LED lighting question
 

For the first time (successfully), last year I did my own starters. Don’t beat on me, I used my Aerogardens then transplanted to soil put under LED grow lights. Due to last years success I’m doing even more starters this year. So I need more grow lights but don’t want to invest in more large lights that I don’t have room to off season store.

That being said I’m looking at some of the LED flexible strip lighting.

Precisely how much wattage do you need for LED grow lights??

I think you may want to research that a bit. Hate to see someone waste their time and money. This youtube video shows you why they really don't work well. Good luck and Happy gardening.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BBsZdmRTM0[/url]

[QUOTE=Tiny Tim;686542]I think you may want to research that a bit. Hate to see someone waste their time and money. This youtube video shows you why they really don't work well. Good luck and Happy gardening.

[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BBsZdmRTM0[/url][/QUOTE]

Yeah, the strips are not quite there yet, but prices have come way down and CRI has gone up. Its possible get way more stips butted up against each other than what he had in the video. Shoot for the most light output per meter you can find/afford and the stips will say how much watts/meter the LEDs will use; use this to size your power supply/"driver".

Might try a LED shop light. This is my second, maybe third year.
Cheap at Costco.
(don't forget about the 'search' button up top)

[URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=46628&highlight=shop+lights"]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=46628&highlight=shop+lights[/URL]

The video...I would listen to a guy growing Roma's, :lol: , 3 feet away from the lights.:P

I decided to give LED's a try:

[url]https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C52MGKC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/url]

These are replacement bulbs, and do require the re-wiring of the fixture to bypass the ballast. There is a "before and after" wiring diagram on the web page that shows how it is done. These are rated at 2360 lumens at 6000k. There is a lot of light from these. Arguably more light that my 2860 lumen T8's florescence at 6500k. (The average lux was about 500 more than from the T8's, according to my phone.)

Anyway, I'll see how they do with my plants.

-GG

I am starting for the first time this year. Just a few tomatoes and peppers. I bought these LED lights. No idea how well they will work but will update once I put them to use.

[URL]https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CY2HHC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1[/URL]

As fate would have it, one of my T8 fluorescent fixtures blew a capacitor in the electronic ballast. Since I had an extra pair of the Amazon LED replacement bulbs, I re-wired the fixture for the new bulbs. This fixture is one of the compact T8 two-bulb "shop light" varieties. The ballast was split so that there were two circuit boards to save space (one part under each end cap). It was definitely tedious to re-wire! So I'll also see how the plants do. I have about 60 small seedlings under them right now, so should be a good test. It's 6500K, so hopefully they will do well.

-Greatgardens

I still like CFL for seedlings more than LED. Building your own fixtures is easy. If off-season storage is an issue, just put the reflectors together with screws and disassemble to store.

[QUOTE=Cole_Robbie;692145]I still like CFL for seedlings more than LED. Building your own fixtures is easy. If off-season storage is an issue, just put the reflectors together with screws and disassemble to store.[/QUOTE]

Hi-

I've thought about CFL, but have never given it much serious consideration. First, they seem to concentrate the light instead of spreading it out, as do tubes. Second, although they are pretty cheap (and the little fixtures are really cheap), they don't last very long in my experience. The heat seems to kill the ballasts or cause leaks. Full-size 60 watt equiv. seem to last the longest, and it goes down hill as you go to higher watts. You can get extended life bulbs, but they are usually quite expensive. Third, I don't have a lot of head room on my 4-shelf plant stand. (Made it in '73 to start my Burpee Pixie plants.) T-8 (and earlier T-12) fixtures fit this stand quite well.

But this is my first foray into LED territory for plants, so this is basically a trial. [U]If[/U] I can successfully get down to about 40 watts per shelf total + no Mercury, and maybe 8-10 years of service, I'll be a very happy camper.

How would you arrange the CFL's to cover a 4' X 1' shelf with one-foot of head room? How many would it take? Just curious as to how you would do it.

-Larry

Here's a thread about a big cheap light I made. It's basically the cost of the bulb. Ceramic sockets are about $1-2.

[URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=35099"]www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=35099[/URL]

That light will cover one flat, which is 1'x2'. So two would do a shelf for you. The bulb doesn't have to be that big. The bigger CFLs are getting harder to find. You can just put a splitter in the socket and screw in two 150 watt-equivalent bulbs if that is all you can find. I do spin the flats around every day or two so the plants on the outside don't lean inward too much.

Alternatively, you could do what Worth did and frame a lumber rack in the shape of your shelf. Untreated 2x2 pine is good for that. The sockets and lights are cheap. You can wire in as many as you desire.

[QUOTE=Greatgardens;692185]Hi-

I've thought about CFL, but have never given it much serious consideration. First, they seem to concentrate the light instead of spreading it out, as do tubes. Second, although they are pretty cheap (and the little fixtures are really cheap), they don't last very long in my experience. The heat seems to kill the ballasts or cause leaks. Full-size 60 watt equiv. seem to last the longest, and it goes down hill as you go to higher watts. You can get extended life bulbs, but they are usually quite expensive. Third, I don't have a lot of head room on my 4-shelf plant stand. (Made it in '73 to start my Burpee Pixie plants.) T-8 (and earlier T-12) fixtures fit this stand quite well.

But this is my first foray into LED territory for plants, so this is basically a trial. [U]If[/U] I can successfully get down to about 40 watts per shelf total + no Mercury, and maybe 8-10 years of service, I'll be a very happy camper.

[COLOR=Red]How would you arrange the CFL's to cover a 4' X 1' shelf with one-foot of head room? How many would it take? Just curious as to how you would do it.[/COLOR]

-Larry[/QUOTE]

4 in a single row pointing down one per foot 100 watt CFL lamps 6500K will put you in a place you will love.
This will give you 100 watts per square foot.
Then if you wanted you could put splitters on them and have 200 watts per square foot.
40 watts per square foot is way too low.
A 100 watt CFL will draw about 27 watts that is nothing.
I used paper plates with holes in the middle for the lamp socket to go through for reflectors.

Thanks, Guys. I'll keep that CFL setup in mind for a possible test.

BTW, my 40 watts refers to 40 watts actual -- two 20 watt, 4 ft. LED's. Lots of light -- about 5000 lumens at 6500k.

Here is my setup to show my space issues for the plant shelves.

-GG

This is interesting for those interested in LEDs: [url]https://fluence.science/blog/redefining-the-mccree-curve-at-utah-state-university/?utm_source=salesfusion&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=may-newsletter-2018[/url]

I had great success using the lights that I posted a link to in post number #6.

You can see pics of my results in the Photo Gallery

[URL="http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=47496"]http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=47496[/URL]