AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
"it will be around 24" Long and 20" across"
this is what I am imagining...am I anywhere close?
this is what I am imagining...am I anywhere close?
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If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.
That's not a bulb ... That's a bulb
- Thread starter steel-n-peppers
- Start date
Nice information Steel-in-peppers, I should be okay even with a 15a breaker.. man those bulbs you use are massive....
Aj yes that is just what it will look like also on one end i cut out a 4" hole and will have a duct fan on one end 80 cfm .. not a lot of air but something to take away the heat from the ballasts (i should put one on each end)
Problem is the more i think about the fixture the more heavy it gets as i go along and keep adding.. + trying to keep the thing balanced.
Last night i ran out of 14 awg wire, i used 2/18' rolls and only have 2 more fixtures to wire/solder up to extend the leads around the sides over to the 4 terminal blocks mounted on one end where the main power cord will be hooked up.
The Levinton's are 18 awg so i figured using the 14 to extend them and use 14 for the main power cord.
Next after there all wired up wondering if i should cover all the wires on both sides or just tie them up and keep things tight to the block ...the terminal blocks i will make some kind of lid to cover everything up..
Aj yes that is just what it will look like also on one end i cut out a 4" hole and will have a duct fan on one end 80 cfm .. not a lot of air but something to take away the heat from the ballasts (i should put one on each end)
Problem is the more i think about the fixture the more heavy it gets as i go along and keep adding.. + trying to keep the thing balanced.
Last night i ran out of 14 awg wire, i used 2/18' rolls and only have 2 more fixtures to wire/solder up to extend the leads around the sides over to the 4 terminal blocks mounted on one end where the main power cord will be hooked up.
The Levinton's are 18 awg so i figured using the 14 to extend them and use 14 for the main power cord.
Next after there all wired up wondering if i should cover all the wires on both sides or just tie them up and keep things tight to the block ...the terminal blocks i will make some kind of lid to cover everything up..
Thats another one i am looking into except wanting to use the high bay 400w type and remove the ballast away from the reflector and bulb..i herd MH's do pretty good with plants.
AlabamaJack
Extreme Member
each to his own...meaning each person has to do it the way that works for them...if growing by candle light would make them grow, I would try that...
I give it a 10+ on the "Cool Scale" ...
Mylar arrives tomorrow ... Potting up 65 Trinidads too ...
Capsicum
Banned
I have yes. I was happier with the MH.
Like said above to each is own ..."if growing by candle light would make them grow, I would try that..."
LOL you never know!!!!!!
That is a nice clean set up steel-n-peppers.
That light set up does look way cool, i was going to make one with them hanging down like yours but then i read somewhere the light from the cfl's mostly comes out of the Sides not the ends...so thats why i went with a diy with the cfl's horizontal ...
I have some hanging cfl's and just lowered them into the canopy of the peppers it seems to work great.
I have some hanging cfl's and just lowered them into the canopy of the peppers it seems to work great.
Capsicum
Banned
True LED focus on the right colors of light so to speak. To this day they are underdeveloped.
Read Light 101. LED are not as good as HID. o wait, this will help:
Light Emitting Diodes (LED) are semiconductor based solid state diodes. they are very common in electronics and as indicator lights. The current Lumen/Wattage efficiency is not enough to compete with some of the other solutions, but this recently hyped light source has its advantages. a possibility to replicate the wavelengths plants need is one of them. With the right components, it is possible to create an array with most possibly the best artificial spectrum. Another advantage is the lack of moving parts, something that influences the life span and usage for the better. the technology is still underdeveloped, but future developments should improve overall efficiency. for now it is not your best choice, even though it is a good one.
I guess nobody told my plants that yet. 
I think the LEDS I've assembled into panels are just fine for " how I use them".
Might not be some one else's cup of tea.
All LEDs and or panels aren't created equal.
All LEDS aren't the same.
Most commercial LED systems I've seen are junk or way over priced for what they actually are.
Most are,as stated above Hyped extremely.
My main reason for going to LEDS is my growing area is a constant 80 degrees+ with a mix of 8 dual bulb shop lights T12's and T8's and 1,4 bulb T12.
Any kind of Halide is out of the question.
No air or opening windows in that room and the building is cinder block-cools and heats slowly.
I grow year round.
Just replacing a couple Flouros dropped the temp. 5 degrees when I started playing with LEDs.
I'm building panels right now to totally replace all my grow lights with LEDs.
22 , 8in. x 16 in. panels and 15 10mm led panels that are 7in x 12 in .
22 panels are stars in 50-80 lumens each LED.50 per panel(44 red,6 blue)
15 panels are 10mm , 125LEDs,98-106 Lumens each LED.
Stars in 620nm , 625nm , 630nm 658nm , 660nm , 662nm , 440nm , 445nm , 465nm , 470nm.
10mm in 625nm , 630nm , 635nm , 637nm , 640nm , 465nm , 470nm , 475nm , 580nm , 585nm , 590nm.
Assuming the data sheets are correct for the LEDs I am using.
Stars will be horizontally over plants and 10mm will be vertically on 3 sides,Mylar up front(or I'll get blinded when I look at my shelves).
They should be more than enough light for 3-4 shelves that are 4ft. X 18in. X 20in high and a couple plants I grow for pure seeds in 5gal. hydro buckets and a small hydro garden I bought 30 yrs ago.
LEDs will be 20 inches away from shelves.No moving lights up and down etc.
Might have to put less panels per shelf though.better to err on the side of Too Bright than Too Dim.
I do think you have to build your own panels or you probably won't cover enough wave lengths in as many Lumens as you'll need for them to work right.
Just in the 3 or so years I've been playing with LEDs the prices have dropped AND the Lumens and Wave Lengths available has changed dramatically.For instance an LED in high red,until recently was never over 30 or so Lumens in a star.They make an 80-100Lumen one now.
In 10mm you can get one in about 100 lumen too.
Yes there are a lot of options out there but whatever you choose has to work for your setup and the way you want to grow your plants.
None is better than another if it isn't what you find you like or don't like -ease of use etc. in your situation.
I think the LEDS I've assembled into panels are just fine for " how I use them".
Might not be some one else's cup of tea.
All LEDs and or panels aren't created equal.
All LEDS aren't the same.
Most commercial LED systems I've seen are junk or way over priced for what they actually are.
Most are,as stated above Hyped extremely.
My main reason for going to LEDS is my growing area is a constant 80 degrees+ with a mix of 8 dual bulb shop lights T12's and T8's and 1,4 bulb T12.
Any kind of Halide is out of the question.
No air or opening windows in that room and the building is cinder block-cools and heats slowly.
I grow year round.
Just replacing a couple Flouros dropped the temp. 5 degrees when I started playing with LEDs.
I'm building panels right now to totally replace all my grow lights with LEDs.
22 , 8in. x 16 in. panels and 15 10mm led panels that are 7in x 12 in .
22 panels are stars in 50-80 lumens each LED.50 per panel(44 red,6 blue)
15 panels are 10mm , 125LEDs,98-106 Lumens each LED.
Stars in 620nm , 625nm , 630nm 658nm , 660nm , 662nm , 440nm , 445nm , 465nm , 470nm.
10mm in 625nm , 630nm , 635nm , 637nm , 640nm , 465nm , 470nm , 475nm , 580nm , 585nm , 590nm.
Assuming the data sheets are correct for the LEDs I am using.
Stars will be horizontally over plants and 10mm will be vertically on 3 sides,Mylar up front(or I'll get blinded when I look at my shelves).
They should be more than enough light for 3-4 shelves that are 4ft. X 18in. X 20in high and a couple plants I grow for pure seeds in 5gal. hydro buckets and a small hydro garden I bought 30 yrs ago.
LEDs will be 20 inches away from shelves.No moving lights up and down etc.
Might have to put less panels per shelf though.better to err on the side of Too Bright than Too Dim.
I do think you have to build your own panels or you probably won't cover enough wave lengths in as many Lumens as you'll need for them to work right.
Just in the 3 or so years I've been playing with LEDs the prices have dropped AND the Lumens and Wave Lengths available has changed dramatically.For instance an LED in high red,until recently was never over 30 or so Lumens in a star.They make an 80-100Lumen one now.
In 10mm you can get one in about 100 lumen too.
Yes there are a lot of options out there but whatever you choose has to work for your setup and the way you want to grow your plants.
None is better than another if it isn't what you find you like or don't like -ease of use etc. in your situation.
I just mounted 12 star panels last night at work.
Empty spots are for Blue LEDs.Coloured dots are labels of what LED nm I used,voltage and Ma.
Gotta do 10 more,decide on a power source to use(drivers and resistors or computer power supply(surplus)).
Going with 12 or 24 volts.
1/8th inch thick aluminum cools the 1 watt LEDs so I need no fan or other type of heat sink.
Ignore the dogs dirty blanket on the bed(her dirty pillows too).Can't keep her off the bed so I cover it.
I better stop hyjacking this post.
Sorry.
Empty spots are for Blue LEDs.Coloured dots are labels of what LED nm I used,voltage and Ma.
Gotta do 10 more,decide on a power source to use(drivers and resistors or computer power supply(surplus)).
Going with 12 or 24 volts.
1/8th inch thick aluminum cools the 1 watt LEDs so I need no fan or other type of heat sink.
Ignore the dogs dirty blanket on the bed(her dirty pillows too).Can't keep her off the bed so I cover it.
I better stop hyjacking this post.
Sorry.
Do you wanna see the motherload of CFLs? This one is a 200w (Incandescent equivalent = about 800-850 watts). I had to get one for a customer a while ago, I was curious as to how bright it was so I hooked up a socket and tested it out. It's def blinding!
