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I think I need help!

For my addiction to lights. I can't help myself - I'm looking for the best lights (best being defined as which lights provide the best growth for the lowest cost) available. I love the 23 watt, 2700K CFL bulbs but they simply do not seem capable of raising a tomato so that it not only blooms but produces fruit.

E-bay had a couple of auctions going last night so I ended up winning two of them, one for a 168 LED blue/red screwiin bulb and another for a 226 LED blue/red panel.

If, and it's a big IF, these lights improve the growth of plants, I'll be able to light 14 sq. ft. for $5 per month. That's about 1/3 the cost of what the CFL bulbs would run for the same area. I still have lots of pepper seeds left and will also test how they get along.

The lights are still a little pricey now (I paid $20 and $26 for the lights) but they should get a lot cheaper by January.

I'm not surprised but I find if I ask a rep from a company about the lights and how they work for growing plants, they have this "we don't support pot growers" attitude.

Mike
 
i dont know anything about led lights but these 8 dollar 4 ft shop lights from walmart worked great for me getting plants going. Then like u addiction started setting in now i have 2 shop lights and bought 4 hps 250 watt fixtures off craigslist i found for 20 bucks each!!! Found another 2 ft floro at moms and now its all in the closet here in my 1 bedroom apartment hehe.(only using one of the 250 wt hps )
 
jh,

"She who must be obeyed" would not be happy if I was running a bunch of 250 watt lights 16 hours a day, but Duke Energy would probably invite me to their Christmas Party!:P

It does sound like you got a great deal on your lights, though.

Mike
 
After 27 years, I've grown attached to her! A real soul mate, except when it comes to the upstairs garden. It's a "mad grower's la bore a tory" she says though she checks every so often to see how the plants are looking.

It's actually because of her I'm looking at these lights. She loves Fried Green Tomatoes and has not had any since early November. If I can fix her some in December through June, she may not understand my obsession, but will appreciate it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Mike
 
My screw-in, 168 LED light arrived today, Of course, I put it to work, hanging over a tomato plant. It doesn't put out a wide enough array of light to cover the entire plant (it is about three feet tall), but the color of the plant where the light is hitting is just plain eerie - purple with what looks like silver specks. This spotlight is better suited for a potato plant, which is where it will move once I get a LED panel. It should be a good test, as I can divide the potato container in two and compare the LED vs. the CFL. On a positive note, it delivers about 5,000 LUX of light to the top of the plant. And, it consumes only 13 watts of power.

Mike
 
An update - These lights are not like fluorescents - they cannot be placed close to the plant. I placed the spotlight about four inches from the plant and it nearly fired it. Not from the heat - it has next to none, but from the intensity of the light. Live and learn.

My panel light (225 LEDs, 2/3 red) arrived Saturday and I put it over the tomato plant. Wow - the new growth of branches and overall growth of the plant is amazing. I wish I had kept a chart but since Saturday afternoon, the plant has grown a little more than six inches. More importantly, it is not leggy growth but new shoots.

I'm trying to secure a panel now that is suppose to cover 6.5 sq. ft. It uses 45 watts of power. I'm using nearly 100 watts to cover 4 sq. ft. now.

I like these lights, though they are a bit pricey now. $80 vs. $24 to cover the same area, though the LEDs are supposed to last about 5 times longer.

Mike
 
I've heard LEDs can be more intense than other bulbs in some applications. I know they're expensive up front, but the cost evens out over time. And, if they're wired right, they're virtually immortal. The circuits around them will die before the bulb.

I've been looking into LED lighting for many applications, but the initial expense is still too high for me.
 
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