Home Made Grow Lights

[Gemizzel]

Dont feel bad, please you have both been really helpful.

my head can be like a sieve because there is so much in there i have to remember....(honestly, i am not a dimwit :-) )

Going out to pick children up now, but i will reread the thread later tonight and get the right lights. As i said, its just to fill in a gap until i get outside......I hope to have it sorted for next years growing, just experimenting for now.

Huge hugs
veggiemama

Hi
Im using T8's from BnQ and am having a lot of success. I have taken the covers off as it seemed to "dim" the light emitted from them.

I have 2 double units hung inside a wooden box with 2 seed trays underneath with chillis in. All seedlings now have their true leaves, albeit some are still very small, but they are still there

I have the light units attached to some chains which are then attached to some hooks on the inside wall of the box. As the seedlings get bigger I unhook the chains, shorten the chain to raise the light, and re-hook the chain back on.

The only think i would say is these lights give off quite a bit of heat so your soil will dry out fairly quickly. I water mine daily when I turn the lights off on an evening. Any water on the leaves when the lights are on cause scolding of the leaves.

Hope that helps

[Lamboluke]

I must say tbe thing that confuses me the most is what type of holder tobuy. I just want to be able to plug it in via the mains and get the correct bulb (cool white is it?) and jobs a good one.
Can I get the batten light holders for a reasonable price, hard to get a gauge on prices online as don't know really what I'm looking for

[Gemizzel]

I must say tbe thing that confuses me the most is what type of holder tobuy. I just want to be able to plug it in via the mains and get the correct bulb (cool white is it?) and jobs a good one.
Can I get the batten light holders for a reasonable price, hard to get a gauge on prices online as don't know really what I'm looking for

dont know if my set up is correct but it seems to be working so cant really complain.

I literally got 2 complete units, batten with lights from BnQ for £20ea. hubby wired it up and put a plug on for me. The lamps aren't what I wanted, cool white, but my seedlings seem to be thriving.

[Kristen]

I think there's a difference between just providing a bit of light to prevent the seedlings getting leggy (in which case just sow them a bit later when the sunlight is stronger??) and providing enough light to make a difference to bring them on. For the latter I think you need a lighting-rig rather than just a bulb or two. Lighting rigs (the sort that use T5 tubes, but others are available using different types of lamps) have the T5 bulbs 3" apart. They don't shed any light sideways (well, they do by a couple of inches) so basically the size of the lighting rig is the area that you can grow.

That's very different to just having a couple of tubes in a conventional light holder (in terms of the amount of light that the plants are going to get)

[Gemizzel]

I think there's a difference between just providing a bit of light to prevent the seedlings getting leggy (in which case just sow them a bit later when the sunlight is stronger??) and providing enough light to make a difference to bring them on. For the latter I think you need a lighting-rig rather than just a bulb or two. Lighting rigs (the sort that use T5 tubes, but others are available using different types of lamps) have the T5 bulbs 3" apart. They don't shed any light sideways (well, they do by a couple of inches) so basically the size of the lighting rig is the area that you can grow.

That's very different to just having a couple of tubes in a conventional light holder (in terms of the amount of light that the plants are going to get)

I guess my set up is just to prevent my chillis going leggy then 😄
These are my seedlings after 3 1/2 weeks

[Kristen]

I need to grow some under growing lights / ordinary lights as a comparison to see what the difference is ... Something for next year perhaps ...

[Veggiemama]

Ok guys, if i had this (8 tube one)

4 FT Hydroponic T5 Grow Light built-in electronic ballasts CFL Propagation Kit | eBay

Would this do.
Also, would i still put plants in a box with white paper(or white paint) to reflect the light?
Do i need a top on the box or something behind the light (if you see what i mean)
What distance should i keep it off the plants?

Also, where do you buy a stand for these type of lights?

Lots of questions
Thanking you in advance
veggiemama

[smutley]

Knocked this up this morning.

I will see how it performs this year and modify it for next season, probably with addition of another light fitting.

Some of my seedlings have got leggy, but I'm sure they will be fine once potted on. I was hoping to build this last weekend, but it was a non starter owing to work commitments.

All in all, just under £40.

[veggiechicken]

I made this one last year http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ml#post1205541 but I'm not using it this year!
One of the problems was getting the seedlings close enough to the light, when the seedlings themselves were so different - some tall, some very short. The short ones grew leggy and the tall ones didn't have enough head room.
Just saying this so that you can take it into account when setting one up.

[smutley]

I wish I had researched the grow light technique earlier, but I only came across it after joining this forum. By which time I had already got some of my seeds in, oh well there's always next year.

[Kristen]

Would this do.

Only thing I would suggest is checking if a replacement Ballast is readily available. I've got a T5 lighting rig, which I bought cheaply. One ballast has failed and I cannot find a replacement part anywhere (except in China ... but only from companies selling them by the container load

i still put plants in a box with white paper(or white paint) to reflect the light?

I put something white around the sides of my plants - so any light that would overspill the area the plants are stood in gets reflected back onto them. I've got some old kitchen cabinet carcasses which are chipboard onto which some white somewhat shiny plastic has been applied. They stand up by themselves

Nope, but a reflector above the light, reflecting the light downwards, would additional "reuse" that light that would otherwise be wasted. Allow air circulation though (i.e. not a fully enclosed box) so that there is no heat build up. You won't have much issue with excess heat with fluorescent tubes (but you would, for example, if you were using a Metal Halide lamp instead)

What distance should i keep it off the plants?

2" - 4" - hold the back of your hand where the top of the plant will be. If you don't feel uncomfortable heat, after a minute or so, that's a good distance for the plants.

where do you buy a stand for these type of lights?

I have a wooden baton balanced on top of two bits of "furniture". I have some cuphooks screwed into the bottom, from which by light is suspended.

[Lamboluke]

Ok so I've eventually got around to getting to b&q to have a look at their lights and I've used my idea shelves to use as a rig.
I still want to cardboard the sides and tin foil it up to add more reflectivity but for now I'm happy

I decided to fix the lights and will adopt the method of moving the plants to the light rather than the other way around.

The lights link in to each other and there's scope to expand the lower levels when I have the brass if need be.

Can someone look at the photo of the light box and check I've done ok as far as choosing a usable Kevin, wattage etc etc. Thanks

Please excuse the lost box, I need to find an alternative to lift the seeds up.

[Spunky]

Due to lack of light at home resulting in leggy seedlings, For the last few weeks I have been thinking about making one of These

with 1, maybe 2 of These.

The time has now come to make a decision.............Do you think it is worth it?
As always, your comments are appreciated.

Factor in all the costs bigmally it soon mounts up! you can buy a 4 light t5 set up off ebay for 60 quid including reflector

[Kristen]

I still want to cardboard the sides and tin foil it up to add more reflectivity

Flat white will do. THere are opinions that kitchen foil reflectivity is not the best - some say it is not as high as you would expect, some say the crumpled nature of it will create hot-spots. Polystyrene or flat white card will be good enough (although folk growing Ahem! high value crops to smoke will tell you that Mylar is the best ... turns out its expensive too)

I decided to fix the lights and will adopt the method of moving the plants to the light rather than the other way around.

In practice (although I have lights on chains that are adjustable) I have to put stuff under some plants 'coz they are shorter than others ...

Please excuse the lost box, I need to find an alternative to lift the seeds up.

Turn the box the other way up and stand the pots on the top?

[Lamboluke]

Thanks for the tips. The bulbs I have, are they suitable for this use? As in will they provide enough light for the seedlings?
I Have some old dvds which I'm going to use to vary the heights of the seedlings as it stands, this will give me more movement on moving them up and down as need be.
I'll get some cardboard and white paper rather than the foil in that Case.
Thank you