indoor-growing Grow Light (Tabletop) Recommendations/Ideas?

N

NJChilehead

Wow, do I need some help! I tried reading and researching on my own, including some of the grow light threads on THP, but the more I read the worse it becomes so I have to defer to the experts here.

I've been using a tabletop fluroescent ngrow light system identical to this one for about 20 years: https://www.parkseed.com/products/t...GfHgusX0EPp0XohLMcE4fm7RPTmcCx36WJz6-MGNB-g4s. It worked perfectly. It even got a little warm on top while running, and I'd put my paper towels with my seeds on top and they germinated quickly from the warmth.

I've also never replaced the bulbs. Given that I'm lumino-technologically incompetent, I ASSumed that as long as the bulbs were lit, that they were working fine, and that I'd replace them when one blew out. So now I'm noticing that my seedlings are getting leggy, put two and two together, and realize that I need replacement bulbs pronto, because the light output is fading.

The issue with this is that the replacement bulbs are T12s, meaning that this old system has a magnetic ballast. Both the T12s and the magnetic ballast are obsolete and are being phased out in favor of electronic ballast/T8s, LEDs, etc.

Considering the age of the ballast, the T12s being phased out, etc., I'm vacillating on buying another round of T12s vs. getting a new unit.

One option is to replace the magnetic ballast in this stand with an electronic one and use T8s, but I have concerns that it would be more expense/trouble than it is worth to replace ballast and bulbs in this original system vs. getting a new unit.

So I considered purchasing the new one in the link above ($200.00 with a coupon) ASSuming that it had an electronic ballast and T8s, but no, it has T12s, meaning that it has a magnetic ballast. This surprises me and I wonder if it's a typo, but I'll take it for face value.

Now to my question: I need to stick with a tabletop model, for several reasons. I have a great set up downstairs in a warm area with a foldable table, it works for me. Drilling holes in my ceiling isn't an option. I'd also like to stick with the 4 foot dimensions of the model that I have, because I often have several flats. Before I go down the route of building a stand with PVC pipes and rebuilding an entire lighting system (which I don't have a lot of time and bandwidth for right now), I'm hoping that someone knows of a 4 foot tabletop grow light or two that I can look at purchasing that isn't complete junk (seems a lot of them are), or if there are any obvious options for mounting grow lights that I'm overlooking besides hanging from a ceiling?

Note that this is for seed to plant out, not year-round growing. I am also not married to the idea of using fluorescent lights, I'd be happy to switch to LEDs as well. This rabbit hole hasn't exactly been fun so far. Any help would be appreciated!
 
Hey, NJC. I used to love the 4 foot T5HO fixtures for similar reasons, however I experienced a massive decline in quality from the original bulbs and early replacement bulbs to the replacement bulbs that have been available more recently. It's a huge difference, with the replacement bulbs from multiple sources being ineffective for plant growth and having short lives to the point that they're worthless.

I recently tried LED replacement bulbs specifically for T5 fluorescent fixture conversion, these FIET LED BULBS, which looked awesome and allow for selecting the active diodes as to a desired spectrum. Initially, I thought these were the holy grail, but they blew out my fixtures within days of installation. They're supposed to be ballast compatible, but weren't for me.

Now that I have fixtures without working ballasts, I plan to try these - HLG propagator tubes - mainly for starter plants and using with rocotos. They come with mounting brackets and my plan is to remove the extra hardware from my T5 fixtures then simply attached two daisy-chained propagator tubes using the bracket hardware they appear to come with. I'd just drill and bolt to attach the mounting brackets to the hood, then affix the tubes to the brackets. Maybe something to consider in your case, as the system you have looks great as an adjustable stand and hood and this would allow you to keep using it without consideration of ballast compatibility issues or how to source quality fluorescent bulbs. I have 12" and 18" wide T5 fixtures and am currently planning to put 2 bulbs (they come in sets of 2) in the 12" fixture, thinking that should be satisfactory to service a 2 x 4 table for young plants and rocotos - and probably more.

EDI: I haven't figured out yet how the power source works, whether it's provided with the kit or a separate item. I see that Amazon's "buy with" listing shows an AC Infinite power source. I don't know if this is required or people just like it for setting light timing schedule and such remotely by app.
 
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