, after the tab is removed it is now a non-shunted tombstone.

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Notice the wire touching the metal in the tombstone, this existing wire will be for the hot, I now need to add a wire on the other side so I have a neutral and hot on each tombstone.

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I removed the Ballast and used the wires from the ballast to rewire the tombstones, the problem here was that the hole in the tombstone to feed the wire on the other side did not go through to the metal piece like shown above, so I had to drill out the hole to accommodate the new wire. One side is red, the other side is blue.




Testing time

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My 12 bulb Led grow light is working perfectly. 8 led tubes and 4 led tape strips.

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You can buy non-shunted tombstones already wired
non shunted.jpg

One more thing, if you are going with just seedlings, I suggest 6500k led bulbs. The higher the Kelvin the better
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#19

Post: # 7545Unread post Sue_CT
Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:31 am

Thank you. I am looking for something very simple.
Now can anyone recommend a "plug and play" hanging shop light that will work well?
Will these likely work? I need 4 to replace the 4 I have now. I am looking at the 6000K lights. If not, what is wrong with these and what should look for?


Linkable LED Shop Light for Garage, 42W 5000lm 4FT, 6000-6500K Daylight White, with Pull Chain (ON/Off) cETLus Listed, 5-Year-Warranty, 6000K (4PK)
by ZJOJO
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Color: Linkable Shop Light 6000k 4pack

Linkable Shop Light 5000k 4pack
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Linkable Shop Light 6000k 4pack
$89.88
High Brightness. Release a 5200 lumens output at 42 Watt, a stunning luminous efficacy of 120lm/W, effectively reduce the amount on your annual electric bill.
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Premium Quality. Built in bulbs, 44’’ power cord with dual prong plug and chrome-finished pull cord switch, run on 100~240 VAC and 50/60Hz. Simply plug and play, instant full brightness with no flicker even at low temperature (-4℉). ETL certified for performance and safe operation.
Widely Use. Ideal for garages,


Thanks!
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Re: Grow lights -- what do you use; are you happy with them?

#20

Post: # 7601Unread post SQWIB
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:43 pm

Yep they'll be fine.

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