Home Made Grow Lights

[Bigmallly]

ok gonna ask poss dim question looking at that reflective sheeting, if say your on a really tight budget and you have that shiny foil like present wrap would that have the same effect ??

The consensus of opinion is that white reflects better than foil........I have tried both & agree.

[Mikey]

I bought a 2ft twin fluorescent light from B&Q yesterday but it didn't say cool white on the packaging. It states that each bulb is 18w 1,300 lumen 10,000 h (no doubt the answer is in there somewhere) I should have taken notes when I read this thread through the other day.

Switch it on, if it gives a bluey hue to the white light its cool white, if it gives a yellow white glow its warm white.

[GreenTricky]

Building your own works out a lot cheaper GT, I picked up a 3ft twin cool light fitting with tubes for £18. Just needed to add wire & a plug.

OK thanks, I'll keep looking as have not been finding anything near that price

[Bigmallly]

I found this on B&Q site but it doesn't say what type of tube. Maybe some techy can see it.

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/images...cent_bulbs.pdf

[Ananke]

Switch it on, if it gives a bluey hue to the white light its cool white, if it gives a yellow white glow its warm white.

I'm such an eejit, I just went to open the packaging to switch it on and have a look, wee senior moment there....don't know why I though I could do that without some cable and a plug.

I have a few 4 socket extentions, i'll need to look and see if I can use the cable and plug from one of them to wire up the light.

[veggiechicken]

This Gro light thing is becoming a bit of an obsession with me Just spotted the Rise and Fall light fitting over the dining table and thought, I could change that bulb for a daylight one and pull it right down to the table for seedlings At this rate I'll have seedlings in every room of the house

[Ananke]

Having seedlings in every room in the house, now there's gardner's heaven for ya.

[veggiechicken]

Seedlings are a bit like books, they seem to take over every room - or at least the windowsills

[Aberdeenplotter]

hmmmph and there was me thinking it was just like wiimmin ::::::::::::::::::;flees:::::::::::::::::::

[Paulieb]

I'm just beginning to start covering grow lights in my diploma. At the moment I don't know anymore than anybody else, but last night I did read a short research paper mainly about computer controlled lighting in greenhouses, etc.

At the end of the paper it suggested that increasing CO2 in a greenhouse (tripling the normal level in air) can go someway to reducing the need for supplementary lighting during the vegetative growing phase.

Now don't all rush out to get a propane heater for your lounge/conservatory, as you do still need what most people would consider a normal days light, but I thought it might be an interesting comment to add.

[veggiechicken]

hmmmph and there was me thinking it was just like wiimmin ::::::::::::::::::;flees:::::::::::::::::::

Just like "wiimmin" what? Sometimes I think your age is getting the better of you, Ap

[Bigmallly]

Just like "wiimmin" what? Sometimes I think your age is getting the better of you, Ap

I think AP meant wimmin not wimmin......................

[veggiechicken]

Looks like there's another losing his marbles ^^^^

[Ananke]

Is it better to have a diffuser on or off the fluorescent light?

[Bigmallly]

Is it better to have a diffuser on or off the fluorescent light?

Mine doesn't have a diffuser. I think they are more for protection than anything else. You don't really want to be banging your head into tubes..........